Great Option in Lieu of Landline Phone
Written: May 17 '03
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Pros: Great reception within local area, low cost
Cons: Not a lot of features, inability to roam regionally or nationally
The Bottom Line: A great option for someone who doesn't travel extensively and needs a solid local phone.
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| pillowphat's Full Review: General Reviews of Cricket Communications Wireless... |
I purchased my Cricket phone in the Denver area around March 2002. I had been involved in a personal crusade against our local telephone provider, Qwest, and wanted to permanently say goodbye to the behemoth. Through Qwest, I had a no-frills landline with no long distance and no extra features except voicemail. After all the various taxes and extra charges, I ended up writing Qwest a check for $37-40 per month.
The Cricket Store. My first visit to the Cricket store was less than impressive. The lines were very long and the salespeople seemed a little underwhelmed by their jobs. The store was crawling with people handling grubby money orders and desperate to pay before their phones were turned off. A bored salesperson helped me and within minutes I had my new phone.
Setting it Up. My phone, the Nokia 5170i, was easy to set up using the starting kit Cricket provided me. The phone itself isn't chock-full of features, but it is easy to use and I like its heft. It seems all the newer phones these days are so small; I like the ability to prop the phone on my shoulder while I talk. I'm also too lazy to use handsfree. Anyway.
What I'm Paying, and What I'm Getting. Now, I am paying more than I was paying Qwest. However, instead of $37-40/month to a company I detest, for a phone that couldn't leave my apartment, I now have a nifty and reliable mobile phone I can take with me anywhere.
I am currently using Cricket's "Cricket Talk" program, which is $39.99 per month and includes the following:
- Unlimited local calls (that's right folks, unlimited means I don't have to wait until 9pm... it's unlimited, all the time)
- Caller ID
- Call waiting
- 3-way calling
- 500 anytime U.S. long distance minutes each month
- Add Voice mail for just $3.99 a month
When all is said and done with taxes and whatnot, I end up paying about $46 every month. That's less than $10 over what I was paying for a crappy Qwest landline. In the 15 months I've had my phone, I've never had any problems with it and it has had generally better reception than all my friends' phones from different providers.
The Tradeoff. I love my Cricket phone. I love the fact that I know every month what I'll be paying. When my fiance gets his AT&T bill every month and holds his breath to see if he went over on minutes, paying between $50-125 per month, I secretly snicker (don't tell him!) When I evangelize about the virtues of my phone, my friends with Verizon, Voicestream, and AT&T knock me by saying that my phone can't roam like theirs does. That's when I roll my eyes. In a perfect world, I think it would be swell to be able to use my phone wherever I travel. However, unless you're someone who travels extensively for business and depends on being constantly mobilely attached, I just don't think it's worth it.
What I Love. My favorite things about Cricket overall are:
- Every month, the same bill. I know what I’m going to pay for phone service every month. It’s impossible to go over, since the local calls are unlimited and it’s very unlikely one person would use more than 500 minutes of long distance in one month.
- Excellent reception within the local area. I can talk on my phone in elevators while everyone else shuts theirs off with annoyance. Most people don’t even know I’m on a cellphone because my voice comes across so well.
A Few Criticisms. What I haven't liked about Cricket's customer service is:
- The billing cycle is screwy. Cricket phones are prepaid. That means I should pay for May's service by the end of April, or they turn off my phone. Cricket’s billing cycles seem to be off. I generally receive all my bills several weeks after they would be due. As a result, I just automatically pay before the bill is due, but it’s sort of irritating.
- Feature updates don’t find you; you have to find them. I never seem to find out about cool new feature upgrades by Cricket, unless I actively seek them out. There have been a couple of significant upgrades during my use of the service, but months passed before I knew about them. I think they should offer these features to their existing customers first.
- It’s hard to get someone on the phone. This hasn’t been a crucial issue for me, because like I said, my service has been remarkably trouble-free. However, when attempting to order new features or just ask some questions, it has been very challenging getting a live person on the phone.
Overall, I have to say I still love Cricket. I may feel differently if I’d had cause to talk with customer service more, but it’s a good product. I anticipate staying with Cricket for a long while yet.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 46
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Epinions.com ID:
pillowphat
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Member: jessica marjoribanks
Location: Rockford, IL, USA
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
I'm a board game lovin', jujitsu jivin', Cowboy Bebop cravin', book devourin' thirtysomething.
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