Attack of the Killer Business Owners

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

This has been my scourge of the week it appears.

I've had six, count 'em SIX manager calls this week from people screaming and/or cussing my ear off because their phone doesn't work and they run a business and I'm costing them SO much money and what am I going to do to fix this???

Yes, they are outright furious that my company is "costing them thousands of dollars" (TM).

You ever notice that's ALWAYS "thousands"? I guess "hundreds" would make them seem too petty and "millions" would be unrealistic because if you actually DID have a company that made millions of dollars you'd probably be smart enough to have MORE THAN ONE PHONE!

I even had one woman tell me my company was "stealing money out of her kids mouths and clothes off their backs" because how DARE she have to wait three days for a phone!

I had another guy accuse me of not having a clue what hell he was going through because I've never owned a business. My response verbatim: "Actually sir, I have owned a business and when I did, I always made sure to have an emergency phone on standby for cases just like yours."

And of course then he started cussing again.

You see not only did I have TWO phones, I had them on different carriers. That way if one had an issue, I could forward the calls to the other one and keep working uninterrupted. What an incredible concept!

And of course all these people demanded free phones and credits for their trouble...and didn't get them.

I know running a business can be hard but if you've got your entire LIVELIHOOD staked one ONE SINGLE cell phone you're on the fast track to disaster.

I used to hope some of these people would learn from these experiences and that maybe losing "thousands of dollars" would convince them of the need to, you know, prepare for emergencies and exceptional circumstances.

Now I just realize what site I'm on and how customers are and quietly weep in a corner for what's left of humanity.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Hmmm, I didn't know money was edible

[Tee]

Hmmm, I didn't know money was edible

I know right, that woman should be grateful to OPs company, saving her money from her insane currency eating spawn

[notalwaysright]

Hm, what happened with my parents company when a phone broke? Ah. Well, my parents paid (if the option was available) to have the new phone over-nighted. And the employee who didn't have his cell phone? He was fine for a day or two. He came to the office to make calls. And I don't think it ever happened, but if his van broke down, he could walk to a gas station. It's really not the end of the world, and if it is, BE PREPARED. (Lion King style )

[Josh]

Its even less sympathetic when the offending phone is a Pay-as-you-Go worth 40 bucks on a 35 bucks a month plan.

[MoonCat]

Hmmm, I didn't know money was edible

I know, I kept thinking, "Well, there's your problem! Your kids are eating the money, you're supposed to BUY FOOD with it."

Frankly, the only business I know of that might be cell-phone dependent and could lose "thousands of dollars" in business over three days is one that's on the wrong side of the law...

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Its even less sympathetic when the offending phone is a Pay-as-you-Go worth 40 bucks on a 35 bucks a month plan.

Heh. Two of the six actually were. One guy said to me "This phone is a piece of shit!" to which I responded "and how much did you pay for it?". The answer: $30.

So then I waited...just to see if he'd make the connection in his brain.

He didn't. So I "professionally" explained that there are differences in phone quality across models and that, as a general rule, the less you pay for the phone, the lower quality it's going to be.

And then he said that wasn't his problem and I had to fix it.

Guess who ended up getting a big fat pile of nothing?

[ComputerNecromancer]

You see not only did I have TWO phones, I had them on different carriers. That way if one had an issue, I could forward the calls to the other one and keep working uninterrupted. What an incredible concept!

That's why until recently, a friend and I were on different ISPs. Our apartments are close enough to get each other's wifi, so if one ISP went down, we could just piggy back on the wifi.

I know running a business can be hard but if you've got your entire LIVELIHOOD staked one ONE SINGLE cell phone you're on the fast track to disaster.

Heck, for *personal* stuff I've always made a habit of keeping old gear when I upgrade, modems, computers, cell phones.

Saved me many a time. Yeah, I might have to go online with an older slower modem, or use the old computer but I could *do* it.

Heck, My first cellphone was part of a group deal with some friends. When they upgrade, they gave me their old phones since they were the same model as mine. So I wound up with two spares.

I've since upgraded but I'm on the same carrier. So if my phone dies, I can just drop by and have them transfer service to one of the old phones until I can afford a replacement.

Never had to do it, but another friend on the same carrier had her brother and his girlfriend on a family plan. They both managed to lose (or get stolen) their phones. It'd cost too much to break the contract, so she called me and I gave her the info from my spare phones and she switched the numbers over. No problem.

Also, you can quite often find older but still usable phones for a given carrier *free* or very cheap. If I had a business, I'd do that so as to have a spare to switch over to.

[earl colby pottinger]

Question, were any of the people claiming to be losing thousands of dollars per day on a business account? Or were they all the standard accounts every house wife and student uses?

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Question, were any of the people claiming to be losing thousands of dollars per day on a business account? Or were they all the standard accounts every house wife and student uses?

Standard personal accounts. All of 'em.

[icmedia]

If they were losing thousands of dollars, then buying a brand-new, top of the line phone outright for $750 should be no problem for them, right?

My wife's boss, who does millions a quarter in business, often sends her to the phone store to pick up a full-price replacement because that's what actual businesspeople do when they're in dire need.

[earl colby pottinger]

Then

Standard personal accounts. All of 'em.

Then they should be switched to the business section who have the solution to their problem.

It is my understand standard accounts promise service/solutions in X days, and business account service/solutions in X hours.

Also, is it not against terms of service to *RUN* a business using a standard account?

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Then they should be switched to the business section who have the solution to their problem.

It is my understand standard accounts promise service/solutions in X days, and business account service/solutions in X hours.

Also, is it not against terms of service to *RUN* a business using a standard account?

Not that I'm aware of, but, as someone mentioned, business accounts do come with more perks than individual. There are requirements of course. You need to at least have a Tax ID to register a business account.

I think a lot of people just assume that "hey, if my small business only needs a line or two there's no point in getting a business account." In other words they don't want to go through the hoops to set one up and just walk into the store to do a personal account instead.

[mathnerd]

I admit the thought of losing phone service for even a few hours terrifies me. Between doctors and therapists and school officials and CPS workers (extra kid stuff), I simply cannot be without a phone. When my phone was stolen I immediately pulled rank on the youngest kid and took his phone and had Red Checkmark move my number to his phone. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't been able to do that, but I certainly would not have yelled at a customer service rep because they couldn't change the rules.

At the moment I'm having an issue where I just don't get text messages. It started a few months ago where it just wasn't getting SMS messages, but iMessage was getting through just fine. Now I can't even reliably get iMessage. It's horrible, but it's not Red Checkmark's fault. Apple can't figure out what's wrong. Red Checkmark has done everything on their end to make sure it's not a service provider issue. It's not as big a deal has having no phone at all, but it's still really annoying.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

I admit the thought of losing phone service for even a few hours terrifies me. Between doctors and therapists and school officials and CPS workers (extra kid stuff), I simply cannot be without a phone. When my phone was stolen I immediately pulled rank on the youngest kid and took his phone and had Red Checkmark move my number to his phone. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't been able to do that, but I certainly would not have yelled at a customer service rep because they couldn't change the rules.

At the moment I'm having an issue where I just don't get text messages. It started a few months ago where it just wasn't getting SMS messages, but iMessage was getting through just fine. Now I can't even reliably get iMessage. It's horrible, but it's not Red Checkmark's fault. Apple can't figure out what's wrong. Red Checkmark has done everything on their end to make sure it's not a service provider issue. It's not as big a deal has having no phone at all, but it's still really annoying.

I keep a several years old flip phone in a drawer that I can transfer my service to in a pinch if I need to. You can also get some very cheap prepaid phones for less than $20. Of course you get what you pay for but most of them at least still handle calls well enough.

I can't tell you how weird it was when I had to go back to that flip phone awhile back and basically relearn how to do T9 texting.