You could see the caller on the outside without flipping it open! w00t! This was a big deal, and was a specific reason I went with verizon.
I made the switch to T-Mobile because Verizon had a significant price increase about 7 years ago. We needed phones for our new life in CT, and I did a full comparison and landed on T-Mobile. In the time since I have had multiple cell phones and T-Mobile's home phone service. Phones have included flips, sliders, Blackberrys, Windows Mobile and Androids. I am one of those clients that work the system. Emboldened by a friend with connections at a T-Mobile store I learned tricks about how to get into the right section of customer care, and have over time found that there are multiple ways to tweak your account for the best cost savings. I also abhor contracts, so for many of my phones I have gone without a contract further complicating our account history with phone swaps and the like. All of this to say I am an atypical customer. When you look at my account, it is painful to figure out what is going on with it. However, I have never had a situation where the first or second person I talked to at customer care was not intelligent, English speaking and capable of fulfilling my request to my satisfaction.
In contrast, I had to work with the AT&T customer service for my former employer. It was always trouble. I had to tell them where to look in their own system to find my information. Noone knew what they were doing.
So imagine my delight when the news broke that the AT&T deal to buy T-Mobile was officially canceled, and that T-Mo's mother company would get $4M out of the botched deal! More importantly, they will get their joint roaming agreement.
T-Mobile has been ranked for 4 years as the highest in customer satisfaction. They have the least expensive plans (less now with "value" plans). Call quality and coverage matters if you live in a major city. Otherwise, most carriers have similar experiences in smaller cities. There is simply no good reason to go with a more expensive plan when T-Mobile has such a strong phone offering and quality service. It simply is a great company, and I love it.
Please. If you are considering cell phones this Christmas, think T-Mobile. I have no stake (I own no T-Mobile stock) except that as a customer I would really like to see this company succeed. With the AT&T deal off, T-Mobile will need to produce more sales. Fortunately, switching will save you significant money, so take the plunge.
