Which is Better, Verizon or AT&T?

After 35 days now with Verizon, I think I know who is better between Verizon and AT&T.  35 days ago, I left AT&T for two simple reasons,  Unfortunately I did it during a very busy time for me.  This made for a great test though.  You need your technology to work most when you are busiest don't you?

The reasons for leaving AT&T were a slightly better price at Verizon, and  I knew it worked in my house.  Every time my AT&T phone rang, I would run to the window or out the front door and hope to catch the call.  

When your income depends on catching calls, this really shouldn't be an acceptable scenario.  Several times I stopped by the AT&T store to complain and try to get  a "femto-cell".  A femto-cell is a little wifi box that lets you talk on wifi in your house.  My sales skills failed me and after two years of trying, I still had no way to take a call in my house.

I did find a V-Tech home phone that connected to my cellular, but then I started missing texts.  I felt like I couldn't win with AT&T.

Sprints price and unlimited data plan looked great on paper, but I quickly found that all of the cellular companies have these complex pricing plans for phones and data plans, and I knew that Verizon would work.  A salesman that came to my house had a Verizon phone that made calls without a problem in my house.  

Since I couldn't tell if Sprint really was any less expensive, I went with what worked and chose Verizon.  

The First 15 Days

Of course upgrading from the iPhone 4S to the 5S was a nice change.  The iPhone 5S is significantly faster, and takes better pictures.  The data speeds really didn't look much different though, even on WiFi at home.  That surprised me a little.  I have used complex websites to do some anecdotal testing with my neighbor who is still on AT&T.  Standing out front, both phones download the sites at about the same speed.

One problem I have with the iPhone is it's insistence on using WiFi.  The problem for busy people arises when you enter into a "free WiFi" area that you have used before.  The phone goes stupid until you "renew lease" on the WiFi and sign up again.  That should be an automatic option for the "remember this network".  

Day ten though I was caught off guard and suddenly the value of Talk and Surf became a problem, partially due to the WiFi issue.  Getting off of an airplane in Reno, running to the office, I received a call from a casting agency in Los Angeles asking for my availability for a commercial the next day.  When I tried to access my calendar I couldn't.

I have learned to never say yes, without looking at my calendar.  I let other people add events for me, so I need to see it before saying anything.  Here was the first failure for Verizon.  I couldn't talk and surf without renewing my lease since I had been to Reno just two weeks earlier and used the free WiFi.  While I was trying to figure out how to get WiFi to work, the casting agent got bored and told me to call her back.  By the time I stopped, renewed my lease and checked my calendar and called back, she found someone else.  Good work lost.  Lucky for me I have plenty to do. If acting was my main job, that could have been an expensive call.

On Day 15 it happened again, I couldn't talk and surf at a critical time.  More work lost.  I had no idea that I was using data so much when I talk.  You don't realize how many apps need a data connection until you turn it off.  I was no longer thinking that Verizon was the clear winner, AT&T might have a chance for me to switch back at this point.  Oddly, AT&T hadn't called or written even once to ask why I left or how they could get me back.

Day 20 I was in LAX, five bars, and I couldn't get any data, cellular or otherwise to work while sitting on the airplane during a delay.  Another Verizon customer said this was quite normal at LAX, and AT&T still had not called.  Day 24, the same thing happened at LAX.

Day 30 - Trade back day.

Here is where I blew it.  Day 30 was Black Friday.  The last day I could switch back to AT&T and not pay a HUGE penalty at Verizon.  That is what you call really bad trial period planning.  There was no way was I standing in line to trade back from Verizon to AT&T, and since AT&T hadn't called or written even once, I decided to stay home, avoid Black Friday and put up with Verizon for 23 more months.  

Here is where it gets weird, and I have to ask who is running marketing at AT&T.  Day 32, I started getting daily "specials" from AT&T.  They should know the fee to switch back now  is over $700 for two iPhone 5S phones.  Why would I switch back now?  Day 15-29 are the key days to get back a disgruntled cellular customer, and I didn't hear a peep.  Once the bill is set in stone, then they write?  

To make it even more interesting, AT&T started sending me marketing surveys on day 40 with a series of "did you know" questions trying to lead me back to AT&T.  Why are they beating around the bush?  Why didn't they call me on day 21 and say "How is that Verizon working, and what do we need to do to get you back".  My reply would have been simple, "It isn't, and a femto-cell will seal the deal".

At the end of the day, without question for anyone on the go, the ability to talk and surf is critical.  As much if not more so than coverage in my house.  If you own a business, are in sales, marketing or any form of self employment, AT&T is the winner.  If you work in an office, have good WiFi at home and don't travel much, Verizon is the winner.  It's that simple.