Colorado Mills is one of Denver’s newest suburban malls. The warm, well-lit corridors are lined with like likes of Gap, Target, K-B Toys, Chili’s and other clothing, eatery, trinket and curio shops. And in an indication of the growing importance of wireless in American culture, Colorado Mills boasts a total of 13 different locations hawking wireless goods and services.
Cingular Wireless L.L.C., T-Mobile USA Inc. and Verizon Wireless operate branded mall stores, while Spring Communications, RadioShack and Phones Plus resell wireless services out of their own stores. And Qwest Communications Inc., Diamond Wireless, Cell City, Wireless Dimensions, Mobile Solution (I and II) and Leap Wireless International Inc. operate kiosks offering wireless services, handset accessories or both.
In this cornucopia of wireless, a Colorado Mills shopper can purchase Cingular phones and services from four different locations in the mall without ever setting foot in the carrier’s own store.
Thus, Colorado Mills is an ideal location to tap into the heartbeat of the industry. On a recent Saturday, the mall was teeming with pre-holiday shoppers looking to escape the city’s latest snowstorm. Many of those shoppers were investigating wireless.
“We don’t use cell phones all that much,” said Danielle Llewelyn, a schoolteacher who lives and works in Summit County, Colo.
Llewelyn was in Colorado Mills to see if she could replace her Sony Ericsson T-616, which she had accidentally dropped and broken while getting into her car. The phone can still make and receive calls, but the screen doesn’t work, so Llewelyn has no idea whether she’s placing a call or composing a text message.
“It’s sort of funny,” she said while peering at her darkened phone.
A year ago, Llewelyn and her husband bought matching phones from AT&T Wireless Services Inc. to stay in touch with friends and family during their move to the mountain community of Summit County. The couple relied solely on their mobile phones for several months afterward, but recently purchased landline service to dial into the Internet. Llewelyn said her husband uses his mobile phone often for work, but as a teacher, Llewelyn said she doesn’t really use hers much.
“It’s really only for the commute,” she said. “I definitely don’t use it near as much as some other people.”
The same goes for wireless data. Llewelyn said she used her phone (before it broke) to place and receive calls, and that was about it. The one feature she did play with was the phone’s integrated camera, which she used to take a picture of her 4-year-old daughter Mayanna and install it as her phone’s wallpaper. Mayanna, gazing into a Colorado Mills toy store, smiles sweetly at her mother as if posing for the picture.
Trying to get a replacement for the phone-which she doesn’t use very much anyway-has turned into a “pain in the butt,” Llewelyn said. Cingular is in the midst of merging with AT&T Wireless, and Llewelyn is stuck in the middle with a busted handset. She said her recent calls to the carrier’s customer service number have been met with hold times of up to 20 minutes.
“It’s not really pleasant,” Llewelyn said as she made her way toward the mall’s Cingular store with Mayanna in tow.
Mark’s research
Mark is in the market for a new phone. The real-estate dealer who would only give his first name, was in RadioShack inspecting various clamshell-style phones from Sprint. Mark has been a Sprint customer for 12 years and is relatively happy with his current phone and service, but was visiting Colorado Mills to consider his options.
“I want a compact phone, speaker and battery,” he explained.
Mark didn’t know what brand of Sprint phone he currently owns, but said he would like to get one that was smaller than his 5-year-old handset.
An intense, get-to-the-point businessman, Mark said he has no need for advanced features like picture sharing or text messaging.
“I don’t understand text messaging,” he said. “Why sit there … when you could just call and leave a voicemail?”
Nevertheless, Mark said he is considering a BlackBerry device from Research In Motion Ltd., which would allow him to check his e-mail without needing to log into his desktop computer. With such a device Mark said he could also check real-estate listings on the Internet, which would come in handy in his line of work.
The next stop, Mark said, was Cingular’s store. He knew the carrier had recently acquired AT&T Wireless, and he said it might be offering better coverage and better deals.
“I don’t know-I’ll look into it,” he said, flashing a quick smile.
Rich is fed up
Rich Gold hustled out of Colorado Mills’ T-Mobile USA store, his jacket slung over his shoulder and a frown on his face. He plans to switch carriers as soon as possible.
“That’s why I went in there-to see when my plan is up,” he said.
A T-Mobile customer for almost a year, Gold has nothing good to say about the carrier. Gold said T-Mobile’s poor coverage in Fort Collins, Colo., forces him to go onto his apartment balcony to place calls. He recently broke his phone, and trying to get a replacement handset involves a significant amount of time and effort. Finally, Gold said T-Mobile keeps sneaking in extra charges into his bill, and the carrier’s customer service representatives can’t seem to explain them.
“Something has got to improve,” agreed Dena Gold, Rich’s mother.
Dena signed up for T-Mobile’s family plan because it was the cheapest. She said she pays around $200 a month for five accounts, one of which belongs to Rich. Dena said she pays for the phones to stay in touch with her three children-including Rich, who is attending college in Fort Collins.
For his part, Rich was working on getting a replacement phone for the one he broke. And to get a replacement, Rich said he will have to mail T-Mobile a copy of his driver’s license, a copy of his receipt and a copy of the information on the phone’s packaging. Before T-Mobile, Rich said he was a Cricket customer and enjoyed the carrier’s service because it was easy to replace a broken phone. Rich said he had to drop Cricket because the carrier didn’t provide coverage in Fort Collins.
“The most frustrating thing is a broken phone,” he said.
When asked why he seems to have so much trouble with broken phones, Rich shrugged and said, “You know, parties and stuff. It can be rough if it’s in your pocket.” Rich was borrowing his mother’s phone until he could get a replacement.
Dena Gold said T-Mobile’s coverage is spotty and their customer service support is shoddy. The family’s contract with T-Mobile is almost up, and Dena said the Gold family will likely move on to another carrier.
Wayne’s big head
“The small flip phones are not big enough,” said Wayne Madsen, a teacher who recently moved to Denver from Colorado Springs.
Madsen, a big man who stands well over 6 feet, said he would like to get a phone with big buttons and an easy-to-use menu. He said the latest batch of ultra-slim, clamshell-style phones are simply too small for him to navigate. And, Madsen said without a cracking a smile, his head is too big too, making it hard for him to speak into the phone’s receiver.
Madsen was visiting a Verizon Wireless store in Colorado Mills to see if he could get a replacement phone for the one he broke. He said he was hurrying to his school’s stadium to watch the football team play, and his phone fell out of his pocket. Now Madsen is using his old handset. Madsen didn’t know the phone’s manufacturer, but a quick inspection revealed it to be a Nokia Corp. device.
“I got Verizon because the coverage is the best,” Madsen said.
Madsen said he was a Qwest customer several years ago but dropped the service after Qwest insisted on billing him $45 for a single call. Madsen said he made the call in the center of Colorado Springs-his home coverage area-but Qwest logged the call outside of its network and charged him roaming fees. Madsen said he canceled his service “on principle.”
Now, Madsen said, he’s satisfied with Verizon.
“I probably won’t trade it-the service is really good,” he said. “I’m one of those customers who’s really loyal.”
Madsen said he will probably replace his broken phone with his sister’s old phone. Madsen said his sister-who works in the medical field-has an advanced phone that she plans to replace soon. Madsen didn’t know what kind of advanced device his sister owned, but described it as “exotic, like a Ferrari.”
Madsen said he owns a landline phone, but only his parents call him on it. He said he relies on his wireless phone for most of his communications and enjoys being able to stay in touch while on the go. For example, he said that before he purchased a mobile phone his mother once broke her hip on a Friday “and I didn’t know it was broken until Monday.”
“I guess I should have a phone,” Madsen said. RCR
