A discussion about sales, sales tips and advice, and about those who land the deal

My mistake was that I believed the sales rep. 

Isn't that a shame?  That looking back, I should have assumed that the guy was lying?

I'm talking about a six month contract I thought I had signed with the Sprint Yellow Pages, when - in actuality - it was a 12 month contract.  My rep told me that, since the Yellow Pages were published every six months in this market, changes could be made to the contract and the Yellow Pages ad for one of my companies could be reduced for the second six months.  It can't.  Never could, according to the all-powerful 800-number that I just called. 

All because the rep lied.  An outright, blatant, bold-faced lie.  And I fell for it.

Sure, he got his commission, and Sprint will get their money.  But here's the long term consequences:

• All of you now know what happened to me, and you'll probably be a little wary of what you sign if it's from Sprint.
• You'll assume the worst if you're dealing with Sprint.
• You may choose not to do business with Sprint.
• I will not do business with Sprint again - especially after the way the customer service person summarily dispatched my complaint with "well sir, its your name on the contract and you signed it."
• I will tell other people not to do business with Sprint.

The lesson for you?  If you do business, do the right thing.  Keep your word.  Take customer requests and complaints seriously.  Not only is it the right thing to do, its good business.

Am I the only one out there that is getting worked-over by Sprint?  Apparently not.  How is Sprint responding to upset customers?  Here's one example.