Last week my friend Jenna left me a voicemail raving about the new BlackBerry Pearl 9100. While she didn't say exactly what she loved about it, she's on her mobile phone 24-7 so I trust her judgment. Luckily, or so I thought, Bell called me around the same time to let me know that I was eligible for a free hardware upgrade (as least it sounded free). Although I am a devoted BlackBerry user, I've owned the Flip version of the Pearl for less than six months and I've been plagued with problems trying to get it to operate in a reasonable way.
I initially bought the clamshell device because my old Pearl was on its last legs. After a frustrating trip to a Bell store last winter, I paid approximately $500 for the Flip phone (full price) after the telco tried desperately to offer me a better hardware deal if I ditched my current voice and data plan and committed to a two or three-year contract. I opted for no contract, leaving me with some freedom but sticking me with a phone with software that lags, a camera that doesn't work, and volume controls that make it impossible to hear anything unless I'm talking in a sound booth (which is, naturally, not all that often).
Last Saturday, I made another brave trip to Bell. I mentioned that I wanted to take advantage of the hardware upgrade and was informed immediately that I needed to sign a contract. This was not a surprise, so I agreed that I would take the plunge. After 10 minutes or so of chatting with a representative about the new Pearl, which supports Wi-Fi and is the company's smallest model to date (I'm into a small phone that easily fits in my pocket, so this was appealing), I handed over my account information and after another 10 minutes or so of the rep pounding away inside the Bell universe, he informed me that they didn't have this particular phone in stock.
With my one-year-old throwing empty phone boxes around the store, I knew I had to make a decision. I wandered over to take a look at the new Curve, giving up on my small phone fetish and asking Bell to hook me up with one of these devices at just under $100 hardware and a two-year plan. Back into the computer he went, 10 more minutes of pounding around, and then the rep informed me that the system would not allow me to keep my current data plan and get the hardware discount (note, the phone was never free, but heavily discounted).
I agreed to change my data plan to something a little more costly, but even that didn't help. The "system" would not allow me to sign up for a two-year or three-year plan unless I gave up both my data and voice plan. My current voice plan gives me approximately 700 minutes of daytime calling for about $40. This new voice plan would give me 150 minutes and a few other features for approximately the same price. Each month I go over my minutes, which add up to a monthly mobile bill well beyond $100, so I knew that it made no sense for me to bail on my current plan.
Almost an hour from the time I entered the store, with a long line behind me and a cranky toddler, I was feeling desperate. I caved, saying I'd buy yet another phone outright. And the cost? With no contract and my existing plan, I would have to pay $549 for the BlackBerry Curve 8330. Here I was thinking I might be getting something for free, or for a very minimal cost, and second time into a Bell store in less than six months I'm about to spend more than $1,000 on hardware. In a moment of sanity I walked out.
My Twitter friend Scott said it best when I complained online about yet another bad telco experience. Also a BlackBerry user, he had been notified about an upgrade opportunity. After he talked to his phone company, he realized that if he wanted to keep his existing plan this just meant that he was allowed, given permission, or whatever you want to call it, to buy a new phone for full price. Nice. If this isn't the worst marketing pitch in history, I don't know what is.
I hate to start off the week with such a negative post, but I also hate to spend a good part of my weekend getting the runaround. I left the Bell store on Saturday confused and frustrated, a very common experience. Not only do I crave easy-to-understand voice and data services, such as, let's say, unlimited options, I also wish desperately to do business with a telco that believes in honest communication and one that treats its customers with respect. Right night I pay just shy of $100 a month for Rogers Internet speeds that I never get and more than $100 for a cell phone plan that keeps on kicking me in the face.
I just want to give money to a company that doesn't leave me feeling abused every month. Is that a lot to ask? While a happy telco experience in Canada might be a pipe dream, as soon as I get over my in-store rage I'm going to head back out into our scary world of phone and Internet services and try to piece together a phone and plan that's worth raving about on someone's voicemail. Wish me luck.