Cellphone Buying Increasingly AnnoyingJD Powers discovers customers don't like jerks... ( old news - 09:35AM Tuesday Oct 30 2007) tags: competition · business · wireless · consumers · Verizon Wireless Broadband · Alltel Axess · Cingular WirelessWireless revenue is a cash cow for the major phone providers, but overall customer satisfaction with the retail experience has continually declined since 2006, according to the latest report by J.D. Power and Associates. The major reason? Salespeople. Not too shockingly, customers prefer a salesman that clearly explains rates and plans, and doesn't pressure them into a purchase. Quite the discovery. "At the industry level, big-box retailers also have a fairly large hand in the overall decline, as customers visiting these outlets report particularly low satisfaction levels with the sales process," says J.D. Powers's Kirk Parsons. According to the company, Verizon Wireless ranks highest in customer satisfaction among major wireless carrier-owned retail stores, with T-Mobile close behind. J.D. Powers also offers wireless company rankings for customer satisfaction ratings for wireless service and carrier performance, call quality, customer care, retail sales and mobile phone handsets.
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 itguy05
join:2005-06-17
Camp Hill, PA
| Verizon is not that good Interesting. Too bad I disagree with all of it in the Mid atlantic (PA, NJ).
I've got both, AT&T for personal, Verizon for work.
Verizon is horrible - you can't hold a call on the PA Turnpike between Harrisburg and Philly. You WILL drop 1-2x. The call quality is pretty bad at times as well, depending on the load of the system. N. NJ is bad as well.
AT&T works great - I can start a call in Harrisburg and have it last all the way to Philly. N.NJ works reliably although they can have call quality issues.
T-Mobile around here is Swiss Cheese.
Verizon is great at brainwashing with their advertising having you think the network is superior. It is not. | |
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south1178
Buckeye Stangs
Premium
join:2001-12-17
Cleveland, OH
clubs: | Re: Verizon is not that good Might just be your phone. I haven't dropped any calls with verzion once I got a Motorola phone. My LG would drop all the time. | |
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S_engineer
join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL
| Re: Verizon is not that good Verizons service was great for me, it was their network or lack of, that forced me off of it. My house is in an area loaded with tin-foil hats, nobody wants cell towers (you know;think of the children attitude!), and then they bark when they have no service!
The Verizon CSRs were very helpful, recognized they had limited service in my zip, and canceled without any hassle.
Nothing but dropped calls with the Death Star...
Now US Cellular is my poison...so far so good!
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Where have the adults gone? | |
| | ds0
join:2006-04-24
Alpharetta, GA
| I travel the country and used to live in the northeast, I have had Verizon service for six years. It has worked almost 100% in the areas you are referencing, maybe try another phone. I worked in Philly, Central Jersey, and NYC, never experienced dropped calls or poor call quality in any of those areas. Also, travel the country for work and Verizon is solid in all areas I have had to visit.
A friend of mine who also travels for work has AT&T and says their network has improved over the last two years, but still experiences dropped calls and poor call quality in some of the cities he visits. | |
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jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs:
| Re: Verizon is not that good I used to put verizon as tops for coverage but tmobile is very very good from cleveland to akron to Youngstown. THe only probably i had with verizon cell service was coverage at my new location. Most every location doesn't have this problem but I am in the woods.
Customer service tops with tmobile and verizon second. BUT when i had coverage problems verizon techs were supposed to call me 5 times and they didn't so i switched services and went to tmobile. voted with my feet.
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3 free for you/3 free for me: Investing Trades : PM Me | |
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TK Junk Mail
Go ahead, make my day
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Margate City, NJ
clubs:
 ·Comcast
edit:
October 30th, @10:04AM
| said by itguy05  :AT&T works great - I can start a call in Harrisburg and have it last all the way to Philly. N.NJ works reliably although they can have call quality issues. Harrisburg to Philly is a non-stop 2 hour drive. Please post your car model and plate number so that people can avoid you while on the PA Turnpike. Anyone on 1 phone call for 2 hours is a danger to others. | |
| | | satellite68
join:2007-04-11
Louisville, KY | Re: Verizon is not that good 1 hour and 39 minutes, to be exact. | |
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TK Junk Mail
Go ahead, make my day
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Margate City, NJ
clubs:
·Comcast
| Re: Verizon is not that good said by satellite68 :1 hour and 39 minutes, to be exact. Except during morning and evening rush hours. | |
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danclan
join:2005-11-01
Midlothian, VA
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Re: Verizon is not that good or weekends after 7pm or before and after a full moon with exception for a blue moon every other year. Also not valid with purchase of new car with higher gas millage or import car unless said car has bluetooth built in, in which case a waiver will be granted and a 2$ monthly charge will be added... | |
| | | | | | | | | | | satellite68
join:2007-04-11
Louisville, KY
 ·Vonage
·Insight Communicat..
| said by TK Junk Mail :said by satellite68 :1 hour and 39 minutes, to be exact. Except during morning and evening rush hours. Sorry, you didn't specify time of day. | |
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N3OGH
They both suck, we're so screwed
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs | Re: Verizon is not that good Hey, we don't call him "fast Eddie" for nuthin'  | |
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cableties
Premium
join:2005-01-27
Levittown, PA
| Re: Verizon is not that good I wonder if he goes that fast through EZ-Pass!!!
BTW, to OP, I've Verizon and except the tunnel on NE Extension, I can go from Allentown to Rt13 exit (last before Bridge to Jersey) in less than 2 hrs (when there is no construction nor accident-rubberneckin) and no drop in call.
@HCT: You married or have a GF that needs to talk? You'd understand...
However, yeah, somehow I never remember the drive...
"How did I get here?" asked the hands-free caller. | |
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A P CC
Premium
join:2003-07-26
..
 ·AT&T Southwest
| Re: ITS not just with phone companies, most know,its a problem with MOST business's & companies today also & the "customers are as much the blame as much as the sales staff,
there is no customer service,courtesy any more most sales people want customers in & out,spend the $$ & rush,
WHEN is the last time a customer service, (person to person) acted like they were actually hearing or onterested in what you wanted to buy?
customers EXPECT the sales people to know EXcatly what they themselves want,
also customers NOW A DAYS don't like having to wait in lines or talk/ask questions/read a list of instructions about how something works,,
they (customers)expect something to work how they want it to work,not the way the item was suppose to work
--
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
= = = = = = = = =
I ask questions to learn,the only way to learn is to ask questions.
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Neyland85
join:2003-02-04
North Augusta, SC
·AT&T Southeast
| Re: ITS not just with phone companies, Ummmm no.
Customers would like to be cheerily greeted. Asked if they need assistance and for the salesman to back off if told no. But, remain attentive should the customer have questions.
If the customer has questions, the customer expects the salesman to be knowledgeable about their product and service lines and be able to answer anything from easy to med/med-high difficulty questions. If they do not know the answer, to be able to find the answer quickly. This is all within an amount of reason. No, I don't expect the salesman to be able to tell me the output wattage of the phone when ringing, but I would expect them to be able to tell me the replacement battery I'd need for my phone or how to set the phone up so my computer could use it as a modem (should my phone support it).
I do not want them to 'sell me' unless I ask him to do so.
I expect a pleasant demeanor and clean cloths. I'm not interested in seeing your underwear. Under no circumstances should you have gum or candy in your mouth while talking to me. And for Pete's sake, if the phone rings, answer it, but take the person's name and number and call them back AFTER you've finished helping me the customer standing in your store.
There is a big difference between a salesman and a clerk. Most older good salesmen know customer service sells... repeatedly. Problem is.. you don't get good salesmen for minimum wage... you get clerks. | |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | Re: ITS not just with phone companies, That is what I want/like when I go into ANY store and that is why I would not make a good salesman at a location where only numbers mean something because that is how I would go about selling. | |
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A P CC
Premium
join:2003-07-26
..
·AT&T Southwest
| said by Neyland85 :Ummmm no. Customers would like to be cheerily greeted. Asked if they There is a big difference between a salesman and a clerk. Most older good salesmen know customer service sells... repeatedly. Problem is.. you don't get good salesmen for minimum wage... you get clerks. NewlandGood point & your correct about
you don't get good salesmen for minimum wage... you get clerks.
and i have notice (for me) particularly when i shop for electronics,(any thing for my computer,or tv,dvd players/burners ect) @BestBuy, The customer HAS to KNOW WHAT THEY WANT before they go to the store,because the "young clerks" at the store don't have any knowledge of the products that Best Buy sells,
--
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
= = = = = = = = =
I ask questions to learn,the only way to learn is to ask questions.
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| | | | | | | | xrobertcmx
Premium
join:2001-06-18
Sterling, VA
clubs:
·Comcast
·EarthLink
| I have to say that every time I've been in the T-mobile store here I've received excellent service. The people there really do seem like they want to help.
This is opposed to the service I got at the AT&T store where the last time I had gone in was to find a headset a few months before we switched, the gentleman not only had a serious body odor issue, but basically told me to get lost. Yes, I had a low end phone, but I also had 4 person family plan in the 1200 minute range.
Now I have an almost identical plan, picked up a fifth line, and spend $5 a month less with a company that has employees who have tried to help every time I've called in, be it to change the annoying Crayola theme on my phone, or to try and figure out why HotSpot@Home didn't work very well with my Linksys.
Damn, I feel like a walking commercial, but then this is the first time I've been happy with a wireless carrier since the late 90's. I've been through Sprint, Verizon, AT&T who was bought out a six months into our contract, and then Cingular who we had not wanted to begin with.
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Retaking our country one election at a time. | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | wbertram
join:2005-08-19
Allentown, PA
| NJ Gov. Corizon could too, until he almost got himself and a bunch of others killed! | |
| | | itguy05
join:2005-06-17
Camp Hill, PA
| said by TK Junk Mail :said by itguy05 :AT&T works great - I can start a call in Harrisburg and have it last all the way to Philly. N.NJ works reliably although they can have call quality issues. Harrisburg to Philly is a non-stop 2 hour drive. Please post your car model and plate number so that people can avoid you while on the PA Turnpike. Anyone on 1 phone call for 2 hours is a danger to others. It's called a conference call. For the most part just listening and occasionally saying something. And always with a bluetooth headset.
Don't be a sheep - yakking on the phone is no different than yakking with a passenger. | |
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TK Junk Mail
Go ahead, make my day
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Margate City, NJ
clubs:
·Comcast
| Re: Verizon is not that good said by itguy05 :yakking on the phone is no different than yakking with a passenger. Studies say that is wrong. Even hands free talking on cell phone as dangerous as drunk driving:
»www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201586,00.html | |
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Johnny
Premium
join:2001-06-27
Atlanta, GA
| Don't be a sheep - yakking on the phone is no different than yakking with a passenger.
It's completely different. A passenger can see when a situation arises that requires your attention, and does not keep yakking nor expect a response from you. If traffic gets complicated, you can ignore the passenger without having to worry about the passenger getting ticked off, because the passenger sees the same traffic problem that you do.
Someone on the other end of the phone cannot see your situation, so they expect an answer. Since you know this, you try and keep up with their yakking so you will be able to answer. In the process of trying to follow the conversation, you make misjudgments about the traffic.
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Learn To Play DSLR Mafia at the DSLR Games Forum. | |
| | | | | itguy05
join:2005-06-17
Camp Hill, PA | Re: Verizon is not that good Guess I've trained myself well then - 1st priority is the driving and people on the other end tell me my conversations are a little slower when in the car vs in person. | |
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GlenQuagmire
Giggidy Giggidy Giggidy Goo
Premium
join:2004-02-16
Grand Rapids, MI
| Well in Grand Rapids I have found that Nextel is now way more reliable the Verizon, and that's saying a lot. My first cell was though Verizon and they were a great providers since they inherited Air Touches network. Now they want to sell you a phone that does everything except give you a reach around, but sucks and making calls. All I want my cell to do is to make calls, is that to much to ask. | |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME
·DSL EXTREME
| Re: Verizon is not that good I tend to agree... I need a phone to make good clear / non dropped calls. I could care less for most of the features.
Since Nextel built out 2 new sites (one brand new, Nextel only, and one ontop of a Sprint site), its become very reliable.
Only problem with Nextel is battery life, and coverage in many areas (i.e. no coverage in Northern Michigan or Northern Ontario Canada).
I had Verizon once, but had such a bad experience (store, billing, dropped calls, customer service), I could never go back.
I use AT&T a lot, and it works well, although there's a lot of 'garble' here in SoCal. I've been hard pressed to not have coverage wherever I've been (Northern Ontario being the exception).
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Canada = Hollywood North | |
| | | | AtlGuy
join:2000-10-17
Marietta, GA
| Re: Verizon is not that good said by en102 :...there's a lot of 'garble' here in SoCal. Man I know that 'garble' you speak of well. I hear it all the time in North Atlanta. | |
| | dishrich
join:2006-05-12
Springfield, IL
| said by itguy05 :Verizon is great at brainwashing with their advertising having you think the network is superior. It is not. Well I hate to tell you this, but year after year, Consumer Reports thinks otherwise. They have constantly rated Verizon as tops in coverage AND customer service - actually way above ALL other carriers.
Of course, their coverage ratings are as an average across the US - again, in YOUR local area, YMMV, just like any other cellular carrier. | |
| | | itguy05
join:2005-06-17
Camp Hill, PA
| Re: Verizon is not that good said by dishrich
Well I hate to tell you this, but year after year, Consumer Reports thinks otherwise. They have constantly rated Verizon as tops in coverage AND customer service - actually way above ALL other carriers. [/BQUOTE :The same CR that used to blindly give high marks to Toyota reliability and now has to eat it because the new Toy's are POS's? Yes, Toyota, the car co. with the most recalls. I used to read CR. Then I realized how poor their reviews are and that their nit-picks are not nits at all. I'll still stick by AT&T - my experiences have been top notch on all accounts. | |
| | | | dishrich
join:2006-05-12
Springfield, IL
edit:
October 30th, @01:20PM
| Re: Verizon is not that good said by itguy05 :The same CR that used to blindly give high marks to Toyota reliability and now has to eat it because the new Toy's are POS's? Yes, Toyota, the car co. with the most recalls. Well, considering I'm on my 2nd Toyota (the first one lasted over 7.5 years with NO recalls OR any repairs other than routine maintenance) & it's going on 3+ years with NO recalls or other issues, I still believe their original reviews. (as do several of my friends that are Toyota believers) 
I believe CR has taken their latest Toyota reviews down a notch, but they have NOT put them down in the "NOT RELIABLE" catagory. Sorry dude, a couple recalls does NOT make a car a POS - let's get REAL here!  
OTOH, my new Ford Taurus that I had for 3 years before my Toyota's WAS A POS - was constantly in the shop EVERY 6 months & had to have the ENTIRE engine replaced under warranty after 30K, due to oil/coolant mixing. Yeah, give me THAT car back after being problem free for 10+ years - NOT!!!
But back to the point of my post - AT&T is probably better for YOU, while for other Verizon is. You have to look at it for EVERY given local area, &/or where you travel the most. For me, AT&T is best - & actually, several of my friends whom were LONG Verizon customers are now AT&T's. | |
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morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000
clubs: | Re: Verizon is not that good is this what we have come to? bragging about having a vehicle for 7.5 years? really?
hell, i had a domestic hauler that lasted longer than that. | |
| | | | | itguy05
join:2005-06-17
Camp Hill, PA
| quote:
believe CR has taken their latest Toyota reviews down a notch, but they have NOT put them down in the "NOT RELIABLE" catagory. Sorry dude, a couple recalls does NOT make a car a POS - let's get REAL here!
Not a COUPLE recalls. Toyota has the MOST RECALLS this year. And last.
And CR Will no longer blindly recommend ANY new Toyota. That's saying something big as they used to rubber stamp any new Toyota.
»www.autoblog.com/2007/10/16/toyo···lity-ra/
quote:
OTOH, my new Ford Taurus that I had for 3 years before my Toyota's WAS A POS - was constantly in the shop EVERY 6 months & had to have the ENTIRE engine replaced under warranty after 30K, due to oil/coolant mixing. Yeah, give me THAT car back after being problem free for 10+ years - NOT!!
You can find Toyotas that sludged up, Hondas with junk automatics, etc, etc. Doesn't mean that they all are bad. Same as not all Toyotas are bad.
Toyota wants to be #1. What they are learning is when you make a vast array of products, your quality goes down. | |
| | 
Switchedt Sprint
@spcsdns.net
| I have Verizon and Sprint for work and wife has ATT for work. We travel often and find that Sprint is the most improved, with the best data and roaming. Verizon's network is overhyped and ATT drops more calls than any of them.
Sprint's customer support has been an issue but has improved. But I think their network is now better than Verizon. They have many more cellsites than Verizon and have added CDMA to thousands of Nextel iDen sites. It just might be the best network now. Support is their last major issue.
But it doesn't surprise me that retail stores have uninformed sales people. The turnover at stores is higher than wait staff at restaurants. It's a lost cause to train them. | |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Speakeasy
| Re: Verizon is not that good said by jameswade :A lot of this just depends on your location. Just like cable/dsl arguments...  | |
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jjoshua
Premium
join:2001-06-01
Scotch Plains, NJ | No problems with Virgin Mobile Virgin Mobile doesn't care how you get your phones. Just top up and go. I've never had a problem with their customer service.
Before that, I had Cingular. They just plain sucked - no other words can describe it. | |
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MysticGogeta
The Robot Devil
Premium
join:2005-03-14
League City, TX
clubs: | I like Cricket Unlimited minutes and text messages and pics (yes anytime) and I pay about 51.00 a month with taxes.
--
Team Discovery-Join the fight | |
| | hottboiinnc
Kyle
join:2003-10-15
Toledo, OH | Re: I like Cricket Cricket now offers nation-wide roaming too thats a big plus even if it is only 200 minutes a month. | |
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MysticGogeta
The Robot Devil
Premium
join:2005-03-14
League City, TX
clubs: | Re: I like Cricket Yeah and I don't go out side of Houston very often so I just switch phones with my mom or dad if I do.
--
Team Discovery-Join the fight | |
| jammmin
join:2000-12-14
Upper Marlboro, MD | T-mobile is bad Verizon wireless is the best. I would drop calls all the time with T-mobile. | |
| | hottboiinnc
Kyle
join:2003-10-15
Toledo, OH | Re: T-mobile is bad T-Mobile in Northwest Ohio is great! no coverage issues or anything. Even works in many rural areas that providers like Alltel do not cover. | |
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Jim Gurd
Sorry Roger, you tiger now.
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI
·Comcast
| Buying a new phone I bought my last phone online. I was able to upgrade my phone and keep the same plan.
You can avoid salesmen entirely this way. Research the phone you want to buy and order online. Switching providers is easy with number portability. The terms and conditions of each plan will be clearly listed on the carrier's website. No dealing with a clueless or uncaring counter person.
Oh, and never buy from a kiosk or authorized agent. Always deal with the carrier directly (unless you are buying an unlocked phone for an already existing service plan).
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We don't care. We don't have to. We're the phone company.
-- Ernestine | |
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jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs:
| best in your area There is differance locations of the towers for every company so find the best in your "home" area and run with that.coverage, Customer service, price is the most important to me and seeing i didnt get coverage at my new home and price was cheaper and customer service was the same i decided to switch myself to tmobile. they bend over backwards. I dont even want to call sometimes if their is a problem because i don't want to bug them, cause i know they will fix it.
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3 free for you/3 free for me: Investing Trades : PM Me | |
| | dishrich
join:2006-05-12
Springfield, IL
| Re: best in your area said by jgkolt :There is differance locations of the towers for every company so find the best in your "home" area and run with that.coverage, EXACTLY - in my general area, Cingular has the best overall coverage. This IS a fact, due to that Verizon cannot put up towers to provide coverage in a town of 2300+, that is the county seat. It's local common knowledge that if you want cellular service in this area, you do NOT go with Verizon, period!
Of course, there are a couple small pockets where Verizon is better, but again, where ever YOUR location, YMMV. | |
| | | | | | | robertfl
Premium
join:2005-10-10
Mary Esther, FL | Re: best in your area not to mention everyone now outsources to india. what shame. i called a rep and could not understand what he was saying.
(sprint)
-rob | |
| moonpuppy
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD
·Verizon Online DSL
| Contracts are partly to blame.... When I walk through a mall, I always get the kiosk salespeople asking me to sign up. I tell them I am under contract with someone else and they still want to get me to sign up for another line. Even if I am with their provider, they want to sell me another line I do not need.
Companies love aggressive salespeople when they make their numbers....and will toss you out when you don't make them. | |
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