RANDOM JOTTINGS

Yes it is wonderful when it works but when it doesn't then it is a pain.

I purchased this super duper uber cool phone last week, have already burbled about it so will not repeat myself, but as I mentioned the picture messaging wouldn't work because the settings from Samsung were not available and so I went back in on Friday to have them loaded.  Well nothing worked, I was in there  for an hour (took over the chair in the corner and had brought a book, naturally), lads at the shop doing their best to sort it out.  So here is the conversation which ensued at the end of the hour:

Tech guy (TG):  I can't set it up it appears there is an internal server error which will need to be sorted out

Me: OK that's fine. So how can you do that?

TG: Well we will have to send it away

Me: Oh, well how long will that take

TC: One to four weeks….

Up to this moment I had been sweet and charming and understanding to the nth degree but I then got all flinty and said so how do I manage for a phone?  Oh we will lend you one.  What another Samsung wave? Oh no just an ordinary one. But I am paying a contract of £25 a month so why should I have an ordinary crappy one?   In fact, why don't you give me a new Samsung and leave it at that.

TG: Oh we can't do that I'm afraid

Me: Why not?

TG: Well we only replace phones if they are brought back within seven days

At this point the mantle of Lady Bracknell fell upon me again and I rose to my feet (tried to do it in a  dignified manner but my knees had locked sitting down so long and had to haul myself up by end of counter, so not quite as dignified as I would have liked…) and told him in no uncertain terms that I HAD returned it within seven days, in fact it was three, when it didn't work and that it was he who had told me to come back in a week's time and therefore this seven day business was totally negated and I would like a new phone please.

TG thought for at least 30 seconds and then decided he would like to grow up to marry and propogate and immediately agreed and said Yes madam you are right and I will give you a new phone.

Had to go back in next day with the whole kit and caboodle to swap over and then they asked if I had brought my contract with me and when I said no, just the phone, they went err and um and aah and said we really need that in order to swap the phone over and I told them NO YOU DON'T and they looked at me and said OK I was probably right and perhaps they could manage without.

So I got my new phone and then I asked them to set up my email account and a few other things that they had done for me the other week and lo and behold, huge difficulty in getting my account set up and I was there for another hour and TG said I had given him the wrong email address, I was .com and not .co.uk as I had said and that was the problem.  I then told him I had been .co.uk for at least five years and he looked puzzled but said that the phone would only accept .com.  By this stage I was rapidly losing the will to live and so he set it up and I can pick up my emails easily on this so I did and then had the ineffable pleasure of showing him my .co.uk emails and he looked puzzled and said well he didn't know what was going on. I told TG that as it was an American company they probably only had settings for .com but my emails would default to the uk address it appeared and he seemed happy to accept that.

And here I am at home with a phone which now works beautifully – I made sure it was tested well and truly before I left the store.  Despite the above, I do think the staff did the best they could and they tolerated me beautifully. I have promised them that they will be put on my Christmas Card list and will bring them in some mince pies nearer the time and all was happy and gay when I left……but drained my dears, drained.

I was going to tell you also about losing my internet connection last night as well and how I restored it with the help of a flattened paper clip but I think you have probably had enough for one day.

Off to bed now. It's all too much to bear…..