Which is more metal?

[Mosquito]

I just recently got Verizon service but had some issues with customer service and the phone itself. These aren't necessarily deal breakers for me, however my friend Angela was showing me something on her phone (she uses Cingular) the other day and I realized she had roll over minutes. I am on a 450 min. plan but those rollovers could be useful in the future during a month where I'm all over the place. 3 other advantages off the top of my head with Cingular:

* Uses SIMM cards, so if my phone dies, I can just pop the card in a new phone and have service immediately (I know a lot of Euro companies do this). This also allows me to use literally any phone I want, unlike Verizon who pushes you into using their phones.

* This relates to the previous point. The contract that you sign with Verizon will limit you to that one phone until your contract ends (except if your phone breaks or something). So if you want to just upgrade to a new phone for fun, it will cost a shitload of money apparently. With Cingular, this won't happen.

* And the biggest advantage? Angela is friends with the owner of two Cingular stores. We went to the store 3 hours after it closed last night and talked about Cingular vs. Verizon and such. He has already basically said I'll have the hook-up's on phones, free accessories, and on top of all that he is someone I can trust. He has already told me a bunch of stuff that I didn't know about Cell phone companies.

I'm just looking at my options now. I'm still under Verizons 30 day trial type deal so I wanted to get input from others who use either of these services and see what you guys think. To make this music related, my girlfriend has a Bloodbath ringtone, my best friend has the beginning of "Think Not Forever" by Lost Horizon (WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh), and my normal tone is the very very beginning to OM (you know..the whole phone ringing bit...I thought it was funny to use that as a cell ring). Also have Sigh, Black Sabbath (H&H), Maiden, and Candlemass as ringtones for some other people. Hacking the phone is more fun than actually using it. =)

Thanks!
(PS. Thanks to Katie (mtndewqueen88) for encouraging me to post this (it was her idea to poll)! =)

 

[monstershredder0003]

verizon is the shit son.
and its the only company that gets good service where i live. hahaha

 

[lady_space]

Just from personal experience, I found Cingular's customer service particularly bad. Also, I had to sign 2-year contracts with them to get a "free" phone; I moved to T-Mobile and they had only a 1-year contract; no one's pressured me about signing a new one since that one ran out; customer service levels are acceptable; AND I can use this phone and my current service when in Europe if I need to (albeit $0.99 per minute). However, they don't really have a "cheapie" plan, but who does these days?

JMO,
Shaye

 

[Mosquito]

Just from personal experience, I found Cingular's customer service particularly bad. Also, I had to sign 2-year contracts with them to get a "free" phone; I moved to T-Mobile and they had only a 1-year contract; no one's pressured me about signing a new one since that one ran out; customer service levels are acceptable; AND I can use this phone and my current service when in Europe if I need to (albeit $0.99 per minute). However, they don't really have a "cheapie" plan, but who does these days?

JMO,
Shaye

T-Mobile does not offer service where I live.

 

[King_of_Loss]

I've had Cingular since moving back from Alaska in June 2001, which back then was AT&T not Cingular and is back to AT&T again. I've always gotten good reliable service with my phone. I've had no problems with customer service. Yes, I had to sign a 2 year contract and any time after upgrading phones, unless I outright buy the phone, no contract renewal necessary then. The contract always ran out after the 2 years and continued on the same plan. I have a slightly larger plan at 600 mins. don't always use them so the Rollover is good for the months when I do use it more and do end up going over.

Danny

 

[zimbee]

I loved my Sprint.

I have Cingular now and overall it is okay.

Verizon is shit. The only place where it works well seems to be DC. My husband's work phone used to be with Verizon and he had constant problems with reception. But since the company he worked for at the time was DC based, that's what was best for most of their employees. And their customer service is hands-down the worst.

Another thing to consider - based on who you work for (especially if you are lucky enough to work for a big company or the government), different providers offer various discounts. With Sprint I got permanent 20% off my monthy bill because of my employer. Never hurts to ask.

 

[Perpet]

For me the rollover minutes is the main reason i went with Cingular. I have accumulated so many extra minutes now that I never worry about being over my plans minutes. It's nice to have a huge cushion and not having done anything extra to get them. coverage and service are fine for me.

 

[longshot9]

I've had T-Mobile, Verizon, and Cingular (what I currently use) and I think Cingular is the best... at least for coverage in my area.

As for the phone upgrade thing you're talking about, ALL phone vendors make you sign a contract to get the discounted rate on a phone. The only way you can get a new phone for that price with any of them is to be done with your original contract. If you want to upgrade, as you say "for fun", you have to pay full price for the phone. Now... i've upgraded 3 times with Cingular, and twice I was not done with my contract but close, and they still gave me the discount price... T-mobile never did that for me.

 

[13ShadesofGray]

Worked for Sprint for a while a few years back, and can honestly say I believe they suck on many levels. Big Donkey Balls suck, to be more clear. Horrid Customer Service and they tend to piggy back off of other cell sites, which would go into roaming charges w/out your knowledge (or so was the case back then, now not 100% sure). Let's not get in to the handling of rebates or fine print within the contracts.

As Todd said, we use Cingular/AT&T and for the most part are quite pleased with our service. Here are my complaints: Switched to new phone and have had some major issues with messaging getting routed completely, both Text and Voice. That is a major PITA and can seriously make one seem to be rude, flakey, indifferent or dead. The SIMM card functionalities are not utilized fully unless you go do some geeksearch and find the wonderful tools available to you only after you access certain features they evidently don't want you to know about. I wish they didn't charge extra for online access, would be much better if they included online minutes with voice minutes. Same freaking airwaves being used (for the most part) and all.

 

[J-Man]

Damn, am i the only one that likes my Sprint, oh well, here in El Pisso Cingular sucks as does Verizon, and All Tell.

 

[booB]

I will probably getting either Alltel or Verizon, as they seem to be the best for this area. According to Consumer Reports, these two companies also tend to have the best overall approval rating across the US.

 

[Petethedrummer]

Outside in NY, verizon gets decent service most of the time. If you're inside a house or a building, good luck.

Also, my phone broke, and they STILL held me to not being able to get a discounted phone until the contract runs out. So instead of paying full price now, I'm on my sister's old phone from a few years back, and I'm waiting till August for my contract to expire so I can jump and/or get a cheap phone.

 

[13ShadesofGray]

Damn, am i the only one that likes my Sprint, oh well, here in El Pisso Cingular sucks as does Verizon, and All Tell.

Probably not M'Dear. I'm just jaded since I had to deal with many of the internal issues out in the field, face to face, with a multitude of seriously pissed off customers.

You got that Manager hat on yet, bub?

 

[MetalRose]

I've had Cingular/AT&T since 2001 (is that a record?). No major issues, a couple of small service issues... but nothing to write home about... and they were solved pretty quickly.

As far as the 2 year contract thing... I've upgraded my phone about once a year, even during the middle of a contract and they just keep renewing it. Shit after 6 years of service, I really have no desire to leave. Besides, as far as I can tell, I am the only on in my building that gets service on any cell phone.

Plus, most of the people I know have Cingular, so I can call them and talk to them for free at almost anytime.

-Metal

 

[Pellaz]

Had to go with Verizon. I've never had any major problems with them, and when I've had billing disputes, they were promptly resolved -- in my favor. Once it was a $45 airtime charge when someone borrowed my phone and the connection didn't hang up after their call. It took the CSR's supervisor's approval, but they waived the charge.

On one occasion I had just gotten a new phone and re-upped my contract. Less than a week after getting it, it fell off my pants while I was running across a parking lot during a cloudburst. Phone was gone when we went back for it and probably would have been ruined by rain if it hadn't been run over.
I went back to the Verizon store and explained what happened. They were busy -- my one complaint with their face-to-face service, BTW -- and the sales guy, after waiting for the manager to become available, shrugged and 'turned back the clock,' so it was as if I had just re-upped my contract that day instead of a week before. Saved me between $100-200. Now THAT's a great way to build customer loyalty!

Another weird perk with Verizon: when I went to England a few years ago, I rented a cellphone from a UK company called Rent-A-Phone. For surprisingly little, they ship the phone to you via air express mail, and you take it with you and mail it back postpaid when you return to the States. The really NEET thing was that they had an arrangement with Verizon whereby I could forward my calls for free here, and they would transfer across the Atlantic to me in the UK. At no charge to either party. (!)

Most of my friends and ex-roommates were with Sprint before. Due to their atrocious customer no-service, they all switched, most of them to Verizon....so all those calls I make aren't airtime-billed.

 

[Clark Griswold]

I've got Cingular. I've had great service and they were the only functioning carriers when I was working Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

I've got about 3,000 rollover minutes available. I have so many because most of the people I call have Cingular coverage (Free Cingular to Cingular).
Plus, the ringtones aren't half bad.

 

[J-Man]

Probably not M'Dear. I'm just jaded since I had to deal with many of the internal issues out in the field, face to face, with a multitude of seriously pissed off customers.

You got that Manager hat on yet, bub?

As a matter of fact I do have the manager hat on, we need to talk as i have something very important to discuss with you about that. I think you and Todd will love the idea. I will give you a call today or later in the afternoon.