Triumphant Return to Failure

[DesignFox]

I got a cell phone when I got my car. It was my Dad's way of having peace of mind. If I got stranded, I could easily call him for help.

We don't often get irate parents in the store asking for credits, but it has happened once or twice that a kid ran up a cell phone bill.

One woman was FUMING at her daughter (not us!). It was hilarious watching this kid sweat and shake and try to get herself out of trouble. (she was 12 or 13 and she sent about $75 worth of text/picture messages-Mom put the block on her phone AND made her pay her chore money toward the bill)

Another woman did the typical "blame the cell phone provider" thing- but I'm not sure how that turned out as my co-worker got the joy of dealing with that one.

I tell parents- if your kid is pissing you off with the cell phone, and you won't take it away from them...we offer a great service. It's called the text message/internet block. I strongly suggest calling customer service and having them do just that.

Some parents don't even give the kids the chance to run up the bill- they just put the block on from day 1 and let the kids work their way up. once they know they can trust them, they'll remove the blocks and let them use the service.

I'm surprised your company doesn't offer that, Kara. (although I still agree with you that the parents should PARENT rather than rely that...)

[Kara]

I'm surprised your company doesn't offer that, Kara. (although I still agree with you that the parents should PARENT rather than rely that...)

Yeah, it would make our lives a lot easier. We tried it once, but it glitched the system and counted the usage as minutes, which in turn caused customers to go over. Since then they haven't tried to do anything with it. We have so much going on right now with some new stuff getting ready to come out in '08 that it's not a high priority for Corporate.

[Bluenomi]

My 16 and 18 eyar old sisters have mobiles. My parents got them for them under the condition that my folks pay the monthly fee and my sisters have to pay anything over that. One sister got it, always pays the extra, no dramas. The other, spent huge amounts, never paid for the extra. So my parents cancelled the phone and made her get a pre paid that she has to pay for

[ThePhoneGoddess]

On Parenting

SW: Why is my bill so high?
ME: I see your second line had several ringtone downloads last month.
SW: That is my daughter's line. I told her not to download anything, could you just take those charges off?
ME: No, I'm afraid not. She did get a message that she would be charged for accepting the content, and if she agreed then the charges would be billed.
SW: But she is not the one paying the bill!
ME: I see. And how old is she?
SW: 17.
ME: Then I assume she has a job so she could pay for her part of the bill.
SW: She won't get a job.
ME: Then perhaps you should consider having some means of her paying you back for charges she incurs.
SW: Look, just.... just take the charges off.
ME: As I said, those are valid charges and cannot be removed.
SW: Then what can you do to keep her from downloading?
ME: There's nothing that I can do to stop her.
SW: Why not?
ME: Because I am not her parent. You are.
SW: What am I supposed to do?
ME: Well, "no" is an effective parenting tool
SW: She's in school! I can't watch her 24 hours a day!
ME: Then perhaps there should be consequences if she does not do as you ask. We can suspend the phone temporarily.
SW: But... she needs it!

Argghh!!!!!

I hate hate hate this! I get it all the time. WHY on earth are we expected to eat the cost of what your demon spawn downloaded? It is NOT the cell companies fault that she never learned responsibility. Get your head out of your ass and deal with own kid, you friggin' idiots! You need to have your parenting license revoked and your genitals sewn shut!

Excuse me while I go calm myself.

[tamezin]

A Rebuttal
I've never understood the mentality that a kid needs a cell phone.

I bought my daugher a "pre-paid" cell phone when she was eleven. She is only allowed $xx.xx to spend. If she uses all her minutes, she has no phone and is unable to go on activities with her friends. It is a powerful incentive for her to only use her phone for emergencies only.

Sad thing is 'I' don't even have a cell. I refuse. There really isn't anyone I want to talk to that much. Only problem is, there are fewer and fewer working payphones out there.

[DesignFox]

I once asked a rather snotty ten year old what she thought she needed a cell phone for...

She very matter of factly informed me that she needed to "talk to her friends."

[DarkProwler]

It Just Doesn't Click[/B]

SM: Yeah, my keys don't "click" anymore.
ME: I'm sorry?
SM: When I press my buttons, the don't "click."
ME: Are they still responding correctly?
SM: Yeah, but they don't "click."
ME: Well, as long as they are responsive, you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
SM: Oh, okay. I just thought I'd call in before I took it apart and cleaned it.
ME: I wouldn't recommend that.
SM: I was just going to clean it.
ME: But opening the phone will void the manufacturer's warranty. So if you have any problems later, there won't be anything we can do.
SM: Oh. So..... you're saying I can't do that?
ME: I won't say you can't do it, but I would strongly advise not attempting to open the phone unless you are a manufacterer-certified technician.
SM: Huh. So......

Yeah, you know what? Go for it. Might I suggest using some Mr Clean? Spray some Febreeze in there to, gotta make sure those fragile circuit boards smell fresh.

Reading this made the Mad Hatter Tea Party scene from Alice in Wonderland go through my head...

"Tea?"
"Oh yes, tea!" *pours tea into watch cell*
"Sugar?"
"Sugar, yes, two spoons!" *shoves in two spoons*
"Jam?"
"Yes, yes, jam!"
"Mustard?"
"Mustard?! Let's not get ridiculous! Now, butter, that's different..."

[matty]

Stupid

SM: I've been a customer since before you were born!

(that you have a history of being a customer for various companies, businesses, establishments, and so forth.)

I was ROFL to this.

"The City would like to announce that Mr X has achieved the incredible feat of being a customer for the past 40 years. Our heartfelt congratulations!"

Silence of the Customer Care Reps

DLR: Hold on. It wants your password.
ME:
DLR: It's asking for your password.

Yes, that voice you hear on the other end of the line, the one you are having a conversation with, actually belongs to an alien from the planet of CSR-1, where a great vault of extraterrestrials sit glued to headsets day and night waiting for SCs from the backward planet of Earth to call and ask questions that cause the brains of highly evolved (gender-less) life forms to instantly explode.

[Racket_Man]

*Dusts self off*

SW: What am I supposed to do?
ME: Well, "no" is an effective parenting tool
SW: She's in school! I can't watch her 24 hours a day!
ME: Then perhaps there should be consequences if she does not do as you ask. We can suspend the phone temporarily.
SW: But... she needs it!

Okay, I'm done. I have kids of my own, I don't need to be taking care of yours too. If you haven't figured it out after 17 years of being a mom, then you and your daughter are beyond all help anyone could provide. So send her forth into the world to breed a new generation of irresponsible, unaccountable, thankless idiots to expect everything be handed to them. And some day, your kids will call my kids "boss." Or "Master," if I've taken over the world by then.


Silence of the Customer Care Reps

DLR: I have a customer in the store who wants to change her plan.
ME: Sure, no problem. Could I have our customer's password?
DLR: Hold on. It wants your password.
ME:
DLR: It's asking for your password.

It puts the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again.

first of all as others have said WHY DOES SHE NEED THE DAMN PHONE. a phone is a want not a need. a need something like food water shelter safety. a phone is neither of these. a want is anything after the basic survival of the organism.

I am in my late 40's. I grew up in the 60's and 70's and 80's and 90's. I managed to make it completely thru kindergarden, primary school, secondary school (high school) 3 boughts of college and almost into the year 2000 without a FREAKIHNG CELL PHONE. the only reason I got one was my job insisted I have one because of 24/7/365 trouble calls. work phone only I did not get a personal cell phone until 2003 and yet I have managed to live all of these years and not DIE because I could not text my BFF Fluffy the Mall Slayer/walker/rat every 10 seconds even while driving/in class/having sex/etc

as to the IT comment this is just one more sign of the dehumanization of us. the more someone can dehumanize you the less respect the have for you and it is eaiser to (yes yes old and stereo-typical phrase) either verbally or physically go postal on you, whin and cry and get what they want because ofthe whimpy managers. what do they care? they got what they wanted and everyone knows the 80's were the ME ME ME ME generation LOL

[crazylegs]

There are very few people who *need* a phone, Drs and other Emergency health personnel, high ranking politicians and I'm now struggling, most people do only *want* the ease of use a mobile creates, I have one, hardly use it, but its there if I require a phone right there and then.

[worddork]

There are very few people who *need* a phone, Drs and other Emergency health personnel, high ranking politicians and I'm now struggling, most people do only *want* the ease of use a mobile creates, I have one, hardly use it, but its there if I require a phone right there and then.

You need to add substitute teachers to your list of people who need cell phones. Since the district calls their subs for job postings, a cell is the onle way subs can leave their house and still get postings. Distircts normally call between 6pm and 10 pm, every day (yes this means Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, Easter, The 4th of July and all freakin summer long) because they use an automated call center. So I as a sub need a cell if I want to have a live outside my house.

[theredbaron47]

I once asked a rather snotty ten year old what she thought she needed a cell phone for...

She very matter of factly informed me that she needed to "talk to her friends."

I think I was afraid of telephones when I was 10...

Seriously, I think that call about the 17-year-old princess irked me the most out of that litany of SC calls. It's disgusting anymore; I see kids that can't be any older than 8 walking around, texting and/or talking on their cell phones.

TO WHO?????

My God, I survived until I was 18 without a cell phone, and the only reason I got one was (as someone here said earlier) because it was cheaper to have one than get a land line in the dorm I was staying in.

I was quickly sucked into the world of cell phones after that, but as annoying as it would be, I could go without mine. As long as I have access to a telephone period, that's all I need.

That parent needs to pull her head out of ass, if even still possible. "No" absolutely is an effective parenting tool, and if she still disobeys, consequences must result.

Thinking about the future that's ahead of us makes me cringe, what with the idiots and morons and responsibility-less hellspawn walking the planet today.

</rant>