Cell phone rant... and dilemma

[Hi Ho]

I work in the field for a small mom and pop company with a huge customer base installing home theater equipment. I work on a crew of two people driving a box truck and I am in the field almost all the time. A cell phone is an absolute necessity. We need to be in contact with the store, the other crews, and most importantly, the customers. I've been there a little over a year and for most of that time everything went great. We had a Motorola phone through Verizon along with everyone else that works there. I was so impressed with the coverage area and quality of service that when I finally got a phone for myself I chose Verizon. They seem to have coverage virtually everywhere, even at my house (the only company that does).

Then about a month ago everything changed. I got to work one morning and noticed the phone on the charger was different. I thought, "oh, they got us a new phone, cool". Then I picked it up and looked at it. It said "AT&T". Now I had never actually used AT&T personally but I know people that had it and said it was the worst service they had ever used in Western Washington.

Well, now I can say from my own personal experience that AT&T (formerly Cingular) IS the worst cell service in Western Washington. As long as one is in a major city it seems to do OK, but stray from the city limits, or even get to close to them, and it all goes down hill fast. I simply cannot believe the number of dropped calls I have experienced with this "service". If I had to make a rough guess, I'd say we have a 90% dropped call rate. Even when we supposedly have four or five bars of service the phone will drop the call. The service is effectively useless. How on earth can they get away with that ridiculous "Fewest dropped calls" ad campaign??? :confused:

Several employees and I attempted to talk to the boss about this but his response was, "Deal with it, we have a 2 year contract". Every person who works there uses Verizon as their personal carrier, including the boss. The change to AT&T company phones came out of nowhere and with no explanation.

Now I have a decision to make. Should I use my personal phone for business? I pay for the cheapest plan with the fewest number of minutes because I don't use my phone a huge amount. That was, until I started using it to call customers and contact the store when our AT&T phone says "No Service". As I said above, the phone is a necessity. We must be able to contact customers and other employees. If I did not have my phone we would be out of contact range probably 90% of the time.

I haven't gone over my allotted monthly minutes yet but I can see that it's only a matter of time. Should I simply refuse to use my phone for business and make customers, employees, and the boss find out how bad the company phone service is?

[flanzig1]

I wouldn't use a personal phone for company business if it means that it will cost money out of your pocket unless you can expense it back to the company.
I hear your frustration about a company changing phones without notice. We just changed phones and many of the guys aren't happy with the Razors they got us: buttons are too small,short battery life. What was really bad was the people who were out of town had their business phones deactivated before they could switch phones at the office.

[usnavyretired]

Don't use your own phone! Do just what the boss says and let him "Deal With" a possible loss of business because he changed cell phone carriers and you guys and gals have lost communication.

[SonicVanguard]

Come on Hi Ho...haven't you read???...AT&T has the fewest dropped calls anywhere in the United States...:)

Seriously, don't use your personal phone...the business owner made this call and now needs to deal with it. When customers complain to you you need to refer them to the owner in a cordial and professional manner. Mom and Pop A/V stores are getting gobbled up left and right - if the owner wants to keep any market share he'll be on the phone with AT&T and kill that contract. With Magnolia A/V on my side door, I'd do anything to stay one step ahead of them...and I'd bet Magnolia will do anything to take market share from your company...including using Verizon Wireless (BB as a company uses Verizon, so I'm betting Magnolia does as well). It's all about the little things in the A/V biz...that's one of the reasons I got out of installs years ago.

[doubledragon5]

I had AT&T once and got rid of them on the second day of use.. Heck I could not even make a call to my house from my car in the drive way.. I wouldn't use it for work either trust me. I drive a semi every day for work and have to use my own phone daily to call the dispatcher when he needs to talk to me or to the customer, when directions are not given.. They don't pay for my use of my phone either. This is why I'm looking for another job, and in the future part of me accepting another job is that if you need me then provide a phone or pay for the usage of mine. If not then I won't work for them period...

[David M]

Absolutely not...do not use your personal phone for business. It is their problem and not yours if they lose customers because of phone related problems. Besides, you are supposed to be available at your business phone in case the boss calls.

If the service is as bad as you describe, then they will have to go back to Verizon regardless of a 2 year AT&T cell phone contract because it will cost them less money to have two simultaneous cell phone contracts than to lose all those customers.

It's really too bad that these cell phone providers do not offer a grace period to test out their service before signing a contract.

[TimPoet]

Well, I think one has like 15 days or something to cancel a contract with no penalty... but that may be already past...

[glc]

I just don't understand why everyone is having problems with AT&T - I've had Cingular since it was Cellular One and I have very little trouble. Nobody is perfect but I don't seem to have any more issues than other people I know with other carriers. Yes, the Edge network is slower than snails but I seldom use the data features of my phone/service. As a phone to make/receive phone calls and text messages, it usually works just fine. Perhaps if I lived somewhere else and/or traveled to different areas my experience may be different.

[kram 2.0]

Like all other cell phone carriers, it depends from place to place. In Ann Arbor, we're very down on Verizon - low signal in the most crucial places. However, T-Mobile has service even in basements of buildings!

To answer your question, it's a good idea to use the AT&T phone, and let the business take the hit as a result of unreliable service there. It's a choice that the business owner took, and the direction that he wants to head in - now, let it affect the business itself for the good or bad.

kram

[quartet-man]

I agree with the others, use the company phone and if it will not work, the boss will have to sow what he reaped. If you use your phone he will likely never change providers because in his mind there is no problem. He would probably renew with them and say he was unaware of any problems. One has to wonder what possessed him to make the change. Did they give him a "better deal", add it to his phone service or bribe him with shiny new phones? Either way, he is the one who got you in the mess and he will have to be the one to deal with it.

[sgtspector]

Don't use yours. If he wants to run his business on the cheap he will eventually see the error of his ways. Don't subsidize his business out of your pocket. If he supplies phones for you you can't even deduct the cell phone on your income taxes. (Legally I mean).

[XenaWP]

Well, depending where in Washington you are, your coverage could be expected to be pretty good or pretty bad:

http://www1.arcwebservices.com/out/maps/NT_Streets_Cingular_US_n10021aps0003.wdc1.attens.com1030531529.png

This is my area:

http://www1.arcwebservices.com/out/maps/NT_Streets_Cingular_US_n10021aps0001.wdc1.attens.com11090412393.png

That kind of coverage gets you few dropped calls.

[glc]

Keep a log. Write down every time you can't make a call and whenever a call drops. Turn in a copy to the boss weekly.

[Kuch]

I agree with GLC. Keep track of the effects of his switch and then respectfully show him what is happening. Hopefully he will realize the error of his ways. If he still tells you to just live with it, start looking for another job. Odds are that if he won’t listen to his workers, he won’t be able to keep his business going after sales drop off. People with that type pf management style can rarely pull a business out of a nose dive.

[Hi Ho]

Thanks for the replies. I think I will stop using my phone. I started keeping a log today. We dropped four calls today and had no service at two customers houses.

I have to defend the boss and the company though. Maybe I made it sound worse than it is but the company certainly isn't going downhill. We produced record sales numbers last year and we're doing even better this year. The company has been around for fourty years. We employees get full health and dental care, paid vacation, and flexible hours. We get great discounts on everything too. The management is generally easy going and great to work for. I'm not going to quit over the fact that the cell service sucks but it does make my job a bit more difficult.

Seriously, don't use your personal phone...the business owner made this call and now needs to deal with it. When customers complain to you you need to refer them to the owner in a cordial and professional manner. Mom and Pop A/V stores are getting gobbled up left and right - if the owner wants to keep any market share he'll be on the phone with AT&T and kill that contract. With Magnolia A/V on my side door, I'd do anything to stay one step ahead of them...and I'd bet Magnolia will do anything to take market share from your company...including using Verizon Wireless (BB as a company uses Verizon, so I'm betting Magnolia does as well). It's all about the little things in the A/V biz...that's one of the reasons I got out of installs years ago.
That may be so for many small A/V stores but we're doing exceptionally well. We have a gigantic loyal customer base and we compete very well with the likes of Best Buy and Circuit City. We offer free delivery and installation of new products as well as haul away of the old gear. I also take pride in my installs and I am very particular about wire management and making everything work right and look and sound as good as possible. I label every connection, even power cords. I will explain the ins and outs of a system as many times as I have to until the customer gets it. We will even stop by again at no charge if they are still having problems. The big box stores don't offer that. We actually fix quite a few Best Buy "installs". We are also an autorized service center for every brand we sell and can work on just about anything but Phillips/Magnovox. We pickup and deliver service items too. On a side note about that, the Sony 40XBR800 (40" CRT) should never have been made. That thing is simply too heavy. :D

Maybe I sound like an advertisment but I really like the company I work for and I take pride in the work I do knowing it helps to keep them competing against the big boys.

[sgtspector]

On a side note about that, the Sony 40XBR800 (40" CRT) should never have been made. That thing is simply too heavy.

I agree. I have the 34" widescreen Sony and had to dolly it into the house and lift it onto a glass TV stand. At least you don't have to worry about it being stolen too easily. :D The picture is well worth it though. Not the biggest screen but incredibly crisp and bright.

[SonicVanguard]

That may be so for many small A/V stores but we're doing exceptionally well. We have a gigantic loyal customer base and we compete very well with the likes of Best Buy and Circuit City. We offer free delivery and installation of new products as well as haul away of the old gear. I also take pride in my installs and I am very particular about wire management and making everything work right and look and sound as good as possible. I label every connection, even power cords. I will explain the ins and outs of a system as many times as I have to until the customer gets it. We will even stop by again at no charge if they are still having problems. The big box stores don't offer that. We actually fix quite a few Best Buy "installs". We are also an autorized service center for every brand we sell and can work on just about anything but Phillips/Magnovox. We pickup and deliver service items too.
That's great. But having been in that business I can assure you that it's the little things that will drive those loyal customers away. Maybe not initially, but if it becomes a problem those customers will look for solutions themselves...not a fun avenue to cross.

Research shows that if you have a bad experience with a company you'll tell 10 people about it. In turn, they'll each tell 6 and they'll each tell 4. But with great service we generally only tell 4 people who in turn only tell 2. Bad PR can spread quickly - my preference it to mip it at the bud before it happens.

[Hi Ho]

We go out of our way to make the customer happy for that very reason Sonic. I definetely agree that it's much harder to spread a good reputation than a bad reputation.

Then there are the customers that will never be happy. We brought a Mitsubishi Diamond 55" CRT RPTV in for service once which was at the end of its extended warranty and didn't have anything really obviously wrong with it. We replaced the CRTs because they were worn and the picture was simply amazing. A quality CRT projection TV that is essentially new is a sight to behold. When we brought it back to the customers' house I brought up the convergence grid to tweak it like I always do after moving a TV. When the customer saw that the grid was not absolutely perfect (as in ruler straight and no bleeding with a 1 micron tolerance) he freaked out. After he shouted at our service manager over the phone we ended up bringing it back to the store where the tech couldn't do anything because there wasn't anything wrong. CRT projection sets will never have absolutely perfect geometry and therefore the customer will never be happy. To make a long story short, we had the TV in the repair bay for three months when the customer finally agreed to take it back. Frankly, there are some customers that we would rather not come back.

[j.b.huntress]

I came across this during a search. How did it turn out?

[Hi Ho]

We still have the AT&T phone with the horrendous service but I think the higher ups got the message. I have a feeling we'll be getting a new phone when the one year contract is up.

[quartet-man]

I remember this thread. Unfortunately the boss insisting on keeping using it until the contract is up is not that smart if he is losing business or having unhappy customers.

[piasabird]

Just keep calling AT&T and keep complaining till they cancel you!

[ToyotaSupra]

No problems with AT&T here for the last 3 years.
My Razr was actually very good. Durable, battery lasted me forever.

[glc]

I have no complaints with how long my Razr battery lasted, but it still didn't last as long as the original battery did in my old Nokia. The Razr lasted 2 years, the Nokia lasted over 3.

[hitchface]

Razrs ain't bad depending on the usage. Voice recognition and speaker phone are the surefire ways to kill the thing in a matter of hours. Under "normal phone" usage, I've had it go several days between charges.

Hi Ho, did you ever hand your boss a log of lost calls?

[glc]

What really kills the battery in a Razr is Bluetooth usage.

[Hi Ho]

We never wrote a log but he knows we drop calls because we often drop them while talking to him. ;)

My personal phone is a KRZR1, the skinny brother to the RAZR, and the battery life is great. It will last a whole weekend with moderate usage when I forget the charger. :o I have a hands free Bluetooth device in my car and it's linked with it during my 45 minute (each way) commute and I haven't noticed any reduction in battery life.

[quartet-man]

Wow, has it been around another year?(Since I last saw this) Do you have an update? :)

[Hi Ho]

Still using the AT&T phone and the service isn't any better. They don't seem to care that they can't contact us most of the time.

[SARGE]

Still using the AT&T phone and the service isn't any better. They don't seem to care that they can't contact us most of the time.

You're either in the sticks or if in a city, need to go to an AT&T store and see what the deal is. AT&T is first-rate where applicable.

[mbossman2]

your personal cell phone is just that: personal.

It shouldn't be shared with your employer except as an emergency contact #.

If your company continues to call you on it, send them a bill and ask them to cover a portion of the bill as a business expense.

[Hi Ho]

They don't call me on it. I call them once in a while. I really don't mind using the minutes because I actually rarely use the phone function on my phone. I got a Blackberry Storm a while back because I decided I wanted something that I would use more. I use the web browsing, email, IM, and camera functions of the Storm far more than the phone and I love it. It is very handy having web access virtually anywhere.

You're either in the sticks or if in a city, need to go to an AT&T store and see what the deal is. AT&T is first-rate where applicable.
They might be fine around Dallas but they simply don't cut it here in Washington State. The coverage is very spotty. AT&T has a far smaller overall coverage area compared to Verizon.