Buying New Cell Phones – Still not as easy as you’d think
We finally decided to replace our cell phones. My 2.5-year-old Motorola PEBL phone had started acting flaky, and Andrea’s even older LG phone couldn’t hold a charge worth a damn. Plus, she was paying about $10 a month more with Verizon than I was with T-Mobile, and we figured that consolidating with a T-Mobile family plan would save us that money easily. So, I started my research.
After about a week of reading reviews and specifications, and making a spreadsheet to compare all the key factors (weight, size, number of bands, talk time, etc.), I narrowed the field to three phones. We snuck out of work early and hit the T-Mobile store in the mall. We looked at the two Samsungs we were interested in (the T-739 Katalyst and T-729 Blast), but the Nokia 5610 was nowhere to be seen. After asking, we saw a “fake” Nokia (looks and feels like the real thing, but a fake screen and no electronics). The salesguy said they’d been recalled (or something) because of a bug, but they were expecting new ones soon. A different Nokia had the same interface, and we played with that one for a bit, before deciding we wanted the Blast.
After waiting some time for a salesperson to free up (seemed like 15 minutes, probably only 5), we started the process, checking on accounts and whether Andrea’s number was eligible to be ported over. Then we mentioned the phone we wanted, and she called to another salesperson who said they were out of Blasts. They’d been out for a month, both Blast and Katalyst, and said that they were at “End Of Life” and probably wouldn’t get any more. (why, then, are they on display in the store? or on the T-Mobile website?) We thanked them for their time and went home.
As soon as I got home, I checked out the website, and there was no indication that the Blast was being discontinued. In fact, it was only released at the end of 2007, a couple months *after* the Nokia that we were told was new and had some kind of problem. And the phone we were told was the Blast’s successor, the T-819, was only a few months newer than the Blast. Maybe it was just a ploy to move us to the brand new Gravity or the Android-based G1 phone, or maybe they were just honestly misinformed. Still, it was a little frustrating.
Anyway, I tried to get everything done on the website, but couldn’t handle both my replacement phone and Andrea’s new phone (and number switchover) in the same cart, so I figured I’d call just in case there were additional discounts I could get. The folks on the phone were super friendly and helpful. In fact, they’re so friendly that I wonder if their hair isn’t all Devo-identical and have glowing eyes. They just sounded too chipper. I know it’s good to put your callers at ease, but I wonder if they’re overdoing it. Anyway, it took some time (as expected) but I got everything done.
The craziest part: For Andrea’s phone, I was given the choice of $12 overnight or free 2-4 day shipping. I chose free, it shipped from Texas that evening (Monday) and arrived Wednesday. For my phone (handled by a different salesperson, probably a whole different division at T-Mobile), I was offered $20 overnight, or free 4-7 day shipping. The tracking number that I was given never worked. I called Wednesday morning and found it had shipped from Kentucky on Tuesday, and would arrive that day (along with Andrea’s). And my phone was just being dropped off, while hers required a signature. Two of the same phone, different overnight shipping (the more expensive came from the closer warehouse), different ground shipping (the longer wait from the closer warehouse), and different signature options. Crazy.
Anyway, we got the phones, and got them up and running quickly (though the folks at T-Mobile said it could take “24-72 hours” for Andrea’s number to switch to the new phone, despite the FCC saying that “industry” had agreed that 2.5 hours would be about the right timeframe. Turns out, it did get switched over by the next morning). They’re pretty cool, though there are still some unresolved (and probably unresolvable) issues, but I’ll save that for a later rant.