Phone companies do not treat their customers well.

I've been a loyal customer with Cingular Wireless since 1998 before they bought out Pacbell Wireless in California. I've had a spotless payment history that averages $100.00 a month. Given this, they'd want to keep a customer happy by offering better incentives (the same incentives they'd offer to new customers) like giving loyal customers the opportunity to upgrade to the phones. Cingular Wireless's customer service has been a big disappointment for all too long with their unresponsive answers, poor attitude, and lack of customer loyalty.

It's understandable that companies are out to make money and therefore must devote a lot of resources recruiting and attacting new customers. Since all their attention is focus on adding new customers, they forget to maintain those existing customers. (It's actually cheaper to retain and maintain loyal customers than to double their efforts to replace the ones they've lost and add new ones).

I recent lost my cellphone at Logan Airport in Boston, but that's an entirely different story. To make a long story short, I was trying to replace my cellphone with a model I like with very little success. Months prior, I received an offer for a high end phone for free (after rebate with free activation of this phone) by renewing my contract for two years. When I needed the phone and asked them about it, they said no, we won't honor that offer since it's a month expired. How do you like that? I had insurance by the way for many years without ever using it at $3 a month. Any sympathy or willingness to make a loyal customer happy? Nope.

I don't know about other cell phone companies since I've been a Cingular customer since I started using a cell phone in 1998, but the coverage provided by Cingular sucks the big one. I get dropped calls more often that not. I've had drop calls with the message that the system is busy (so I get dropped from an active call?). It's a little ridiculous sometimes.

I'm just waiting for my contracts on my other numbers to end before I switch carriers. I figured since a company has demonstrated no loyal to a customer, why should I remain loyal to them when all I receive are poor customer service, constant drop calls, and no other perks? The question for them is this: What are they willing to do to keep a loyal customer? Free phones? Monthly discounts? Verizon and Sprint actually has some good reviews from friends.