Breaking up after 13 years

I knew it was coming.

The last several years have been spotty at best.

My sister and friends have been on me for years to just move on.

Today, Puddie and I broke up with our cell phone provider.

Years of not being on the same contract cycle had us stuck in a rut…

When I could leave, he couldn’t and vice-versa.

That and oh my love for unlimited data… I couldn’t quit that…

Then Verizon came along and showed us what kind of service we could really have…

I could actually talk on the demo phone in the house without climbing onto the roof while extending my arm up to get that one extra bar.

All of a sudden we could use our demo phones at home, while traveling and even in southern Indiana.

Then it occurred to us that unlimited data doesn’t do one much GOODe if the phone/data won’t work where we live, play and work.

That and finding out the Droid Razr Maxx family of phones obliterate our other phones in the battery life department…

Again, unlimited data doesn’t matter if your phone is dead by noon, just sayin’.

Oh but those scary contract cancellation fees…

Turns out those things are on a sliding scale and the closer to your expiration date, the less you have to pay.

AND, you can always sell your equipment back to them or your new provider to soften the blow of the fees or to assist with the purchase of your new device and accessories.

So we did it.

And even though the call to our old provider to break up dropped while inside the provider store and had to be called again– confirming our decision further, I have to say they were great about the whole thing.

Both the store clerk and the 3 customer service call center folks were all more than nice.

But here is the thing.

As I waited on the phone for 30 minutes or so to cancel everything (because the store couldn’t cancel my account), one really great customer service fella tried to manage the 6 customers in the store by himself. The poor lady behind me just wanted to pay a bill and had to wait as we listened to the employee  painstakingly (but graciously) try to explain email accounts to a customer who was obviously very new to the concept but in the market to buy an iPad.

The picture was night and day from the one I saw the night before at my new Verizon store.  There were no less than four employees clamoring to help customers as quickly as possible last night. Customers were in and they were out. If you are ever in the Verizon store in Plainfield, Indiana–  tell Francisco that “the bloggers” Mike and Cris say hello!

Now, I know my judgement could be a little clouded by several years of constant dropped calls by my old provider ever since we moved out to the country and also clouded by the amazing support Verizon has offered us in our Year 2 Change Challenge, but I really feel we are going to be happier all the way around.

It wasn’t fair to our old provider to stay with them when we realized the extent our needs had outgrown them… both location wise and phone wise. Complaining about service after the move was a bit moot. Their location didn’t change, ours did. I am sure there are plenty of folks who still will get great service from them. But as tech savvy folks who live in the sticks, we needed to move on.

So tonight we can go to bed with a clear conscious and a clear signal… and 4G baby 😉

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Disclosure: While Verizon is a remarkable supporter of As Goode As It Gets’ Year 2 Change Challenge, these opinions and experiences are completely my own.