Consumerist
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cell phones
Verizon/Alltel Overcharges Customer, Can't Provide Proof Minutes Were Used
Erin is one of those Alltel customers lamenting that her cell phone company, and thus her phone plan, were swallowed up by Verizon. More » -
cell phone plans
Alltel Customers Nervous About Verizon Switchover
Julia and her husband are former unhappy Verizon customers who thought they had escaped by signing on with Alltel, only to be sucked back in when Verizon's took over the company. More » -
smartphones
Alltel Requires Data Plan For Blackberry Owners Who Don't Use Any Data
Dan likes the interface and ease of texting on his Blackberry, but doesn't need mobile Internet or e-mail. He asked his service provider, Alltel, to switch his service to a Blackberry he already owned, but without a data plan. An employee said that was possible and set it up for him, and Dan texted away happily...until he received his bill, which now contains a hefty data plan charge. Alltel now insists that Dan can't have a Blackberry on their network without a data plan. More » -
Verizon confirms that it is buying Alltel. "This move will create an enhanced platform of network coverage, spectrum and customer care to better serve the growing needs of both Alltel and Verizon Wireless customers for reliable basic and advanced broadband wireless services," said Lowell McAdam, Verizon Wireless president and chief executive officer. [Yahoo!]
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mergers and acquisitions
Verizon Close To Buying Alltel For $27 Billion
CNBC is reporting that Verizon Wireless is deeply involved in talks to buy rural cellphone giant Alltel Wireless for an estimated $27 billion. Alltel was recently taken private TPG and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. More » -
outage
Alltel Service Down For All Of Minnesota?
According to two frustrating calls to Alltel I made yesterday and today, service is down for all Minnesotans. When I called yesterday and spoke to technical support, the representative was unable to tell me if I would receive any compensation for the time their service was down (she suggested I call customer service and ask them. "Aren't I speaking to customer service?" I asked. "No, this is technical support." Helpful.) More » -
Alltel has magical feature that will let you read voicemail messages. Expensive, but should please people who violently hate voicemail. (Like, me, for example.) [NYT]
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surveys
Consumers Grow Unhappier With Buying Cellphones
Customer satisfaction with buying cellphones at stores fell this year, reports J.D. Power and Associates in the recently released 2007 Wireless Retail Sales Satisfaction StudySM-Volume 2.
Industry scores dropped 12 points on 1,000 point scale. Verizon has the highest ratings at 726. Sprint scored the lowest with 679. The average is 709. According to the survey, the four most important factors driving customer satisfaction are sales staff (51%); store display (17%); store facility (16%); and price/promotion (16%).
The study's authors claim in the press release that the biggest thumb on customer satisfaction scores are employees in big box retail stores who using high-pressure sales tactics and not accurately conveying product and
service information. Gee, I wonder who that could be...2007 Wireless Retail Sales Satisfaction StudySM-Volume 2 [J.D. Power and Associates]
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google smacks
Sprint Is The Suckiest Cellphone Company
According to Google, Sprint is the suckiest cellphone company. When you query "____ sucks," filling in the name of different providers, Sprint returns the most results. Here's how all the providers stacked up:
Helio: 427
T-Mobile: 745
Alltel: 3,500
Verizon: 20,000
AT&T: 22,500
Sprint: 31,000Note that these results bear no discernible relation to the same companies tested against "___ is the coolest," thereby underscoring this experiment's utter frivolousness.
(Photo: Meghann Marco)
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popular sentiments
UPDATE: Verizon And Helio Are The Coolest Cellphone Company!
According to Google, Verizon is the coolest cellphone company. When you query "____ is cool," filling in the name of different providers, Verizon is tits. Here's how many results were returned for each company: More » -
inconvenient truth
Even If You Manage To Unlock iPhone, It Will Only Work With T-Mobile
In case you're wondering why Consumerist isn't writing a bunch of posts on how to hack your iPhone to get it to work on "any network," here is why: More » -
learn your abcs
Let's All Learn Some Cellphone Acronyms
Let's face it. Cellphones are here to stay and you need to know a little something about how they work if you're going to know which one is right for you. Over at Yahoo! they've got a list of some cell phone acronyms that you could learn, thereby increasing your knowledge of the world around you. We know most of our readers are pretty well versed in everything cellphone, but its still worth taking a look. More » -
none of your business
Alltel Going Private, Bought Out For $27.5 Billion
Big news for 12 million Alltel Wireless subscribers, Alltel has been bought out for $27.5 billion and will be taken private by its new owners. From SmartMoney:The deal must be approved by Alltel's shareholders and by regulators. It is expected to close by March 2008.
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leaks
A Document Alltel Looks At When You Want To Cancel Cellphone Service
Inside is an official Alltel internal company document on what they're supposed to do when customers call up asking to cancel their cellphone service. More » -
tips
10 Things We've Learned From 'Confessions of A Wireless Sales Rep'
Over the past week, it's been quite a learning experience here at The Consumerist. Former and current reps from all of the major wireless companies have written in, sharing their tips and tricks and confessing their sins. It's been a fascinating look inside the daily life of a sales rep, but what have we learned? More » -
cellphone
8 Confessions of An Alltel Sales Rep
Here in New York, we don't really know much about Alltel. They seem like happy, fun people who live on that "farm" where all the city dogs go when they die. "Sorry, Becky. Spot went to live with a nice family at Alltel Wireless. He'll be happy there." More » -
at&t
Giant List Of Cellphone Company Departments' Direct Numbers
Having trouble finding the special number for a specific department at your cellphone provider? Just feel like bypassing the intermediary customer service reps who might end up disconnecting the call or transferring you to the janitor's closet? More »
alltel
New York, 2:20 PM
Thu Nov 12
22 posts in the last 24 hours
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