cell phone service providers

[Glenn]

I'm shopping around so I was wondering if anyone here is really happy/unhappy with the service and pricing of a particular company.

I'm leaving my current provider (Centennial), as they started jobbing me from the minute I signed the deal two years ago.

[Big Swami]

All the cell phone providers' billing and support departments suck major balls, so if you have a complaint about your billing, switching providers isn't going to help. It's best to focus mainly on the coverage and features they supply for you. Coverage-wise, Sprint/Nextel appears to be the worst, and Verizon appears to be the best. Features-wise, they all appear to provide their own versions of the same set of features, so choose whichever one you prefer.

I'm not familiar with Centennial...where are you?

[Glenn]

West Michigan/GR/Kzoo

Centennial promised me a lot of things when I switched to them from Alltel.

I asked for two identical phones and two identical calling plans (one for me, one for my wife).

The sales guy sold me this package that included "free incoming calls" and along the way I asked, probably 5 times, is this true for BOTH phones and he was all "yes, it sure is". There was also supposed to be 500 minutes available for each line.

He quoted me a price like $59/mo., inclusive.

Got the first bill and it was like $160.

I called back and spoke to the same guy that sold me the deal and he was like "Are you sure I said that?" When I told him that I was, and that I still had his quote, he tried upselling me to another package that would actually give me what he promised in the first place, for $30/mo more.

Apparently, the way the deal was supposed to work is the "main line" gets the free incoming calls and the 500 minutes, and the 2nd line doesn't get the free incoming and only gets 100 minutes. So despite me asking him over and over again if the plans were IDENTICAL, he ended up throwing the "well, you signed the contract, did you read it first?" line at me.

Well, no, dumbass, I didn't read it first because you gave me your word and I signed it right in front of you rather than take 2 hours to read the fine print.

The bill was $160 because we were operating under the assumption that we had 1000 minutes to use and free incoming calls, but that was only true on one of the lines.

I spent two weeks going up the chain of command trying to get them to either honor the deal that they promised (which the supervisors apologized for and chalked it up to a "training error") or at minimum, let me cancel the deal and start over someplace else.

Oh, they would let me out of the deal, but only if I supplied the $250 cancellation fee for EACH LINE.

I went all the way up to the top, and even though I told them that I would tell everyone that I know to not do business with them, and even though I told them that they had zero chance of getting my renewal unless they made this right, they refused.

So that's where I am today.

[Vinny]

I know Cingular (ATT now?) lets you get a plan and then add up to 5 phones for like 5 bucks a month each. You share minutes throughout the phones.

My boss got a package with like 1200 minutes or something and then he, his wife, me and my co-worker all share the minutes.

Service is fine for me, but the building I live and work in is notoriously bad for everyone but Cingular (I think they must have a tower like half a block down) so I'm just happy to finally have a phone that works in my office.

[BigggChris04]

Metro PCS, If you dont leave town often, and the cheapest/best way to go
Pros
- I think 50$ is the most you can pay per month- You pretty much get unlimited evrything (min/tex/int, and I think that's the 40$ package)
- You also get 50$ towards your phone when you get whatever deal you agree with
Cons
- You cant use it too far from home (Once your about an hour away from home, they no service at all)
- Calls are dropped oftenly
...
Sprint is what I have, sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it
Pros
- Its on the expensive side especially if you want alot of features
- I only get 550min on a family plan (I use both phones, long story) 60$
- If you on a single plan you get 900minutes for 60$
- They have unlimited incoming calls plans
-Most plans offer free nights and weekends starting at 7pm (and 6pm for extra)
- Ulimited tex/int/navagation/mp3 for 30$ (I have TV & radio channels on my phone so its more than worth it)
- MP3 player (very loud and clear with the phone I got)
-thats free if you burn songs from a comp, and 99cent if you use the site
- Insurance is 7$ and Road Side is 6$ (I think)
Cons
- Bad custermer service at times
- They try to scam you time from time (Happened to me like every 3-4months, but I straighten them all out)
- The Day I got my family plan, I was charged more than $200 of servies from outta no where when I got my bill
- They added an extra 800+ texts to my bill (about 50$ extra added to the bill)
- CONTRACT TERMINATION FEES! 200$ per phone, so make sure you want that plan for 2 years (which is minimum)
- Any time you change your plan, your 2 years start over (ACTUAL MINUTES, that doesnt include tex/int and other features)
- Thats just a few
...
You also have Cingular/ATT Verizon and T-Mobile, those are the big phone companies around (You gotta watch the commericals if you want info on those)
...
Let me know if you need more info on Sprint or Metro PCS

[WTFchris]

Swami is right. All help departments, stores etc suck major ass. I've had Sprint, AT&T and now Verizon. Their responce time is all terrible. Although, we just got new phones at Verizon and the particular cashier was very helpful, even though they were drastically undermanned there.

My coverage is better than Sprints was (less dropped calls, better coverage area). The billing has not been messed up. They have a stupid policy that you should watch for if you are getting the same provider as your wife. Make sure you are both listed as the primary on the account, otherwise the other cannot make changes to it. She first applied for the account and I added later, which meant that I could not change anything. I could not even call to complain about a billing problem (which is a pain since she is a nurse and cannot handle that stuff from work). It's no biggie if you set that up to begin with though.

I'd reccomend them for sure. The coverage is very good. i can even get service in Windsor (from Detroit), but not the entire city. We also got service in Niagara Falls from the Buffalo area I guess.

As far as cost, we were paying 60 bucks a month for 700 minutes for the two of us I think (and unlimited to verizon customers). We barely used 300-400 of those a month because our parents are on the same network too. We actually get %20 off for my wife's work (Botsford Hospital) because a lot of hospital employees get a discount. We also get %50 off accessories (got a new phone that way). AAA gives you %5 off, but clearly this was a lot better discount.

I definately hate Sprint. I'm sure I told you the story about the 7 phones in 2 months I went through because each one died within a week of getting it.

[Glenn]

Anybody ever buy anything from Let's Talk?

This deal looks almost too good to be true, am I missing something?

http://www.letstalk.com/product/prom...sMessage=0&nc=

Click on "Get 2 phones" to see the deal I am looking at.

[Zekyl]

I've had Verizon for 5 years now and I've never had a problem. I've always had great service and I've never been hassled about anything.

[UxKa]

Ive had US Cellular and they sucked ass, went to court with them (and won) but thats another story. Since then Ive had Verizon, reception and service dept is great. Even up at the lakehouse in bumfuck nowhere I get good service unless Im in the basement which is understandable. GF has had T-Mobile and Cingular and US Cellular and she hates them all. Currently Cingular (AT&T whatever) and she drops calls all the time. Final verdict, Verizon.

[mercury]

It really depends on what your needs are... I'm currently switching from Centenial to Alltell.
Centenial was good for incomming calls being free "no limit"... Alltell absolutely has the best coverage in Michigan (good luck finding a dead zone)... because of the deal they have with Sprint & Nextel... (this info comes from a friend who is a provider for all of these services seperatly).... For coverage Sprint shares with the wide spectrum that Alltell covers but they try to maximize their own towers which can give you poor coverage in several areas (outside of big towns).
If 80% of your calls are incomming they certainly Centenial is a good option (if you don't mind dead zones up north)... if you have a lot of friends/family that can share with you then Nextel & Sprint are your best bet... Verizon works great for major towns... try getting good coverage up North.
If coverage and price is your priority (minus friends/family plans) then Altell is your best bet.
Then there's all of those webb options.