I'll take the occasional data mishaps over a locked in overpriced carrier any day of the week. Does it suck? Yep, but as big as Metro is getting they will need to resolve not only the data issues, but they may need to rethink the whole not having a 3G network. Too many people I know that have Metro, go to them because of the things like no contract and cheaper end phones.
Not everyone can afford a 4G LTE device and are happy with a basic handset.