When error messages turn on customers

I'm trying to love Sprint. I really am! They're the "hometown team" (if you don't count the Virginia corporate HQ), they employ a lot of Kansas City people, and they really do have some great products and services. Our local Sprint store in Lee's Summit just got a fantastic facelift, blew out a bunch of nonperforming people, and ratcheted the whole thing up a few notches.

Why, then, does the Sprint web site have so much to dislike? Let me count the ways.

I haven't been able to access my account for TWO DAYS now. I simply wanted to download a new call tone and perhaps a ringer or two. Sprint considers this a magical thing called "monthly recurring revenue."

On their "Digital Lounge" web site, If I come as an anonymous drifter, I'm in with no problems. But if I actually put in my username and password, I get one of two VERY different screens, depending upon which browser I'm using.

• Version 1, short, sweet, and incomplete (click the small graphic below to see a clearer one):

This one's kinda fun, because in Firefox, it starts out with a lowercase "later, and thank you for choosing Sprint" farewell. I like the informality of telling your customers "later...[gator]" but wouldn't an explanation be nice? Let's talk about CSS positioning, shall we!?

Oh wait, that's for another browser....

• Version 2, now with added holes through the middle for IE7 browsers (click for larger view):
  
  
  
  
  This one's even more fun, because you get the sense that there's supposed to be some big, ominous graphic in the upper-left. And maybe a "Done" button below the error (at least they came up with an ALT tag for the missing button).
  
  And they seem to regret any inconvenience "this" causes. What's "this?" We don't know because there's nothing to tell us about how "this" became a problem in the first place.
  
  But wait!! I'm a web geek, and I know to look up there in the URL bar. And what do I see there? Is that a parameter? (click it)
  
  
  

Ah yes, the famous "MANAGEDOWN" parameter. As in, "We can't let you manage your account because we're down for the count."

It really makes me wonder who tests their web site. Do they ever try this stuff before making it live?

I still have no ringers, or call tones, and it would have been fun to buy something fun for my Christmas cell phone experience. When I read all these headlines about how Sprint is literally hemorraghing customers by the boatload, I return to my roots, close my eyes, and think to myself: "It's all about the customer experience." And right now, that experience leaves a lot to be desired. No Sprint Speed® here. No Sprinting Ahead® either. This is just bad CSS and bad programming, combined in a loathsome mix.