Mobile phones.

[Esther Knapicius]

Yes, I do use my email when able for issues with staff etc.

HOWEVER---in most cases when driving, and have to pull over to give instructions/directions etc. The texting comes in wonderful as a form to cover my stern, that I told you such and such. or you answered me in a certain way. I can look back on the texts should there be a argument with staff to show them what they actually said.

Texts serve well also with discussions with husband. If I text him something about --whatever--- and he comes back later saying "I did not tell him that" I can pull out my cell phone, get on his text to him and show him. That has served me well, as he turns and mumbles away some nonsense. Its just amazing that still after all these years, he does not get that I remember things very well, as I deal with doctors, nurses , staff daily, and have to be on my toes with conversations. poor lad.

 

[Sheal]

@Colin, I bought a new, cheap, very basic mobile phone eighteen months ago in Tesco. I only have one in case of emergency so it very rarely gets used. The assistant kindly set it up and ran through it's functions, also how to top up on 'pay as you go'. I was given two choices...the first being for regular use and the other for occasional or little use. I chose the second option and this allows the phone to be used without the threat of it being shut down after a certain time limit. In the eighteen months I've had it I've only sent a few texts and made no phone calls but it's still functioning.

Oh, another point. I'd walked out of Carphone Warehouse for the same noisy reason as yourself and after waiting twenty minutes to be served. Tesco was just a few minutes walk away and I bought the same phone in there that I was looking at in Carphone Warehouse for half the price.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks Sean; Bron and I used to pass a jeans store in Meadowhall their music (?) so loud it was even loud in the mall; what a surprise the store ceased trading.

One morning in Morrison's whilst approaching the checkout I asked the checkout operator to phone 999 because someone was being strangled; I was brought up in the sixties and can still remember most of the songs; this modern rubbis is suffered once and immediately forgotten.

Very good point Esther; I like email and also on occasion chat lines; as you rightly say text can easily be saved for future reference; yesterday I was on a chat line with O2 and I copied and pasted the chat just in case of future problems.

I'm pleased you finally got sorted out with a mobile phone Sheal; these phones I admit can be very handy indeed in an emergency but I'll never have one welded to my ear; it makes me wonder how much some of these mobile phone users spend just to have a phone allowing them to chat to a chum about what they had for breakfast? It must be 8 years ago I paid £5 for my steam powered mobile phone but then I can't see the latest disaster across the world on it. It pays to shop around.

What fantastic service at last from O2; I had all the hassle yesterday and my new sim card arrived very early this morning; top marks for getting the sim card to me but rubbish O2 once again; I'm now on my second half hour awaiting a six digit code now 15 minutes into the second half hour; oh how I hate mobile phones with a passion.

O2 love to torture customers; if you wait more than half hour for the code click here; brilliant it starts another half hour wait; I'm now 71 will I live long enough to actually use this phone.

KInd regards, Colin.

An update. After waiting for over thirty minutes I clicked on Ask for another; this was one and a half hours ago? I've got the mobile phone; I've got the new sim card but I'm rapidly running out of patience; it looks like another chat line coming up?

 

[Colin]

Hi,

I've been trying to resolve the mobile phone problem since just after 9 o'clock this morning and I'm sitting here with steam coming out of my ears; a full day yesterday and most of today; I've just been on an O2 chat line for well over an hour; the new sim I was sent wasn't pay as you go so another new sim is now on its way; why oh why were the staff in the O2 store so abysmal when surely they should have been able to resolve this easily; once I dig in I've got endless patience; here's part of the chat;

I find being polite opens doors.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[MaryMary]

even now no peace because we get so many unwanted callers and neighbours always wanting something it drives us mad;

Colin, I will be getting a new mobile phone soon, and I have hit upon a plan to solve this frustration. I have decided to set the default ringtone to "No ring." Then, I will go back and manually add specific ringtones for the people I care about, that way, the phone will only make noise for the people I want to hear from. Everyone else can go to voicemail, and I'll listen to that at my leisure. I'm tired of spam & scam calls.

I was about to take the phone into my workshop and introduce it to my trusty non electronic lump hammer

Before you do this, you could see if there is a local charity where you could donate it. You'll want to wipe any information from it, but a lot of police stations here have drop-off boxes for old phones. They give them to victims of domestic violence, so they have the means to call 911.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

And who still has a answering machine connected to a land line? We still do, although its a rarity that anyone of interest leaves messages on it. only advertisements are left. And the sound is turned off, so once in a blue moon I run through it deleting stuff. We found money wise it ok to just keep it for now.

 

[Sean Regan]

And who still has a answering machine connected to a land line? We still do, although its a rarity that anyone of interest leaves messages on it. only advertisements are left. And the sound is turned off, so once in a blue moon I run through it deleting stuff. We found money wise it ok to just keep it for now.

As I said before, my mobile lives in the ashtray of my car, for emergencies. My wife's is in a handbag somewhere, she only uses it if she has to go into hospital. Then it's handy.

No answering machine. If we're not in and it's important, they can call back or send an e-mail.

What's the odds if you do call back they're out?

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks MaryMary for your useful and interesting reply.

Unfortunately this wayward mobile phone simply refuses to work so it won't even receive a text message from o2; great isn't it when a mobile phone isn't working that the company want to send a six digit code to the same phone?

I understand and applaud your good intentions regarding giving the phone away but with my constant bad luck should I give this useless phone to someone where it could be involved in violence; having deleted all the details; if someone was to be murdered and the phone traced back to me with my fingerprints all over the inside etc I wouldn't be bothered with mobile phone problems any longer? Stranger things have occurred where someone innocent ends up in prison.

This morning full of hope I inserted the new sim kindly sent by o2; great at last the phone responded with do you wish to save the old phone numbers so yes; immediately the Invalid sim message appeared; three days now of absolute frustration; I've tried to open my O2 account without success I've even used my old but working phone still without success but I've finally solved the problem to my full satisfaction and I won't have further problems in future with this phone; in total it's cost over £40 for the phone and top up; one visit to the useless O2 store involving a round journey of 46 miles; it's tied me up and totally frustrated me for three days; it's involved very long chatlines with O2 and two new sim cards. I reckon I've got lots of patience but time now to walk away from this problem.

When I tried to take pictures with my small camera in the garage the cameras battery was depleted so another trip up to the bungalow to collect my big camera; why does everything I touch gives me nothing but hassle and problems.

Kind regards, Colin.

I should have done this three days ago because this mobile phone has taken three days out of my life. I hate anything with a circuit board or battery installed.

This is my "club hammer" it solves a number of problems allowing me to move on with my life. Seldom do I get annoyed or angry but O2 and this phone pushed all the wrong buttons.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

With my "Work" cell, I have a whole department ready at my will to fix it. As I have to be reachable 24/7 no matter what.

 

[Sheal]

Colin I think you need to scrap O2 too!

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Many people need to be on call all the time like you Esther and mobile phones for this must rank as a best invention ever.

Thanks Sheal; good idea but with my luck I think I'd like to scrap the world too. My day today started at 01:05 when I visited the bathroom; switching on the light resulted in a brilliant flash and a bang as the bulb self destructed; on with my parka and hat and head down to the workshop in freezing weather to reset the mcb.

Getting up as usual at 6 am in order to do the usual three supermarkets; I switched on the TV hoping to watch YouTube whilst having breakfast; no network signal; then error; adjust time and date; we have an android so ten minutes later after setting the lot up AGAIN a new message popped up no network connection so grudgingly I switched on BBC 1 news to be greeted by a guy kicking a football around; TV now switched off.

Having finally had breakfast a quick look for emails; no email and no internet connection; after "Click here" and watching the clock go round 100% finally done message "could not fix the problem" contact your cable operator; sure I could do this and enjoy listening to music for 15 minutes then spend another 30 minutes whilst the operator asks endless questions then saying to me this is taking longer than usual to sort out; I then played around and a new message appeared requesting I add the virgin router serial number; I got rid of this silly message and after more playing around finally got online.

If I sit at the keyboard confetti is dropped through our letterbox ranging from resin drives to endless charity bags; a couple of days ago all this frustration wasn't enough as I reached the workshop where I found breast cancer and air ambulance leaflets sitting on the low wall to greet me.

Here in the UK we are punished if we better ourselves; not enough paying rip off taxes but open to everyone who have the right to pester us for money; if we want any peace then we have to drive away from home; this is retirement to us and I usually start my day with a moan because it never ever lets up.

I've offered to buy Bron a new phone but it wouldn't be O2; Bron said don't bother.

This is today taken care of so what new frustration awaits us for tomorrow; I'd better replace the bathroom light bulb before I forget.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Prior to cell phones, I had to carry one of those Beepers. ( this was another position) Seems most of my work life, as I look back has been in positions where I am on call. Thinking, that position, of first being on call I was about 32 years old.

By the way, I rarely check my personal email. maybe weekly. My work email is connected to my cell phone, when I get a work email my cell makes a noise then I go and look at it. Then of course another noise for a text.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

I was in my last job Esther for 24 years before finally retiring in 2000 at the age of 53; I wasn't on call full time only when I was on site and that was hard enough; if I was in between departments I had a few minutes where I couldn't hear any of my five phones but the pager (beeper) usually got me; it was a big factory spanning both sides of the road; I used to walk zig zag as I had to find the nearest phone to answer the pager.

Being at the end of the lines in distribution we were front line from customers who were chasing their order; one day Mick the driver from a company who was a regular was on site to collect a big motor; this time however the motor couldn't immediately be located it had been packed and despatched to this customer but Mick was here to collect it; he phoned his boss a lady (?) who was incredibly rude to me being extremely abusive calling me terrible names including incompetent; I politely replied between her swearing suggesting it would perhaps help if I put the phone down to investigate. Yes the motor had left my department so I contacted transport who in turn put a call out to the wagon driver; the driver had to pull into a layby to check the consignment notes looking for the motor serial number; I then phoned this lady (?) back and politely suggested she visit her goods inwards because the motor had already been delivered and signed for before she contacted me. Just one of many; I was over the moon to get away from the stress and the job.

Now I prefer email then I can reply or send at my leisure; I'm usually very polite and good tempered but three days of nothing but hassle with Bron's mobile phone finally pushed all the wrong buttons for me; it said OUCH as I hit it with the hammer; today free of the phone I've just enjoyed polishing the car in lovely warm sunshine away from any type of phone.

It's winter here but yesterday and today the weather has been glorious after a frosty start in fact better than many of our summer days.

Kind regards, Colin.