wow,any nextel employees here? UPDATE with a happy ending.

[mrFDNY]

hi all,
and no this is not a joke thread.ok here's the story.all the fact's are real some of the names are changed to protect the guilty.so dw got me a new nextel phone for my b-day which is in a couple of days.i wanted the i870,which she got me.It arrived wednesday and i charged the battery and had it connected.now some back ground i have been with nextel since 1999,a faithful customer.so today all day, the brand new 12 hour old phone is giving me problems.i leave it in my pocket and it keeps getting error messages across the screen,only problem is i don't see or know about these messages cause it's in my pocket.when it gets a error i don't get in comming or can't make out going.so dw calls the fire house tonight around 8,because she can't get in touch with me for several hours and well thinks the worst,since the only other time that happened was on the attacks,the whole cell phone grid went down on the 11,so most could not make calls.so anyway around 2 pm,i had this problem first happen to me the rep at that time assured me it was thier network problem and to turn the phone on and off to reset it,which i did and it worked.
now at 8 pm after speaking to a very worried wife and told she has been trying to contact me for 3 hours,i decide to call nextel again.this time i turn the phone off and on 6 times before it resets and before i can even dial them it says error and won't let me dial any number.so this is the # 3 time this 12 hour old,brand new right out of the box, phone has done this.now the FDNY has a muliti million dollar contract with nextel,i mean hundred's of phones.all with the best service contract,unlimited everything all the time.so the rep on the phone agrees this new phone is defective/broke.
i'm told to send the phone back and they will send me a new one,i try to explain,beep-beep,beep.we get a run,i have no choice i'm driving tonight and have to hang up on the poor lady.so after this job i call back.i explain,i need a loner or any phone before i can send this one back.i explain i am FDNY personal and this phone is my in field operations comm,yes we have radios,but i have several numbers that i sometimes need to call on a job.this is the god's honest truth.i use this phone for field operations,dozens of time's a day alone.i even offer them to look up the last 48 hrs of phone calls,on the old phone and the new one.i explain all numbers that begin with (718) XXX-1234 are fdny numbers.so the lady explains to me to bring it to a service center.which in the past i have done,but not this time. like i said this phone is brand new i don't want it fixed,i want a new one.if the phone was a month old,yes i would get it fixed.but not if it is 12 hrs old,i can see it now, i get it fixed, and it will probaly contine to have problems for the rest of the time i have it.It's brand new and broke,i want a new one.if you had a brand new car with a major problem that was 12 hrs old would you want it fixed or a new one?rep #1 tell's me no way and thats the way it is!thats the law.ok i did'nt know cell phones came with laws.rep #2, 30 mins on hold later-your job will have to give you a new phone until this one is fixed.i pay the bill here,not my job.the FDNY will not loan me a phone.
superviser # 1 sorry send the phone back to get a new one.we will not send you a phone first,QUOTE" i don't care where you work" i explain its a matter of public safety. superviser-quote "i really don't care" so i ask why are you raising your voice at me.this guy seemed mad right from the get go and seemed to be yelling at me and seemed to want to try and start a fight with me. superviser- "I'm not gonna argue with you sir,do you have any other problems with the phone besides this one" no i do not. supervisior-"than have a day" click. OH NO,he did'nt just hang up on me did he?yep,he did.now let me say i have 5 guys as wittnessis,i was calm,low tone of voice and even repestful.i did'nt curse even once.

i call back and one rep tried to sell me a increased plan,even after i explained my problem with the phone. no mam,i don't want to up grade my offer,right now. can i please speak with a manager.so a new one gets on the phone and says,"i'm reading all your past calls on the computer.this is our policy.end of story. what the heck am i asking for??money,gold,a free month nope.a loner phone,any that will work just till i get my new one,which will take 7-10 business days.i expalin any loaner phone will do,the oldest is fine.no sir this is our policy, and i QUOTE"it's not our problem your phone does not work.?????????????actualy it is.the phone is brand new,i did not break it,drop it,get it wet.expose it to heat.is it that hard to give me a loaner,that i could use at work?????????is it me?am i asking a extreme favor.a huge impossible task??i swear,i was on the phone with them for 2 hrs,btw the battery has a 12 hrs talk life and began to beep low after 2 hrs.not one person i spoke with was respectful,or even happy.i have never been spoke to like that.every one of 6 people was rude and just could care less about this issue.i offered to send them letters from my co(commanding officer)as proof we use our phones for work, photo and letter proof i work for FDNY and anything else they wanted and was told no.they won't send me a new phone until they get the old one back.btw did i mention this phone was 299.00?
what do i do now? i will call back tomorrow,during regular business hrs.anyone here work for nextel,do you know a way i can get a loaner phone.just to mine gets back.

 

[2BigKIdz]

Can't they just exchange it if you go into the Nextel store? Or do they not carry this phone in the store? Whenever we switch phones they do the changes right there. Sorry you are having so much trouble, and Happy Birthday

 

[Straycat]

What happened to your old phone, maybe you can activate it back up for now? If not, I would definately visit your closest Nextel owned store for an exchange.

 

[AnnaS]

I am sorry for all your troubles.

I believe my son has the same phone. The first time his just stopped working (we pay extra for insurance), we were told we would have to repair it and pay for it - defitinitely not after 12 hrs. One of the sales people at our local store (they sell all phones) said, next time say you lost it or it was stolen since we have the insurance - but does not cover repairs. She was able to fix it though - took out battery and put it back in. Another time my other son's Nextel went - we ended up getting the insurance on his also in order to fix it - and there are two different ones, one for fixing/repairing and one like my other son has. We had to get both. After buying it over the phone, again we took the phone to local store and she fixed it. We did not need the insurance.

I will be cancelling both in July/August when our two years is up. (I have T-Mobile). Since day one, they have no service in the house and everytime they receive a click or call, it interrupts our Cable. They cannot even use it outside (200-300 feet). There have been times when strangers/workers use Nextel outside and you are in the middle of a movie and yor movies freezes. We are not happy with them and the bill - well what I pay for the two Nextels, I use to pay less for 4 phones with T-Mobile. Longs story, sons wanted Nextel because of the click and they purchased their own phones. They now know better.

Sorry for rambling - I am not happy with them either.

 

[Jennasis]

Your best bet would be to go to a Nextel retail store an do an exchange right there for a new, working phone. Then you wouldn't need a "loaner". BTW I've never heard of them giving out loaner phones...they aren't an automobile dealer. In this case, I kind of agree with Nextel. It doesn't matter what your job is, since the phone is your personal phone. If the defective phone was one of the FDNY phones, then yes perhaps they would have stepped up to the plate.

They should NEVER have been condescending about it, or hung up on you though.

 

[m&m's mom]

Man, that sounds like a nightmare! And what HORRIBLE customer service. I 100% agree that you should certainly get a new phone no questions asked. Can't help but really sympathize.

 

[MBeds]

All i can say is my nextel contract is up next summer and i cannot wait to get rid of them...I can't stress "cannot wait" enough...

 

[Chicago526]

I agree the loner is a bit unrealistic, but what they SHOULD have done was offer expedited shiping of a new phone, no reason why they couldn't overnight one to you, or 2nd day. And under no circumstance was it justified for them to be RUDE to you in any way, shape or form. Why some people go into customer service with these kind of attitiudes is beyond me.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

My BF has nextel and he is fed up with their lack of customer service also. If he ever calls for help, they give none. But they have been known to call him to offer him more expensive plans. How nice of them! (sarcasm) His service is horrible, he gets next to none in his house and sometimes he will just lose service in the middle of a conversation. He really wants to switch to Cingular.

I would suggest you take the phone to a Nextel store and talk to them. Maybe when they are talking face to face they aren't so rude. I believe you should get a new phone. You received a new phone that obviously doesn't work. Fixing it will probably not help the problem. I have seen tons of new Nextel stores pop up around my house lately, so if one doesn't help try another. Hopefully you will find someone with half a brain.

 

[chyam]

My BF has nextel and he is fed up with their lack of customer service also. If he ever calls for help, they give none. But they have been known to call him to offer him more expensive plans. How nice of them! (sarcasm) His service is horrible, he gets next to none in his house and sometimes he will just lose service in the middle of a conversation. He really wants to switch to Cingular.

I would suggest you take the phone to a Nextel store and talk to them. Maybe when they are talking face to face they aren't so rude. I believe you should get a new phone. You received a new phone that obviously doesn't work. Fixing it will probably not help the problem. I have seen tons of new Nextel stores pop up around my house lately, so if one doesn't help try another. Hopefully you will find someone with half a brain.

Let me tell you about Cingular........NEVER Again!! I went with them in Jan. and could not get a call through without it being dropped!! Their bars were not in my right places..........and I live in a large city, NO CUSTOMER SERVICE either, they were very rude and condesending! It cost me over $200.00 to get out of the contract and go back to Sprint..........before your BF signs with Cingular make sure he talks to other people in your area to find out what service they have and how good it is. Perhaps Cingular is good in your area.......I couldn't have made a call with them to save my life.........not to mention their bills list everything........pages and pages to read through.It looks like most businesses now days have lousey customer service and that is IF they speak or UNDERSTAND English.

 

[Nancy]

Well...I would take the phone back, get my money back and walk over to the verizon store and get theirs. We love our verizon, no complaints so far and the people there were so nice when I had to call themfor being billed for an activation charge that I wasn't supposed to have been billed for. They corrected it on the next bill right with no questions asked.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

wow thats awful service
theres no reason they couldnt over night you a new phone and then you could mail the broken one back or bring it back to a retail store
this is why i am glad i dont have a cell
DH has one but its though his job he has it 24 a day and we dont pay $ for it

 

[nowellsl]

What happened to your old phone, maybe you can activate it back up for now? If not, I would definately visit your closest Nextel owned store for an exchange.

That's what I was thinking!

 

[ChrisnSteph]

Your best bet would be to go to a Nextel retail store an do an exchange right there for a new, working phone. Then you wouldn't need a "loaner". BTW I've never heard of them giving out loaner phones...they aren't an automobile dealer. In this case, I kind of agree with Nextel. It doesn't matter what your job is, since the phone is your personal phone. If the defective phone was one of the FDNY phones, then yes perhaps they would have stepped up to the plate.

They should NEVER have been condescending about it, or hung up on you though.

I agree with this. My phone has been in for repairs a time or two and I've never thought of asking for a loaner. Take it into a Nextel store and see what they can do. Often times the repair only takes a day or two. If it was an FDNY phone and you use it for work, then it's your departments responsibility to give you a loaner until you can get a new one. All that aside, they shouldn't have been rude to you.

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

Well...I would take the phone back, get my money back and walk over to the verizon store and get theirs. We love our verizon, no complaints so far and the people there were so nice when I had to call themfor being billed for an activation charge that I wasn't supposed to have been billed for. They corrected it on the next bill right with no questions asked.

I have to agree, we love Verizon! Never have had any problems with CS. We've been with them for about 5 years. Their coverage is good and again, I can't say enough about their Customer Service, it really is worth something to me to know I'm always going to get a friendly, courteous rep when I call.

I know this doesn't help you right now, mrFDNY, because the whole department uses Nextel. But pretty soon (if they haven't already, they may have) Verizon will be coming out w/ coast to coast 2-waying and then Nextel may be very sorry when the whole department switches to them.

Good luck in whatever happens. Keep us posted.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

I know this doesn't help you right now, mrFDNY, because the whole department uses Nextel. But pretty soon (if they haven't already, they may have) Verizon will be coming out w/ coast to coast 2-waying and then Nextel may be very sorry when the whole department switches to them.

Good luck in whatever happens. Keep us posted.

Nextel already has coast to coast direct connect. They've had it for a while.

 

[Chrissi Pooh]

I am going rounds with them now in fact I just sent another message and included that I would be sharing my experience with (what are we up to??) 60,000 of my closest friends online!!! They really ticked me off with their lack of customer service and their lies!!!

 

[Sugardimples]

NEXTEL is a poor excuse for a cell phone company. I wonder how they stay in businesss. Unfortunately, most of us get trapped by a contract before we realize that they are POOR. My company switched a few hundred of us from Verizon to Nextel. I'm sure they are saving a few dollars a month but now our phones don't work a lot of the time. Our sales reps just got Verizon back because the Nextel service was so unreliable. My phone usually does not work in my house (it's not a bomb shelter or anything, just an old house!)

We have Verizon for our personal cell phone and think that Verizon is the best of the cell phone companies. Over the years we've had Cellular, Sprint, Nextel and Verizon. Verizon wins hands down.

 

[beattyfamily]

I agree they have terrible customer service (and are expensive too) but for us they have the best reception and the direct connect. We've tried Verizon and the phone wouldn't come in at DH's work so we went back to Nextel.

I was hoping when they merged with Sprint, they're customer service would improve. Bummer.

 

[poutytink]

I personally love Cingular. My BF got the new Razr phone and less then a month later it froze up on him. I went to a Cingular store in Howard Beach and he gave me a loaner phone. We had it almost a month. (went to Disney and didn't mail phone back to Cingular until we got back) No problems, in fact they were VERY helpful. I just brought it back when all was said and done. No, it wasn't a top of the line phone they gave me..but it worked!