Consumer Cellular

In 2008, Consumer Cellular became a preferred provider for AARP members, becoming the first cellphone company to market extensively to the over-50 demographic.[9]

The company’s first retail presence was established in 2011 with a partnership with Sears Stores nationwide. In 2014, Consumer Cellular was introduced in Target Stores,[10] and in 2018 became available at select U.S. Best Buy stores.[11] In 2013, the company introduced a smartphone financing program called EasyPay that is available to consumers purchasing smartphones that cost $200 and up.[12] That same year, the company partnered with SquareTrade to begin providing cellphone protection plans.[13]

Consumer Cellular celebrated the company's millionth customer in February 2013 by donating one million dollars; 100,000 to five non-profit partners and the rest to their employees. To celebrate its 20th anniversary and 2 million customer milestone, Consumer Cellular donated $2 million to the Knight Cancer Challenge on behalf of their customers in 2015.[14]

In recognition of reaching the milestone of 2.5 million customers in the summer of 2017, Consumer Cellular donated 2.5 million meals to feed families and seniors in need through the Feeding America Network,[15] and to mark the addition of its 3 millionth customer in October, 2018, the company donated $500,000 to each of 3 charities selected by its employees.[16] In August, 2019 Consumer Cellular celebrated its 3.5 millionth customer by donating $350,000 to the American Red Cross through the Disaster Responder Program.[17]

Consumer Reports subscribers have rated Consumer Cellular highest in the magazine's annual review of cellphone service providers seven times. The magazine’s rankings are compiled from a survey of subscribers who grade carriers in eight different categories including value, voice and text quality, and customer support.[26]

Consumer Cellular has been ranked by J.D. Power as “#1 in Customer Service among Non-Contract Value Wireless Providers, 9 Times in a Row.” The awards are based on the results of the J.D. Power 2016 V2 - 2020 V2 U.S. Wireless Customer Care Performance Study, which focus on the experiences of wireless service customers who made a sales transaction with their current carrier.[27]

In June 2017, a consumer survey conducted by the customer experience firm Market Force Information named Consumer Cellular the favorite wireless cellphone carrier among non-contract providers for the second year in a row. Carriers were ranked in multiple categories to determine customer satisfaction and loyalty. Consumer Cellular came out on top for best value, best coverage, fewest dropped calls, easiest to change plan, and best flexibility, among others.[28]

Readers polled by PC Magazine ranked Consumer Cellular as top mobile carrier in its annual “Consumer Recommended” list for 2018. The rankings were based on a company’s net promoter score, with Consumer Cellular’s score of 87 out of 100 being described by the magazine as “user love that is almost unheard of in the tech world.”[29] Consumer Cellular has also been selected as “Favorite Wireless Carrier” by PC Magazine readers 6 years in a row in its “Reader’s Choice” survey.[30]