For Mikel Owens, her love of Twigby began completely by accident. Mikel is a mother of 4 living a busy life in Williamson County, just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. She has 3 school-aged children, and a preschooler at home. Mikel works at a local preschool and spends a large part of most days on the road in her minivan shuttling kids to and from music lessons, sports practices, and church activities. When her oldest daughter Emma was starting a new school, the family quickly discovered the tween needed her own phone. Coaches were sending texts and teachers were using phones for classwork assignments. When Emma started the new year without a phone, she was left out. Mikel was actually making the dreaded trip to research and buy a new cell phone, when a friend told her about Twigby. She had never heard of it, but some quick research told her plans started as low as only $9 a month. With an easy sign-up process and no contract to worry about, giving Twigby a try seemed like a no-brainer.
“Emma started middle school, and she needed a simple plan to communicate with us and her friends,” says Mikel. We wanted a plan that would let her call and text her friends as much as she needed, but we weren’t ready to begin paying for a data plan for an 11-year-old. Twigby gives families the flexibility to design the plan that works best for them. Whether it’s calling, texting or data, you only pay for what you need.
Mikel says the website was so easy to navigate. The plans are easy to understand; she felt confident she was getting what she needed, and not paying for what she didn’t.
“It’s just so simple,” she says, “You’re not tricked into getting something you don’t need”. Mikel decided on the $11 per month plan for her daughter. Now, Emma can call and text her friends, as well as keep up with school work and extracurricular actives. Using WiFi is second nature to kids like Emma. She is comfortable logging on both at home and at school. That means the family doesn’t pay for data, keeping the cost of the plan low, while still covering everything Emma needed.
“It was fantastic”, says Mikel. Emma was surprised at Christmas with a certified iPhone from Twigby, and the middle schooler is so happy with her phone, and the newfound freedom it provides.
Mikel monitored Emma’s phone carefully. She had strong coverage at home, on the bus, at school and everywhere the soon-to-be teen went. She didn’t miss calls or texts, and was able to keep up with her friends and use the phone for schoolwork. After a few months of low cell phone bills and a happy daughter, Mikel was so impressed with Twigby, she started thinking about switching her own phone plan. Mikel and her husband were on a shared plan from Verizon costing them about $250 each month.
“He needed more data for work,” she says, “but I wasn’t using any. It was such a waste.” They were in the typical cell phone trap of paying for services they didn’t need or use.
This time Mikel knew just where to turn. She actually laughs at how easy it was to transfer her phone number to Twigby. Mikel says she hates making phone calls to sort out bills or ask questions. Waiting on hold, dealing with foreign call centers, and the time it takes to ask questions really gets under her skin. It is even a running joke between Mikel and her husband about who has to make the next call to sort out a problem. That’s not an issue with Twigby. Mikel says the ease of Twigby’s website is one of her favorite parts. She puts the computer on the counter while working in the kitchen and chats with the helpful Twigby representative while fixing dinner or washing the dishes. Twigby support is there to help with a variety of questions from phones to service to coverage, all without picking up a phone and waiting on hold.
“I love that, I love it! I dread having to make phone calls to service providers. I have kids around me all the time, I prefer doing it all online.” With the help of Twigby Customer Support Representatives and a few clicks on her computer, Mikel designed a plan that was perfect for her. It has just the right amount of minutes, data and even includes free texting. For example: a customer who uses 500 talk minutes and 1 gigabyte of data each month, along with unlimited texts pays just $21 dollars a month. That’s just a fraction of the cost of the big national providers. Plus, Twigby customers know just what they’ll see on their bill each month. Some cell customers get an unwelcome surprise with huge unexpected bills at the end of the month, just because they underestimated their usage, or had an unusually busy month. Mikel says that problem is totally alleviated, with Twigby’s Overage Protection. The free service allows her to have total control over her bill. With Overage Protection activated, she’s guaranteed to never go over the limits of her rate plan. Mikel chose to keep Overage Protection off, so if she ever needs to go over her allotment for a month, her plan simply rolls up to the next rate plan. With no high overage charges, or keeping track of minutes, she’s free to use her phone as much as she wants while being assured she won’t get any surprise charges at the end of the month.
Do you already have a favorite phone? One you feel comfortable with, that brings a smile to your face as you reminisce about that funny scratch on the back? With Twigby, you’re welcome to use your old phone friend, or if you want an upgrade, you can choose from the tons they offer, starting at just over $20. Mikel needed a new phone and settled on one that works perfectly for her. Now she has a new phone, and her new plan with all the calls, texts and data she needs costs her just $30 each month. That’s what’s great about Twigby: cell phone plans don’t have to be one size fits all. Each customer designs their own plan by calculating the call minutes and data plan that fits their need and keeps them on budget. Mikel’s simple switch saves her family about $90 a month. Money the mother of 4 can definitely use somewhere else in the family budget. “I can’t believe everybody doesn’t do it,” she laughs.
Twigby has a plan for every American family. Of course, it’s great for seniors, teens, and people on fixed incomes, but just like Mikel, everyone likes to save money. If you’re trying to put a little extra aside for a big purchase, a family trip, or even just an evening out, why not start with the simplest ways to add to your bank account? With Twigby, you have nothing to lose. You keep the security and the convenience of your cell phone. You have coverage where and when need it. You have simple plans with something for everyone. Twigby also includes free text messages. There are no hidden fees and no surprise bills at the end of the month. You have experienced customer support, without the hassle of long phone calls and wasted time on hold.
For Mikel, changing cell phone companies may have been a bit unexpected, but her decision to trust Twigby has been a welcome change for her family—one she is happy to share with anyone who asks. “I brag about it all the time,” she says “I think some people don’t even believe me, it’s so good.”
You can read more Twigby reviews at PhoneDog.
