I signed up for Verizon Wireless in late May. I was on the rebound after an absolutely horrible experience with Cingular (see my review).

I chose Verizon because for about $35/month, they were offering 150 anytime minutes and 2000 weekend minutes--all of which were free of long-distance AND roaming charges. My Cingular plan cost $30/month and offered 90 local minutes a month period. I was happy already.

I also got a really cool phone with the plan, an LG-TM510 (see my review). The phone is Internet-capable, and Verizon also threw in 3 mos. worth of Internet access, which costs $6.95/month. (I will probably keep it, even at that cost, as I've become addicted to being able to check and send e-mail wherever I go.)

So far, I couldn't be happier with Verizon. My service was up and running within about two hours after I purchased my phone. I've called their customer service three times--once to set up my service, once to get my wireless Internet service set up, and once because I thought I had an equipment problem (long story, the bottom line of which is I was completely mistaken ;) ). Every time I got a representative within a few minutes, and every one of them was knowledgeable and friendly.

Their e-mail customer service, which you can access through their Web site, is as good or better, believe it or not. About a month ago, I decided to upgrade my service from 150 minutes/month to 400 minutes/month. I sent Customer Service an e-mail asking whether doing this would cost me those lovely bonus 2000 weekend minutes/month, which are supposed to last as long as you keep the service you originally signed up for (that is, if you change your options, Verizon reserves the right to discontinue your bonus minutes). Within an HOUR I got a reply saying that yes, I could keep the bonus minutes, and did I want to upgrade? I did, I wrote back, and a few minutes later got the reply that everything was taken care of.

Then, too late, I realized I had made a mistake in upgrading, because I was two days into my 150-minute plan, and what they did was charge me at the 150-minute rate for those two days and the 400-minute rate from them on. That's all fine, except that my minutes were pro-rated for those days as well, and I had used about 90 minutes in my two 150-minute days--which means I was liable to get charged a LOT of money for overage, even if I used fewer than 400 minutes for the month in total (if this doesn't quite make sense, welcome to cellular service!).

I e-mailed Customer Service again and explained my panic. Again, they got back to me within an hour and said not to worry, they'd credit my account if anything like that happened.

And they did! I got my bill Friday afternoon, and I had in fact been charged about $27.00 for those excess minutes. I forwarded Customer Service my previous message, and that evening (yes, on a Friday evening), I got a reply saying they had credited my account $30 to cover those charges plus taxes. It's been a long, long time since I've been this happy with a company's Customer Service. I hope they can keep it up.

Their no long-distance, no roaming charges is for real, too. A few weeks ago, I went to Wisconsin for a visit, and I used the phone during a layover in Cleveland, in Milwaukee and in some very out-of-the way rural areas. The phone worked everywhere (though admittedly it was a bit spotty here and there), and the Internet was accessible everywhere I was able to get a digital signal (the phone can handle digital and analog, and in the rural areas I was only able to get analog signals), and I didn't get charged a single penny for any of those calls. I love having a cell phone that is really, truly portable and convenient.

They offer a lot of good billing access/payment options, too. If you set up a username online, you can see your bills online (they'll continue to send paper bills as well). You can send in a check, pay in person or use their "Auto Pay" service, which automatically deducts the amount due on a credit card (and not until the paper due date, either, which is nice!). I use Auto Pay and am very happy with it.

I cannot rave enough about this plan and the phone. I love that I can take this phone anywhere and can make calls and check/send e-mail without incurring charges (I guess there are a few isolated places in the U.S. where you WILL incur roaming charges, but I took it to the remotest places I plan to go and had no problems). I love that I can call or e-mail Customer Service ANYTIME and get a quick, helpful reply. Happy, happy customer!

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 55/month