Help Thinking about switching...

[Zipster90]

All of the glowing reviews of the Optimus V have me awfully close to getting one. As a soon-to-graduate college student, it's almost time for me to break off of my parent's AT&T plan and start paying for my own phone. The Virgin Mobile $25 Beyond Talk plan almost seems too good to be true. After looking around the web, I've read quite a few horror stories about VM's customer service. Is it really as bad as it's made out to be? Also, is the Sprint network reliable in the DFW region?

Thanks for helping out. I've already learned a lot from this place in the few short days I've been lurking.

 

[treven21]

Zipster.....

The customer service is brutal because you cannot get a clear English speaking rep. Most of the time when you get through the automated answering service they get things taken care of.

As far as the service I have had minimal problems until recently. The thing about it is the Optimus V is cheap enough that if you try out this service and its not for you you're not out a lot of money.

 

[gpz828]

i think everybody elses customer service is not all that great either, i just transfer over to VMobile few days ago and had no problem. The optimus v is good entry smart phone that would not break your bank.

 

[good job neil]

The phone itself is amazing, all things considered. Virgin Mobile's data service, on the other hand, has been quite annoying for me the past month. Maybe last night's outage/upgrade/whatever will be the start of something better. Wait a month and see before buying.

I live in Arlington, so yes, the DFW area has good service (data issues notwithstanding)

 

[FullWolfMoon]

All of the glowing reviews of the Optimus V have me awfully close to getting one. As a soon-to-graduate college student, it's almost time for me to break off of my parent's AT&T plan and start paying for my own phone. The Virgin Mobile $25 Beyond Talk plan almost seems too good to be true. After looking around the web, I've read quite a few horror stories about VM's customer service. Is it really as bad as it's made out to be? Also, is the Sprint network reliable in the DFW region?

Thanks for helping out. I've already learned a lot from this place in the few short days I've been lurking.

It can be difficult to understand the customer service reps, but I've found them to be patient, polite, and none have hung up on me as of yet. I've had a couple of problems come up and one is solved, the other they're working on it, but also compensated me for the wait.

The phone itself is great and I haven't really had any problems with it at all. Except when I use swype and am too quick for it, it does freeze once in a while, but this is rare. Its worth the price for a bit of hassle you might get if you do have to deal with customer service, in my opinion. But everyone is different.

 

[Timm129]

The Optimus V is a great phone. Yes customer service does had its lack of English speaking problems but they are generally concerned about making the customer happy. I've some issues lately with network being down. I think this problem has been corrected and I have had follow up calls from customer service confirming that the service has been fixed and these calls have been in a timely matter. So far I'm happy with the service as long as the network issues have been fixed. When the internet is up the speeds are fast, voice calls are clear, and texting never seems to fail.

 

[Mr_Coffee]

The only issues I have experienced in my four months of VM have been the lack of MMS coverage, and a spotty 3G episode. Besides having to reboot to correct the 3G problem, no complaints from me. I have not called Customer Service regarding setting up a Trouble Ticket for MMS.

 

[kc3]

Yeah I switched from T Mobile to Virgin Mobile and in my opinion T Mobile has had the best customer service of any carrier I ever had, however saving $40 a month and putting up with semi-mediocre customer service is certainly worth it to me, only issue other than that I had is that my 3g seems to go out every once in a while and come back a few minutes later, when I first got my phone, it worked fine but I went a day and a half without data, luckily I haven't had that problem since.

 

[Zipster90]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm pretty close to making the switch, I think. As for the MMS issues mentioned earlier, is that being flat-out unable to send messages or the unlimited texts not being provisioned to the phone?

 

[WeatherMike]

I'm new to the company and I've set up accounts for a family member and me, which has included porting numbers and fixing some other issues, such as billing. I've spoken with several customer service people, and while each has had a clear Hispanic accent, I've had little trouble understanding any of them, and I've gotten all my problems resolved. A little patience goes a long way.
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[maylea]

I have had to call CS to reset my Beyond Talk account after paying as they have some sort of glitch in their payment method. If you lose data service after topping up at the end of the month just call CS and ask for a reset. Yes, their accent is heavy but they took care of it in 3 minutes. She even stayed on the line with me another 5 minutes as I confirmed it went through as I rebooted my phone without complaint. So, having to call CS at the end of each month for 10 minutes to save 50 dollars is worth it to me.

 

[Zipster90]

Thought I'd give an update. I finally went to RadioShack and activated my own Optimus V! I'm really impressed so far, even though it's going to take a lot of getting used to. Thanks to everyone for their input so far.

 

[wilberfan1]

I've had my "V" about a week now, and I'm very impressed with the hardware. I had an Optimus M with MetroPCS (which I'm now trying to sell) and so far I have better voice coverage (and stronger signals). I connect a lot via WiFi--but I've noticed that 3G has been iffy now and then recently (which others have reported?)

Yesterday I had to talk to customer support--and, yes, the accents were a little daunting--but they were very polite and I got my old number ported without any hassles. (And I think it only took an hour or so for the number to kick-in.) They didn't charge me to port the number, but I DID have to start over on "Day 1" with a new $25 payment (I still had three weeks left from my original activation).

My Optimus M was my very first smart phone--but I'm liking the "V" (and the service) WAY more.

(And this has been a grand confirmation of why I don't want to sign any long-term contracts! I got the M at the very end of December--and by Early March wanted out... I shudder at the thought of having to stay with Metro PCS for two more years!!)

 

[djdtm]

im brand new to the world of smart phones. Wanted one since the inception, but way outta my budget. Till about a month ago. found out about vm's plans and phones and jumped on it. i love this phone. sure its not without its problems and limitations, but I have zero regrets. You cant beet it for the price. seriously Ive looked.

 

[ron scubadiver]

There have been at least two major 3g outages this month. Whether this will continue or be a thing of the past is a major issue.

 

[maxpower49]

Customer service isn