Works Great as My Business Phone
Written: Apr 02 '05
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Pros: Great customer service and a perfect rate plan for me.
Cons: Dropped calls are annoying.
The Bottom Line: US Cellular is a wonderful carrier in the Madison area with excellent customer service.
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| BadgerGirl's Full Review: US Cellular Mobile Phone Service in Milwaukee/Raci... |
I started a dog walking business in October of 2003. Since I knew I was going to be on the road a lot, and because my husband already used the primary phone line for many of his business calls (he works from home), I decided to use my cell phone as my business phone. At the time I had Nextel and by February of 2004 I was miserable with it.
Nextel coverage in Madison is pathetic - I couldn't even use my phone in all of my service areas! When cell phone numbers became portable from carrier to carrier I was thrilled. I researched pretty much every carrier in the Madison area.
I chose US Cellular for a number of reasons. The service area covered where I spent most of my time, although I have missed not having coverage in the Twin Cities and northern Wisconsin when I go to visit family. I also really liked the promotional plan they had going at the time. I get 1000 anytime minutes, free incoming calls, and nationwide long distance for $39.95 a month. I don't do a lot of phone business, so this plan has more than enough minutes for both business and pleasure calls.
The representative that I worked with at US Cellular was extremely helpful as well. With Nextel my husband just ordered our phones and plan off the Internet, so we never saw anyone face to face. When I went to talk to a Nextel rep at a mall store about getting a new battery for my phone, I was basically told that my phone was really old and I should get a new one. Thanks! I also had numerous frustrating conversations with Nextel reps over the phone. Meeting Christina at the US Cellular store was such a surprise!
She was incredibly well informed about all of the phones and plans. What she wasn't sure about with porting phone numbers, she wasn't afraid to go and ask so I'd have accurate information. She spent a ton of time with me setting up my phone, only to realize that I wanted to port my number, which wasn't available in the Madison market until the end of May. She saved the information, gave me her card, and even called me the day before my number was portable to ask if I was still interested in switching carriers. She was extremely helpful when Nextel dragged their feet over switching my number to US Cellular and even gave me her personal cell phone number so I could call with any questions and to verify that my new US Cellular account was set up properly. She even came in on her day off to finish up paperwork with me!
I have also had very good exeperiences with the various service reps I've spoken to on the phone. I thought I had lost my phone while shopping and no one at any of the stores where I'd been had seen it. US Cellular was very sympathetic and immediately turned off my phone. Then was I found the phone about 15 minutes later, it was turned on again without any problems at all - they didn't even make me feel stupid. (I was doing a good job of that on my own!)
The two things that I am not totally happy with in regards to US Cellular are the cell phone selection and the dropped calls. My problem with the cell phone selection is very different from what I've read others complain about - my problem is that they don't have enough nice, simple flip phones! I don't need web access, I don't send text messages, and good lord, why do I need a camera on my phone?!? That gave me a whopping one phone to choose from. Thankfully it's a nice phone and I'm pleased with it. It's been very durable throughout all of the times I've dropped it.
With Nextel I had virtually no service area, but at least when I was in my service area, I generally had the person on the phone the whole time I was talking to them. With US Cellular I have many dropped calls. I can pretty much guarantee that if I'm talking while I'm driving, I will lose the person at least once. (Maybe I shouldn't talk and drive...) There is one area about 2 miles from my house that I have to warn people I'm approaching because I'll probably get cut off. This is very frustrating, but since I generally only take business calls when I'm stationary, at least it doesn't affect my business - only my personal life.
Overall I have been very happy with US Cellular and since signing on with them, have switched my husband and a friend over to their services.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 39.95/month
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Epinions.com ID:
BadgerGirl
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Member: Jill Miller
Location: Middleton, WI
Reviews written: 73
Trusted by: 5 members
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