Call center classics #4: Pay for a phone? INCONCEIVABLE!!

[ComputerNecromancer]

I got my first cell phone some years back. And when they upgraded, some friends who had the same model gave me their olfd ones. So I have *three* of them.

I eventually upgraded, but if my current phone breaks, I can just take it to the store and get the service switched over to one of the old phones in a few minutes. I won't have to camera or music player features, but I can live without those. (and just pull the microSD card to get the data off the phone (which I back up on the computer anyway).

The spares came in handy a couple years back when a friend's brother had his phone stolen. He was on her plan, so I just read her the numbers from inside one of the spares (under the battery) and Verizon switched the service over.

It'd been a couple days what with her bro (a real flake) not telling her and playing phone tag to get the info to her. She didn't need the phone since her brother had been being a pain about his share of the bill, so she wasn't going to give him the phone anyway, just let it sit until the contract expired (cheaper than cancelling)

But once the service switched, I got to watch lots of annoyed texts from the friends of whoever had swiped it and been using it.

They finally quit after a week or so. And a few months later the contract expired so I turned it off again and stuck it in the drawer with the other two.

[PepperElf]

O boy. protection plans.

I sold them at my <last job>. What sucked was when customers tried to do just that... come in after they bought the item and tried to get insurance coverage when it was already broken.

Sometimes they'd also try to get the plan retroactively, which we DID allow... but only within the return window, and only if the customer had the item with them for us to look over to make sure it wasn't already broken.

CONSIDER the protection plan.

I really have to agree with this. Not just because it was my job to talk people in to buying them, but because I saw how many times it fucking worked.

and as a tech, it was always so much easier when I could just tell someone that the repair was covered etc... vs having to try to talk them into a package to buy.

[Enjis]

I just bought my first smart phone this past June. I got the protection plan (which I normally do not do with electronics) because phones get handled a lot, get passed around, get dropped into purses, etc. So many ways to get broken/lost. I felt it was worth it, even tho I take very good care of my stuff.

[protege]

I've only had to use my phone insurance once. My phone drowned while taking my grandmother home. She had her coffee in a cupholder, I'd put my phone in the other one. About 15 minutes from her house...I had to swerve to avoid a deer Coffee tipped over, shorted out the phone, leaving me with a brick. All it took was simply explaining to Verizon what happened, present them with the insurance card, and I have a new one same day. Of course, I had to send in the brick, but oh well.

[Sapphire Silk]

I've never bought insurance on a cell phone. The old flip phones I had in the past were pretty generic; I still have them and they still work. I kept them for 911 backups.

I had an early model iPhone and bought the Apple Care Protection Plan for it. Had it for a couple of years, back when they still did unlimited data, and accidentally washed it in the wash. Unfortunately, that was not covered, and I had to get a new iPhone (got a 3GS). I still use an iPhone but I didn't bother with the ACPP or an insurance plan. Yeah, I'm taking a risk, but I've ever only broken the one phone.

[Zaiida]

I have a 10 year old nokia workhorse knocking about which I recently retired as my main phone ealier this year. A friend bought outright an iphone 4s 64gig for the price of a 16gig (lucky bastard) and I got his old nokia mini.

He found it cheaper overall to buy his phone outright and add it to his house insurance than 'rent' a lesser iphone and pay a monthly protection plan. Saves him over $1000 in 24 months. That's more than what his new phone cost outright .

Speaking of iphones, does anyone else have trouble with apple touch screens and their inability to get read by them. I can't use apple products at all, the screens don't register my touch no matter how hight the sensitivity. Damn annyoing

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Speaking of iphones, does anyone else have trouble with apple touch screens and their inability to get read by them. I can't use apple products at all, the screens don't register my touch no matter how hight the sensitivity. Damn annyoing

I've found with the iphones, you have to touch them with your finger pad or else it won't register at all. You can't tap it with your nails (annoying if you're like me and you have naturally long nails.) I think it has something to do with either sensing the heat or the electrical current in your finger? I think one of my friends had the issue where his finger was so calloused from work that it just wouldn't register his touch for whatever reason.

So he got an Android and never had the problem again as far as I'm aware.

[Jester]

Whenever I get a new phone, I make a point of getting three things.

1. A car charger for the phone, because I take road trips.
2. A protective case for the phone, because I'm a klutz.
3. Insurance for the phone, because I'm a klutz.

Now, I've only ever needed the insurance once, but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

[EricKei]

I suppose I've lucked out and always had phones with cheap insurance, too (never more than ~$9/mo) so I suppose that does influence my decision ^_^

My only issue with the car charger is my car, itself x.x Ya see, I'm rather a tall drink of water, and my car has the cigarette lighter/charger thingy in the same pull-out tray as the drink holders, just under the radio...The issue is, with my long legs, this bangs into my knee when I open it, and makes it really uncomfortable to drive while the phone is being charged. I don't exactly drive a small car, either (2000 grand marquis)

[suburbandecay]

I've found with the iphones, you have to touch them with your finger pad or else it won't register at all. You can't tap it with your nails (annoying if you're like me and you have naturally long nails.) I think it has something to do with either sensing the heat or the electrical current in your finger? I think one of my friends had the issue where his finger was so calloused from work that it just wouldn't register his touch for whatever reason.

The touch screen in almost all cell phones and tablets is a capacitive screen which works based on your skins ability to conduct electricity. Resistive screens work based on pressure and are generally what you see on POS terminals as the technology is older and probably cheaper too at this point.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

The touch screen in almost all cell phones and tablets is a capacitive screen which works based on your skins ability to conduct electricity. Resistive screens work based on pressure and are generally what you see on POS terminals as the technology is older and probably cheaper too at this point.

Then I guess the only answer is gremlins?