These are links to the EPinions.com reviews of cellular phone company customer service

(Listed from best at the top, to worst at the bottom)
 

Only one company seems to be well-liked by all of their customers:

U.S. Cellular: Everybody likes U.S. Cellular's customer service!  That makes them unique.  Their reviews make them sound more like a car rental company than a phone company!  (Ever get bad customer service from National, Hertz or Avis?  I didn't think so.)  Unfortunately, they don't cover Raleigh/Cary.
http://www.epinions.com/elec-Comm-Mobileservice-All-US_Cellular_Customer_Service/display_~reviews/listype_~opb/pp_~1/sort_~date/sort_dir_~des
11/20/2002 - Oh, this is weird. EPinions now shows only one review of US Cellular. They used to have more (I don't know how many). They seem to have somehow lost part of their database. :-(

 

Two other companies are liked fairly well by a majority of their customers:

Houston Cellular: More than 2/3 of their reviewers like them.  Too bad they are only in Houston.
http://www.epinions.com/elec-Comm-Mobileservice-All-Houston_Cellular

 
TracFone: This is a "prepaid" cell phone, best for very occasional users. There is no epinions.com review of TracFone, but I found them discussed on a similar site and a majority of their customers were satisfied:
http://www.planetfeedback.com/ratings/Company/0,2489,100-162811-0,00.html

 

Three companies have customer service which is merely poor, but that still makes them better than most.  Most of their customers dislike them, but at least 1/3 are reasonably satisfied:

Cricket: Cricket's reviews are decidedly mixed... which makes them better than most.  "Around town" service only, no roaming allowed.  No coverage in Raleigh/Cary, anyhow:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-Comm-Mobileservice-All-Cricket_Communications_Customer_Service/display_~reviews/listype_~opb/pp_~1/sort_~date/sort_dir_~des

T-Mobile (formerly VoiceStream): Over 1/3 of their reviewers like them.  Too bad they don't accept customers in North Carolina:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-Comm-Mobileservice-All-VoiceStream_Customer_Service/display_~reviews/listype_~opb/pp_~1/sort_~date/sort_dir_~des

AT&T: Back in 2001 quite a few of their customers were satisfied.  Now most people hate them.  Still, their average rating is better than average:
regular: http://www.epinions.com/elec-Comm-Mobileservice-All-AT_T_Customer_Service/display_~reviews/listype_~opb/pp_~1/sort_~date/sort_dir_~des
prepaid: http://www.epinions.com/Motorola_AT_T_Prepaid_Free2Go_Wireless_Phone_Kit___Cell_Phone_V2397EPW

 

Most companies have customer service which is utterly hideous, and as a result the great majority of their customers hate them:

Nextel: Nextel only has three reviews, and all 3 hated them.  But I have a friend who is satisfied with them:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-Comm-Mobileservice-All-Nextel_Customer_Service/display_~reviews/listype_~opb/pp_~1/sort_~date/sort_dir_~des

Verizon: Most people hate them, but a few are satisfied.  (This is painful for me to admit, because I'm a Verizon stockholder!):
http://www.epinions.com/elec-Comm-Mobileservice-All-Verizon_Customer_Service/display_~reviews/listype_~opb/pp_~1/sort_~date/sort_dir_~des

Sprint: Most people hate them, but a few are satisfied.  People have told me that they seem to be getting worse:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-Comm-Mobileservice-All-Sprint_Customer_Service/display_~reviews/listype_~opb/pp_~1/sort_~date/sort_dir_~des
[4/25/2003 - I now have Sprint, and I like them much better than Alltel or Cingular. YMMV. -Dave]

Cingular (formerly Bellsouth DCS, SW Bell, and one or two other companies):  I hated dealing with Bellsouth DCS when I had them, about 3 years ago, because their bills were always messed up and they were always trying to overcharge me.  About 1.5 years ago, I tried them again, as Cingular, but they couldn't even make their phone work within another State of the "region" (I had a regional plan), so I returned it.  28 out of the last 30 reviewers hate Cingular, but 2 of the last 6 like them.  Maybe they are improving?
http://www.epinions.com/elec-Comm-Mobileservice-All-Cingular_Customer_Service/display_~reviews/listype_~opb/pp_~1/sort_~date/sort_dir_~des

Alltel: I had Alltel until a few weeks ago.  I truly hate them.  So do most other people:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-Comm-Mobileservice-All-Alltel_Customer_Service/display_~reviews/listype_~opb/pp_~1/sort_~date/sort_dir_~des

Cellular One: Most people hate them, but a few are satisfied.  No coverage in Raleigh/Cary, anyhow:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-Comm-Mobileservice-All-Cellular_One_Customer_Service/display_~reviews/listype_~opb/pp_~1/sort_~date/sort_dir_~des

 

One company is worse than all the rest:

Worldcom: Wow, I thought nothing could be worse than Alltel and Cingular, but look at Worldcom!  32 reviews, and every single one hates Worldcom!  On a five star scale, not a single reviewer gave them even two stars.  Every reviewer gave Worldcom the worst possible rating:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-Comm-Mobileservice-All-Worldcom_Customer_Service/display_~reviews/listype_~opb/pp_~1/sort_~date/sort_dir_~des
PlanetFeedback.com also rates them the worst of all cell phone companies:
http://www.planetfeedback.com/ratings/Company/0,2489,100-10496-0,00.html

 

More user reviews here:
http://www.letstalk.com/reviews/reviewhome.htm
http://www.wirelessadvisor.com/waforums/join.cfm
-Dave Burton   9/25/2002