Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
TracFone - an idea long overdue, December 21, 2001
Recently read with interest that U.S. domestic cellphone revenue is only going to be about 9% of the world total, but unfortunately the major providers just don't seem to be willing to wake up to real consumer's needs. People just don't like having to get hooked into expensive contracts that charge whether you use the damned thing or not. The TracFone system goes a long ways toward providing a sensible pay-as-you-go service that never requires that you pay for time that's not used, and that was a big deciding factor for me. For those who don't expect to be heavy users, and those who despise the recurrent monthly costs associated with "conventional" plans, the TracFone idea is just about perfect. The phones themselves vary in price from nearly free to about $99, and come with a very limited amount of minutes (credits). Then you are expected to purchase cards in denominations of 10, 30, 60, 120, or 300 minutes. But the best deal is to buy the "Plus-3" card that gives 100 minutes + 120 bonus minutes, since this keeps your activation going for the entire year and costs under $100 (shop around). The best thing about TracFone is that you never lose the time you pay for, just so long as you keep it activated, and that can work out to less than $8/month. And remember to take full advantage of the generous bonus minutes during the first year after initial activation. This service is cheap enough that I bought phones for both my wife and myself, I don't know of any other service that even comes close.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Road Warriors Friend, December 8, 2001
I have had a TracFone for 7 months. I think it is a fine product/service. I realize that I am only giving this product (TracFone 300 minute phonecard) 3 stars, that is because average cell phone users use more than 300 or even 500 minutes a month. It is ideal for a small market of low usage consumers. However, it may be even better suited for a larger market of those who travel across the country constantly. Roaming charges on a standard cell/digital phone service plan can get very expensive and may not have true nationwide service. The reason I purchased the TracFone 7 months ago was for the event of an emergency while traveling on vacation across a number of states. No contracts, and nationwide coverage. I will continue to keep my TracFone activated on a yearly basis for less than a "few bucks" month with the Plus 3 card, as vacations are an annual event. I will also purchase other 120 and 300 minute phone cards for their value. Thank you.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great phone...Terrible Costumer Service, October 30, 2002
By A Customer
I purchased a Tracfone (Nokia 5100 series) two weeks ago. In the User Guide I found a card promising 30 free airtime minutes for activating the phone on the web. I would also get 10 free minutes for activation in general and 10 minutes for providing my e-mail address. That would add up to 50 free minutes, which seemed like a good deal to me.
However, after I did all of the above I only received 20 minutes. I called the costumer service and the rep told me that that particular card (30 free minutes) was no longer valid, and that I would only get 10 minutes for activating on the web. (There was no expiration date on the 30-minutes free card) Well, that was enough to set off my husband who said I should call back and DEMAND those 30 minutes. I got another rep on the line and told him the story about the 30 free minutes. He told me that I should have gotten an e-mail from Tracfone (which I didn't) confirming my e-mail address and that I could call Tracfone at that time to receive an extra 10 minutes. Of course that still didn't add up to 50 minutes. Then my husband decided to get in on the game. He called and got yet another person on the line who didn't want to deal with a 'demanding' customer and hung up on him! (My husand was polite and calm throughout the call. I heard the conversation.) He called back a second time and got yet another rep on the phone, who didn't understand the problem. So he kept asking for the supervisor, then the super-supervisor, etc. Finally he got somebody whose first language was english, and who understood what he was talking about. After a lot of back and forth he finally received the 30 minutes we should have gotten in the first place. They were probably so sick of him by then that they gave in just to be rid of him. One more problem I came across; the voice mail system is not accessible the way it is described in the Nokia user manual. I kept getting a busy signal every time I tried to access it. When I called Costumer Service the rep told me that I have to call my own Tracfone number and interrupt the greeting with the star key and then key in my pass code. That does work but of course it costs you precious airtime minutes. (When you call your voice mail from a landline, I doesn't cost you time)
The phone works great. Good coverage and a long battery life. In short, I really like the phone, but the initial activation and set-up is a lot more hassle than it should be. Getting what they owe you is like pulling teeth. Keep calling and keep demanding that they live up to their promises. Asking for somebody higher up in the hierarchy almost always seems to work. (By the way, my husband went through a similar hassle when he bought and activated his Tracfone last June. But he's very happy with it now.) So five stars for the phone, 1 star for Tracfone's so-called 'costumer service'. Hope this is of help.
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