Which Cell Phone Company do you love / hate?

[orbital sander]

I have been with T-mobile since they bought out Voice Stream. Until recently, I was pretty happy with them. I travel outside the US often, and the rates are great, and generally I have to do nothing to use my phone except turn it on. Customer service was always pretty good. Currently, however, they are charging fees for everything. I bought a new phone just 2 months ago at full price (I would not renew my contract). The phone went bad but was under warranty. They replaced the phone right away, and everything was great until I saw a $20.00 Warranty Replacement Fee on my bill. Additionally, these days if you want to change you plan, you have to pay a $200.00 “migration” fee. I am getting pissed. On top of that, T-Mobil has recently started “outsourcing” their customer service to “I am very sorry sir” bots in SE Asia.

 

I have many friends who are happy with Verizon, but they charge crazy prices to call from outside the US and they have limited service. I go to Argentina often, T-Mobil charges me $1.50 a minute. One of my friends recently tagged along and he paid $5.00 per minute with Verizon. I know Verizon has great coverage domestically, but I don’t need more than what T-Mobil has.

 

I hear AT&T is lousy, don’t know much about Sprint, and the sound quality of Skype is too lousy to do business on.

So…who loves their phone service? Does any company really stand out or am I basically screwed with any of them? :mad:

[OneFinger]

My personal cell phone has been with Verizon for 10+ years. Very happy with the quality of their service. But, I have never used my phone outside the USA. When traveling abroad, I just turn it off so I don't have to deal with the fees. I'm on one of their loyalty plans and pay $20 / month for 100 minutes peak and 500 minutes off peak. I've never gone over the allotted minutes but I know they'll rape me with high fees.

 

I use Skype for international calls and for personal use it's adequate.

 

My business cell phone is Sprint. Don't know what they charge because I never see a bill. Don't know about their customer service because I've never had a problem that required their assistance. (To me, that says a lot about the quality of their service.) Their coverage is usually adequate. But, there are some out-of-the-way places I go in the West where I can't get Sprint coverage. I have never hit a dead spot with Verizon.

[rvwnsd]

I was happy with Sprint until Spring, 2011, when I started experiencing problems with my phone. Sprint chalked it up to a software problem, but an upgrade did not fix the problem. It was less expensive to switch to Verizon via COSTCO than it was to upgrade my Sprint phone. I think Verizon's call quality is on par with Sprint's. I find Verizon requires several phone calls to get anything done correctly and their prices are higher than Sprint's. With Sprint, I would either chat with a representative or send an e-mail and my request was handled immediately (when chatting) or within hours (when e-mailing) the first time around. Although I am not unhappy I switched to Verizon, I would probably have been better off sticking with Sprint. I will say that Verizon's internet for tablets is more reliable and has greater coverage than Sprint. That being said, I am comparing today's Verizon to last year's Sprint. Sprint may have beefed up their wireless internet now that they are offering tablets.

[Kevin Slater]

I have been very happy with Sprint for years. The press (financial and otherwise) routinely bashes the company, which I don't understand.

 

The positives:

 

* Inevitably when I'm with friends who cannot get a signal on whichever network they use, my Sprint phone works just fine. I don't think I've ever dropped a call.

* Sprint plans are rather less expensive than those of the competition.

* Not that anyone really worries about minutes anymore, but calling from a Sprint phone to any other cell phone (whether it be on Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, what have you) doesn't cost you minutes.

* Via their website, you can block specific numbers from being able to call and/or text you (a huge plus for escorts).

* And you can change your plan without re-upping the two-year contract.

 

The negatives:

 

* The biggest negative used to be that Sprint lacked the Iphone, but it now carries the 4S.

* The wait to be helped in the NYC stores can be quite long at times, not so bad in other cities.

 

The I'm too fucking clueless to know what this is:

 

Whenever I talk to friends about traveling abroad, they often mention a chip or CDMA card or something that you take out of your American phone and pop into a foreign cell phone and I'm not sure what the hell that's even supposed to do for you. For whatever reason, Sprint phones have no such chip/card/secret handshake, for what that's worth.

 

Kevin Slater

[justaguy]

Verizon. I've been with them for years and no problems. I've always gotten good customer service and haven't had any issues with dropped calls.

[+ deej]

I hear AT&T is lousy

 

From who? Verizon?

 

I'm not going to defend AT&T because I do have my gripes with them, but I was a Cingular customer (only because they had a store across the street) and then AT&T bought Cingular. Things didn't go to hell in a handbasket.

 

I constantly hear people saying "AT&T Sucks!" but near as I can tell it's usually from people who don't use AT&T.

[adriano46]

Over the years, I have used SPRINT, T-Mobile, VERIZON, AT&T, and one or two other plans that skip my mind right now.

 

The worst for service, dropped calls and hidden fees was AT&T and finally I dropped them once I finished one of my 2-year contracts, and it was very very hard to drop them as the salesperson kept insisting I give them another chance (I was a customer over 5 years).

 

SPRINT never had all the services I needed when traveling abroad (which AT&T did). T-Mobile I use for overseas calls as it is the cheapest, and I can easily remove the SIM card when overseas to use another service.

 

I now have VERIZON and aside from the high cost of my Wifi number (which I have started controlling), I find in general the service is excellent, coverage is aiove-average (rarely have a dropped call), and can use it even in Eurpe as it paiurs with many European companies so once I get to Europe, I turn the phone on and I am being served by a paired company (granted, with new fees attached).

[josephga]

Ive been with Cingular now at&t since 2002 and never had a problem

[EZEtoGRU]

I use AT&T as they have the best coverage relationships when traveling in Latin America. I have used the phone for voice and data in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Mexico with no problems. However, I feel they are only average when I am within the US. I get lots of dropped calls and weak signals......even when I am within Houston.

[Steven_Draker]

Whenever I talk to friends about traveling abroad, they often mention a chip or CDMA card or something that you take out of your American phone and pop into a foreign cell phone and I'm not sure what the hell that's even supposed to do for you. For whatever reason, Sprint phones have no such chip/card/secret handshake, for what that's worth.

 

I think you're referring to the SIM card. If you're traveling outside the US you can buy an inexpensive SIM card which is linked to a local number. That way you avoid the heavy roaming fees charged by your phone company when you're abroad. If you have business in that country people calling you would make a local call instead of an international call. I hope this makes sense. I'm not familiar with Sprint phones, but from most cellular phones you can remove the SIM card and plug another SIM, except for iPhone 4 and 4S which implements the micro SIM card.

 

http://www.technobuffalo.com/files/2011/06/micro_sim_iphone_4.jpg

[bigvalboy]

I have AT&T and I can say without a doubt that I hate them. Had Verizon for years never a problem, reception was great, service the whole 9 yards. Then one day in a lapse of judgement I let AT&T wrap all my services into one...WRONG!!! reception on the celltell is horrible. I actually have to go outside my house to use the cell, the reception is that bad...and what I get from them when I complain is "We are working on it sir" With Verizon I could be six floors down in a parking structure and call NYC and the person would sound like they were standing next to me....Oh WEll

[rvwnsd]

...I'm not familiar with Sprint phones, but from most cellular phones you can remove the SIM card and plug another SIM, except for iPhone 4 and 4S which implements the micro SIM card.

 

AT&T and T-Mobile are the GSM carriers in the US. One of their phones would have a SIM card. Verizon and Sprint are CDMA carriers and their phones generally do not have SIM cards, unless they are dual-band (CDMA and GSM). If you are based in the US and do not have an AT&T or T-Mobile phone, you won't swap SIM cards when you are in another country unless you have the dual-band phone. Sprint had one a few years ago and I believe one or two of the Verizon Android phones are dual-band.

[adriano46]

AT&T and T-Mobile are the GSM carriers in the US. One of their phones would have a SIM card. Verizon and Sprint are CDMA carriers and their phones generally do not have SIM cards, unless they are dual-band (CDMA and GSM). If you are based in the US and do not have an AT&T or T-Mobile phone, you won't swap SIM cards when you are in another country unless you have the dual-band phone. Sprint had one a few years ago and I believe one or two of the Verizon Android phones are dual-band.

 

Yes, because of the ability to switch SIM cards in Europe and other places, this is why I have my T-Mobile account; my Verizon is attached to my Blackberry though. One day -- as the contracts run out, I may consider updating to a DROID or some such thing for the VERIZON account and then move my Blackberry to T-Mobile... just a personal thing really. I do keep always one account, however, that has the ability to swap the SIM card (which in Europe is so easy to get).

[orbital sander]

From who? Verizon?

 

I'm not going to defend AT&T because I do have my gripes with them, but I was a Cingular customer (only because they had a store across the street) and then AT&T bought Cingular. Things didn't go to hell in a handbasket.

 

I constantly hear people saying "AT&T Sucks!" but near as I can tell it's usually from people who don't use AT&T.

 

I have a few friends who use AT&T and they only went there to get I-phones. These people have told me that they do not like the customer service at all, they just like the I-phone...

[jackboy48]

I'm kind of thinking that the problems you're having with T-Mobile are probably universal. I was switched to Verizon when Qwest gave up it's cell phone service, which I had because it was linked to my home service, so I've never really shopped around. My family is all on Verizon so that cuts down on minutes as I have a somewhat limited plan. I've had pretty good luck in solving problems by talking with the guys in person, but I'm fortunate that all these guys have shops at my local mall and I don't have to go out of my way. They seem to have fun with me because I am supposedly not tech savvy and they take it as a challenge. Anyways they always seem to come up with a ploy to fix my issue and often find me some modification to reduce my costs. I was concerned about costs in Mexico and this very pleasant little hunk adjusted my plan so that the extra charges are quite minimal. I use a basic cell phone (Samsung), but it seems to be fairly universal and just takes a few minutes to reprogram itself whenever I travel. I have had a dropped call once or twice, but I was in very unusual situations. I don't use the phone for business so I can't testify to that type of need. I'm just saying that the next time you're near one of the T-Mobile shops, take a few minutes to talk to one of the guys and see if he can do something about your bill and maybe improve your plan to avoid future charges.

[Kevin Slater]

Verizon Wireless to Charge for Payments

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/verizon-payments/?hp

 

Kevin Slater

[+ deej]

I have a few friends who use AT&T and they only went there to get I-phones. These people have told me that they do not like the customer service at all, they just like the I-phone...

 

Interesting. I don't have any comment about customer service because in 10 years I've never had to deal with 'um.

 

Oh, wait! I did have to go in for a new battery for my RAZR once. That was quick and painless. I had to go in for a failing phone once. I was inside for about 10 minutes and left with the latest, greatest, and newest model. No charge.

 

Other than that, I've never had to deal with customer service.

 

If I was going to trash AT&T I'd trash them for coverage in downtown LA. Not customer service.

[instudiocity]

I had Sprint - HATED THE CUSS-SOME-MORE LACK O' SERVICE.

 

I had LA Cellular which was bought out by Pacific Bell which was bought out by Cingular (which was a joint venture between Bell South and Southwestern Bell), then Southwestern Bell bought AT&T changing the company name to AT&T, then AT&T bought the 1/2 of Cingular they didn't own from Bell South, then AT&T bought Bell South, too. Which means I've had my service for over 18 years with these various iterations of companies. I've never had an issue with Customer Service. I have had issues with Coverage but not for many years now.

 

Someone explained to me that modern cell phones don't connect to just one cell tower, but to as many as 3-5 towers at once. The system switches the call between towers dynamically. When a call fails, the chances are that I've moved out of range of one cell tower and the closer towers are fully loaded with calls. Which makes sense and I can accept that moving through LA at 50-70, heck 80 miles an hour, and with everyone else in in the network making demands on the system, it's difficult to build enough system redundancy and capacity quickly enough, but for the past few years, my call clarity has gone up and the number of dropped calls has dropped to almost nil.

 

I'm aware of the difficulty in the Bay area specifically San Francisco with dropped calls especially inside homes. But I've been to the Bay Area. I've been in homes in San Francisco. Those homes have plaster walls laid upon metal lattice. There's no way in hell any radio can transmit and receive through that wire womb unless the radio is broadcasting enough wattage to cook food. So, I'm ambivalent about those SF area complaints.

[OneFinger]

Verizon Wireless to Charge for Payments

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/verizon-payments/?hp

Actually, the info I'm getting is that the charge only applies to over-the-phone payments or similar billings. My Verizon bill is automatically charged to my AMEX and has been for years. That is NOT going to be affected by the charge for payments.

[Kevin Slater]

Actually, the info I'm getting is that the charge only applies to over-the-phone payments or similar billings. My Verizon bill is automatically charged to my AMEX and has been for years. That is NOT going to be affected by the charge for payments.

 

Yup, that's what the article says. I copied and pasted the misleading headline.

 

Kevin Slater

[JoeyBryant]

Verizon was the first company I contracted with. I hate them because they brand all their phones. I have a phone from them still lying around and once I ditched them I could never use it. At the time, it was a really nice phone...

 

In the same sense, I like T-Mobil for now because they use sim cards. A sim card makes it so easy to switch phones around and have different numbers when needed.

 

For example, with T-Mobil, I can go on overstock.com and buy any joe schmo phone that uses a sim card. Even if it has a different companies logo on it. Verizon, can't do it.

 

However, once you leave the U.S., their rates are exorbitant and you might as well not even use the phone. But, with the sim card you can use whatever pre-paid service is available in said country.

[dannyboynyc]

Right now I have Verizon for my personal cell phone. My work issues cell is with AT&T. When I'm at home (Manhattan) I can never get a dialtone on the AT&T phone - at least I've not been able to get a dial tone for months.

 

I had Sprint until about 5 or 6 years ago. I had a phone which broke. I took it to the Sprint store, was told it could not be fixed and I'd need a new phone. (no surprise) The phones were on the first floor but no pricing was available. The staff on the second floor had pricing, but, no pictures / examples of phones. I found a phone, ordered it. The sales staff only had plan descriptions written in Spanish, which didn't matter because the plans described were outdated. Through all of this, I did buy a new phone and new plan. The final straw was Sprint could not get my Sprint issued phone number attached to my new phone. After five days of not having a phone, and being told Customer Service had no idea how long it would take to assign my number to the phone, I went to Verizon and have been with Verizon since then.

[RockCreekRunr]

Interesting thread. I recently paid to get out of my Sprint contract because their customer service was deplorable. I now have Verizon mobile service and so far love it. No problems with Verizon yet....I'm a happy camper now.

[gregkidman]

Well for a long time, I have been with tmobile using their monthly (no contract) plan for text messages only. I don't talk much on the phone so the 10¢ a minute was just fine. They also had this option where I could buy a web day pass for $1.49 on the days that I don't have wifi. This has been ideal for me since I don't use data that often.

 

Unfortunately, tmobile has stopped the web day pass as of October. In other words, if I want data, I would be forced to choose a more expensive plan to get it. Pisses me off.

[JT Brooklyn]

T-Mobil

 

T-Mobil... I can only speak for myself... I've been a satisfied Customer for Year's!