I have been receiving messages on my cellular device from Solo, my phone company, about how I am eligible for a FREE phone upgrade. First of all, does the word "FREE" even exist in this sad sorry state of the world? Reminds me of walking through Camden Market where all the workers at the Asian fast food booths shouting at the passerby's, "Come try Kung Poa Chicken! Come! Here" Waving and motioning with their arms, "It's FREE!" Arm outstretched luring me in with meat smothered in goo on a toothpick. One step forward and YOINKS! She pulls the "free" sample back inwards, the other hand shoots out with an empty container, "Free you pay 4 Pounds! Very good!" I look at her puzzled, "paying 4 pounds does not make it free you idiot!" So then, what does "Free phone upgrade" really mean? ... as I continue in my digression... I am now wondering if the phone companies are in cahoots with the gas companies because this story will have me driving from place to place...
I have received "free phone upgrade" messages in the past, that is how I have come to own the present phone (present at the time of writing this and going through this but not present as in today). The first phone I owned and operated on my own is called a Rumour. I got a message before the beginning of summer 2011 for the upgrade. Even though my rumour was still operating just fine I figured I might as well go in and view my upgrade choices. I ended up with this cute little thing called an Entro. Was it in fact FREE? Nope. 30 bucks for the phone and then another 30 for the case to protect it from my slippery grasp. That was fine, I know "free" is never "free", so I pay and move on. One year later this Entro starts acting up; shutting off as it so pleases and taking hours to come back to being functional. The past month it had been acting fine again, but I decide to go take advantage of this so called "free" upgrade. I know from previous experience that it could possibly cost me in and around 50 bones, but I figure that is better than losing my phone contacts for good if this Entro has another episode.
I'm not a big fan of the mall, I only go there when I really need something or think I need something Thursday of that particular week I had to get some 8 X 10's printed off for my portfolio, while waiting for the development process I swing by the phone store. Dude shows me which phones I can chose from but then when I give him my number and tell him I am in a contract with Solo he stops in his tracks, tells me Solo doesn't exist anymore and has been bought out by Bell. I'm like:
Solo is already owned by Bell!! There is only the illusion of choice. Are you kidding me? He then proceeds to tell me I have to switch my phone plan from Solo to Bell and pay Solo to get out of my contract and it will ONLY cost me $150, and oh if I act now he will give me a $50 discount! I'm all, Gee golly Beaver, I only gotta spend $100 and I get $50 off how swell! ^Play Again! My contract is up in April, I am not paying to switch over to the company that I am actually already with. I came in to get a free phone, not to waste money absurdly for shit I don't need! While I am at the store, dude takes my phone apart, I put it back together, takes 20 minutes for it to be able to receive any messages again. That evening I discover my phone is not working properly. I cannot hear anything when I make a phone call or receive one. In other words my phone is no longer acting like a fucking phone! All I need is a phone. I just want to be able to receive a call and make a call. I want my phone to be a phone. I don't want it to be a compass, I don't want it to connect me to facebook, I don't want it to tell me my fucking daily horoscope, I don't want it to clean my teeth, I WANT TO MAKE A FUCKING CALL!
Next day, Friday morning I call Solo. Oh they exist all right. The man on the phone says I am indeed entitled to a free phone upgrade and that the dude at the store in the mall was just trying to make a sale and he was either blatantly lying to me or had no clue how to do his job. I am given an address of a Bell store (because as I said Solo and Bell are one, always has been) to go pick out my new phone. I drive to Eglington and Tomken and proceed indoors where Ellen is being played on a large tv screen. I wait 20 minutes until someone comes to help me. I say I am here for my FREE phone, show me my options! Dude shows me one phone, that really isn't any better than my Entro. I tell him about the dude from the other day who claimed that Solo doesn't exist, he explains that they no longer have their own section at the store and that Solo was created for students or people who don't have much money to pay for a phone and that the cheaper option no longer exists. The kicker, he tells me I have to sign a 3 year contract to get the new phone. I say "WHY!? I have a two year contract already why would I now have to sign a 3 year one? Also I did not have to sign any contract to get the Entro, why must I do that now?" He says that's just the way it is doodle dee doo. I tell him my contract is up soon, in which case I can sign up with someone else (aka Rogers) and get a goddamn free iphone instead of being stuck with another shitty phone for the next 3 years! He regretfully agrees with me and knows I am right. Unfortunately, now that the Entro magically stopped working after the last sales dude touched it, I actually NEED a phone now so that I can receive the phone call from the job I interviewed for which I was sure I would get (story to follow another time). I ask him if it is possible for me to dig out my Rumour from my closet and switch back to it until my contract is up. He says yes and that I should bring it in and that the store is conveniently open until 9pm. I'm like fuck that I'm not driving back and forth and back again I got things to do, can I not just call Solo and they can do that over the phone with me. Well yes he says. And I'm like well why would you tell me to come back then, waste more time and gas. Geez Loueeze!
Saturday morning, I am back on the phone with Solo. I explain my pain to the lady on the other end. She straight up tells me the sales dudes lied to me because they're in sales that's what they do. She also tells me she can just send me the new phone in the mail and it will be here in 5 business days. That's all fine and dandy I say, but I need to be able to receive a phone call by Monday. I ask her to switch back to my Rumour. We go through the procedure and le Rumour is back in business. I ask her if I can still get the free phone, she says yes but I have to now extend my contract another year, then says a date that is in 2 years!! At this point I am just spun. I tell her forget the whole thing, I will hope my Rumour lasts until April. At that time I will shop around, learn my options and get a brand new plan. That or drop off the face of this planet because I don't want to be a part of the lying, the cheating, the stealing. You know most people would have been duped by the first sales dude, he would of made his commission and everyone would go on their merry way. Not me, I have no tolerance for this shit and I never will.
I have received "free phone upgrade" messages in the past, that is how I have come to own the present phone (present at the time of writing this and going through this but not present as in today). The first phone I owned and operated on my own is called a Rumour. I got a message before the beginning of summer 2011 for the upgrade. Even though my rumour was still operating just fine I figured I might as well go in and view my upgrade choices. I ended up with this cute little thing called an Entro. Was it in fact FREE? Nope. 30 bucks for the phone and then another 30 for the case to protect it from my slippery grasp. That was fine, I know "free" is never "free", so I pay and move on. One year later this Entro starts acting up; shutting off as it so pleases and taking hours to come back to being functional. The past month it had been acting fine again, but I decide to go take advantage of this so called "free" upgrade. I know from previous experience that it could possibly cost me in and around 50 bones, but I figure that is better than losing my phone contacts for good if this Entro has another episode.
I'm not a big fan of the mall, I only go there when I really need something or think I need something Thursday of that particular week I had to get some 8 X 10's printed off for my portfolio, while waiting for the development process I swing by the phone store. Dude shows me which phones I can chose from but then when I give him my number and tell him I am in a contract with Solo he stops in his tracks, tells me Solo doesn't exist anymore and has been bought out by Bell. I'm like:
Next day, Friday morning I call Solo. Oh they exist all right. The man on the phone says I am indeed entitled to a free phone upgrade and that the dude at the store in the mall was just trying to make a sale and he was either blatantly lying to me or had no clue how to do his job. I am given an address of a Bell store (because as I said Solo and Bell are one, always has been) to go pick out my new phone. I drive to Eglington and Tomken and proceed indoors where Ellen is being played on a large tv screen. I wait 20 minutes until someone comes to help me. I say I am here for my FREE phone, show me my options! Dude shows me one phone, that really isn't any better than my Entro. I tell him about the dude from the other day who claimed that Solo doesn't exist, he explains that they no longer have their own section at the store and that Solo was created for students or people who don't have much money to pay for a phone and that the cheaper option no longer exists. The kicker, he tells me I have to sign a 3 year contract to get the new phone. I say "WHY!? I have a two year contract already why would I now have to sign a 3 year one? Also I did not have to sign any contract to get the Entro, why must I do that now?" He says that's just the way it is doodle dee doo. I tell him my contract is up soon, in which case I can sign up with someone else (aka Rogers) and get a goddamn free iphone instead of being stuck with another shitty phone for the next 3 years! He regretfully agrees with me and knows I am right. Unfortunately, now that the Entro magically stopped working after the last sales dude touched it, I actually NEED a phone now so that I can receive the phone call from the job I interviewed for which I was sure I would get (story to follow another time). I ask him if it is possible for me to dig out my Rumour from my closet and switch back to it until my contract is up. He says yes and that I should bring it in and that the store is conveniently open until 9pm. I'm like fuck that I'm not driving back and forth and back again I got things to do, can I not just call Solo and they can do that over the phone with me. Well yes he says. And I'm like well why would you tell me to come back then, waste more time and gas. Geez Loueeze!
Saturday morning, I am back on the phone with Solo. I explain my pain to the lady on the other end. She straight up tells me the sales dudes lied to me because they're in sales that's what they do. She also tells me she can just send me the new phone in the mail and it will be here in 5 business days. That's all fine and dandy I say, but I need to be able to receive a phone call by Monday. I ask her to switch back to my Rumour. We go through the procedure and le Rumour is back in business. I ask her if I can still get the free phone, she says yes but I have to now extend my contract another year, then says a date that is in 2 years!! At this point I am just spun. I tell her forget the whole thing, I will hope my Rumour lasts until April. At that time I will shop around, learn my options and get a brand new plan. That or drop off the face of this planet because I don't want to be a part of the lying, the cheating, the stealing. You know most people would have been duped by the first sales dude, he would of made his commission and everyone would go on their merry way. Not me, I have no tolerance for this shit and I never will.
Nina said this to me during this time:
"If a corporation steals from you it's called business, if you steal from a corporation it's called violence."
Kung poa chicken ALWAYS comes with a price.
ReplyDeleteYou just keep that attitude up. Pretty soon, everytime you walk into bell, they're gonna shake in their boots. The dribble they feed you are pitches fine tuned to reel in the sucker. These guys think they're built like Ron Popeil, but the difference is the dishonesty.
This is why, when you're the owner of a business that is not of the calibre and magnitude of Bell... honesty, trust, and integrity is key to success. Cliche quote, but be the change you want to see in the world. Let the need for that resonate within you and affect the world by setting the example.
When you keep shop, shop keeps you.
This:
ReplyDelete"Fantasia? It’s the world of human fantasy. Every part, every creature of it, is a piece of the dreams and hopes of mankind. Therefore, it has no boundaries.
Atreyu: But why is Fantasia dying, then?
G’mork: Because people have begun to lose their hopes and forget their dreams. So the Nothing grows stronger.
Atreyu: What is the Nothing?
G’mork: It’s the emptiness that’s left. It’s like a despair, destroying this world. And I have been trying to help it.
Atreyu: But why?
G’mork: Because people who have no hopes are easy to control; and whoever has the control… has the power!"