Best and Worst in Cell Phone Service

(CBS)  Every year, Consumer Reports magazine asks readers what they like and don't like about their cell phone service.

This year's survey of more than 50,000 readers is in the January issue.

"Early Show" contributor Natali Del Conte, CNET-TV senior editor, highlighted some of the reviews, including who scored the best and worst.

The Worst:
AT&T and Sprint: A tie for the worst.

Sprint: The main complaint is bad customer service. Last year they were also in last place.

AT&T: iPhones popularity is crashing the AT&T network. Users complain of voice connectivity. People have trouble placing calls free of static and placing phone calls without being dropped.

The Best:
Verizon: The largest wireless carrier, after its acquisition of Alltel last year, it had the highest user rating. Verizon was above all in overall summary ratings. Including: customer service, voice connectivity, and data services.

Problem: It is expensive, called "the Cadillac" if cell phone services.

T- Mobile: No 2. was T-Mobile. Del Conte said it is low-priced, and next to Verizon, in terms of overall customer satisfaction.

But why are consumers so unhappy with their cell phone plans?

Del Conte said consumers feel like they have no control over ridiculously priced plans.

Why are people disgruntled? Del Conte shared some reasons:

• The rate of text messages has doubled in the last two years when that service costs the carrier very little to provide.
• Minute plans are sold in bulk and the overage charges are designed to be so expensive that users will buy bigger minute plans.
• Data plans are ridiculously expensive and when the network gets crowded, data slows down, so we are paying for data that is unreliable.
• As smartphones become cheaper, the 3G network gets more people on it. So the carriers make money from the plans, but subsidize the phones like Droid and iPhone.
• Unfortunately, cell phones have become such a necessity that the carriers don't really have to lower prices.
• Research has shown that people are more likely to go back home if they leave their cell than they are if they left their wallet at home.

Why don't more people get out of their plans if they are so unhappy?

Del Conte said there are a few reasons:
• Most people get locked into 2-year contracts and it is too expensive to get out.
• Even though most carriers have started to pro-rate their early-termination fees, it still is a large penalty to pay to leave your carrier.
• Most carriers give a new phone away to lure customers to stay. That is hard to say no to.
• And then there are the phones! Some people just love the iPhone and Apple so much that they are willing to put up with terrible service.

What about pre-paid phone plans? Is that a way to stick it to the cell phone carriers?

Del Conte said pre-paid phone plans are a way to do that, but pre-paid carriers don't usually offer the fancy phones, so if you get a pre-paid plan, you usually get a phone that can take your calls, send text messages, and not much else.

However, Del Conte said pre-paid phones are a growing sector of the market. She said an estimated 20 percent of cell phone users are on pre-paid plans. Also, pre-paid plans, could save you between $100 and $1,080 per year, although the cost of savings goes down if you are paying for a large family of cell phones.

As for the carriers' response to this disgruntled report, Del Conte said there hasn't been much of a response.

"Besides offering cheaper phones, they really are not lowering or bundling their phone plans," she said. "They haven't needed to. We're all suckers."

So how can you make sure that you make the best decision when it is time to get a new cell phone or a new plan?

"CNET reviews every single cell phone on the market so you can start by watching the video reviews of the phone that you might be interested in," Del Conte said. "CNET also reviews cell phone coverage in eight cities around the country and we are adding more as quickly as possible. This will allow you to look on a map and see what the various carriers' service is like in your neighborhood. This way you don't commit to T-Mobile, only to find out that there is no reliable T-Mobile service in your apartment."

View the CNET Carrier Map

[keithb187]

Thank you AT&T Wireless - this must be what ?jailhouse screwed? is like!
Sign up for service at their store, have the customer care-less representative explain all the charges; then get billed for a higher rate! Call AT&T couldn?t-care-less service group, go over the bill in detail again, have AT&T promise up and down the bill ?will never? be more the ?x? amount and sure enough the next month and continuing since charge higher and higher monthly service.
At this point, I am returning ALL of the smart phones for standard, simplest possible cell phones. Strip the service to the bare minimum minutes and then never use the phone again except for emergencies.
Shutoff AT&T and take my business and residential telephone and data services to a different provider.
Then go and purchase phones and services from T-MOBILE or VERIZON!!!
AT&T Wireless can go from ripping me off hundreds of dollars each month to sucking pennies!!!


I DO NOT recommend AT&T to anyone, now or in the future!
I will recommend OTHER services providers to all of my current and future customers for their telephone, wireless, and data needs.

Such a shame! AT&T use to be a good company?now, its AT&T Couldn?t-Care-Less, thanks for calling!

[Robot222]

The last young lady I spoke with from at&t customer service was about 18 going on 14. If you are tired of having a good day, and want to have a bad day, just call at&t customer service.... I cannot believe that supervisors allow such behavior to go on in such a large company. I have switched to Verizon and love it.

[universalmkt]

My husband & I recently returned from Egypt. Prior to leaving, I went by the Verizon store multiple times to discuss what possibilities we had communicating with our family. My mother has had several strokes. In addition, we were allowing our 18-year-old twins, and 20-year-old daughter to stay home alone.
I was told our cells would not work in Egypt. We had the option of having a phone shipped to us that had international capabilities or to purchase the global wireless card. I elected to have the phone shipped to us, but afterwards was informed it would not work in Egypt.

The rep then directed me back to the global wireless card. I made it clear with this rep (and the others); I was concerned about the cost. I was told as long as we weren?t ?downloading huge files? we would be okay. I wanted to know the bottom line, but was assured this was the route to go.

?We used the service sporadically over the next five days, after that, it stopped working. We assumed we lost reception because we were moving around, little did we know that our account had been flagged due to the billing, and it was disconnected. For the duration of our trip, we either paid for Internet service in our hotel or went without. A few days after being back home, I boxed up the global wireless card and returned it. We didn?t think it worked.

A few days later, my husband stopped by Verizon to pay our bill. You can only imagine his reaction when he was told we owed $9135.24 for global roaming charges, 442,263 kilobytes usage. My husband told the rep that this couldn?t be right, the rep asked him if we been out of the country. My husband?s response? ?Yes, but I didn?t buy a country.?

?I contacted Verizon, and was advised the charges have to be reviewed, taking almost a week, and countless departments. The customer service rep indicated that it was noted on our account that I had consulted them regarding service in Egypt, and that nowhere did it indicate that we had billing information explained, which is supposed to be noted on the account after the rep has explained to the customer (I didn?t know this at the time. While on the phone with one rep, inquiring about the process of selling/billing of the wireless card, she relayed this information. As many that I talked with, not another one mentioned this to me.)

Personally, I think such exorbitant charges, and the information provided us by Verizon, is incomprehensible. The fact that this has happened despite doing everything I could to gain accurate information from the individuals representing Verizon, and I didn?t, just confirms that will happen to someone else.

Two days ago I was contacted by Verizon and told they had ?denied? removing any of the charges. I was told they were going to credit us ?some?..$1000, but since we had returned the global wireless card, we no longer have that number, there is no way a credit in any amount could be issued. We had returned the global wireless card (within the 30 day period) because we thought it didn?t work. Although we had, Verizon was still billing us for the outrageous fees associated with this number.

We felt raped. Even worse, we felt as if we had been raped and were being forced to pay for ?services? we did not agree to/with.

While combing the Internet previously, I had found an executive of Verizon?s email address. I had already emailed him. He responded with a very cordial email, asking me to allow the customer service department to continue reviewing, and if I the outcome wasn?t to our satisfaction, to let him know.
I called this man, told him exactly what had transpired. Within 30 minutes of talking to him (his cell number was on his email) these charges were reviewed (again), and removed from our account. As I told him, we appreciate his intervention in this matter, but this shouldn?t have happened in the first place, and that we seriously think Verizon?s ?customer service? needs a major overhaul.

In our situation, what Verizon has billed us far exceeded what our trip to Egypt cost, I find that astonishing. We could have flown our three daughters, and my mother to Egypt and back home, and been able to talk to them directly for far less than the amount we were billed for the little service we used while in Egypt. It just doesn?t make sense.

I read on another site where someone mentioned, ?caveat emptor? (let the buyer beware). I do agree, we should take responsibility for our choices, but that shouldn?t diminish the responsibility of Verizon (or any other business) to the customer. Actually, if you look at the definition of caveat emptor, it clearly states that a business that regularly deals with a product has the greatest responsibility when dealing with the average customer.

[jcb5h]

First, I apologize for all the "?" that appeared in my post; I don't know why that happened :).

This is just a follow-up to my previous post. I only thought I had been issued a credit.

As I said, I received an email from the Verizon executive advising me of a credit, attached to his email was this statement, ?The customer was advised by Executive Relations yesterday that we are issuing a credit of $8845.26. I don?t know who ?Carla? is that the customer keeps referring to, nor do I know why the customer continues to e-mail you when we?ve already resolved the issue.? The fact of the matter is, we were NOT advised a credit was issued, instead, we were contacted by ?Carla? (the Verizon rep we were assigned), and told it had been ?declined? on the day referenced in the email.

Because, so much conflicting information had been provided us, a few days later I called to confirm the credit had been issued. I was told (on two separate occasions), that it had been ?approved? to go back though the ?approval process,? and that after being declined it goes back to the bottom and has to go back though the various steps of review, all over (I wised up, recorded these conversations). I was also advised our appeal of the charges could very well be ?denied? again.

I contacted the Verizon executive again. A week later a credit was issued.

What a headache!!

[montaeroro]

hey have you heard anything about a cell phone company call WOW

[kimberly_gomez]

I am currently with a contract company, but with the high fees and growing bills, I may got the prepaid route as my mother has. She switched over to Net10 a year ago and really loves the service - then again she really only uses her phone for the occassional work related issue and to keep in touch with her grandkids. Their easy minutes plans or pay as you go help her save more than $60 a month - if I could ever get my minutes down low enough to take advantage. Net10's really affordable phones make them a great travel option tho, particularly if you need a back up phone or cheap travel minutes at .15 a minute. The TMobile network has give her great coverage and Net10 has helped erase much of the skepticism I had of prepaid service. It really is the affordable way to go.

[donnag123]

Hey, you guys should check out the new WOW Mobile. It has 3 different plans to choose from with no contract, no credit check, no early termination fee, no deposit! For more information, go to http://wix.com/wowmobile/freedomofwow to check it out! This is truly unlimited, w/ no 5 mh caps, on talk, text, data, internet and on Wow mobile phones, tethering. No need to pay for internet anymore. Also, here's the kicker, if you refer 3 people to the service, yours is FREE! Yes, FREE! Great deal!!!

Donna :)

[rickonvoip]

Hello and Happy New Year Everyone,

Finally take control of your monthly cell phone bill! Call me for more details.
Rick 954-695-7219

[ILCFaA]

If we are talking about the best no contract i think this article needs to be updated to mention straight talk. There plan is cheapest out there, with 45 dollars a month for unlimited talk and text and it has great service on the verizon network. Since i switched from my contract, i save about 30 dollars a month.

[denny3001]

I have had the pleasure of having service with Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. The experience that I had with all four was absolutely horrible. But I must add that Verizon is the worst of them all. First, there were additional charges added to my account each and every month that I had service. When I phoned in to speak to the representative, he/she would tell me to go into the store. When I go into the store he/she would tell me to call customer service. I would go through with this for months. The representatives are usually very irate. When I hang up, I am still left with an astronomically high bill in which I was told that I received a discount. I was in disbelief because without customers no one at Verizon would have a job. The representatives will tell you that they will call you back and never will. They will say that they credited your account and they never do. If I were the owner of Verizon it would not sit well with me to know that my employees are outright lying to the customers and deceiving them in any way imaginable to get a buck. The absolute worst. They should be out of business.

[shirley1224]

I have had quite a lengthy experience with most of the cellular companies. I worked for Verizon Wireless for over 4 years & loved it! The stress was unbelievable (customers screaming & cursing at you). Then came Spint, a common practice of "persuading" a customer & telling half-truths, extending contracts until AFTER the fact it is done. I gave my 2 week notice & left sooner... couldn't take lying to a customer. T-Mobile service was so bad that after 2 months of dropping calls, "emergency service only" I left.
NOW I am with AT&T & they "stole" (steal- to take without asking, knowledge or permission)over $400 out of my husband's bank account for another person's account & refuse to put it back. The next call I am making is to the local counsel & legal authorities. You want GREAT service? Try VW! Alittle picey but no headaches! #2? Virrgin Mobile. I am so done with the others... like a nightmare that just won't go away!

[JoshuaD1957]

Well that tells you and everyone else that if people are cursing and swearing and yelling at you when they call VERIZON and others... that they ARE NOT happy with their service my friend. THe big companies are simply over charging for something they can get away with... it's like COMCAST... thier service sucks... they take all the movies they USE to give customers and now put them into catagories and CHARGE us 2.99 for... who wants to 2.99 for a film from the 70's or 80's??? That sucks! Stop ripping off America because they CAN... until they free up the movies we used to get I say drop them! The ONLY way to hurt big belly white guys in business who over-charge this country is to not use their service at all! They (big belly greedy white guys) put this nation in the hard times it is in right now! Them with the help of the christian nazi whites who were in political office (REPUBLICANS!!!!) I am white so face facts big business is 90 percent white and ripping off and abusing its own citizens for their gaines! We create thyis greedy mongules by becoming so desperate we have to have their services. DROP THEM!

[AOCGUY]

It is obvious from the pots here that no matter what company you have some like it and some don't. I have had experience with Verizon, Alltel and Bell South now AT&T. ALthough my experience with Verizon is somewhat dated I personally would never go back to them. When I moved to Florida in 2000 Verizon told me that they covered the entire state and had waht was called an easy move plan that allowed me to change area codes at no cost. As it turned out when I did change area codes shortly after the contract started, it turned oout thye didn't offer service in that area and suggested that I move to Alltel. Of course they wanted to charge me a termination fee which I was able to get out of, but when we attempted to reprogram my phone we discovered that Verizon had placed a lock code and would not release it without my paying $300. Alltel just gave me another identical phone and I trashed the other. Take that Verizon.

Now with Alltel I had a southeastern plan that meant no roaming from Mississippi east. But when I would travel to Mississippi I would get picked up by a Verizon tower and switched in New Orleans even though I was no where near the Louisiana line which resulted in roaming charges. I could always get the charges dropped by it wa always a pain.

I then switched to Bellsouth now AT&T and have absolutely no problems what so ever. Now I am probably not the average cell user (less than 50 minutes a month, no roaming, no text) just pay $30/mo. but I am happy. I use my cell phone to call all over the country, even called my daughter when she was in Macedonia wihout any issues or extra charges.

As for signal quality both Verizon and Altell had problems in my area prior to Hurricane Ivan but since then cell service has been great.