The Great Phone Exchange*

* Like the title to the Great Train Robbery with Sean Connery- don't tell me you future people don't know who he is?

I often wonder how this blog will read in the future. My daughters and wife exchanged their phones that were once really great phones and upgraded to IPhone 8s. The 8 is not as good as the X (10) I guess but not liking Apple products I really don't know. Why you may ask? I was never a fan of Steve Jobs. Then I read a book about him. He was an amazing person, but he was arrogant and a pig. That arrogance rubbed off on his company. Little things like not being able to access the interior of the phone to replace a battery. The huge pair the company has to charge $1000.00 for a phone. The single button mouse that no one will remember is my favorite. This is not to say he didn't have some brilliant ideas.
      Well enough of that, about three weeks ago my phone wouldn't charge. So I went out and bought a battery. It still wouldn't charge so I bought it to a kiosk in the mall. (Kiosk is a russian word we stole from Russia in the 90's when the Soviet Union fell) He said I needed a new plug, but if He put one in I'd need a new screen because if he removed the screen it would crumble apart. The gorilla glass was the only thing holding it together. It would cost $180.00. When I balked, he lowered it to $160. So I reluctantly agreed. I spent  about $210.00 to refurbish the phone.  It works great. FYI a new LG phone is three and change.
      Now about a week ago I'm with Nastia and I ask her to call the house. She does and gets angry. She show me her phone. It flashing bright then black, on and off. She has been complaining about this for months and I ignored her. When I saw it I guessed it was time for a change.
     We used to all go to the Sprint store, look at the phones we wanted and get them there and since we had a great and expensive plan we got discounted phones.
      Once a few months, maybe a year ago I looked into what was available. Sprite had ended the discounted phones and gone to leases. I didn't want that so I waited, thinking we could go to another carrier when all three phone lines were free of their contracts. That time had long passed.
      About a week ago I'm sitting out on the deck of the pool with Nastia. I'm drinking a beer and relaxing, it might have even been Friday. I get the big idea it's time to call Sprint. I get out my phone and call. The first person I speak to tells me I have to pay my back balance. I tell her it is going out the next day, which it was. She insists I need to take care of it before anything else can happen. So I pay it over the phone in full. She then transfers me to purchasing. Everyone I spoke to that day had an Indian accent. That is OK, except some of them spoke english a bit too accented and it was difficult to understand them.
      The second person I speak to tells me I can get Iphone 8's or 10's. I tell her I am a long time customer and I used to get discounted phones and I understand you don't do that anymore so what can you do for me? She transfers me to her supervisor. I ask him the same question. He tells me he can give me ten dollars off on each lease plan and he waves the fees on activation and another fee, then he changes his mind and says oh, I can't wave the activation fee. I know I have him on the fees because I'm still willing to walk away from the three phones. So I tell him to go talk to his supervisor and tell him to wave the fee or this whole deal will explode. He say, like he didn't hear me that he will let me talk to the connection specialist or something like that. I say I don't want to talk to him, I want you to talk to him and tell him this whole deal will explode over these fees if they are not waved. He finally relents. At this point I'm glad I got my phone a new battery, I've been on the phone for over an hour. Things are finally settled and the phones get shipped out.
   They arrive and sit on the table for a few days until Teri and the girls can all go and get them activated. Nastia has a date with David for yesterday, Wednesday and Elena has therapy. It's not optimal to do the phone upgrades and I've been through it so I don't want to go. Teri says I negotiated this deal, I need to be there. Then as an aside she says I should at least bring Nastia up early to get her phone started. I hear Teri say this, but it comes across as, I don't know, maybe like static, I hear it, but with everything else going on yesterday morning it is not something that makes an deep impression on me. It didn't seem important and that was how I treated it.
     About 6:30 Teri pick the girls up and goes to drop Elena off at therapy. After it is over around 7:45 I get a call. They are heading to the mall. I race over there and things have already progressed. I'm not needed and I'm wondering why I'm there. I get to hold the empty box the phones came in, so I guess I was needed. I also notice Teri isa little nasty to me. At one point I call her away from the counter with the idea to ask her if she is angry with me, instead I pivot and make a suggestion about something that was being discussed. I put my arm around her and it is shrugged away. I say my piece and she goes back to the counter.
      The Sprint guy tells us it will be an hour, so we leave. David arrives and he and Nastia are told to return around 9:30. Around this time I find out, yes Teri is angry at me because I could have gotten Nastia up to the mall earlier. Yes I did get home around six, but I had the time. I barely remember her saying anything about going early. So all that is accomplished is now I'm angry too. We eat and head back. The phones are ready and the girls love them. $81.00 are spent on protective covers for the phones ( 18 months @ $15.00 plus $180. to own even if broken) Everyone leaves happy, even Teri and I who are over our anger, well at least I am. 

















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