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Our Top 5 list of Best Cell Phone Service Providers come from user feedback propagating multiple forums and web sites and from personal experience. Nick has been a client of 4 of the 5 major cell phone service suppliers (exception being US Cellular) pre- and post-merger of these companies (exception being the Verizon/Alltel merger). Nick is presently a satisfied client with AT&T Wireless. Why so many? No, it wasn’t to finally invent a review, but respective reasons came into play – moving to college and service had no reception in that area, service reception just sucked, bad client service, among some other reasons. Nick has employed all 4 of the companies as both his cell and home phone. The areas that Nick has tried these cell phone companies are: California (mainly around San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange counties), Oregon, Illinois (including Chicago and suburbs), Indiana (in and around Indianapolis, West Lafayette, Bloomington, and South Bend), Minnesota, Georgia (only around Atlanta), and Rhode Island. Nick surely comprehends the mutual complaints and praises. These are our Top 5 – Best Cell Phone Service Companies. Ridicule us, praise us, hate us, love us for our list. Please note that there will always be exclusions to person experiences. We perceive the needs of any one person or family will differ. This is a quick summary of the costs of the 5 cell phone providers. In terms of the price of person plans, the person plan prices at all levels are incisively the same among Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and US Cellular (nationwide plan) with the exception being T-Mobile. US Cellular is by far the most inexpensive if choosing their “widearea” plan, which only caters to the 25-26 states that they cover. In terms of the price of basic family plans, the basic family plan prices at all levels are precisely the same amidst Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and US Cellular (again nationwide plan only) with the exception being T-Mobile. T-Mobile sells their family minute plans on dissimilar “minute” levels than the other 4, but on a per-minute cost, T-Mobile is the most inexpensive of all nationwide person and family plans. All other companies are incisively the same in regards to the basic plan, not the plans with added features. The reason why numerous cell phone service suppliers are more “expensive” is because of the cost of adding these further and added options/features. 5 (4b). Sprint Nextel Pros: * Night and weekends get started at 7:00 PM, which is 2 hours earlier than the other cell phone service companies * Free minutes on incoming calls * 1-year contract as opposed to the general 2-year contract (you determine if requiring any contract is a pro) * Strong business-friendly features – 1st mover in walkie-talkie engineering science – a astoundingly utile function * Fast internet Cons: * No international plans * Coverage is not as expansive as Verizon Wireless or AT&T, which inevitably means weaker signals, more dropped calls, echoing, etc. * Limited/outdated phone selection * Since merger in 2005, plans are not as good a deal as pre-merger * Post merger, client service has dropped off as they try to be helpful – the end result must be good news for the customer, not a moot point for client service Personal experience: Sprint has always had a fixed selection of phones, which to me, actually didn’t matter. However, as I started relying on my cell phone more and more, I started to care regarding the looks of my phone (the needs for sure functions remained the same). The phone selection is fixed and in a great deal of cases seem outdated. From my experience with client service, Sprint (Nextel) was in truth #1 on my list pre-merger in 2005, but it has dropped since then. The client service pre-merger was splendid – consistent bills from month to month, credits on bogus charges I disputed, and free “loyalty program offers” such as free internet for 6 months. Since the merger in 2005, the client service still tries to be very helpful, but it gets to the point where you want to get started yelling through your phone because of the frustration. Sprint’s coverage will be hit or miss if you travel, however, if you’re just going to the city for work and going back home to the suburbs, the service will stay consistent for the most part. There is not one thing when it comes to the cost or the types of plans of Sprint Nextel that actually stands out with the exception being international plans. Besides that, the plans offer the popular potpourri and gains to meet your need. 4 (4a). US Cellular Pros: * Good client service * Excellent coverage in the midwest as they will have to since they are a territorial carrier * Free incoming calls/text messages * No activation fees on numerous plans Cons: * Poor coverage outside of the 25-26 states that US Cellular covers * Very fixed phone selection; durability of phones offered a concern * Beware of concealed costs * Add-ons such as unlimited texting, downloading, etc may add up quickly * Limited/outdated phone selection * If downgrading plan, be utterly sure of your minute usage; they are not helpful in providing advice, but quick to provide recommendations * If you go over your minutes, get ready to recompense big time The majority of US Cellular’s client base is satisfied by it is client service. The greatest complaint is in the fixed selection and durability of the phones. The person and family nationwide service plans are precisely the same as the others with the exception being T-Mobile. If you live outside of the 25-26 states that US Cellular covers or travel frequently, then choose another cell phone service provider. However, if you live within those states that are covered, US Cellular ought to be considered as long as you don’t mind the phones and/or seemingly unknown brand (outside of the midwest and sports world – White Sox). 3. T-Mobile Pros: * Cheapest basic person and basic family plans out of the 5 cell phone service providers * myFaves add-on is ordinary and useful * 1-year contract as opposed to the ordinary 2-year contract (you determine if necessitating any contract is a pro) * Lots of dissimilar plans and choices – most flexible of the 5 cell phone suppliers and 2nd best providing of plans and choices (Verizon is #1 in our opinion) * Excellent reception in sure populated cities * Ease of upgrading/downgrading plans – a breeze with outstanding counsel and recommendations from client service, but… Cons: * Poor client service (especially disputes) – worst of the 5 cell phone service providers * Limited phone selection, have a tendancy to trade outdated and even worse, phones that are no longer in production/discontinued * Inconsistent signal reception/spotty coverage * Poor insurance policy * Slow internet * Pesky when it comes to “too much roaming” Personal experience: I’ve had a distinguishable love-hate kinship with T-Mobile. The love comes in with the “contract” and the hate comes in with the client service. I have to commence with the “hate” before I go into the “love”. After a year and a few months into the service with T-Mobile, like all cell phone providers, I in the end had to call client service to dispute charges. To put it simply, a finish nightmare. I won’t go into the specifics of the dispute, but the way T-Mobile handled the circumstance from assorted client service reps to a couple supervisors was the worst 5-hour nightmare. Yes, I was on the phone for 5 hours getting bounced from section to department, having to explain the dispute over and over again, and had to to take a 1/2 day from work. I started the call at 7:30AM, you do the math. Conclusion of the 5 hour nightmare? I ended up paying the full amount with no leeway given. Even with the energy drinks, steroid shots, power bars, and the like, I couldn’t hold up any longer and they would not budge or give anything back that was rightfully owed to me. T-Mobile is outstanding at handling simple client service requests like upgrading/downgrading a plan or asking simple questions like, do you think I ought to add the fave-5 plan? They’ll in truth go through your bills and review your usage and give you outstanding counsel and recommendations, but other than that, they have the worst overall client service of the 5 cell phone service companies when it comes to disputes or anything to do with questioning T-Mobile and their bills. In another instance of “hate”, I was experiencing various dropped calls per day and spotty coverage all around Illinois (specifically Northern suburbs and Chicago). It was exceedingly discouraging and hindering and it got to the point where I called client service and canceled without hesitation. But Nick, you say, what with regards to the cancellation fee? That’s where the “love” comes in, apparently when I signed up for the family plan, we were never obligated to a contract. So all this time, I thought I was underneath contract and I could’ve swopped at anytime. The reason why T-Mobile hardly outranks Sprint Nextel and US Cellular is because of their flexibleness and choices in their plans, most inexpensive plan options, better phone selection, even though still limited, and more consistent coverage than the last two companies with very good signals in populated areas equated to the two. 2. AT&T Pros: * Consistent coverage and reception – closing the gap with Verizon Wireless * Wide selection of phones – arguably the best selection thanks to the Apple iPhone * Overall good client service that helps you and/or resolves issues * Internet is fast and reliable * Out of all the phone company mergers, AT&T/Cingular was the greatest improvement * Rollover minutes is an exceedingly utile feature/benefit that no other company offers – this is popular on all plans Cons: * Dropped calls is hit or miss * Customer service is perfectly a joy when you are a client or activating lines/transferring numbers, etc, etc, however, once you become a customer, they are helpful, but they get impatient * Ever since the merger, extra services/add-ons have increased (compared to just Cingular), which leads to costs piling up quickly Personal experience: As a current client of AT&T Wireless, I am satisfied. AT&T Wireless has had the biggest improvements of all the mergers. Their client service is still missing out equated to Verizon exceptionally once you become a customer, but I have noticed improvements since the merger. Their phone selection is arguably the best. The coverage and reception has been consistent in all the areas I’ve been to. Although I seldom experience dropped calls, this seems to be a hit or miss issue with others. The one thing that in truth stands out from the rest of the companies is the rollover minutes. This has saved me lots of cash in the long run because a plan I applied to have with the other carriers allows me to downgrade due to the extra minutes thence saving me money. 1. Verizon Wireless Pros: * Widest assortment of plans and choices available than any other cell phone company * Consistent coverage and reception – considered the best, but AT&T is closing the gap * Wide selection of phones * Customer service is the most consistent of all the cell phone companies though there are inevitable hit or miss days Cons: * Need to keep an eye on your regularly every month bills – mysterious charges showing up on bills * Customer service is hit or miss, a lot of days you get great, no, exceedingly great service, other days you want to reach into your phone and do bad things * Add-ons may pile up speedily specially the info plans for smartphones * Most costly of the 5 cell phone companies (factoring in phones, plans, add-ons, deposit, etc) * Blocks sure features on your phone, ex: transferring photos to/from your phone requires buy of software and sure bluetooth features * If upgrading/downgrading plan, they will extend contract for another 2 years Personal experience: I have not experienced the “new Verzion” with Alltel, but as much as I hate to confess (being a current and satisfied AT&T customer), Verizon Wireless is the most consistent from client service to coverage and reception and down to phone selection. One shining client service moment was when I in an unintentional manner dropped my phone in a puddle of water altogether ruining my phone. I did not have insurance, as a matter of fact, I never buy insurance on phones, but after an hour or two of sweet talking, they not only substituted the phone, but rushed the order to me free of charge with next day delivery. An example of a bad client service is refusing to budge on mysterious charges (over $80.00) worth that they said would be removed, but never did. I ended up altering services because of this dispute. It took over one year until a collection agency contacted me out-of-the-blue saying I still owed $80.00 and as one may imagine, my credit score dropped like a ton of bricks. There you have it, our list of the Top 5 Best Cell Phone Service Companies. We would love to listen your thoughts so feel free to comment on this list. Ridicule us, praise us, hate us, love us for our list. Got topics/categories you’d like topped? Give us a shout through the remarks or contact us. |
