Any opinions on Verizon?

[trickpony1]

The wife and I have fulfilled our contract obligation with Sprint.
For reasons I won't mention here, we are thinking about finding a new cell phone provider.
We would be interested in any opinions regarding Verizon, especially any employee discounts, dropped calls, coverage and, very important, ease of internet use. My wife is very gainfully employed and needs reliable, fast and easy to use internet that doesn't freeze up.
It's my understanding that Verizon is rated very high by Consumer Reports.
We would also like any comments on the Droid (the top line product) offered by Verizon.
Serious comments only, please. We don't need the humor and sarcasm.
Thanks.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

UPSers get a 22% discount on the primary line and accessories. You can add your wife for $9.99/month. Just bring a paystub to make sure you get the discount. In my area Verizon has the best coverage by far.

You can go to www.vzw.com to check them out before going to the store. You can actually do it all online if you don't want to go to the store--the only problem is Verizon uses FedEx exclusively.

The only negative I can think of is their marketing folks call you a lot. I have received a phone call from Verizon 4 out of 5 days this week. It has gotten to the point where I see their number on my called ID and ignore it.

 

[Anonymous 10]

I have AT&T and love it plus the iPhone is out of this world. I also think you get a 25% discount.

 

[tieguy]

for me verizon is the best. I had the dropped call problem with sprint I almost never have that problem with verizon.

I have a droid htc incredible. love it in every way. Fastest processor on the market. like a small computer that does not forget its a phone. More applicatons for it then I will ever need. the only issue I know of is it may be difficult to sync with a company exchange mail server if she needs that feature though there are some software developers working on that issue.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

If you wait til early next year you can get the i-Phone through Verizon.

 

[Ghost in the Darkness]

Verizon works great for me. My fiance and I are on my plan and I get the employee discount... it think its 22 or 23% I think. She had cingular before we were together and her coverage was poor in the area I live. Verizon unlimited data is what we have as I use the internet more than I talk... she talks more so she uses a lot of the minutes I don't. I have no complaints... I have the EnV touch and she has the Samsung Rogue and I love my phone it works great.

 

[dcdriver]

What does this do with UPS?

 

[Anonymous 10]

What does this do with UPS?

Maybe the employee discount and it's a ups related message board?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

What does this have to do with UPS?

This thread should be moved, probably to Life After Brown.

 

[Ghost in the Darkness]

The only negative I can think of is their marketing folks call you a lot. I have received a phone call from Verizon 4 out of 5 days this week. It has gotten to the point where I see their number on my called ID and ignore it.

Really? I've never gotten a verizon marketing call or any telemarketing call ever on my cell. Verizon may send out a text advertisement 2 or 3 times a year but thats all I've ever gotten.

I'm probably on a list somewhere because I will do pranks and hijinx and even try to order a pizza when telemarketers used to call on my home phone... they don't even call that anymore.

 

[trickpony1]

What does this do with UPS?

....it has to do with me placing a high value on the opinions of people who live, work and live life essentially the same way I do.
Thanks for your concern.

 

[dillweed]

We've had the verizon cell phones for five or six years. It doesn't drop many calls except when we use it in our own home! I sit on the porch when I want to use it because, for sure, it will go out.

We've kept the service since we rarely use the cells at home. The phone representative did say they would ship UPS, and do so for UPS employees. Might want to ask them about that.

 

[22.34life]

I have had verizon for almost 15 years now,i have never had another service so its hard for me to compare.i can tell you this much, in that time i could count my droped calls on one hand ,very good service as far as thats concerned.me and my wife have droids we love the phones the internet service is pretty good most of the time,but there are some times where you lose 3g.

 

[EmerCond421]

Have had Verizon for 16 years now. Very happy with service overall, however, there are some areas here where we can't get service due to the mountainous area. A year ago this past May it was time to upgrade and with the UPS discount we purchased 2 Samsung Alias II 's for $29.95. Our monthly bill comes to less than $90.00 once again with the 22% off; that's 700 minutes and 250 text msg. shared. And free UPS overnight shipping.

 

[John19841]

I have sprint and my wife has verizon, so I've seen both.

Hands down, my wife has better service than I do. Her phone works a lot of places where mine does not, or does so poorly. There are instances where my phone works, and hers does not, but for the most part, she has the better service. With that said, it's not really a not having service at all thing, but a less service than her (less bars, more dropped calls). I'm very rarely in a place where I cannot get service at all.

With that said, you need to take a look at the differences.

It used to be that Sprint (Nextel) was mainly for business use. They didn't have new, cutting edge phones, and pushed their walkie-talkie service (which they still have). That has changed in the last couple of years, sprint now has a bunch of really great phones. Verizon also gets the latest phones, too.

The difference is in cost. Verizon is much (much) more expensive. If you just want a phone to make a few phone calls here and there, either's cheapest plan will do you.

If you want a new smart phone, it will cost you more with Verizon. With either carrier, you're going to need a data plan just to activate the phone. With Sprint, My bill is $58.xx a month, every month. It never fluctuates our of that $58.00 amount. That is with unlimited Internet, Sprint TV, Texts, and more minutes then I'll ever use. i have an HTC Hero (Android phone, similar to the Droid) and love it. Oh, and that also includes the UPS discount, which is 25% with Sprint (versus 22% with ATT and Verizon)

For a smiliar plan with Verizon (info via their website) I am looking at a minimum, MINIMUM, of $90 a month. I don't know if that includes TV, or if they even offer that service. I also don't know if that includes tethering (using phone as a modem). Sprint includes both. You also have to remember the fees, a $90 plan is really $100 after taxes and fees.

My wife has a basic phone and basic plan, $43 month. Just 450 minutes and 500 or so texts.

So, if the better coverage is worth it, then go for it, if not, stay where you are. ATT is similar cost to Verizon, I researched all this when picking a carrier. I am perfectly content with Sprint. I have been with them for 3 years now. It's like everything else in life, you get what you pay for.

 

[outta hours]

I think service reliability may have more to do with your geographic location than any other factor. In my part of Texas AT&T is the best carrier as far as dropped calls and signal strength. In pkg. car I had a rural area. Other drivers around me who had sprint and verizion had a hard time making and recieving calls. AT&T also provides a discount to UPS employees on your monthly bill as well as 50% off all accessories purchased at an AT&T store.

I do know that in some areas of the country AT&T is the worst. Using more than 12k minutes a month myself, it is helpful that most everyone I know is on the same network. And all mobile to mobile minutes are free. And IMO you can't beat the iphone. Good luck on your search.

 

[over9five]

We recently switched from Verizon to AT&T. Wish we had done it YEARS ago.

Your best bet is to go to both websites. They both have maps down to street level of their service area. Don't switch before you check out the maps!

 

[cosmictrucker]

I left Sprint for Verizon about 10 yrs ago. I currently use the Droid. I rarely, if ever use the slide out keyboard, so I would recommend the new Droid X if you're not a heavy text'er.

The free GPS service works fantastic. The phone has many useful features, and the call quality is very good.

My work day travel sends me across multiple State lines, which is the only time I may experience a dropped call. If I do drop a call, I may drop at the same location every time I pass by. No Cell Phone service is perfect.

Google has a number of free tools to save you money. You don't have to buy a texting plan if you use a free download called GTalk from Google. Gtalk allows people to text fee free with others who have the same Gtalk installed on their phone or PC/MAC.

The battery life in my experience is about 12 hrs of combined talk and web surfing. The Droid will charge from a common USB micro cable. I carry both a simple USB micro cable and a 12v car charger.

Bottom line, with all of the phones I've owned over the years, The Droid is the best yet. As for Verizon, I've had a positive experience with billing and customer service when needed.

 

[tieguy]

I do know that in some areas of the country AT&T is the worst. Using more than 12k minutes a month myself, it is helpful that most everyone I know is on the same network. And all mobile to mobile minutes are free. And IMO you can't beat the iphone. Good luck on your search.

One of the reasons I bought the htc incredbile was due to reviews like this one that told me it was better then the iphone unless you need a million apps at your disposal.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/devices/htc-incredible-vs-apple-iphone-3gs/

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

outta, 12k minutes a month????

I did the math and that works out to 8 days, 20 minutes each month that you are using your cell phone.

Wow.




I borrowed my daughter's Blackberry Storm and liked it at first but it turned out to be more phone than I needed.