K, well you have to remember one thing... In cities like Portland and Seattle, the coverage is not as constant as those with fewer hills and more towers. Case in point, when I lived by the airport here in Seattle, I had shit reception, but in other areas, perfect. Verizon has fewer towers here than in the Midwest and east and many are leased... The reception is far less consistent than in those other areas. I live a 1/2 mile from a leased tower and have 2 bars right now... It's just how vz's coverage is in areas outside downtown. I've come to accept that here, whereas my tmobile and att friends don't have this problem.
If you're getting perfect reception in other areas than home, it the tower and coverage, not the phone. But hey, if you can get them to get you new phones, good on ya.