Yesterday I found myself in a place I said I would NEVER be!! You know the maniacs that set up their chairs outside of massive department stores to get the latest and greatest playstation or Wii or whatever. I have always looked at those people with judgemental eyes and thought they were just so weak to have given in to such consumerism, pawns to the big corporations of America. Little puppets on strings doing EXACTLY what the companies intended.
What is it with this frenzied mentality I would wonder and think, "I will NEVER be one of THOSE people!"
And guess what. Yesterday I was one of them as I stood in a line OUTside of an AT&T store hoping to get one of the all new iphones. Go figure...but honestly, I feel as though this deserves some kind of explanation! I did this with the best intentions...don't we all?
Let me start at the beginning. 6 years ago I became a Verizon customer and got myself a new phone. I loved my new phone and knew that it would be with me for years to come. Little did I know that Verizon had other plans for me. The phone calls started before my first two year contract was even up. They would let me know about the latest and greatest in technology and let me know that I would soon be eligible for an UPgrade. An upgrade? I just got this phone. Why would I need an upgrade. So I politely declined and went on with my life. The relationship was fine and I was, for the most part, happy with my service...until after those first phone calls started coming.
My phone, you see, mysteriously started to decline in it's capabilities. Service became a bit more sketchy and calls were dropped more frequently. I called the Verizon people and they game me some number to call to update my phone. And that helped...for a while. And the the phone calls started flooding in. I again, would tell that I did not need a new phone and then I got the response of a lifetime...."but Mam, these phones are only designed to last two years." Two years? Two Years? I was mortified and replied, "So you are intentionally designing and selling throw away phones?" Well, you can imagine she did not have a lot to say about that. Sooo....I set my heels in the ground and decided then and there that I would NOT buy or have another "throw away phone" and so my service slowly but surely continued to decline! It got to the point, nearly 5 years into this phone that I could only talk if I found a spot with LOTS of bars and did not move my head, never mind the car! What was the point? The point was that I was waiting. Waiting for the next generation of iphones because they were cheaper and well...designed NOT to be throw away phones. All of the software you can get on line and download and keep your phone current. I was waiting and waiting for a good year and in the meantime my phone failed just about every function it was supposed to perform. It was possessed, turning on and off at will and just for the fun of it. I would be teaching a class and you could hear it mysteriously turn itself on. It was almost comical...except for the fact that it worked in fewer places that it ever actually worked. I would NOT give in though.
The date had finally been set, July 11th and I was going to have the latest and greatest, but even more importantly I was going to have a phone that would last and be reliable and dependable. Yep! That was my plan and that was what landed me in a line of lunatics on July 12th...I missed the July 11th shipment due to work and there I was in line, bright and early to get my very own.
As I slinked to the back of the line I looked at these crazy people and laughed to myself that I had become one of them!! It was as though I had morphed into something I said I would never become. And with all of that I was excited at the prospect of finally getting rid of my throw away and welcoming something more permanent into my life!!
I found myself in line behind a sweet couple with three year old twins in tow. Wow! I thought to myself. If they are here with twins they are even more loopy than me! And yet the longer we stood in line the more I realized how much we had in common. She too had the same feelings about throw away phones and had been waiting as I had for this opportunity. We laughed as we exchanged cell phone horror stories and well..it all started to be a bit more sane!
And then the man in the tie came out and announced there were 36 phones left. What? How could there only be 36 phones left? What a marketing ploy. Apple was brilliant and I was caught in their web of genius and suddenly I did not like it. If I want something I want it then and I want it now. I would not find myself in another hideous line. Enough was enough. I wanted this phone and I wanted it today. So, I let it all go and started to intend and as the man, now counting customers came around the corner 33, 34, 35, 36....Yes! I was number 36!! It was going to be today! Too bad for the poor slobs behind me...and yet they stayed. They stayed with the hopes that someone else would get discouraged or bored and bail.
Hours later I found myself at the door. Yep....one 8 gig left and it was mine. I entered with an enormous smile on my face and made my purchase. After 5 years it was as though I had been let out of cell phone hell and was about to enter the 21st century with the rest of the world!
I smiled as I left and waved to all of my new found friends and told them to enjoy! As I left the rest of the people in line were turned away. Poor bastards...but heck, I had my phone and I was on my way!
I drove home calling people and revelling in the service...ahhhh....I could actually be driving in my car and talking at the same time....(I know you aren't supposed to do this and trust me I have not done it for years...but now I just HAD to because I could!!) I was in phone heaven and it was fabulous!!
Later that evening, I picked up my new iphone to "play" with it and discovered that it seemed to be frozen. It would not go on, it would not go off. It was frozen. Through and through. And here I find myself less than 24 hours later in complete and utter frustration...a return to phone hell!! Perhaps I am not meant for the 21st century and all of it's latest technology. I am honestly not sure what lesson I am supposed to be learning from all of this. All that I do know is that suddenly, my Monday morning is taking on new meaning as I realize I am back off to the apple store to get a replacement. I am done with AT&T and am going right to the source. Should I have done that to begin with? Yes, and in fact I actually even meant to. It was a mistake that I ended up in the AT&T store...or was it. I actually enjoyed meeting those people and forming our little phone connections in line. As for me...I am still without any cell phone coverage and although I have become one of "those" people, somehow I am still feeling as though I have gotten the runaround. What do you think?
Give me a call sometime...or not.
