Is The Cell Phone 30 Day Trial A Good Deal?

My contract was up, and the salesman said I could try another cell phone service for 30 Days, but is that a good deal?  In 2005 I was living just east of Houston and the Sprint cellular tower was blow over during the hurricane season.  I had no choice but to switch.

 

At the time a friend was working for AT&T so I switched.  I still had a Motorola Razr, which might still be my all time favorite phone, but there is no way I can go back now.

 

For the last two years I had an iPhone 4 which worked pretty good outside of my home.  I could talk, surf and for the most part had only two problems.  The first is the confusing and archaic method of selecting accounts and how you pay for them.  I don’t think anyone ever can really understand a cell/text/data bill.

 

The second problem was the phone not working in my house.  Unless I stood at a window or walked outside, I couldn’t talk on the phone.  More than once I inadvertently answered and dropped the call annoying whoever happened to be on the other end.

 

I thought I solved the problem with a phone system that connected to my cell phone via blue tooth.  I could leave my phone in the kitchen window and answer it on the house phone.  The problem was I had no idea when someone sent me a text.   I just learned to check my phone every couple of hours.

 

Recently while getting an estimate on a solar system, the salesman took a call in the dead center of my house.  Needless to say, taking a call in the middle of a sales call didn’t get him the deal.  What it did do is get me to go look at Verizon cell phones.

 

Overall I couldn’t see spending the money on a new iPhone so nothing happened.  Then I got iOs 7.  The iPhone 4 was so slow I couldn’t deal with it any more.  By the time the screen changed I would forget what I was doing.

 

The order went in and so went the switch.  The idea of being able to try Verizon for 30 days looked like a good deal.  With my work schedule though 30 days hasn’t worked out so good.  My last day is Black Friday.  So If I decide I want to go back to AT&T, I get to stand in line at the Apple Store on Black Friday.  That isn’t my idea of a good idea.

 

So why would I go back?  To start with Verizon service doesn’t work at all in many areas where I have four or five bars.  The LAX airport is one.  Many Verizon users tell me the same thing.  Also the Talk and Surf feature at AT&T is pretty cool.  As soon as I switched I learned how much I was doing it.  Want to update your google calendar on the phone, that is talk and surf.  Want to  look at the map to see where something is while on the phone, that is talk and surf.  Want to check an email someone just sent while on the phone, you guessed it, talk and surf.

 

Why not go back.  To begin with, there is the issue about the phones not working in my house, and AT&T being oddly protective of the WiFi powered Femto Cell that would fix my problem.  At one time they were being given away.  Then you could buy them, now I can’t do either.  Verizon is $20 a month cheaper but I get a little less data.  Personally I don’t care about unlimited talk and text.  At AT&T I had thousands of “rollover minutes” and didn’t send nearly the number of texts they said were “average”, but my data hit the limit often.  Sprints unlimited plan is looking better by the minute.  If they would allow talk and surf, Sprint might have a shot.  The coverage doesn’t look that great on a map, but none of my friends complain.  Sprint charges a lot more for tethering and data sharing than AT&T or Verizon.

 

Finally AT&T hasn’t figured out how to get back it’s former customers.  I still get marketing email from AT&T, but not one said “We want you back” or “$100 Welcome Back Special” after the first day.  The first day anyone changes services is a good day, not the day to ask them to come back.

 

Day 20, 25, 28 and 29 are the right days.  By then the customer has had enough time to forget all the bad things at AT&T and remember the good things like “talk and surf”.  So AT&T what gives?

 

What will happen tomorrow?  Chances are good, I’ll just take the quiet time at LAX and stick with Verizon.  When it does work, it works great, and it works in my house which is the most important since I don’t use my home phone at all.  My mobile is my connection to the world.

 

Then again, I might be talking and trying to surf on my way to the mall and decide to stand in line at the Apple Store.  The question is back to AT&T or Try Sprint if I go.

 

I think the 30 day trial period is the best sales pitch going.  Without it, I might not have tried Verizon.  Because of it I did and AT&T has continued to prove they don’t have a clue.

 

Anybody ever go back?

 

Oh Yeah, has anyone found an iPhone wallet that has a thick enough spine and clasp to hold more than one id and one credit card or do we have to walk around like this all day?

iPhone 5 Wallet
Can Anyone Make This Work?

 

#AT&T #Verizon #Sprint #iPhone4 #iOs7

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