Hel...can you...ear me? He...o?
Written: Dec 18 '99 (Updated May 26 '00)
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Pros: Good rates. Fair resolution of billing problems.
Cons: Weak or no signal. No commitment to service improvement.
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| taurusmoon's Full Review: AT&T Mobile Phone Service in New York |
Do you remember the Winter of '93/'94? New York City was encased in a sheet of ice. 10 degree temperatures were considered balmy. And, I was driving a miserable excuse for a car that had to be jump started every morning and broke down several times on my way to work. The following spring I replaced my car and swore I would never be so vulnerable again. I decided that before the next Ice Age arrived I would bite the bullet and invest in a cell phone so that I wouldn't ever have to be stranded in the cold and ice again.
Back in late 1994 the choice of cellular service providers was more limited, and I selected the most affordable package available at the time (which happened to be Cellular One). I used maybe 10-15 minutes a month and the analog service was satisfactory for my needs. Before I knew it, Cellular One left the NYC market, sold my contract, and I was now a cherished member of the AT&T family.
My cellular phone needs never evolved much. I used my phone primarily to call home to say I'd be late, ask if anything was needed from the store, check my voice mail messages, all the while knowing that the phone was there in my purse should an emergency arise. So, I never really paid attention while the cellular phone market grew around me.
As competition heated up AT&T would always respond by dropping their rates and/or adding minutes. As an established customer they would allow me to take advantage of the latest promotion (as long as I extended my contract for another year) Hey, why not? Digital PCS service was born and was soon less expensive than the analog service I was carrying. Hey, why not? Another year? Sure.
I now had a nifty new Ericsson Digital phone. Tons of cool features. (I have yet to receive a text message.) 60 minutes of airtime and free off-peak service (which was only available after you used up your allotted time). I was now ready to start spreading my cellular wings and use my phone more frivolously. Why not? I had the minutes. I had a great phone. There was only one catch... I had no service.
The phone wouldn't work within a 3 mile radius of my home. If I got a signal at all, there was so much static on the line that it made communication impossible. Elsewhere, I had a great amount of difficulty getting a call placed. Calls were being dropped. I was losing my sense of security that I could get through to anyone in the event of emergency (if you remember, that's the primary reason I own a cell phone).
I called AT&T to complain. Their answer, quite pleasantly delivered, was "we do have trouble in a number of areas. But we can't repair them all. We need to have more complaints from your area in order to improve the service there." This was not a good sign.
In all fairness to AT&T, I have had a few billing problems and they have all been resolved promptly, fairly, and courteously. Their customer service staff is well-trained, knowledgeable, responsive, and pleasant to deal with. Additionally, I have used my phone outside my home rate area and it works great. I placed several calls from Atlanta and the service couldn't have been better. But that does me, with the type of usage I have, little good.
I now pay less for 180 digital minutes (with all the bells and whistles that come with it) than I did for a half hour of analog service 5 years ago. But unfortunately, AT&T cannot expect to keep its customers simply by offering them great promotions. My current service contract expires in May. Unless local service improves dramatically I'll be leaving the AT&T home I grew up in. I'm glad that I don't have much to pack.
UPDATE: May 26, 2000
Well, the Day of Reckoning arrived. My AT&T contract was due to expire within one week. I called Customer Service and complained for the final time about the service shortfalls. Finally, the truth came out. There were no cell towers within 10 miles of my home. They could not build another tower because “communities were afraid of microwaves giving their children cancer.” When I asked them why they didn’t tell me this before I signed up and got locked into a year contract, the answer was, “we had no way of knowing where you lived.” Hmmm. Their bills knew where I lived.
But they did offer me an opportunity to help them improve the service. “If you know anyone who has 10 or more acres of land in your neighborhood whom (actually he said who) you can convince to allow us to put up a tower on their property, we can get you better service.
I almost fell off my chair. “Ten or more acres? In New York City? This is a joke right?”
“Okay, so we can’t improve service. But, we can let you continue using the service on a month-to-month basis and we’ll discount the rate by 20%. But, the promotion you signed up for is no longer valid. You’ll be getting 90 minutes instead of 180. Voice mail will cost you an additional $9.99 a month. And, you no longer are entitled to credit on your residential long distance service.”
I am now a Bell Atlantic/Verizon Wireless Customer.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 24.99
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Epinions.com ID:
taurusmoon
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Location: New York City
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 184 members
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