New phone tribulations
For those that follow me on Facebook, you'll have noticed that I (and Ellen) have gotten new Windows 7 smartphones. Let me say up front that we both LOOOOOVE these new phones. We're totally connected now and can easily contact each other. Both kids now have a phone (with the expectation that they BETTER pick up if we call them).
However, these new phones were not without their drama. We were on pre-paid plans with T-Mobile. I stuck with them because they had the best rates for their plans. At least $20 a month less than everyone else on comperable plans. So we asked them to port our existing numbers over to the new phones. Should have been easy, right? The rep at the store said 24 hours for sure, probably just a couple of hours.
That was Saturday. By Monday, nothing, so I called. THAT'S when the drama started. The first person I talked to didn't seem to know how to help me. So they got me to tech support. Who couldn't help me because my PIN did not match their records. And they couldn't change my PIN. I had to call from my mobile phone or call their 800 number. Except the SIM in my phone was for a temporary number they gave me and you can't change your PIN via the 800 number unless you know the old one. So I called customer service again, who transferred me back into the queue. I talked to a BUNCH more people, getting more pissed the more people I talked to. I FINALLY got someone to tell me that I needed to put my OLD SIM in the phone as that was where the number resided and it would get updated. Which is NOT what the rep told me. So I swapped SIMS and was then able to change my PIN. Which resulted in another call to tech support to find out the request to port the number never got entered. AHHHH! So I FINALLY got confirmation numbers after about an hour and a half of calling people.
So later that day, I called to see if I could expidite the process, I went round and round with the person just to get basic information. As it turns out, he FINALLY told me they were having technical issues and that it would be 48 to 72 hours before the number transferred. I asked about 6 or 7 times if I needed to swap out my SIMS to use my old number and this person couldn't seem to understand what I was asking. If I ask "So will the notification text that tells me this is complete go to my old phone number or to the temporary one you gave me? And when I get it will I have to put my old SIM in my phone?" The person I spoke to couldn't seem to understand me. So to be on the safe side, since I was travelling, I took an old phone with me with my old SIM in it.
The result, on my way home Wednesday, I got a couple of texts on my new phone with the SIM associated with my "temporary" number saying the requests were complete. When I called home on my new phone, the caller ID popped up with my old phone number. So, basically what I SHOULD have been told right at the beginning was that the order to switch my number didn't go through, here's the confirmation numbers to get it done, it will take 48 to 72 hours, and I didn't need to do anything.
I got every kind of story but that. From a guy who works in customer service, I wasn't happy about what I got. However, now that it's all right, I still LOOOOOVE my phone.
However, these new phones were not without their drama. We were on pre-paid plans with T-Mobile. I stuck with them because they had the best rates for their plans. At least $20 a month less than everyone else on comperable plans. So we asked them to port our existing numbers over to the new phones. Should have been easy, right? The rep at the store said 24 hours for sure, probably just a couple of hours.
That was Saturday. By Monday, nothing, so I called. THAT'S when the drama started. The first person I talked to didn't seem to know how to help me. So they got me to tech support. Who couldn't help me because my PIN did not match their records. And they couldn't change my PIN. I had to call from my mobile phone or call their 800 number. Except the SIM in my phone was for a temporary number they gave me and you can't change your PIN via the 800 number unless you know the old one. So I called customer service again, who transferred me back into the queue. I talked to a BUNCH more people, getting more pissed the more people I talked to. I FINALLY got someone to tell me that I needed to put my OLD SIM in the phone as that was where the number resided and it would get updated. Which is NOT what the rep told me. So I swapped SIMS and was then able to change my PIN. Which resulted in another call to tech support to find out the request to port the number never got entered. AHHHH! So I FINALLY got confirmation numbers after about an hour and a half of calling people.
So later that day, I called to see if I could expidite the process, I went round and round with the person just to get basic information. As it turns out, he FINALLY told me they were having technical issues and that it would be 48 to 72 hours before the number transferred. I asked about 6 or 7 times if I needed to swap out my SIMS to use my old number and this person couldn't seem to understand what I was asking. If I ask "So will the notification text that tells me this is complete go to my old phone number or to the temporary one you gave me? And when I get it will I have to put my old SIM in my phone?" The person I spoke to couldn't seem to understand me. So to be on the safe side, since I was travelling, I took an old phone with me with my old SIM in it.
The result, on my way home Wednesday, I got a couple of texts on my new phone with the SIM associated with my "temporary" number saying the requests were complete. When I called home on my new phone, the caller ID popped up with my old phone number. So, basically what I SHOULD have been told right at the beginning was that the order to switch my number didn't go through, here's the confirmation numbers to get it done, it will take 48 to 72 hours, and I didn't need to do anything.
I got every kind of story but that. From a guy who works in customer service, I wasn't happy about what I got. However, now that it's all right, I still LOOOOOVE my phone.
Comments
I'm glad you and Ellen love your new phones, I suppose that will have made your frustration worth the effort. Now go enjoy them! :-)