I never intended to keep someone from lunch break

Most people haven't heard of
Walmart Family Mobile. 
They are the lucky ones!

Mini has received her first cell phone.  Not sure if I have ever mentioned the extreme frustration involved in using Walmart as a cell phone provider.  Walmart Family Mobile - a great budget option, if you can handle the stress involved if you EVER REQUIRE ANY FORM OF SERVICE FROM THEM. 

I hate shopping at Walmart.  Why would having a phone plan thru Walmart be a good idea?  I mean, it is very cheap.  I try to remind myself that if I only have to deal with Walmart personnel once a year, then I can handle it.  Fingers crossed.  (Really the 'service' we get thru Walmart makes me do other things with one finger in particular, and it doesn't involve crossing).

EXAMPLE #1  (oh, there are many - but I will limit it).  Last summer when Laddie once again required a new phone, I bought a new phone for myself, too.  At the dreaded Walmart.  My phone was a few years old and had started forcing me to remove the battery and blow on it a few times before reinserting and trying to power it up.  As they say, it was time. 

Somehow when they swapped out our phones, they removed our phones (and Ed's too) from auto pay.  Translation:  every month our phones (not Coach's) would shut down until Coach had time to get online and pay our phone bill.  After SEVERAL months of Coach begging them to reinstate all the phones to auto pay, I took the bull by the horns.  I made one phone call.  I unleashed every four letter word known to man.  Phones were magically hooked back into the auto pay system. 

When I ran into Walmart in mid May to purchase Lad's new phone, I opted to buy Mini a phone at the same time so I didn't have to return a few weeks later when she graduated.  I left her phone in the box and inactive until after graduation.  I am a stickler for consistency.  If her older siblings didn't have a phone until graduation, then she wouldn't get one any earlier.

EXAMPLE #2:  No one at the phone counter ever knows what to do or how to do it.  The real reason I didn't activate Mini's new phone was that the Walmart employee was on the phone forever asking the 1-800-number-peeps if we could add Mini to our family plan (I was going to activate it and keep it in my closet until graduation because I didn't know that they could activate it remotely.  Thought it had to be in the store.  Thank goodness for small favors).  Ultimately they said, 'No, we can't add her phone.  You already have 5 lines.'

I decided to shop around for other plans.  If I found a better deal, I would return the phone to the dreaded Walmart building and jump ship.  Nothing came close budget wise, so we called Walmart back and they said we COULD add another line - Mini would just be on her own plan with the same family discount as the rest of us.  Huh?  Then what was the big deal?  You get a different response every time you talk to someone.

I'm bouncing around here, but I think it is because I haven't eaten lunch.  Been driving kids all over the place all day.  I am going to be grouchy with all of them until I accomplish something that is important to me, so please bare with me.

EXAMPLE #3:  So back when Lad and I were in the store in mid May, the first person that we spoke to when Lad and I approached the phone counter had a mini panic attack right before our eyes.  She was melting down because it was 11:58 and she HAD to clock out by noon or she wouldn't get her lunch break.  In addition, she would get in lots of trouble.  Really?

I hate how Walmart treats their employees.  I have read 'Nickel and Dimed.,' have you?  Oh, the horrors.  Information about when an overworked, underpaid employee takes a lunch break should never be the customer's concern.  This woman scurried off to her lunch break mumbling to herself and looking like a frightened animal that was being chased.  She did this while I was in mid-sentence about our phone needs.  Lad and I were left alone and bewildered at the cell phone counter.  FOREVER. 

I recognize that my parents think I am a little nuts.  But then I reminded myself that they didn't have to deal with cell phones, teenagers with cell phones, cell phone bills, lost or broken cell phones, etc.  (well, in fact they STILL don't deal with cell phones because they refuse).  They also didn't have  crazy, confusing, expensive, inadequate health insurance either.  And college tuition for their kids was borderline affordable.  They can tell me to relax and stop cussing all they want.  They don't realize how easy they had it back in the good 'ole days!