cell

All posts tagged cell

Thank you, Marco!

Posted by Photonstopper on August 20, 2010
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My new cell phone arrived before 3:00 PM yesterday as promised by FedEx. (Still disappointing that TracFone didn't ship when promised.) When I received the phone I immediately initiated the process of "porting" or moving my phone number from my malfunctioning phone at Verizon to my new device at TracFone. I quickly found out how difficult it was to deal with Verizon and have yet another tale of the meaning of customer service.

Last night I received an email from TracFone telling me they needed an account number from Verizon in order to complete the porting process. To the best of my knowledge Alltel / Verizon never issued me an account number outside of my telephone number — another way they treat pay-as-you-go customers differently from contract customers. So I set about trying to find an account number. I found nothing in my Alltel / Verizon records. Next step, look online at "My Account" on Verizonwireless.com. Uh-uh. No such luck. So, checking on how to contact them, I found a "Customer Service" phone number and –lucky!– I was calling within service hours! Verizon's customer service contact, as it turned out, consists of a phone-answering robot that offers no possibility of reaching a live person to ask a simple question like "what is my account number." Push the "wrong" key too many times and it hangs up on you! Now, instead of having a few regrets, I'm happy to be dropping them!

So, extremely angry and frustrated at dealing with Verizon, I telephoned TracFone customer service and told the rep that I wished to terminate the porting and activate my new phone with a new number. I was told it would be 24 to 48 hours. Oh well, it's better than a protracted battle between a company that won't help me and a company that can't. Yes, please, cancel the porting and activate my phone as soon as you can; Monday won't be too bad. I shut down my computer and got ready to head off to bed. Surprise! Marco at TracFone, called my land line at 11:00 PM and not only terminated the porting process for me but activated my phone. Took 20 minutes or so. So after wrestling with Verizon's stupid robot and nasty Web site for about an hour, I left that company feeling ignored and abused. TracFone, on the other hand, was easy to reach, did what I asked as best they could, and delivered service much faster than expected.

Thank you, Marco!

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Time for a new phone

Posted by Photonstopper on August 18, 2010
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It's time for a new phone. My little Alltel/Verizon LG AX275 cell phone has been acting up. Lately the LG will sit quietly at home in its overnight resting spot with everything seeming just fine. Then it emits a strange tone, another, finally shutting down because its formerly well-charged battery is extremely low! If I sneak up on it while it is sleeping and press the button that lights it's front panel, the time may be way off (several hours ahead), the signal low, and the battery charge on its way down. Same thing happened this morning when I was out on a walk, phone in pocket. Swapping out and charging batteries has no corrective effect. (It's probably an internal antenna connection problem or maybe intermittent signal for the local tower resulting in the phone endlessly seeking a signal.) So far the phone has made it through my commute and the day at the office just fine though checking, just now, I see the battery is down as is signal strength. The misbehavior began over the weekend and so I began shopping for new phones and a new provider.

I settled on TracFone and their Motorola TFW376-4 flip-style phone, ordered it online, and paid for overnight FedEx delivery. That was Monday. TracFone said they would ship on Tuesday so, naturally enough, I expected to receive the new hardware today. Uh-uh! Checking order status I found they shipped today and FedEx promises to have it in my hot little hands by 3:00 PM tomorrow. To TracFone: that's not the right way to treat a new customer; FedEx overnight delivery cost nearly as much as the phone!

Cell Phones: Present and Future
Cell Phones: Present and Future

So as a consumer more in a hurry than a wise shopper, I now had time to second-guess my snap decision. Oh boy! The Motorola gets decidedly mixed reviews, everything from "great phone" and "good build" to "crappy camera" and "it literally falls apart." Add to that, I consciously ordered a GSM network phone instead of the more widely-usable (in the U.S.) CDMA standard. Now I'm hoping I'll still get coverage in the places I travel. {sigh} Well, I guess the good thing is the new phone only cost me (sans shipping) about $20 so if it doesn't work I can pick up a CDMA phone for a song (or invest a bit more) and stick with TracFone — which my sister tells me is a very good provider.

By this time tomorrow night, I ought to have some idea of how things will be with my new communication tool. I'm hoping I don't have to make a quick trip to Target to replace it within the first week!

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Mom’s got a cell phone

Posted by Photonstopper on December 28, 2007
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Verizon Coupe
Verizon Coupe

It was her idea, to hear her tell it… get a cellular phone and stop all of the add-on charges the local telephone company puts on her monthly bill "because they can." She also wanted to be able to call her kids on a regular basis –we're all toll calls– both to keep in touch and to let us know she's alright. So, with the help of her kids, my 80-year-old mom now has a spiffy new Verizon Coupe cell phone as a Christmas gift. Voice quality was excellent when she called me as a test. She's supposed to carry the phone with her at all times so that she can summon help if needed whether she's using the snow thrower, mowing the lawn, or gardening — she may be older but she's not frail! We all hope it works out well during the 38-day trial period and, if it does, she'll have the landline disconnected and the phone number she has had for decades will belong to the Coupe.

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