Rants

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Created on Friday, 01 July 2011 19:20

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So updating my blog every six months isn't bad, is it? I guess I really just have nothing interesting to say. I don't even post very often on Facebook. I'm on there every day and I read everyone else's posts, I just don't add much to the conversation. One thing I am good about, though, is complaining. Especially behind the wheel. I have a rant on most every topic imaginable. If I were to fill up my blog with my rants, I would have more than enough to post every single day. So here goes, rant #1.

Verizon Wireless.

I purchased a two-for-one deal from them a little over a year ago with Bug. She wanted the LG Env Touch phone and since there was a BOGO on it I decided to get myself one as well. I didn't take to it as well as she did, stumbling repeatedly over the command to "Unlock" every time I get a phone call. I push the unlock button repeatedly and then, just about the time I get it to unlock, the call goes to my voicemail. When Abe started talking new phones a few months later and found another BOGO deal on the Samsung Intensity II in metallic blue ("boo! hiss!" do not get this phone, it sucks), I opted to take the second phone and give The Man my Touch, which he thought he would like. I asked the Verizon Wireless guy if I could transfer the phone to my son and he said, "No problem!". Well, The Man didn't like it either, and the battery went dead on it after he'd had it a month making it impossible to use. He went back to his old phone and I asked Verizon Wireless to replace the battery on this practically new phone. Bummer for me, by transferring the phone to The Man who is also on my same cell phone plan I had nullified the warranty. Too bad VZ Wireless guy had neglected to mention that when he said it would be "No problem!" to transfer service. Oh well, Caveat Emptor and all that and I will never buy another phone from VZ Wireless.

So when I got my new VW it came with this nifty bluetooth connection so that I could use my phone hands-free whenever I drive. Bummer for me again, the metallic blue phone has an issue with bluetooth. Sometimes it connects... and most of the time it doesn't. It also has a problem with data. Too bad I pay for a plan that includes unlimited data and I am unable to use it. Well, sometimes it receives photo texts...and most of the time it doesn't. Sometimes it connects to Facebook and Twitter...and most of the time it doesn't. So I check online and other people are having the same issue. Their solution? Remove the battery from the back of the phone and start it up again. So if I want to use my hands-free feature in my car, I just need to remember every time I get into the car to yank off the protective cover, remove the battery cover and battery, then put it all back together again and turn the phone on and...voila! It may or may not connect to the bluetooth. Sometimes it connects and I make a call or two and then 5 minutes later get another call which I am unable to answer via bluetooth because "there is no recognized phone device".

I now know all the VZ Wireless technicians at my local store by name. John loaded the latest software on the phone (while I stood around the store for half an hour) which was supposed to fix some connectivity issue with bluetooth. I don't know what issue it fixed, but mine was still a problem. I then brought the phone to Miles, who asked if I had ever reset the phone to it's factory settings. Then he did some research that took quite a while and told me that there was a new software release and that my phone was using an old release. Funny, since I had just updated it a couple of weeks ago. Well, I didn't have another half hour to waste standing around the VZ Wireless store, no matter how exciting that can be, so I told him I would do it another day. I got my phone back but it didn't look the same. Where was my Gladiator wallpaper? Why could I no longer read the time on the front of the phone? Hmm...the text was small and black, rather than super-large-you-need-glasses font and white. I think Miles must have reset my phone to the factory settings. So I wonder what software release I had on the phone BEFORE Miles reset it AND THEN compared it against the latest release? Not the sharpest tool in the shed, Miles. So I returned another day and had Caitlin install the latest software, all the while knowing that it wasn't going to make a bit of difference. The next time I came in, George tried to connect the phone to his system and it didn't work, so he said, "It doesn't work. Let me send you a new one." It showed up a few days later and I sent the old one back. On the way back from the post office someone called me and my car informed me that "there is no recognized phone device".

I went back to Verizon and told them that the Samsung Intensity II is a terrible excuse for a cell phone and that I would like to know if there was any way I could switch it for another phone since it does not work as advertised.

Miles again: "Of course! On your plan, you are now eligible to get another phone!"

Me: "But doesn't that mean that I have to sign up for another two year plan? I don't want to be with Verizon until the end of the plan that I do have, let alone for another two years."

Miles: "No, not at all. This would only add one more year to your plan."

Me: "No thank you. How much is a battery for the VZ Env Touch that VZ should have replaced for me when it died after just a few months of use?"

Miles: "Only $39.99!"

Me: "That's more than what I paid for the phone. OK, give me the battery and I will use my old phone instead of this brand new metallic blue piece of crap that VZ sent me last week until the year is up on my plan and I move to AT&T for half the price that I am paying Verizon Wireless."

Miles: "My pleasure! Is there anything else that I can do for you today, Mrs. Grimm?"

I did not tell Miles what else he could do and just smiled instead.