On Mar 30, 2005, at 2:52, Jean Nathan wrote:
It's pay-as-you-go, and both DH and I took it out with us if we were out alone
mainly to be able to get in touch with home or call the breakdown service if
needed.
That is, *precisely*, how DH and I were going to use ours, once we decided - after 2 yrs of back and forth - that we were going *to get* one.... I saw how efficient the "pay as you go" system was in Poland (every parent has it it firmly in place, now that 7yr olds have their own phones <g>), and it seemed admirable to me.
Well... Rude awakening in US time zone :)
In choice of provider, I followed Consumer Reports for the "consumer satisfaction with customer service"; I may be spoiled with my local ISP (who'll even come to the house if a screw-up is really beyond my comprehension), but I got used to a *reliable* response, which I can reinforce by showing up on their doorstep like an Avenging Angel on PMS pill. While DH, every time there's trouble with the phone or cable has to deal with Sprint and being bounced from Ohio to NY state and back before he gets a "live one". Who's likely to be totally un-clued and will bounce him through the remaining 48 (or whatever) States. I have neither patience nor time for that crap.
According to Consumer Reports, Verizon is the best liked (though abot 60% away from perfect satisfaction <g>), with T-Mobil in second place, and Sprint in 3rd (the ATT&T and Cingular merger is viewed with foreboding. Each of the pre-merger providers is judged - both below Sprint - but CR's *guess* is that problems will pile up rahter than halve) So, I went for Verizon. As an additional incentive, it has a local office (I can save $.37(stamp)+envelope+check printing every month when paying my bill. The Verizon office is next door to my grocery store too, so even extra gas doesn't figure)
I got my "literature" early in January, but never got to studying it until last week. What it told me was that "pay as you go" was, perhaps, not the best solution *for us*. It does not work like a phone card, the way it did in Poland - you keep using it until you've used it up, and then it's "g'bye cell-phone".
To begin with, if you have a "plan" with Verizon, your roaming charges apply to few areas; if you "pay as you go", roaming charges seem to apply to most of US, including the entire area I'm in. When roaming charges apply, it's 69c per minute on a "plan", but 99c per minue on a PAYG. On a "plan", the charge averages to 10c per minute, anywhere USA, free night time (21 to 6), free weekends, and free Verizon-to-Verizon (any time). None of which applies to PAYG. The cheapest available PAYG was $16 (less a penny); the cheapest available "plan" was $40 (less a penny <g>). The unused minutes from the PAYG *can* be rolled over to the next month, but with reservations - you have to buy the next unit first, and they gett added to that unit's allotment. All expire within 30 days, unless you buy the *next* allotment. But you can't pile up allotments indefinitely - when the unused minutes reach a $1000 value, all's forfeited and you start buying/paying again...
I went for my meeting having grave reservations about the PAYG a la US, and leaning towards a "plan" (cheapest to be had). I was told that, while I spent 2 months waffling, the ground rules have changed... The PAYG is no longer called that - it's now "Impulse".
And it requires a very strong impulse, backed up by a grey-matter short-circuit to even consider...
The "plan" version no longer has *any* roaming charges, anywhere in the US (there are still some blank spots where no service is avilable); the "Impulse" still has lots (though fewer than it used to). "Impulse" has lowered its per minute for those from 99cts to 69cts per minute, but it can still pile up quickly. And, as before, VA's smack in the middle of it - I wanna call Clay in Lynchburg, or Severn wants to call his sister in Norfolk, or he goes off to Charlottesville to have his car fixed and wants to let me know he's arrived safely... it's all a buck a minute
All of which new info I could have taken home to chew on and weigh... Except... The ground rules have changed some more; apparently, we weren't paying *enough* as we went <g>
Now, when you get "Impulse" (erst while PAYG), you pay a dollar a day. *Whether you use the phone or not* during that time. I can't remember what the extras (roamaing carges, etc) were but the PAYG option suddenly had all the appeal of a lead balloon.
I signed up for a "plan". And for 2 yrs, too, as it took $25 off my initiation fee and $50 off my phone as compared to a 1 yr contract. Given that it took Severn 18months to unsuscribe from the "dedicated puter phone line" after I got him hooked up to my DSL (at no extra charge), I expect to be able to maintain that contract with no early withdrawal penalties :)
A totally unexpected ray of sunshine surfaced since yesterday... Because we're not likely to use the (now upgraded) 450 minutes of the monthly time we're paying for, I thought Severn could "help out" by staying in closer touch with his sister in Norfolk (also Virginia); It had always been a very expensive proposition - calling Danek in California was cheaper, minute per minute. Between the flat rate across the country and the free nights and the free weekends, he can talk to her all he wants, and it'll still cost less than half of doing it on the landline... I've already cued in her phone number into the Phonebook, anticipating problems in his trying to press 10 dainty keys "just so". But he ought to be able to press *one* key...
Pox on technology, but blessings on it - sometimes - too :)
-- Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/ Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)
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