They've got my Number. . .

I got this thingy in the mail from my cell phone provider saying I could upgrade my phone. Now, I hardly use my cell phone, so upgrading it is not something I really think about. But since my cell phone is over 6 years old, I decided to treat myself to something shiny and new. Something that I could actually download a ringtone to.

So I hauled myself to the mall yesterday, but their computers were down and they couldn't help me. I graciously accepted this and agreed to come back the next day. So I went there today and a nice young woman helped me. Now I know it's prolly silly, but whenever men help me, I feel like they are implying that the technology is over my head. I get very squirrelly about going in when I see it's all men. They talk in this really low, slow voice with a sympathetic head tilt. I don't know alot about cell phone technology but I do have a mathematics degree and a computer programming degree, so I'm pretty sure I can keep up. But I digress. . . So I choose the phone I want and since I'll be signing a three year term agreement it's FREE! Or so they tell me. But then she (the nice young sales woman) asks if I want the warranty. My 'suspicious' vibe always goes off here. Must be too many years shopping at Future shop. I politely decline, because we all buy these warrenties but then when something actually goes wrong, the warranty has either a) run out or b) doesn't cover the problem. But then she tells me that I really do need it, in fact, 67% of cell phones fail in their first year! And two thoughts go through my head:

You are lying to me and trying to push me into something I don't want!! Which makes me VERY UNCOMFORTABLE!

Thought number 2:

You are not lying to me and that is the most incredible statistic I've heard all year!! 67%!! How can they run a business like that! Knowlingly manufacturing and providing a product that has a higher failure rate than success rate!!??!!

Can you imagine if you ran your business or worked like this? I can just see how it would go. A client would call me asking about the details of their database upon project completion and I would inform them that either:

A) the database will fail within a year

B) you won't be able to locate 67% of your documents. In fact, when you go to produce them in court, the database will flip you the bird and then shut down. Or -

C) We've imaged all the documents but they are only 67% correctly linked. You click on a document, you'll most likely get the wrong image.

But, I will continue to tell my client, if you prepay me a certain amount now, I will guarantee that I will at least look at the problem before telling you that you are up S^%T creek without a paddle. Any other questions??

How can this be possible?? How is this legal?? Doesn't anybody at the cell phone companies care about their job? Don't they take any pride in their work? I take a lot of pride in mine, I practically beam with motherly pride when Char tells me she really thinks the database is good and is very searachable. And when I produce a good database, I let the client know how searchable it is, that they WILL be able to locate any document they want. My job may be boring to alot of people, but I like it and I do it well. And that gives me a warm fuzzy.

Am I a dying breed? Am I a nerd because I want to work hard and get it done right?

Sniff. Sigh. So I caved and bought the warranty. And then there was a fee for renewing my contract (which expired next month). So my 'free' phone cost me 135.00 smackolas. I just KNOW that somehow, somewhere, this has GOT TO BE ILLEGAL. It makes me so mad that they can get away with this and we all just keep lining up like sheep. We don't like it, but we just shrug and say, 'well, what can you do?' And it's not like you can take your business somewhere else, because they are ALL like that!

Honestly, I want to start my own cell phone company! The phones WILL work!! The sales people will NOT treat you like an idiot! There WILL BE NO SMALL PRINT!! And the phones will come in any color you want!! I say this because they only had ONE PINK PHONE and I didn't even see it in the store, only online. Communist BASTARDS!!

You would think I would feel better now getting this all off my chest. But I don't! It just makes me sad, mad, and defeated.

Sniff.