Avoid Hassles When Buying A Mobile Phone
After living abroad for many years, I learned to do without all the necessary conveniences of the developed world. Upon returning back to the U.S., I found myself suddenly pushed from all direction into buying more than I needed, with additional pressure from friends to buy a mobile phone. Now I am not against mobile phones as a rule, though I prefer to be left alone most of the time without a hand held device tracking my every move. I do have a problem with companies that one must associate with if they decide to buy a mobile phone. These multinational companies, merging at an exponential rate and devouring smaller companies in their path, have little concern for either product satisfaction or customer service. I only discovered this until it was too late.
Most people seem satisfied with their phones and pushing me to buy one seemed innocent enough. People wanted to contact me. Others had to organize social events and I was not contactable. My mother did not know if I was alive or dead. Important things it seemed. So I relented and made the first step to buy a mobile phone. I went into the shop.
This, evidently was my first mistake. I was immediately swarmed by mobile phone clad salespersons, wearing secret service style earpieces, shiny bright metal belt clips and brightly colored polo shirts. It was an assault on my senses, and I was momentarily dazzled by the sparkle and promise of progressive technology. Perhaps this is one of their strategies into getting you to buy a mobile phone, shock and awe. I was shocked to see that I could actually afford one, and awed that it just seemed so easy to get an account. All my questions were stymied by an “Of course ma’am, of course…no problem ma’am, absolutely.” So I left momentarily satisfied, cursing myself that I did not buy a mobile phone sooner.
Then my first bill came. Astronomical is an understatement. I could have probably put a down payment on a house with all the extra minutes, peak hours and added talk time I paid for. I felt swindled, confused and totally betrayed. My friends made me buy a mobile phone, the company hastened to sell me one without explaining the hidden charges and now I was on hold while the customer service representative kept avoiding me. The bill was like reading cuneiform, the representatives were clueless and unhelpful and the manager was a despot. I was resolute that if I were ever going to buy a mobile phone again, it would not be with this company.
So a word to the wise, if you would like to buy a mobile phone but are not sure you can afford one, don’t, at least not in the U.S. Mobile phone companies are the number one cause for customer complaints, in a recent report released by the Federal Communications Commission. Or do your research and find out just which companies rank the lowest on customer satisfaction. After terminating my contract after six months of sheer torment, I naively looked up the mobile phone company I was using. Take a guess at which number they ranked.
Tags
Legal, Research, Shopping, Telephone
