Monday, January 5, 2009

Culture Clashes: Communication Breakdown

The first Monday of the New Year. How exciting. I was all set to begin the first day of the full week of the year off with a bang. I knew it was going to be good, when I was finally paid from my toils from last month.

I told my squaw that I'd do better with communication. That I would help her reach her relations down yonder in the states. So we got these nifty iPhones - yeah they rock. Anywho - after my morning reporting meeting concluded, I went down to the AT&T store to purchase said phones and "upgrade" to their plan. After all they recently bought out Cellular One, our previous cellular merchant. I went into their office at 10:20 A.M. I figured it would be late enough for the weirdo's who go to the place right at opening, and before the lunch rush. I was right. As I walked to the door, the last customer of the morning was walking out. I was there all alone.

My Retail Sales Consultant Mike was spot on. He started getting the plan up-grade and the phones all ready, I thought for sure that I'd be out of there by 10:40, twenty minutes, that's gotta be a record somewhere. As my mind started to wander, and think of all the people I could be contacting by 11, I would be lying if I said I wasn't salivating.

Everything was going according to plan, then I let it slip out of my mouth, as my conscious and mind was telling me to stop while everything was going well. "Can we change my wife's number to a local number?" I inquired.

"Sure thing, not a problem. Is there a specific number you would prefer?" Mike asked?

"Nope. Just a local line please."

That's when twenty minutes, turned into an ongoing saga whose ending is still unknown. I would drag you through the dregs of the spilt entrails, but will spare you the gorey details. Suffice it to say, that my number (which is used for business purposes) was changed, and my wife's number was unchanged. What's the big deal? Why don't we just trade phones? Oh that would be too simple. My wife, has the 8G version, while my phone is the 16G. So - even if I wanted to switch, the applications I need to put on my phone, just simply will not work on hers.

I can't understand how a simple stroke of the keypad, can be so hard to undo? Isn't that what spell check and memory is for? Apparently it is going to take up to 12 days to fix this. Sometimes I think it may be easier to go back to the old days, you know 70 years ago when my ancestors would build a hut and all move in together and share their stories together.

1 comment:

darsden said...

Read! I feared this would happen to me and that is why I kept my analog phone till the phone company called me personally 4 times and told me I had to go get a new phone! I had the nokia you change the face plate out...I had over 100 face plates and had to give the damn phone up..now it never matches my outfit :-(

Firts again..You catching on Bob!