I often blog about situations that run amuck. Mistakes, oversights, or hiccups. I've been making notes of 'oops' to share during NaBloPoMo.
Phone service: Forever ago, we had Tracfones, adding minutes to our flip phones as needed. There was nothing smart about those phones, but they worked. When we graduated to 'real' phones, Coach identified Walmart Family Mobile as the cheapest option. We've had that service for roughly 13 years.
It wasn't always horrible, or maybe we didn't need to contact customer service as often as we have recently. Maybe there was a merger? I don't even know anymore. After the snafu with Reg's phone in September, I was done.
Last week, Mini's phone stopped getting service. I called the 1-800# and thought I might experience "Death by poor customer service".
Turns out, when we updated our credit card info a few months ago, the * manager didn't set Reg and Mini's phones up with recurring service - it ended after a month or two. This is the same issue Tank had last month. Because who wants their phone to work for more than a month at a time?
* they claim everyone who works there is a manager. A fun trick, because you can never say, "Let me speak to a manager."
I got it straightened out, but the next day I ran to the Verizon store during nap time while Reg was home.
Frozen: After almost 2 hours, I left without new service. Our credit was frozen back when there was that big ordeal and everyone was supposed to freeze their credit. We were struggling to unfreeze it.
Since when did getting a phone become like getting a mortgage? Poor Emily, the young lady helping me. She wanted that sale. I was bringing in 7 new lines.
At 4:45 pm, the credit place said I was unfrozen and everything should be fine, so I drove back to Verizon. When I got there, my account was still frozen but a few minutes later it was good to go.
Other debacles: Walmart wouldn't unlock Reg's phone, because it was purchased less than 60 days ago. But! since it's taken me about 55 days to get this phone thing handled, he could get it unlocked on Nov. 4th. Walmart sent wrong codes to unlock other phones. *I hadn't eaten dinner.* Need I say more? While I begged a 1-800# 'manager' to send me a correct code to unlock my phone, I lost my marbles to the tune of SPEAKING LOUDLY.
Emily: She's had a very long day. (her explaining me to another patron who she was helping while I was in unlock-phone-jail)
If I never have to call Walmart Family Mobile again, I will die a happy woman.
It's all fun and games until
someone refuses to
come out of the toy fridge.
I may have felt like crawling
into a small space while
attempting to update
our phone service.
My phone's text alert sound stopped working a few weeks ago, unless I'm in Bluetooth. Huh? Once my new phone arrives, I'll be able to hear text alerts AND send texts without random '?' appearing between most words. Dare to dream.
Coach and Curly's phones weren't compatible with Verizon, so the three of us needed new phones. My older kids were like: Get an iPhone. I've always had an Android, but I caved to the peer pressure. I selected an iPhone for Curly too. When Coach, my husband who I thought I knew, decided to get an iPhone, well - I would've been less surprised if Taylor Swift appeared on my deck and offered my little girls a private concert
Coach and I were meeting friends for dinner Friday night.
Curly: I'll babysit. THAT'S TOTALLY FINE. YOU JUST GOT ME AN IPHONE!
I can't pick up my new phone until Reg's phone is unlocked, b/c I think I'm using his SIM card until then - but don't quote me . . . after sitting at Verizon 1.5 hours past closing for a combined 5.5 hours between my two visits, I realize that I know nothing. But hey, my 16 yo is willing to babysit.
What's the longest time you've owned a phone? (my dinosaur circa 2018, or 19) Are you like the Verizon people, who had never even heard of Walmart Family Mobile?
I've had a cell phone of some type since 2003 , I think, and I loved my little Nokia so much. My first smart phone lasted for a while- maybe 5 years?. Sad to think that's a long time. My previous cell was great,and worked well enough, but my husband upgraded me after a few years so he could use my old phone for synching with his exercise equipment or something. He dropped it the second day- cracks EVERYWHERE. This one is nice- amazing camera, good memory, but I liked the size if the other one. A little smaller fit better in pockets.
ReplyDeleteWe're tracfone all the way. My husband is thrifty, and I resent having people call me so I like limited minutes. The phone is such a chain - I would really like to go back to not being available 24/7.
Bless Emily from Verizon to get you through!
mbmom11 - The second day!!! Noooo. Walmart family mobile is a part of tracfone. I love being able to check my email when I'm not inside my house. I don't always love that I can be tracked down, but for the most part having a phone is handy. I do fear that my offspring will never figure out where anything is because they use GPS to guide them to everything.
DeleteI am sorry but this post is cracking me up and also making me feel frustrated all at once. First of all, I kept my Comcast internet for years past it's due date because it seemed like it would be a pain to switch, and then when I did switch it was surprisingly easy. However, I paid way too much for internet for a long time because of the fear of calling customer service (and having to get a new install from a different company).
ReplyDeleteMy Mom had a Trak phone the longest, since my parents did not even have cell service where they lived, so what was the point!? However, they moved and she came into the 21st century about 5 years ago (?) and she has not looked back. However, I handled the transfer (added the parents to my family plan) so they did not have to go through all that. PS I did have an iPhone back when that was the only smartphone but as soon as there was another option (Samsung), I switched. I now use a Pixel and love it. The only issue is that I can't airdrop with friends, but there are ways around that.
Kyria - It is almost comical. I would love to have a recording of some of the calls I've placed to the Walmart family mobile 1-800#. I'm convinced nothing could be more frustrating. I could never in a million years have grasped how difficult setting that up would be. We had a few snafus back when we were the last people on the planet without smart phones. Our neighbors once left Coach at a Blackhawks game. He drove with them there, but their seats weren't together. When they were ready to go, they texted him or called him. Either he didn't get service, or his phone couldn't text them back. They got fed up waiting to hear from him and drove home. He had to get a cab home. I don't like jumping on the iPhone bandwagon. I asked Emily a dozen times, If I don't like it, Can I switch to Samsung?
DeleteI dread switching phones, unlike my son Sam who gets the new iPhone whenever it comes out. He is a gadget guy (he once set up a strobe light and smoke machine to sync with his speaker to play his girlfriend's favourite song to welcome her home from a bad day at work).
ReplyDeleteI love my little red iPhone SE and even though it's starting to show its age and needs to be upgraded, I am fighting it. I don't transition well to new phone technology. I have small hands and hate big phones. The new ones look like tablets to me.
And oh my god I cannot imagine the $$$$$$ for seven lines. Ouch.
Nance - I will not be updating my phone Ever. I asked Emily so many times - Can I switch to Samsung if I don't like the iPhone? Curly hates how big her last phone was. She now has the iPhone SE. She felt like her other phone was enormous. I don't want a huge phone either. I think our phones will cost around $250/month. Maybe a bit more? I'm paying more for Mini to have a better plan, so she'll have coverage in Italy. When she gets home, she can drop down to a regular plan. And let's hope I don't have to be involved. Lad needs to start paying for his line. He says he will, but we have to figure out an automatic payment or something so it happens. Now, after I grew old in that store, I understand that staying on a plan with the family is cheaper. Tank will need to start paying for his phone when he graduates in May. Ed gets a phone thru his job. The little girls? Well, they will only ever get a chat phone, if I have anything to say about it. They're way too impressionable and can't be trusted with internet.
DeleteI had my phone with a slide out keyboard for 6 years from 2012 to 2018. That was phone #4. Before that I had a Nokia for a year or two and then two different flip phones. Those first three phones were owned over an 8 year period. I finally upgraded to a iPhone and my own plan (vs. the family plan I'd been on) when I decided I didn't want to be 35 and have my mom still paying my phone bill!
ReplyDeleteFun fact: my mom had a car phone back in the mid-90s and still has the same number for her cell phone.
Jenny - A slide out keyboard. Yep, I remember those. Six years was a long time. You have amazing recall when looking back at your phone ownership history. I'm impressed. I'd like you to call Lad when he turns 35 and give him the nudge to get off of our plan, if he's still on it. ;) I was just trying to explain car phones to Curly. I think it's one of those notable moments: the first person you knew/saw with a car phone. For me it was circa 1986, maybe, the woman I babysat for. But - your mom has the SAME number? That's wild.
DeleteI had the original iPhone SE for a long time. I liked it because the back was not glass. We have Verizon. It's expensive, but the coverage seems to be pretty good nationwide. My work phone is TMobile, and it's awful. I don't even have coverage at my house unless I'm in one of two spots inside, or in the back yard.
ReplyDeleteKara - Between you and Sarah, I'm suddenly uncertain I want this iPhone 15 . . . will it have a glass back? I'm way too clutzy to be trusted with that. I'm banking on good coverage and being able to talk to Mini while she's in South Bend. Most of her ND friends have Verizon, so I'm guessing it'll be smooth sailing.
DeleteOMG!! I broke the back of my iPhone and needed a repair. Easy enough to drop it off at the Apple Store (I made an appointment beforehand) and only $29 to fix. BUT when I picked it up the next day (with Minnie because OF COURSE), it took THREE HOURS to set it back up and leave.It was WORSE than buying a car.
ReplyDeleteSarah - Oh no - that is a terrible twist, decent price for a repair, but Who has time for that? If you'd have told me that I was gonna spend over 5 hours in two visits getting the phones switched, I honestly think I would've told my people that we were stuck with Walmart forEvah. That is worse than buying a car . . . although, Lad sells cars, so when Mini totaled the red minivan and Lad sold me the navy one - I was only there for a few minutes. This would be an amazing perk, if I bought a car every week or something. Ya know?
DeleteReading this has me exhausted... Why does everything have to difficult now?
ReplyDeleteTobia - I'm pretty sure that this wouldn't have been difficult for most people, but the source of all the difficulties stems from having phones with Walmart to begin with.
DeleteI’m not sure how long I’ve kept the same phone. Three or four years? We kept getting free upgrades, even though I was happy with what I had. I do remember the issue with frozen credit when I switched from Sprint to Verizon. I was doing it through online chat and it took me two days to complete because of the dumb credit issue.
ReplyDeleteBijoux - Upgrades - this is a thing I'm unfamiliar with. I'll be counting on my offspring to walk me thru how this apple stuff works. It's like when the time changed and my folks relied on one of us to come over and set the time on their VCR.
DeleteSee - I took the details out, because it was so long, but that credit thing really slowed things down. They had Coach's first name with my SS# and when I took a selfie with my drivers license, it didn't match their records, so no cigar. It was mind blowing.
What an ordeal. TBH, Verizon is probably not the cheapest service, but we've been with them since 2004 and never had any real issues.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the iPhone family... I hate to say I am brand-loyal, because I am not with many things, but I do love my iPhone.
San - I do not think Verizon is the cheapest. I think we HAD the cheapest, but I couldn't do it anymore. I haven't gotten my phone yet. I have to wait for Reg to get home because we have to go at the same time. Don't ask me why. I just follow the directions.
DeleteOh how exhausting! I hope that once this is all settled you have a good experience with Verizon. We've had good luck with them.
ReplyDeleteJ - It was exhausting. That was a huge chunk of my day. Good grief. I'm glad it's over . . . or almost over. A few of my kids aren't getting text messages from me at the moment. Will it get better after I get my iPhone? I think Reg will come home tomorrow night and then he and I have to go together to the Verizon store. I will not have 5 hours to give them.
Delete"It's all fun and games until someone refuses to come out of the toy fridge." This would make the PERFECT tagline to a parenting book. It encapsulates the experience of tending small children with surprising accuracy.
ReplyDeleteElisabeth - Ha. So funny. I do have a ton of advice and insight about parenting little people after babysitting for so many years. Hmm.
Deleteer me gosh, I left a long comment and poof--it was gone. Where was I? I can't remember. But I'm glad you've moved to Verizon (we've had little issues over the last how many years---15?) and we love using apple products; seems like they're ruling the world! No more ?? in our texts? What will that be like????
ReplyDelete