U.S. Cellular - Promising More With Hello Better

This is a sponsored post.

There are certain products that we have to have in this day and age that people generally bemoan.  So many people hate their cable company. I  hear constant dissatisfaction with pediatricians.  Don't get me started on the airlines.  And cell phone companies tend to fall into that mix for far too many, too.

Personally, I switched carriers in April of this year, and I'm happy with my carrier now, for the most part.  Before that point?  I was counting down the days until my contract ended.  From about seven months before my contract ended, I could tell you exactly how much longer I was stuck with them, and you can bet that the day my contract expired, I escaped and went to a new carrier - who I had been researching for months prior to determine what I wanted and who best fit it.

Why was I so unhappy with my previous carrier?  Well, it's one of the two most expensive carriers out there.  And money matters.  Yes, they had great coverage - for the most part - but my husband and I had 1400 minutes to share, and I had a data plan.  Neither of us had a text plan.  And we had a nice 17 percent discount on the first line only thanks to the company I had worked for.  Even still, we were paying $125 a month for that, primarily because the first line was $49, and the second was $49.

As more and more of my friends started using texting as their primary method of communication, it was difficult for me to explain to them why and how I didn't text.  Texting would add another $19.99 to our already too high to really justify for two people bill.  Each.

The worst part was that even if I wanted to add texting, any changes to my plan would restart my contract date, adding another two years before I could move to another carrier without penalty.  Trust me, I checked on that one, although it took me talking to three different people to get the same answer.

That was another pet peeve of mine with that carrier.  Whenever I would call or stop in with a question, I wouldn't get a consistent answer.  Unfortunately, that meant I really lost faith in any answer I received and instead just held out, counting down those days.

U.S. Cellular (who FYI is not the carrier I selected, although it was in the running!) understands that far too many people aren't satisfied with their carriers.  And they want to do something about it.  They introduced the Hello Better campaign.

Far too often, people stick it out because the penalty for moving carriers is just too high - or they feel like there's nothing better out there.  In fact, 56% of respondents in a survey admitted to being unhappy with their carrier in the past year, but only 35% of respondents had ever broken up with their carriers.  U.S. Cellular aims to prove that there is something better, and that they're it. Their goal is to treat their customers like neighbors instead of numbers.  I love that concept.

And friends who have U.S. Cellular plans have been happy with them.  It's one of the few carriers where I don't hear regular complaints from friends.  Even the carrier I have now has some complaints from people, but we're now paying $81.24 per month for two phones with 700 minutes, unlimited texting and 4gb data usage on both phones.  I'll deal with a few pockets here and there of coverage issues for that difference in price and respect.

So what is U.S. Cellular doing that actually proves they're different?  They have the industry's only points-based reward system so that you earn rewards for the things you do as a good customer.  My personal favorite is that there is no contract after the first contract ends.  The free incoming calls and texts really would have saved me with my old carrier - think of how many minutes you wouldn't use!  And the offer free overage protection and a free battery swap for your device, other things that come in handy far too often with your mobile devices.

Are you happy with your carrier?  If not, why are you staying?

This has been a sponsored post from One2One Network.  That said, all opinions remain my own.