"Ring, Ring" - I'll Get It!.

The now fully operational new phone is shown at right. Although I wasn't thrilled with purchasing another LG after this experience, the pickings were slim at local retailers and it would have taken a week to get one from Tracfone directly. I am please that this one has a full QUERTY keyboard.  No more trying to tap out a text from a clunky 10 key pad. It's a bit lighter than the old one and a little larger over all, but I'll get used to that soon enough.  And yes, there is a key lock.  A real surprise was that the tiny keys are extremely accurate and even my big hands can hit the right key without a double strike most of the time.  I'll get used to that, too. Bad thumbs means it's all hunt-and-peck, but no worse than the old way.

As frustrating as last evening's "chat" with various Tracfone CS Reps was,  I played some music, made a new panini concoction (which was very good) and sipped a few olives before showering and heading for the bed. I slept surprisingly well and woke at my regular time.

As I left to run the errands I checked the phone to find out if activation was complete.  Nope!  Not yet.

I decided to take a drive down the coastal highway to pay a visit to Rehoboth Bay and watch the sailboarders at play.  Just enough wind to give them the speed to work on some of their more 'cool' moves.  My gaydar told me there were more than a few gay guys in the mix and no one seemed to care.  We have come a long way, haven't we.  Sorry, no pictures.  I forgot to take my shoulder bag with me this morning - something I never do. Some other time, perhaps.

Checked the phone periodically; although the "service days remaining" message had appeared along with the correct time and date, still no service. 

A text message arrived informing me that my new carrier was AT&T and that my phone number had been transferred successfully.  I could not receive or make calls yet,  no minutes were available.

Continued the errands and picked up a treat for supper tonight.  Jumbo shrimp (oxymoron?) were on sale and I bought a half pound to make a Scampi.

As I unloaded the car a strange new tone alerted me that the phone required attention.  Checked the main screen to find activation was successful and that I had 2,265 minutes remaining!!!!!!  What happened to the 256 quoted last night?  Where did these 2K minutes come from?  And where are the other 1K minutes?   I don't want to be taken advantage of, all  I want is what's rightfully mine. More on that to come, but I am happy to be re-connected, able to send and receive calls and text messages.

Immediately sent notice to the locosguys that I was among the digital living and after unloading the car began to add contact numbers of co-workers and others, to the contact list.

I have since composed a letter with timeline, names of CS Reps. and the whole story as far back as April 23, 2011.  It was posted to Tracfone before I began this post.  Working in CS as I do I would never bad-mouth a Rep., or get angry with them, since most everything is beyond their control to fix.  They're just the first line of defense and take the abuse that ought to be directed to the higher-ups.  Who knows if anything will come of it, but at least my story is out there. We shall see.  

I don't know if any of this would be simpler if I had a contract plan with one of the major companies, but they are way out of my reach - financially - at this time. 

There are always trade-offs, aren't there?

And so it goes.

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