There are few companies I don’t like: United, PEPCO, Chik-Fil-A and T-Mobile.
Why?
United = horrid customer service and stupid fees that change
PEPCO = heads up their collective big-money arses
Chik-fil-A = narrow-minded PR nightmare
T-Mobile = crappy phones, crappy fees and the most epic of all fails ever — no service.
During my cross-country road trip, I had the privilege of learning first hand just how terrible T-Mobile is.
At first, when I had no service, I credited it to the fact that I was driving, oh, through the middle of nowhere Nebraska
. Then, when I had no service in the cities, I started to get annoyed.
What’s worse? When I did have service, it wasn’t with T-Mobile so the data I was using was no longer unlimited. When I got a text message en route to Chicago that I had exceeded my data limit for the month, I nearly lost my marbles.
“You claim to have the largest 4G network in the world,” I said as calmly as I could to the customer service agent on the other end of the line. “How is it that throughout my entire road trip I have had little to no service and having to use another network’s internet? I’m driving across the country. What is the point of having a cell phone if you can’t use it?”
So, they did one thing right: they upped my data. Even the agent understood my need for being able to access the Web. “You can’t have no internet when you are driving across America.”
Right.

When we were out and about on our dive bar tour in Nebraska

Thank you, T-Mobile. How am I supposed to have a GPS if I don’t have my internet service I PAY FOR EVERY MONTH?

Loading and loading and loading and then an internet connection error. In Maryland. Notice I was on AT&T.

And more. The one good thing? In Thailand, I have DTAC and have not had services issues once. Even in the jungle.
The icing on the cake??
Wonderful T-Mobile slaps me with a $200 cancellation fee when I tell them I am leaving the country for an extended period of time.
My advice? Opt for another carrier, another phone, another anything … or take the risk and see how it goes. I promise you this: if you live in Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia or Maryland, you’re SOL for the most part.
Have you had similar issues with T-Mobile or another service?