Cell phone frustration...

Okay so this is my first post on here and I wanted to use it to share my thoughts on the cell phone industry and hopefully give some insight into the usually confusing world of the cell phone. So I have been a Verizon wireless customer for a while now and for the most part they are great. As with every cell phone company though, they are a money driven industry with little care for their customer.

Let me start off with my first cell phone company, Pac Bell Wireless, which went to Cingular Wireless and now is AT&T Wireless lol. Back then cell phones were simple, fun, inexpensive, and basic. My first phone was a Nokia, which most people had, that was customizable and easy to use. The cell phone industry was fairly new and still growing so lacking service coverage was to be expected, but the plans were similar to what they are today only you got more minutes for your money.

Well I decided to go from Cingular to Sprint due to the fact that Cingular was an all digital company and did not offer phones that could roam, hence their clever "No roaming charges" marketing scheme. So once with Sprint I was pleased for the most part with their plans, phones, and coverage. Then the problems started arising... Well as it turned out, Sprint was great overall until you had a problem. Try calling Sprint's customer service and getting somebody that actually spoke English as their first language. Nearly impossible! Then their was the hour long wait times. I don't think I ever was on the phone with Sprint's customer service without having to be on hold for 20min at least! Anyways I finally just got tired of Sprint's awful lack of attention to helping their customers. Which lead me to where I am today, with Verizon Wireless.

So let me speak to the pros of Verizon Wireless first then I will go over the cons of them and all cell phone companies in general. Verizon Wireless has been great so far. They have a wide selection of some of the best phones out there and their service coverage area is, in my opinion, the best out of any wireless company. Now that's not to say they don't take advantage of that (they do). I recently upgraded my phone from the razr to the new LG Voyager and I am loving it (way better than the iPhone) but in regards to that let me talk about the cons. First, upgrading your phone is the biggest pain in the ass! Having to wait two years from when you get your phone before you can upgrade to a new one at a discounted price is ridiculous. This isn't a big deal for most people who just have a cell phone and only care if it works, but for the rest who like having the newest in wireless technology, it can be frustrating. It is frustrating because you have to wait two years to get a new phone, but a new phone comes out every 3 months! Not to mention, a typical cell phone only lasts a year these days. What do you do if you have to get a new phone? Well you have a couple options: you can make sure you have insurance on your phone and when your old one craps out, pay $50 for a refurbished one (lame), or you can pay full retail for a new phone (marked up 300% at least). Either way, they don't make it easy unless you wait that 2 years. For the most part, that is really the biggest problem you will see with any cell phone company. A lot of people complain about the cancellation fees if you cancel your account, say to go to another company, but in reality when you think about it, paying $200 is usually cheaper than waiting until your contract end date and having to pay your monthly fees until that date.

No cell phone company is perfect because they are businesses and are in it to line their pocketbooks. You have to chose one that fits your lifestyle and go through a trial and error process to find the right one. I know there are a lot of "unlimited" wireless companies out their also, which may sound good, but for now the coverage areas of those companies are seriously lacking. So do your research and chose the company that best fits you, because in the end they all have the same problems.