A day made to frustrate me

[bill_schubert]

Not the first thing but nearly so I spilled half a cup of coffee on my desk, keyboard and mouse.  I have a spare keyboard and mouse but I suspect the keyboard I typically use, an ergonomic one that has lasted many years, is going to be too sticky now and so will be replaced.  Since it is old it is not a huge deal.  And the desk is covered with a really nice pad, currently hanging in the shower, and a sheet of glass.  Not the worst of disasters but really annoying.

Then I go to T-Mobile to change over my phone and my wife's phone.  Our MintMobile experiment is, sadly, at an end.  The reception for Mint is pretty good most places but at our house.  While that is not a big deal for me it is for my wife who uses a lot of MMS (multimedia text messaging) and several of her friends do not work.  The texts get to her phone but just stop there with a circle saying 'downloading' that never stops.  I spent a bunch of time with Mint trying to find a solution but never could and they finally gave up.  So, back to T-Mobile which is about 3 times the price.  

So I thought I'd go to a T-Mobile store to make it easy.  Nope.  The woman there seemed more interested in throwing hurtles at me than helping me work through them.  And she really wanted me to get their more expensive plan and said by the time you add tax to the cheaper plan they are the same.  Which is not true.  She did the calculations and it was $72/year difference.  Nearly 10%.  Not a lot but not nothing.  

And they require a credit check, pretty much the same level as the mortgage I just took out.  She did not seem to understand the mechanics of unlocking three credit bureaus (there's apps for that I think).  

I finally just left.  Which was just as well.  Equifax systems are down right now for 'an hour'.  My guess is someone screwed up the weekend work update and they are fixing it.  So I'd still be sitting at T-Mobile.  So I'll either to it online and have them send me new sims or set it up and go by another T-Mobile store and have them finish the job.

I do feel better for dumping all that.  Thank you.  Hope you day is better.

Comments

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Sorry your day started out so wonky. Does T-Mobile remain the best option for you? I've had AT&T for over 30 years and it's the only carrier I've had during the age of cell phones. I probably don't use a lot of the features you desire, but my bill is $54/ month (which has kept me from changing carriers). Over time, I've considered Verizon, but just quietly continued with the same carrier

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

So far T--Mobile is cheaper. Two phones with tax et all = $64/month. Att and Verizon are $60 plus tax which works out to about $69. I used TMobile for years after switching from Verizon. At that time there was a huge difference in cost for my business. With the two of use there is not too much savings. Mint Mobile was way cheaper but didn't make the cut.

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

The other half of that I meant to say was thanks for the head's up to check the pricing. I'm still looking but I think T-Mobile might be a bit cheaper for us.

[anais-pf.livejournal.com]

But it wasn't even noon when you posted! I hope the second half of your day is going better.

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it is. Equifax is still down which means two things. 1 - Their techs are having a way worse day than me. 2 - I don't have to deal with this today.

[somedayseattle.livejournal.com]

some days it doesnt pay to the leave the house

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

My favorite niece once had the following tag line in her email:

"Some days it just not worth chewing through the leather straps to get up"

I brought her out to work for me after reading that and she still works at UT. She is wonderful and I think of that line whenever I'm having a mediocre morning.

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

Seems a bit silly telling someone who owned an IT company this, so excuse my hubris, but before you give up on your ergonomic keyboard I'd give it a whirl in the dishwasher first. I learned years ago this was OK to do and can sometimes bring sad spilled-on keyboards back to life. If you're already well aware of this, again, sorry, bye, sorry, sorry, bye...

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

I once had a laptop with a keyboard made to pop out and be put in the dishwasher. But, no, I had not thought of it with this. No harm trying it. The KB is expensive enough that it is not exactly disposable.

I'll give it a try and report results. Thanks for the idea.

[zoefruitcake.livejournal.com]

I hope today is better