It’s over. No more Cingular. We did it. Today Gina and I headed down to Coolidge Corner and hit up the Bermuda Quadrangle of cell phone stores to see if we couldn’t put this phone mess behind us once and for all.
We started out with the Verizon store, which was not REALLY a Verizon store, but rather an authorized reseller. No real surprises here, as we had already researched the plans and the prices. Verizon was on the expensive side, and we knew that going in. Nevertheless, it was on the hit list for the day, so in we went. We spoke to an Asian gentleman named June, who was very helpful and friendly. He was willing to give us some decent deals, told us how it (migrating over) would all work, assured us that if we had any trouble during the first two weeks, that he would replace our phones or just let us out of the deal (which is law in Mass.). Overall, a pleasant experience.
Next we headed over to the T-Mobile just a couple of blocks east. I kind of was leaning the way of T-Mobile from the get go, as their pricing seemed the best, and on their web site, our area showed strong service. Unless we were treated terribly by the store staff, or something had dramatically changed in terms of their plans and pricing since the night before, I was most likely going to go home with a T-Mobile account and new phone.
We stepped into the store, and right away I felt comfortable. The sales people were friendly, but not overbearing. They were helpful, on point, and personable. I don’t know if the pink signage everywhere had something to do with it, but I felt relaxed. I think I have some weird soft spot for T-Mobile. There is something oddly comforting about being a customer of the smallest guy on the block. I just get a sense that out of the big four, they are the ones that have the most to gain and lose, and in some weird way, I feel like that translates into better customer care.
Within about 3 minutes, it was obvious that this was going to be the place. We got the info we needed, and headed out across the street to get our account numbers from Cingular. As expected, they were slow to help us, and then vaguely rude when they did. While giving me my account number (obviously aware of why I needed it), the clerk made a point of telling me that I was still under contract. I replied with a simple “yep”, took my post-it note, and we headed back to T-Mobile.
Once back at T-Mobile, we were taken care of by Ron (I won’t print his last name, but if you go to the T-Mobile on Beacon Street in Brookline, ask for Ron…he is good.) who was quick with the deals and again, just personable and easy to work with. Maybe we were just so used to being screwed by Cingular, that normal service seemed exemplary, but either way, these guys treated us very well. Here are the nuts and bolts…
Me - Treo 600 (no, not the 650) - $149
Gina - Samsung x495 - $0
We got a family plan which gave us the standard nights and weekends free, and a combined 700 anytime minutes, for a total of $59.99 per month wrapped nicely into a 1 year contract. Since I used all of 120 minutes last month, I am not worried about busting this limit by any means, so it should suit us well. Oh, and I added the $19.99/month unlimited web access too, given that with the Treo, web usage and email are actually manageable. High five.
So that’s it folks. $150 for two slick new phones and a new plan with a service that, at least so far, seems to actually care about their customers. I understand that this doesn’t cover the termination fees with Cingular…but thats a whole other post when that time comes.
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