Signal Faded; Unreliable Service

I took a quick trip to Green Bay, Wisconsin this weekend - and wouldn't you know, Sprint let me down again and again. Not only does my phone die after hours of searching for signal, it rarely receives text messages or phone calls in a timely manner. This morning, when I woke up, I grabbed my phone and it read: "SMS \ MMS: 25 unread" - which included several text messages that were several days old.

Some of the texts I've missed this weekend include:
"Hey, where are you? Come outside"
"Text me when you get this so we can hang"
"Just walking the dog. Sorry I missed ya! You still around?"
"Still up? Just got home... Call if not too late"

Sadly, I've had to tell my friends: Don't text me if you need an immediate answer. However, I've also had to tell them: Don't call me if you need an immediate answer, because my phone doesn't ring most of the time, nor does it realize that I've missed a call or that I have voicemail - and so no notifications are displayed.

So how can folks get ahold of me? I've asked people to message me on Facebook so that I can MANUALLY check my account when I'm at a computer in the event that someone needs me. Sometimes, the phone has signal long enough where I can check Facebook over the air, but most of the time, I just get "page cannot load."

On the way home, the phone died (3 hours into the 4 hour trip). So much for anyone being able to get ahold of me. *shakes head*

Maybe Sprint could change their slogan: Unreliable, just when you need it the most.