I arrived home from Offshore to an old cell phone and a company #1 pay-as-you-go account. After a month on pay-as-you-go while scouting my options, I decided that the best plan for me was to switch to company #2. It was a hard decision because I like some of the perks that come with #1, but #2 was going to be more cost effective and possibly less of a hassle in the long run.
Today I went and did the switching because my pay-as-you-go expires tomorrow, so I’d be phone-less regardless. Switching it over was easy, I had no hassles and I walked out of the store 15 min later with the new phone. I admit, there were some regrets. I like my old phone. Its not a flip or a slide, and it doesn’t have any of those fancy features that new phones have. It is about 4 years old, mind you, and I’m not entirely confident in its ability to ring if I have an incoming call, but they don’t offer no-flip/slide phones much anymore (unless I want to pay big bucks for a blackberry) and thats all I’ve ever had. Switching also meant leaving the only wireless company I’ve ever been with in Canada, which has to mean something.
It was the transferring of the number from old to new which gave me the first inkling that this was a good idea. First, the serial number on old phone was wrong, then the account number I had was incorrect. After a few very helpful calls to company #2, the new one, I needed to call company #1. I hate calling company #1. They have one of those voice automatic systems where you get this annoying non-person saying “Hi, I’m Melanie, and I’m here to help you…” If there is any background noise at all, “she” registers that, not your voice meaning the conversation goes something like this:
“I want Account Options”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t get that. Do you want to add money to your account today?”
“NO”
“Okay, what can I help you with today?”
“Person, I want to talk to a real person”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t get that. Do you want to add money to your account today?”
“NO. Account Options”
“Did you say Account Options”
“Good Lord, Yes”
“Okay, Account Options. For blah blah blah, say ‘blah blah blah or press 1…’…”
Ahhhh. I just want to talk to a real person.
Finally, I got through to someone and they were less than impressed that I didn’t know my password. I haven’t used the phone for a full year, I don’t remember my password. “Do you want to take a guess at what it is?” No, not really, do you know how many things I have passwords and PINs for? Everyone says it is a good idea not to repeat PINs. But, realistically in today’s electronic world, how many PINs can the average person remember? I should, by all accounts, have hundreds of PINs. I know I cannot remember all of those!
So after a rant about only wanting my account number because I can’t get it online and the phone information is wrong and I will give you any of the other information on my account but please give me the account number, he gave me the account number.
Account number in hand (and with it now saved for all time and eternity so I never have to call #1 again), I call up #2. Two buttons pushed, and I have a real person. He is very nice and in no time has everything working again. Suddenly, I’m not regretting my switch to company #2, a company I had previously sworn off.
All of this to say, I still have a cell phone and the number has not changed. If you don’t remember what my old number was/is, drop me an email and I’ll send it because I’m not posting it online for obvious reasons.
gillian's island 