A few months ago, our cell phone contract was about to end. Eager to use our freedom, we started shopping different plans. We liked our carrier's coverage, but we felt we could get more for our money elsewhere. Since we rarely use our minutes, going to a company with a cheaper plan made sense.
Company selected...next problem: which phone?
The iPhone was very tempting, but too expensive, especially when we wanted two. We contemplated it until we spoke with a salesman at the cell phone kiosk in our favorite warehouse store. If we signed up there, he explained, we could avoid the activation fees and get free accessories. He mentioned we could try Blackberry phones and if we didn't like them, we had 90 days to exchange them out for another (free) phone. We could then buy the iPhones from the cell carrier and still end up ahead.
Great idea. I got a Red Pearl and my husband got a Curve. I liked my phone and he liked his. However, he felt I would like the Curve better. Eventually, he persuaded me to exchange my Red Pearl for a Curve. Big mistake.
After I switched, I discovered my Curve was missing the regular browser function. It was nowhere to be found on my phone, but existed on his. It really bugged me, as I didn't like the carrier-specific browser. I went to the cell carrier store to see if they could help. The salesman was unable to fix it, and suggested I exchange my Curve for a new one. Of course, I couldn't do it at that store--I had to go to the warehouse kiosk.
Back to the kiosk and I got a new phone. Guess what? Same problem, and then some. We went to the kiosk to see if they could help, and after an hour of troubleshooting with the cell company's customer service, it was fixed. We left, and on the way to dinner, we discovered that wait,...the problem wasn't fixed after all. So we detoured to the cell carrier store...again...and worked with a great salesman who spent 45 minutes fixing my phone and pointed me to a free, alternative browser. While he was working on the phone, he mentioned how weird it was because they hardly ever see problems with the Curves. I laughed and informed him this was my second one with problems. Go figure.
A couple of days later, another blip happened, and I was so done. I wanted the Red Pearl back. We went to the kiosk to exchange my phone, but now they had no Red Pearls. They did have a Black Pearl, but I didn't like the look of it. However, I was so tired of Curves at that point I took what was available.
Shortly thereafter, my husband decided that the Pearl was a more useful phone for his situation and decided to switch. I was ready to go through the roof. I had changed phones 4 times in three weeks, thanks to him! I had learned that the Red Pearl was being phased out; so if I wanted one, I needed to find it fast.
I called all the warehouses in the area until I found a red one at a location across town (35 minutes away). With my luck, though, we went during rush hour and it took us more than an hour to get to the store. We did the phone swap (again!) and headed back home. This swap was a bit trickier because we traded my husband's Curve for a Red Pearl, then I gave my Black Pearl to him and I took the Red Pearl. Finally!
Unfortunately, after so many swaps these phones didn't know which way was up, and we had to stop by the cell carrier store one last time to have our favorite sales guy unravel the mess.
In the end, I had my Red Pearl, which was what I wanted. It only took 4 phones, several hours of troubleshooting, loads of frustration, lost calendar and phone book entries, and way too much gas and time. I should have just stuck with what I wanted in the first place!
Epilogue--I still have my Red Pearl and love it. My husband enjoys his Black Pearl, too.
Next time, I'm going to pick the phones!
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