stuff i think

mobile phone woes

My cell phone - a Nokia 6600 - has been fritzing for a week...failing to read the SIM card, shutting off at random, etc. It'll work find for 3 days, then fritz twice in an hour, then be fine again. I called T-Mobile a few days ago and they said "We'll replace it...uh....oops. Forget that. We can't replace it. We no longer service that warranty. You'll need to deal with Nokia."

I called Nokia. They'll fix it...but it'll take an eternity. They suggested I go to the T-Mobile store and get a loaner. I drove to the store. They had no loaners. They told me to call customer service.

Believe it or not, this is the part where the story goes south....

I called them yesterday and explained the predicament. They finally offered to give me a discount on a new handset. When they told me the great deal they were going to give me, I realized it was the same great deal they give every schmo who gets a new account. Again, we no longer service that warranty. Call Nokia. I asked for a supervisor, who was mad when he got on the phone. Inside of 3 minutes, he cuts me off and blurts out "What do you WANT?"

I said "Huh?"

"Just TELL me what you WANT."

I replied quietly..."I want you to talk to me like an adult."

CLICK. He hung up. Customer service hung up on me. I couldn't believe it. I dialed again and worked through the labrynth to another customer service supervisor who was much more polite, although wouldn't help me either. Finally he agreed to sell me a Blackberry 7100t for a substantial discount...if I extended my contract. I couldn't bear the thought of extending an arrangement that was getting worse by the minute...so I passed.

All that to say that if you're trying to reach me and can't, my phone is working intermittently. Click.