The perfect fit for some but not all.
Written: Dec 13 '01
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Pros: Lots of plans to choose from and local free nights and weekends.
Cons: Poor customer service, coverage, and roaming.
The Bottom Line: Cingular is a good deal for some, but you'd be smart to look for a better deal.
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| skiman723's Full Review: Cingular Mobile Phone Service in Philadelphia |
I used to have Cingular wireless until about 2 months ago. I live in a well-developed suburb of Philadelphia, and originally had Cingular by myself, then I switched to a family plan. When I originally had Cingular, their main selling point was that all calls to other Cingular customers were free, but no longer offers this service. Next, at this time I only required basic phone service, and therefore roaming services and fees really didn’t make a difference to me. Finally, Cingular didn’t want a $125 deposit for service as Sprint PCS did. I originally received a Sprint phone for Christmas, but when I called to activate, they wanted a deposit before I could activate my service.
My problems with Cingular began about a year into my 2-year contract. Being a twenty-something, I don’t always find myself at home during “normal” hours. I learned the hard way that Cingular only has customer service Mon-Fri 7AM-9PM and Saturday 9AM-5PM, that’s it. Got a problem on Sunday? Too bad. Now while this may seem to be a minor gripe, for some people Sunday is the only time they have to deal with their home affairs, so it can be more of an issue than it seems. This was a reason I liked my new carrier (VoiceStream), since they have 24-hour customer service.
Next and this may just be a problem to me in my neighborhood, but my signal clarity was only mediocre. My Cingular phone was only useful indoors about 50% of the time at home. While I was at work in center city everyday, signal was no issue, as is usually true in urban areas. Another problem is that at rush hour my friends and I would be unable to make or receive calls due to volume. I’ve tried to call some of my friends from a regular land phone for an hour at rush hour only to get “all circuits are busy.” Every other number in America works, but the Cingular numbers are all busy. This is a technology problem.
My third issue with Cingular is roaming. Cingular charges both a roaming and a long distance fee when out of your home area. This totals about $.80/min plus taxes. When I visited Washington, DC for a day trip and used my phone for a total of 8 minutes in 3 calls, the total charge on my bill was almost $10. Also, once you get out of the northeast US, you usually only have analog service with your phone. Granted this provides service over a large area, but none of your features will work. You can’t tell if you have voicemail unless you make the long distance call to find out, no caller ID, and no text messages. To alleviate this you’d need to go with one of the “All-Digital” networks.
In conclusion, Cingular didn’t work for me, but it may for you. I’ve listed my gripes with this carrier, but for the local user they may be the cost-effective choice. Cingular has 9 local plans alone, not to mention “regional” and “national.” They are extremely flexible in that respect, not to mention that in Philadelphia they have tons of retail locations for those who desire the brick and mortar purchase. Also, for those of you who just need to make calls, the lack of some services shouldn’t be an issue for you at all. Finally, as far as coverage goes, in this area coverage is almost universal in PA, DE, and NJ, so while you may have to go outside to use your phone, it should work.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 40.00/ mo.
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Epinions.com ID:
skiman723
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Location: Lansdale, PA
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 0 members
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