Phone a Friend
Jul. 28th, 2019 04:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darksolezI bought a new phone yesterday. I've been long due an upgrade, as you can imagine: I'm one of those people (usually men) who persist in clinging to a phone that I complain about. The main problem with my phone lately has been its battery/charge, as I've found that, once it reaches about 45-50%, you have minimal time left to finish up your messages or browsing. It just can't handle the pressure of surviving with a low battery icon bleeping in the corner. The other problem is with its memory: my last phone had an absurdly low amount of storage, and I couldn't put many apps on it at all. And, of course, you have the typical Android problem, that Natalie reminds me would be sorted forever if I just bit the bullet and purchased an iPhone: Androids spend most of their short lives updating useless apps. Less trash on Apple hardware, or so I'm told.
Despite the problems I have with Android phones, however, I did end up buying another; a little more expensive than previous Androids I've bought, but probably more sophisticated and roomy. I'm particularly delighted that my new Samsung Galaxy A20e has a gyroscope, which allows you to play Augmented Reality games like Pokémon GO. When I first downloaded Pokémon GO (that is, when we, the human race as a collective, downloaded Pokémon GO), I couldn't play a proper VR version of it, and I had just bought a new phone at the time, so I wasn't going to splash out just for the privilege of seeing Magikarp in the garden. But now the time has finally come, and I can fulfil my lifelong dream of catching a Dragonite in Natalie's bathroom.
I should note, however, how poor the service was when I actually shelled out for the phone. Granted, we live in an age where the only phones that matter are those that cost at least 600-700 Euro, and if you enter a phone service provider hoping to be treated like a human being for 100-200 Euro, you're probably due a reality check or wake-up call. I'm also aware, too, that many of these places are terrible companies that provide little to no training; it's a case of the blind leading the blind, and the blind just happen to be selling phone accessories. So I know it's not always the fault of the staff. But professionalism and gosh-darned manners... Boy, I'd have loved to have seen some of that yesterday. Some examples: One of the staff members present yesterday didn't look the part (unless it was Casual Saturday, maybe?), and was about as vaguely unhelpful as I could imagine. "You know, you could sign up for this package, if you wanted, maybe? I don't know." Quoted practically verbatim. Oh, and he was sitting at a desk near the back, so I think he might have been a supervisor. Er...
When I bought it, they mentioned that insurance was available for €3. I thought it might have been like one of those GameStop-style protection packages, where for 2 or 3 Euro at the time of purchase, they'll replace the game free of charge. So, they started taking my details, until they clarified that it was actually €3 every month, DD'd from my account. I quickly demurred, saying that I wasn't interested in that after all, and the staff member got fairly cranky. He wasn't interested in me after that, essentially. They also offered me a phone case for €35.00, but, short of it being made of ACTUAL GOLD, there was no way I'd be taking José up on his offer. Their justification for me needing a phone case? "Phones are slippy, like." Indeed. They are slippy...
Immediately after leaving the shop I went down the street and bought an even better case for a fraction of the price, and I'd consider the service there, in X-tech Repairs, to be award-winning when compared to that of the shop where I bought my actual phone. I feel bad giving Eir/Three/Vodafone any money: every network is composed of an army of con artists, and since everybody uses and needs mobile phones these days, they're not too worried about the standard of service. Back in the early 2000s, buying a phone was a treat: the staff were polite and knowledgeable, and you'd get lots of extra credit as soon as you left the shop. Now, data/internet capabilities are where all the money is, and since everyone has a phone, they're only interested in those buying from the expensive end of the catalogue. Maybe not even then.
Despite the problems I have with Android phones, however, I did end up buying another; a little more expensive than previous Androids I've bought, but probably more sophisticated and roomy. I'm particularly delighted that my new Samsung Galaxy A20e has a gyroscope, which allows you to play Augmented Reality games like Pokémon GO. When I first downloaded Pokémon GO (that is, when we, the human race as a collective, downloaded Pokémon GO), I couldn't play a proper VR version of it, and I had just bought a new phone at the time, so I wasn't going to splash out just for the privilege of seeing Magikarp in the garden. But now the time has finally come, and I can fulfil my lifelong dream of catching a Dragonite in Natalie's bathroom.
I should note, however, how poor the service was when I actually shelled out for the phone. Granted, we live in an age where the only phones that matter are those that cost at least 600-700 Euro, and if you enter a phone service provider hoping to be treated like a human being for 100-200 Euro, you're probably due a reality check or wake-up call. I'm also aware, too, that many of these places are terrible companies that provide little to no training; it's a case of the blind leading the blind, and the blind just happen to be selling phone accessories. So I know it's not always the fault of the staff. But professionalism and gosh-darned manners... Boy, I'd have loved to have seen some of that yesterday. Some examples: One of the staff members present yesterday didn't look the part (unless it was Casual Saturday, maybe?), and was about as vaguely unhelpful as I could imagine. "You know, you could sign up for this package, if you wanted, maybe? I don't know." Quoted practically verbatim. Oh, and he was sitting at a desk near the back, so I think he might have been a supervisor. Er...
When I bought it, they mentioned that insurance was available for €3. I thought it might have been like one of those GameStop-style protection packages, where for 2 or 3 Euro at the time of purchase, they'll replace the game free of charge. So, they started taking my details, until they clarified that it was actually €3 every month, DD'd from my account. I quickly demurred, saying that I wasn't interested in that after all, and the staff member got fairly cranky. He wasn't interested in me after that, essentially. They also offered me a phone case for €35.00, but, short of it being made of ACTUAL GOLD, there was no way I'd be taking José up on his offer. Their justification for me needing a phone case? "Phones are slippy, like." Indeed. They are slippy...
Immediately after leaving the shop I went down the street and bought an even better case for a fraction of the price, and I'd consider the service there, in X-tech Repairs, to be award-winning when compared to that of the shop where I bought my actual phone. I feel bad giving Eir/Three/Vodafone any money: every network is composed of an army of con artists, and since everybody uses and needs mobile phones these days, they're not too worried about the standard of service. Back in the early 2000s, buying a phone was a treat: the staff were polite and knowledgeable, and you'd get lots of extra credit as soon as you left the shop. Now, data/internet capabilities are where all the money is, and since everyone has a phone, they're only interested in those buying from the expensive end of the catalogue. Maybe not even then.
