Lesser of the evils on LONG ISLAND UPDATE
Written: Aug 07 '03 (Updated Oct 22 '03)
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Pros: Better service coverage, it's massive saving grace.
Cons: Contract, Stores, Phones, Web site, and a bunch of lies.
The Bottom Line: You are going to deal with garbage with every provider, at least with Verizon you'll have the largest coverage to call and complain from.
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| dandino's Full Review: Verizon Mobile Phone Service in New York |
So you understand where this review is coming from. I first had MCI World com, I'm still having nightmares from it. I switched to Sprint, which I was satisfied with and decided to move to Verizon because of better coverage in several areas and mobile to mobile minutes.
SERVICE COVERAGE: Verizon has probably the best coverage on Long Island. For the areas I travel, Stony Brook, Hauppauge, Central Islip, Coram, Cold Spring Harbor, and all points in between I have better coverage with my Verizon phone than Sprint. It is rare when I do not have service, with the exception of when I am working in the middle of my building it can be sketchy. Surprisingly, I have been able to carry a conversation from the top floor, all the way down the elevator, and back outside again. I was impressed with that, but the service is definitely temperamental and this does not happen often. There are of course sporadic dead zones as well, but that is an evil of all of the providers. One thing that I have found can be very annoying is your coverage shifts. I can sit in my office by a window and have 3 bars of digital service. I'll try to make a call, and it will wait.... and wait.... and suddenly shift to 1 bar of analog service and the call is like talking over a walkie-talkie. I no longer let it make calls like this. If I stop trying to call, and let it start again, it usually goes back to digital. This is a problem I had with two phones, so it's not the model. It can be frustrating, especially when you are in a rush. But 9 times out of 10 it will go back to digital and you're call will be fine. I confronted salesmen about this in their store at the Smithaven Mall. The response I got was that the tower I was closest to was overburdened and my service was shifted to the next tower. I complained that this was unacceptable and he "prioritized" my frequency. For a while, my service did improve, but then it went back to stuttering between A and D. Around the same time, a friend of mine also with Verizon and who works across the street noticed the same problem. Lately their service simply hasn't been as good as it once was, but still better than providers like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. I don't know if "prioritizing" my number is real or if I was fed a line of B.S. I plan on going back to the store, which always has at least a 30-minute wait, when I actually have the time.
PHONES: When I bought my first two phones (read my review of the LX VG2000 if you want the whole story), their selection was pretty thin at the store. There are more choices if you order your phones online, but the deals are different. This was enough of a deterrent that I almost renewed my contract with Sprint because I couldn't find a phone I liked. If phone features are going to be a massive factor for your decision, look into Sprint. In my opinion, they have better phones available. Supposedly, Verizon is improving their stable of phones, but they have some considerable ground to cover to catch up to the other providers. The Samsung A310 is a very popular phone for Verizon. My fiancée has it and is very happy with it. I have the Motorola 120e, it is a simple phone, and I would have really enjoyed more features. In the end, I can talk to people with it, so I don't have too much to complain about.
RATES: The rates are competitive with the other companies, unless you go with the smaller T-Mobile and Singular providers that have inferior coverage. On paper, minute for minute, it's on par with Sprint and AT&T. Remember that the plans change from month to month, so don't go by my word, check the current rates when you are making your decision. It is pointless, for the same reason, to go into exactly what is offered in the plans. They change so often that my comments will only be valid for the rest of the month. What really makes Verizon plans great, at least for me, are mobile to mobile minutes that are included in every plan. Verizon is incredibly popular. I had no idea how many people I knew actually had Verizon until my prime time minute usage dropped by almost 50%, because the minutes were taken out of my Mobile to Mobile bank instead. One bad thing to note, is that if you call another Verizon customer after 9, the minutes will come from your Mobile to Mobile bank before going to you inexhaustible Night and Weekend bank.
WEB SITE: They should just burn this one and start from scratch. It is such a massive pain to navigate and nearly useless. Simple tasks like checking your minutes or trying to pay your bill can be an infuriating challenge. This is due to sub menu after sub menu and an account manager that is NEVER up to date.
BILLING: This is about as reliable as their web site. I haven’t received a bill in over two months. I have to remember to go to the website and pay, however the site is currently having technical difficulties (surprised?) and I can't log in.
CUSTOMER SERVICE: Those whom I've spoken with over the phone have been quite unremarkable. Not the most competent, but not the worst either. The salesmen in the store however, will flat out lie to your face. They lied to me when they told me the LX VG2000 was a great phone with a great battery life (it died after a single call). I also witnessed them tell another customer a bold faced lie. This woman swore up and down that every single phone in the store would get the exact same level of reception. Any one of us that has had different brands of phone from the same provider can tell you that some phones will always get better reception. Expect to be lied to and have to figure things out for yourself.
UPDATE
I recently moved and have having problems with my reception. I will have plenty of reception, and then get dropped down to a single bar of analog. I went to get my number prioritized (if that is a real thing or not, i'm not sure) so that I would not get bounced around from one tower to the next. There was a line at the Smithhaven Mall Store at 8:45 in the morning. This store is notorious for exessive waits. Apparantly you need to return to the store every several months to get software upgrades for your phone and also dial *228 to update your settings every two months. So far my reception has improved, but I don't know how long it is going to last. He tried to sell me a new antenae for my phone. I want to reitterate a point I made previously, know what you are doing before you ever step into the store. You will get fed a line of garbage otherwise. One time you will go there and be told one thing, go back with the same problem and they will give you another story. The guy I dealt with today was very polite, but was very quick to suggest buying more stuff to solve the problem when there is nothing wrong with the phone.
CONTRACT: 2 years! If you don't want to sign the contract for two years you have to pay a large activation fee (I think the whole concept of activation fees are despicable but they have made their way into everything). The only saving grace of this enormous contract is that at the end of my 2 years, I will get a $100 credit towards a new phone. Hopefully by then they will have something worth buying. Of course if you want to get out of it, you have to pay a cancellation fee of several hundred. And here is something major to note. If in 6 months you realize that they are offering a great deal and you switch to it... congratulations you just extended your contract for another two years. I had no idea this was the case, as I found this out the hard way with Sprint. It is not unique; it’s a common evil with several of the providers.
The one and only thing that Verizon has going for it is it's coverage area. This is probably the most important feature of any provider, which is the only reason why they are successful. And the competitors aren't providing much better service where Verizon falls short (though I do admit Sprint's web site was great). I was lied to by MCI and mislead by Sprint. So it seems unscrupulous business dealings come with the territory.
Verizon is getting 4 stars because they outshine the other providers for Long Island and the mobile to mobile minutes do not come at an extra charge, at least when I signed my contract. I personally feel that for what I'm paying, I, and every other customer, gets treated horribly. But every service provider is like this, I don't understand why. 4 Stars is above average, but in the case of mobile telephone service, the average is unacceptably low to begin with.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 39.99
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Epinions.com ID:
dandino
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Location: Long Island, NY
Reviews written: 49
Trusted by: 7 members
About Me:
I like tools and electronic gizmos.
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