US Cellular: My Road To Cell Phone Recovery
Written: Apr 27 '04
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Pros: Great package, nice free Nokia, awesome customer service, can change plan without penalty.
Cons: I was too cheap for the $4.99 per/phone per/month insurance.
The Bottom Line: There are no surprise bills, and I can increase of decrease my plan minutes during contract without extension, penalty, or charge. I'm finally comfortable using my cell phone.
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| bntowen's Full Review: General Reviews of US Cellular Customer Service |
Have you ever waited for your birthday? At my age, waiting for your birthday is like waiting for the dentist to say, "You're next." However, this year was different. I literally counted the days until my 39th? Why? It happened on my 37th. It’s when I both launched into the 21st Century, and was trapped in "The Two-Year Contract Zone”. My sister was shocked that in the first 37 years of life, I never owned a cell phone. Shock led to action when on my 37th year on the planet, she set me up with Verizon Wireless. I felt so liberated at the sight of my phone, I burned my AT&T phone card. But with Pamdora’s (my sister is Pam, that’s not a typo) Box came the Zeus-like warning, “You have 400 minutes, use them wisely mortal, or you will pay THE PRICE.” 400 minutes? Pay THE PRICE. Come on. “How can I ever use 400 minutes in a month?” I naively thought. I remember saying that to my friend who was in a cell phone recovery group here in North Carolina. He told me 400 minutes was a blip in time, and that I’ll be racking up $.35 cent minutes in a month. He ended his comments in a wise, Yoda-like way when he warned, “Face it Brad, a cell phone is a credit card with an antenna.” I scoffed. I ran over. I paid THE PRICE. I’m in a Cellular Anonymous (CA) group.
However, recovery came quickly the day, and I mean THE DAY my two-year contract wore off, and I was free to plunge into another two-year relationship with US Cellular. Before I go on, read the cigarette pack warning type…warning here. I live in urban Western North Carolina. Stop chuckling. We have indoor plumbing, no there aren’t reptiles in and out of the house, and I can’t play the theme to Deliverance on a whiskey jug. However, region-to-region comparisons are difficult, but let me say that cell phones in the mountains of NC get a workout. Only three companies can deliver the signal Verizon, Suncom AT&T, and US Cellular. I went US Cellular. Coverage may vary where you are. However, here was the deal.
We’re talking 1000 anytime minutes local area, free INCOMING calls, free night & weekends starting at 7pm, and a Nokia 3586i for $44.95/mo and $15.00 for my wife’s Share-Talk phone with no activation on that phone. You read local area right? In this region, that’s not greater Asheville. That covers eight mountain counties. I travel in “The Holler”. It’s out there. Way out there where all you can see is your cousin and a cow for miles. I got out everywhere Verizon got out. If I picked the comparable regional plans, I would have received 650 minutes. The sales guy, Alton, walked me through my usage, and helped me choose. How many times am I making a call from Boise? Not often. I’m in the eight counties almost all the time. “Kickie” national and international plans are available, but my Cellular Anonymous sponsor and Alton helped me stay strong so as not to buy a plan that allows me to call people I don’t know from places I don’t go. Also, local areas are growing in Georgia and part of Florida. This includes voicemail, call waiting, call forwarding, voice activation dialing, and other stuff I won’t get to until my ten-year-old figures more of this stuff out for me.
There’s the plan, but what about service you once-burned-before user asks? Granted stores vary, but the Patton Avenue branch guy, Alton allowed me to ask questions in every category; reasonable, dumb, and dumber. I bought two Body Glove cell phone covers/belt clips. They malfunctioned a day later, and the storeowner pulled some off the shelf and replaced them. A short aside. These cell covers are sexy. They look like Adidas sports bras for phones. A PG13 rated review is upcoming. Back to the deal. I asked Alton, “So what if I need to go to another plan? Verizon said they’ll require another two-year contract and blood sample, what about US Cellular?” Without demanding I drop the delusion, he says they can change plans in mid-contract and it won’t extend the contract terms or add to my monthly bill. I demanded a polygraph. He said chill out and believe what he gave me in writing. In the words of The King, “Whoa Mamma!” this was for real. I scarfed up two Nokias and left.
To top off my Epinion about US Cellular customer service, this woman calls me at home. She asks if I have any questions. I have questions and plan changes. She answers them all, made plan adjustments, but refused to analyze my zodiac signs. I love a company with personal boundaries. Anyway, no charge for the plan changes. I later called the automated customer service to sort out my month’s usage, and later talked to an actual person who broke down my minutes into incoming and outgoing without acting as if I was a phone stalker. The only thing I didn’t get is the $4.99 per phone insurance. It’s probably worth it if the belt clip fails and the Nokia 3586i drowns at the bottom of the bowl, but I’m trying to save money after routinely $70 to $85 Verizon bills for one phone instead of now $65 with all the taxes for two phones. So far so GREAT with US Cellular.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $44.95/month
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Epinions.com ID:
bntowen
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Bradford Owen
Location: North Carolina Mountains, USA
Reviews written: 42
Trusted by: 14 members
About Me:
Father of five, full-time shrink, part-time writer, actor, referee, living on a massive 3/4acre estate.
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