My Mom’s First Selfie, My Secret Phone, and My Code Name is Cheesasaurus Rex

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I’ve been with Sprint for over a decade. More than eleven years, according to a HAND-WRITTEN note from Angie at Sprint. Actually, it’s been about twelve years, but who’s counting?

Disclosity-closure: I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Sprint. I received a sample device to facilitate my review. I really have been a Sprint customer for what seems like forever. And I really would recommend them. And there’s a pretty fun story below, so keep reading. 

I like to say that I sold my soul to Sprint back in the fall of 2002 for a VERY fancy, then-super-techy flip phone. The Sanyo flip with a pretty blue screen and a retractable antenna was ALL the rage…and a pretty lofty upgrade from my Nokia brick with the hot pink sparkle face plate (Funny; come to think of it, my phone now is bigger than that brick). It was also jumping from a Chicagoland cellular phone provider to a company that had nationwide service, particularly service that stretched to the middle of Illinois, in Peoria, where I was a student at Bradley University.

So I sold my soul. Because I’m never leaving the Sprint family. (And it’s totally not a bad thing.)

What started as just me, and worked up to a family plan of five (me, Brian, Mama Bear, Papa Bear (post about Dad coming soon), and Little Brother), was a business relationship that has, in truth, had its ups and downs. My Sprint love-affair was a little rocky for a few years. Between 2011 and 2013, Sprint service was spotty. I was on the phone with customer service almost as often as I was on the phone with Brian. I got to know several of the customer service associates and they were, in fact, the reason I stayed with Sprint. I would get yelly, and they would calmly explain that they were upgrading the towers and talk me off my ledge.

Luckily, I stuck around. The Sprint upgrades in the Chicago metro area now include 4G LTE (long-term evolution) and HD voice (high-definition voice) so Sprint customers like me can get faster speeds and better call quality. Speeds of 50-60 Mbps are especially beneficial for streaming video and online gaming.

But this fancy 4G LTE service isn’t just for Sprint customers. Boost Mobile, a subsidiary brand of Sprint that offers pre-paid plans, also runs on the network. For the last several weeks, I’ve been testing out the LG Volt with a Boost Mobile monthly plan courtesy of the powers that be over at Sprint and Boost Mobile.

LG Volt
The LG Volt retails for $179.99

For $35, my secret phone and I can talk, text and max out on up to 1GB of high-speed data. They also have higher plans for $45 and $55 with higher levels of monthly high-speed data. Since this wasn’t my “real” number, I allowed myself to play with the Facebook app, Twitter app, and use it for social media galore. Which worked out well. I texted and called just a few people with the number, allowing it to be my “secret” phone. Obviously, I needed a code name.

Secret Phone and Code Name
A textversation with one of my favorite people.

My mom is excited that she’s getting her first smart phone pretty soon (coughthisonecough), so I let her test it out. The first thing she did? She took a selfie. My cousin and I photo bombed it. (The self-facing camera isn’t my favorite (It only has 1.3 MP), but it’s still better than a certain little i. I’m just saying.

My mom, my aunts, and my cousin were at cats for Halloween. Me? I was a mouse.
My mom, my aunts, and my cousin were at cats for Halloween. Me? I was a mouse.

The rest of the features are pretty on par with my regular smart phone. I really enjoyed having a phone that utilizes the Kit Kat system. Brian was less than impressed with some of the pre-loaded apps. I can’t say I blame him.

LG Volt pre-loaded apps review

The 8 MP rear-facing camera was pretty solid, too. Doesn’t it make you just want to drink capirinha  all night long?

Capirinha

What do you think, Blog Friends? Do you have Sprint? What cell phone service provider do you have? Do you love them, hate them or neither? Would you try out the Boost Mobile service for an easy $35 monthly cost?

You can also keep up with Sprint on Facebook and Twitter.

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6 Responses

  1. I had Sprint for a few years and they were honestly the worst cell phone provider I’ve ever had. I couldn’t even get a signal in my apartment and had to get a signal extender, which resulted in unwieldy, ugly cords draped around my apartment. Their customer service was completely disinterested in my problem and I felt like I was paying a lot of money for lousy service, so I switched to Verizon. I’m fully satisfied with Verizon and plan on sticking!

    I’m definitely glad you’re having a good Sprint experience! Really just goes to show how different the service levels can be in different parts of the country. There were whole stretches in my city (main, populated stretches) where I got zero bars of signal.

    1. I had the same problem with them. They sold me a 4G phone in an area with barely any 4G coverage, and when I found out they I had no signal where I lived, they offered me a signal booster…which I would have to pay for. Also, they wouldn’t let me out of my contract because their coverage maps showed that I should have signal.

      Their customer service was abysmal and when I told them they had just lost me as a customer neither the guy or his supervisor seemed to care.

    2. Wow! I had one or two customer service reps who I didn’t love, but most of the time I had really excellent people who genuinely helped. I got a credit toward my monthly bill during the rough patch, and had some of the Sprint reps’ e-mail addresses to contact them personally, which is why I essentially stayed with them. They promised better cell service in Chicago, and I stuck around…it has drastically improved all over the area.

      But I can absolutely understand why you both left the provider. Jaime is totally right how different it can be in parts of the country. The purpose of this campaign is to promote the upgraded towers, which I’ve definitely noticed in a good way.

  2. I worked for AT&T for five years, so I’ve been a tried and true customer since back when they were Cingular. BUT Alex and I actually just switched to Verizon last weekend… it was cheaper, more data, and they gave us a $300 bill credit. Oh my gosh this comment is super boring. But it felt like the ending of an era! An era wherein I no longer have people who can hook me up and make my problems go away, but also can no longer creep on me and sell intel to my ex from the time. Ha, okay, still pretty boring.

    1. Ha! I actually switched from Cingular because they had zero service in Peoria. I had been with them since they were Cellular One. And I made Brian switch from AT&T to Sprint to join my family plan. And my response is just as boring. *sigh*

      Look a goat!

      I had to try to make it more exciting for you.

  3. Here in Canada we have the big 3 – Bell, Telus and Rogers. They’re all ok, and yet all equally crap at the same time. Canada’s mobile plans are notoriously expensive. I pay $70 for 250 minutes and only 500mb of data (but I’ve got the usual free evenings, caller ID, voice mail, text blah blah blad). But yeah. It’s not cheap. And because there is very little competition, they all basically have the same service with the same rates. It’s a lesser of a few evils kinda deal so I’ve been with Telus for about 12 years because there’s no benefit to switching. That being said, our customer service is really good and we have solid cross Canada signal for all 3 companies. I’ve had to call customer service maybe 2 or 3 times in the last 12 years. No joke.

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