Shock Resistant My Ass

Almost a month ago I decided to upgrade my phone. T-Mobile lets you upgrade your phone once a year at (near) new account promo rates. All you have to do is sign a new 2-year contract. Looking online I found the Nokia 5300 XpressMusic which kills two birds with one stone. I was looking at mp3 players anyway, and this gives me a 1GB MicroSD off the bat. I won't bother going into a review, since PCWorld, CNET, etc have already done a bangup job.

I will say this though. The slider seems a little loose, and I would've liked to have the SD slot a little more accessible. Other than that, Its capability and looks far exceeded my expectations.



Anyway, I jumped online and found that I could get it at an "amazingly low price" of $179.99!

$20 off? That's it?

Unacceptable.

I wanted to call them anyway for some minor tech specs, plus I needed to upgrade my texting plan to unlimited (you know who you are!). The rep was wonderful, and she told me about the shock-resistant case, the data interface, the software, etc etc.

Plus, I was able to get a deal on the phone for $79.99. Muy bueno.

I wasn't eligible, but I also filled out a $50 rebate form I found on their site. If it works, I got this for 30 bucks. And THAT'S what a cheap bastard like me is looking for. If it doesn't, then I still think I got a helluva deal. But don't tell anybody... Shhhhhhh

Like normal, I was like a kid at Christmas when it was delivered. New Toy! New Toy! I played around with it, made some playlists, was pretty much oblivious to the rest of the world for that evening. I had already bought a hard acrylic case for it, and spent most of that time trying to figure out how to put it on.

Fast forward to last weekend. ChaCha and I were going to the movies (and yeah, all the issues are pretty much worked through... Pretty much). She swung by my place, and I needed to get something out of my truck. As I reached in, the phone fell out of my hand and hit the pavement. I wasn't too concerned. After all, it was only a three foot drop, I had a hard case for it, and as the TMobile rep said, "It's designed to be bounced around a little." So we headed to the theater. On the way there I got a text message, so I hit the action button and saw this on my screen:

You got it.

My brand spankin new phone now has a cracked LCD.

From a friggin three. foot. drop.

Words cannot describe how I was feeling at that moment.



Bear in mind, I HAVEN'T EVEN PAID FOR IT YET.

Anyway, we ended up having a great time anyway, and Monday morning I strode right into the local T-M store. Maybe they could help me out. Y'know, talking face-to-face. Mano y mano. one on one.

So, the rep looked at me like a cow looks at an oncoming train, and then says, "Sure! I can get you a replacement phone for $164.73."
"Is that the best you can do?"
"Well, I can get you the number to Nokia..."

So let's refresh. The $200 phone that I got not one, but TWO great deals on, has now cost me in excess of $245.

Unacceptable.

I get back to the office and call T-M cust care. I get a poor lady with a sinus infection, and explain in great detail as to what happened. I guess I can be charming when I want to be, because she said, "Here's what you do. Put the SIM card back in the broken phone, and call tech support. Have them go through troubleshooting with you."

So I did just that. Apparently she had put in some notes on my account, because the tech rep I spoke with told me to power cycle the phone, then she set up an exchange. The new phone arrived on Wednesday, and tomorrow I'm returning the original replacement to the store.

And ChaCha, THAT'S why I'm still with T-Mobile. Now the new... Oh, wait, it's still T-Mobile.

And I'm still waiting on the rebate.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Don't be afraid to make some calls or ask around. You might be surprised as to what you can get accomplished if you're nice about it. I worked in customer service for over a decade, and you truly catch more flies with honey than vinegar.