Lowery Plumbing and the Drain Cleanout

So, Chris, the plumbing technician from Lowery Plumbing http://trustlowery.com/ who came by Saturday came by late this afternoon to work on my drains.  He worked on the main drain, and identified the problem at the main line where the drain pipes are connected. He identified that Lowery had replaced the drain and asked me how long ago.  I guessed about 10 years ago, with about a 5 year guarantee.  He said the pipes had settled and have started to separate, so the roots are growing in.  He cleaned out the main drain, and then, he worked on the washing machine drain.  He did not charge me for the second drain clean out, since I was a repeat customer, and Lowery had done the main drain before. He suggested they could dig up the main drain and fix the connection to eliminate the roots, and I said I would think about it.

He also said that the cast iron pipes used in the houses of the age of my house tend to develop internal corrosion and build up which slows down the drainage.  If that happens, the plumbing can be re-worked in the house, or out-skirted to the yard, and connected to the main sewer line outside.  Good to know.

I was really impressed with how careful Chris was: with his tools, with working in the yard, with how he managed himself on the roof.  Lowery Plumbing tends to be higher in cost for many services.  They were when I had the sewer line replaced, years ago.  But they did it in one day and did not dig up my entire yard.  Several years earlier, I had had the gas line replaced and the low cost plumbing company I used took 3 days, and because there was a snow storm before they finished, they never covered over the trench they dug!  So, you get what you pay for. 

Lowery also uses a camera in the sewer line, and Chris showed me just where the problem was. He explained that they could discount their cost to fix the separation, because it was their work, originally. Lowery has a low cost drain clean service.  Chris only charged me for one clean out, not two!  I was really impressed with Chris' customer service skills!  And, I did a review for Lowery on Facebook because of it!

Garage Door Problems

So, the last weekend was a weekend of woes.  In addition to the plumbing problems, I had garage door problems.  When I returned home from the laundromat, the garage door would not open.  Oh, no. 

The worst part of that was that I did not have my purse, and I did not have a set of door keys with me.  I called a couple of people:  my cat sitter, and a friend who has a set of keys for my house.  My friend was not home, and the cat sitter called back after a while, and came over to let me in the house. I have two sets of house keys, so I took one set with me when I went somewhere, and will continue to do so. 

I had actually thought about that the previous week, when bad weather was moving in, and I realized that if there was a power outage, I would not be able to get in.  But, I did nothing about it.  Bad on me. 

On December 20, 2016, I left work for the afternoon, waiting for the plumber and the garage door repairman.  Well, the garage door repairman from Classic Doors  http://www.garagedoorslubbock.com/ came late in the afternoon.  I had told them I had a Genie garage door opener, but when he arrived, he did not have a working part for the garage door opener.  He asked me when I would be home on Wednesday.  I told him it would be late, I had taken off work today to get this fixed, and I was not going to do that a second day. He showed me he could open the door, with some effort, although I could not.  He said to lock the house Wednesday, and leave the door so he could get in and fix it on Wednesday.

After he left, I wedged a log in the door track so it would be harder to open.  A while later, the repairman from Classic Doors called me and said he arranged to get a part and could come back and fix the door. He did. That was very nice. I am thankful to have a working garage door.

Classic Doors gets an Aplus in my book!

Fix My Phone

I did not think I needed or even wanted a smart phone.  Since I have had the IPhone 6, I have become addicted to it.  I really appreciate the access to everything it offers me:  phone service, text, access to the Internet, maps, directions, applications for news, weather, sports, booklists, and games to name many of the things for which I use the IPhone. It was working just fine on Thursday.  Friday afternoon, it was not working right. I do not recall dropping the phone, or putting it in harm's way. I do not recall updating the operating system Thursday night, although I could have.  I think that last time I updated the system was some time ago ( a couple of weeks or more.) This afternoon, I saw an advertisement that the IOS 10  http://www.apple.com/ios/ios-10/ update affected IPhones in very much the way mine was affected, but it came out after mine was not working properly. However, in retrospect, I wonder if something else may have occurred.  I first noticed that my phone was not working when I was in Wal-Mart https://www.walmart.com.  The really unusual thing was that it was opened to the Wal-Mart application.  But, I do not know. I could have hit the Wal-Mart application accidentally. Anyway, I thought that was strange, because I did not recall opening the Wal-Mart application.  And then, the phone did not work perfectly, although I could still get Facebook notifications and texts.

I decided not to take it into Sprint to be repaired over the weekend. I have been at the Sprint service center on Saturday before: even with an appointment I had to wait about 2 hours.  I thought I might have the chance to go during the work day this week.  I dragged out my insurance papers, and went this afternoon. 

The young man who checked me in was very nice. He complimented the condition of the phone.  I have a Lifeproof cover, which is expensive, but obviously worth the price.  As the techician said, the Lifeproof cover is doing its job. He checked me in, took the Lifeproof cover off, had me sign off  Icloud, and told me to come back in about 2 and a half hours. He told me they would guarantee to save my contacts, videos and something else, but not photos or apps.  I was happy to know my contacts would be saved.  I do not have many photos on the phone, and I could reload the apps.

I did return as told. The phone was ready.  It had required a software reset, and everything was saved! A different technician signed me out.  And replaced the Lifeproof cover for me. And told me I would get a survey on customer service, and 9s and 10s were the level they were striving for.  I told him they would get a 10! 

My Struggle with Norton Anti-Virus

I have Norton Anti-Virus http://us.norton.com/ on my computer. It came pre-loaded, and I decided to pay for it, rather than use the free McAfee https://promos.mcafee.com/offer.aspx?id=1102781 that Suddenlink  http://home.suddenlink.net/ offers, because of all of the trouble I have had with McAfee in the past.  When I had my computer worked on in July at Office Depot http://www.officedepot.com/, they tried to push McAfee, but I held fast for Norton.  My Norton protection was due to expire early August 2016.  I had some trouble with Norton in July, and had to uninstall and re-install twice. When I contacted them, they had my account linked to an email address I do not use. I did not click to that, and ask them to discontinue it, although I should have. Duh on me. 

Well, about 15 days before my coverage was supposed to expire, I received a notice that my coverage had expired.  Well, I understand that they try to get your to renew before expiration so I renewed my account.

Today, when I got my Discover discovercard.com/ bill, I found two charges from Norton:  one on July 12 for a higher amount than I thought I had renewed for, and one on July 15, for the amount I had actually renewed for.  I contacted Norton. They said I had Norton set for automatic renewal. I doubt I had set that, because I do not set that.  On any of my accounts. And last year, I had to renew my Norton account manually. I complained because the second renewal was due to a notice saying my coverage had expired after the automatic renewal had occurred, and was supposedly sent to the email account that I do not use.   Norton made it right:  They refunded half of the automatic renewal, and extended my coverage for a second year. They disassociated the email account I do not use. And I discontinued the automatic renewal. After multiple attempts to do so, because the toggle switch did not want to change.  Hmm, what does that tell you.

Discover suggested I pay the full amounts Norton charged, and the refund will show up next month. I can handle that. 

The person I dealt with at Norton was great.  But Norton gets black marks for deceptive practices.  Sorry, Norton.  Bad on you.

Shopping Made Easy

A co-worker is getting married later this month.  She is registered at Bed, Bath and Beyond http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/.  I went shopping today.  I picked up a registry at customer service in the store, and was given instructions on how to use the registry.  It was not much different than registries at other stores I have shopped before, and wish someone had given me these instructions many, many years ago, because it took me a little bit to figure the process out on my own.  The store has an in-store free gift wrap area, too.

Well, after checking things out in the store, I chose an item that needed to be ordered.  It was an item that was the sort of gift I would have selected for this person, if she were not registered somewhere. The item would be delivered in 3-7 work days, plenty of time before the wedding.  I had the option of delivery to my house or to the bride's house.  I chose the latter.  They offered free gift wrap, and a card enclosed.  I opted for it all. 

This is shopping made easy.  On top of all that, I had a 20% off coupon. But, the associate that helped me gave me a coupon, and told me to save mine to use on something else!

This is customer service to the max!  I was amazed!  I had never been treated that nicely in a store, or if I have, it has been so long that I cannot recall it!  Will I remember this, the next time I need a gift for someone, registered or not?  You bet I will!

The Second Part of My Rough Day 4.18.16

This was really anxiety producing to me. I know my user ID and password for my bank account, but they did not allow me to access my bank account.  The first time I contacted the 24 hour customer service number, the person who helped me did a hard sell on an American Express credit card, when I really wanted to just access my account. She did give me a temporary password, and sent me on my way before I could tell if that would work. Not good.

My second attempt was much more productive: No sales pitch. and the customer service representative did not rush to disconnect until I was sure I could access my account. What a difference in customer service. 

And, I was relieved to see that the funds in my accounts were still where they were supposed to be.  Yeah! Whew!

I Should Have Done This Last Week

As the title says, I should have done this last week, but I did not.  I am remiss.  The regular reader will recall my post about the very good Wal-Mart Associate
http://lisenbylines.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2015-03-20 T22:53:00-05:00&max-results=7 .

I did send in the email about my experience, and how pleased I was.  It was some days later, March 25, 2015, when I had a voicemail message on my phone from Leslie at Wal-Mart. She said that it was not very often that they receive messages like the one I sent, and they would recognize Taileigh at their next meeting.

That is as it should be.

A Very Good Wal Mart Associate

I did my weekly shopping today at the Wal Mart on South Loop and Quaker in Lubbock.  It was "big stuff stock up day."  When I got to the check out register, Taileigh, the clerk, immediately said to leave the big stuff in the cart. I usually do this, but she even meant some of the smaller stuff, like a gallon of milk!

I had my own bags, including an insulated bag, and she asked about the cold stuff, and even recognized the bag has a zipper.  (I usually have to tell the clerks to put the cold stuff in the insulated bag, duh!).

Taileigh also asked me if I needed  carry out assistance.  I thanked her but told her I was okay.

What Taileigh did not know is that I have back problems, and with therapy I can now lift up to 30 lbs. safely, but there was a time when that was a problem.  I am careful not to buy any "big stuff" over 30 lbs.

Anyway, I told Taileigh that I like how she did her job, and I wanted to let her supervisor know the same, and be sure to let Taileigh know that she did a really good job for me today!
Thank you.

I sent this message to Wal Mart tonight. I was very impressed with this young lady. Thank you, Taileigh

TV Listings

I use Suddenlink http://home.suddenlink.net/ for cable and Internet service.  Although I think the price is very high, for the most part, I get good service, including good technical service when I have an Internet problem. When they schedule home service, they can give you a two hour block to expect the technician, and there is one that is after hours (4-6 PM).  I have seen the Suddenlink trucks out in the worst weather. When I call for service after hours, they have an announcement about any current issues or problems, and a status statement. And, the technical staff are local, and speak in accents that I understand.  The last two or three times that I had technical problems, the technician acted as if I was the only person who had called in that night, and they had all the time in the world. They both called back to be sure the fix worked!  I thought that was wonderful customer service. Recently, I thought I was going to need in home service. The tech told me to order the $5 a month in home protection before we scheduled the service, but it could be cancelled at any time.

Recently, on the home page, I clicked on TV listings, and received a message that that service was no longer available, to use the on TV listings. I was not too pleased. I have two different "boxes" for my TVs.  One allows for advancing the time and checking programming, but one shows me limited programming information.

Well, I am not easily deterred, and most recently have clicked on TV listings again.  I mean, why have that heading if you are not going to offer something?  Well, lo and behold!  There is a new TV listing program.  And it is so much better that the previous one!  Wow!  I even sent an email to Suddenlink to tell them how much I appreciate the new listing service!  Some times, good things happen.

Cell Phone Coverage

I have just about convinced myself it is time to get a smart phone.  Interestingly enough, the last time I decided that, I had coverage problems with Sprint.  That was the second time I had coverage problems with Sprint.  The first time was the Thanksgiving week from hell, when I did not have cell phone service at home, and the battery in my car was going away, and I could not count on the car to start when I used it.   That was November 2013.   Additionally, my back was hurting, so I could not walk to where I could use my phone.  I could not convince Sprint that there was a problem, and it took a week of complaining before they responded.  And, when they did, they found the problem.

The next time I had that problem, I got a customer service representative who was very good, told me how to reset my phone, clean off the battery connections, and he called me back when he said he would to see if that worked.  It did.  He reported there was a suspected problem in my neighborhood, and Sprint acknowledged to me that there was.  They took care of me the second time. Much better service.

Tonight, as I drove home, and I turned into my neighborhood, I could hear my phone searching for a signal. I could not remember how to reset my phone, but I cleaned off the battery, so that took care of the problem.

I think I will wait until April to get a smart phone:  Sprint has a contest where I could win one.  I doubt that I will, but I see no reason to buy a smart phone if I could win one. The contest lasts about 6 weeks.  I can wait.  Who knows.

Is the Pool Open?

So, I have mentioned previously that I have joined the Lifestyle Center at Covenant Hospital http://www.covenanthealth.org/Our-Services/LifeStyle-Centre.aspx so that I can continue my physical therapy routine in the pool.  When I joined, I read the signs that the pool was closed during inclement weather.  I assumed this meant electric storms, but did not ask. It just made sense to me.

The middle of the week after I joined, there was an electric storm in the southeast part of Lubbock.  I had wanted to go to the pool that night, but decided not to.  My upbringing included stern warnings about activities during electric storms:  No swimming, no golf, get inside, stay away from doors and windows, unplug electric appliances like TVs, stay away from sinks, stoves, and other appliances that can conduct electricity, no baths or showers.

A few nights later, it was a cloudy day, so I asked at the Lifestyles front desk about the definition of inclement weather.  The woman at the front desk said rain is okay, but not thunder or lightning.  That night, one of the other pool participants commented that while we needed the rain, if there is thunder or lightning, they will close the pool.

We are anticipating severe weather tonight, as moisture streams in from the southwest from the Pacific hurricane Norbert (although the hurricane itself is heading northwest.) This moisture comes from outlier bands of the hurricane. I left work early, but after I had put in my 40 hours, and went to the Lifestyle Center.  No one was in the pool when I arrived.  I asked at the desk, and was told that the pool was open, as they had not heard thunder nor seen lightning (confirmed my experience.)

As it turned out, by the time I got into the pool, there were other people in there.  As my session wore on, some left and several others entered the pool.  We discussed the weather. One woman told me she called to ask about the status of the pool, and was answered sarcastically.  There was no need for that. I told her I asked when I arrived at the center, and was answered politely.  Well, the person who was at the desk when I arrived was not the person she spoke to. That is too sad: people dealing with the public have an obligation to be polite.  That may have been the hundredth call that person received about the pool status, but it was the first that person made.

So, as I was finishing my session, we saw raindrops.  Not really rain, just raindrops.  But, no thunder, no lightning, so the pool was not closed.

A Plug For Office Depot

I live within walking distance of Office Depot http://www.officedepot.com/, and indeed, when I did not have back problems, I have walked there before.  I use them a lot because of the convenience.  Like any store we frequent, I have become familiar with the layout, and if for that reason if no other, I prefer it to Office Max.  I use Staples some, too, but they are further away.

Anyway, they were very helpful. I went comparison shopping Tuesday night. I started with Office Depot.  I am glad I did. The gentleman spent a lot of time answering my questions about the new technology (Windows 8 and 8.1.)

I went to Staples http://www.staples.com/ next. Like Office Depot, they had a variety of computers to look at.  Unlike Office Depot, there were very few that had prices marked. When the sales gentleman came to help me, he was not very forth coming with information, and his answers were the kind that someone who knows the jargon uses, without consideration for whether or not someone else knows the jargon.  He rattled off comparisons and prices so quickly, I could not digest the information.

I went to Office Max http://www.officemax.com/.  They had very few options from which to choose, and I could not even scare up a sales clerk, but I did not try too hard.

So, of course, I stopped at Wal-Mart.  I had some other things to pick up, anyway.  I went to the computer aisle, and there were several laptops, 2 customers, and a sales person describing the computers to them.  The prices were great, in the range I really wanted to spend, but not with the features I could get on the computers at Office Depot.  And I was unsure of the brands.

By then, it was  a little after 8 PM, and I could have gone back to Office Depot and purchased the computer.  But I had stuff to do at the house, and would not have had much time to start setting up the computer. So, I went back Wednesday on my way home from work, asked a few more questions, and purchased a computer.  (It came in a tiny little box.  I remember my first computer.  It came in a huge box!)

I did not start setting up the computer until after I took care of personal business.  I realized it would take me more than one night to set things up.  That was a little frustrating, but okay with me.

I realized that I needed a flash drive to make a recovery program.  I had some, but I was not sure they were compatible with Windows 8.1, and I did not want to take a chance.  I raced back to Office Depot, told the sales agent what I needed, and she made the correct recommendation! (This was such a quick trip, I did not shut off the lights or TV in the house!)

The other thing that Office Depot does, and many stores now do, is if there is a mail-in rebate attached to the sale, they provide a duplicate receipt for that exact purpose.  The one thing they do not do right though, is they do not show the itemized purchase information on the screen where you swipe the credit card.  That would be nice.  But I give them a high B at worst.

So, kudos to Office Depot.  They did good, not great, but good.

Electronic Escapades, or at least, Episodes

So, when I returned home from my vacation, I was having technical difficulties in my life.  The TV in the same room, on the same but split feed, from the cable company to my computer system (wi-fi router), was having reception problems.  Grrr.

And, my computer was running distressingly slow.  I had to reboot, I had to wait, if I clicked more than one thing it did not work, you get the picture.  I even stopped going to Facebook, which was a mega-slow download before I went on vacation.  I just assumed I that while I was using the free wi-fi at the hotel, had gotten into something that slowed my computer way down.

By chance, I remembered I had a spy ware program, and I ran it.  It took for ever, and it identified about 10 files that I needed to "fix", so I clicked on "fix."  Hmmm, a little better but not great.

I called the cable company about the TV, and was advised to unplug the box and restart it after 15 seconds or so. That lasted a few hours. But, then, I unplugged the box for several hours, and that helped immensely.

For a couple of days. Today, I had the same signal interruption problem that I had before. This time, I was told to try to connect the cable directly into the box, by-passing the splitter (to the modem for the computer as well as the TV).  I did so, and  the television worked better than ever!

So, I purchased a new splitter tonight.  When I installed it, the TV was working fine.  I turned on the computer, and downloaded email and Internet stuff, then lost the Internet signal.  I rebooted the Internet by unplugging the modem and router and plugging them in, one at a time, with several minutes in between. That did not work. I disconnected and reconnected the Internet. That did not work. I remembered that the router has a reset button, so I tried that, and so far, tonight, things seem to be working as well, if not better than when I went on vacation.

I had decided that after I returned to work, I would take the laptop in to be fixed.  I can always check my emails at work, and do not have to do other online stuff I like to do.  But, I may not have to do that.

The litmus test was Facebook, which had been excruciatingly slow before I went on vacation and all this happened. While it was slow tonight, it was not so bad.  

Hopefully the new equipment and the resets have made a difference.  We shall see.

Customer Service

I have returned from my vacation out of town, but still have the rest of the week off. I had two dr. appointments last week, and this week I will go to PT 3 times.  That does not seem like much of a vacation, does it?  But not going to work is nice.

I stayed at the Quality Inn in Greenfield, Ma., http://www.qualityinn.com/hotel-greenfield-massachusetts-MA186#listpos1. I knew the pool was unavailable, but I am not much of a fan of chlorinated pools.  The room was adequate.  There was cable TV, minus ESPN http://espn.go.com/  and The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/, but there was NESN http://nesn.com/, so I got to watch the Red Sox games (or reruns of the Red Sox games.)

The free wi-fi was easy to access, and unlike some systems, this one did not require me to change email settings to use it.  The staff was helpful and sometimes, intuitive.

But, the key card repeatedly did not work in the outer door.  My room was near the front, so going around to the front desk and having the key card re-set was not too inconvenient, but uncomfortable Thursday and Friday in the pouring rain. Grrrr. But, the staff at the front desk were pleasant and helpful.  When I left, I mentioned the problem.   One of the clerks, who had re-set my key card and thought it was set to use throughout my stay, was present.  They agreed they needed to list that as a maintenance item.   But did nothing to compensate me for my inconvenience.

I ate free breakfast every morning. The selection was small, but adequate.  I just wish they had had ketchup for the eggs, but that is me.  So, all and all, it was an adqueate experience.

I used Dollar Rental Car http://www.dollar.com/Locations/gen.aspx?locationId=BDL.  Although the rental car lot is off site of the airport, access by van was easy, and drivers were helpful.  Check in was quick, and they provided maps and directions to get to the interstate, and then to return to the site from the interstate. 

When I returned the car, I mentioned that I had had to add a quart of oil.  My brother had mentioned they should pay for the cost of the oil. I thought that would be fair.  They did not.They took 20% off of my bill. I thought that was more than fair.  Wow!  It was not really that wrong, but they sure made it right!

I used the Airport Shelter Park http://airportshelterpark.com/ for my car at the airport.  I usually use uncovered parking at another lot, and that lot has covered parking, but the cover is not as good as at Airport Shelter Park. We are in a weather cycle with intermittent chance of severe weather, including hail, so I wanted the car under the more substantial cover.  The driver insisted on loading my bags into the car, explaining that should I hurt myself doing so, I might not return as a customer. Sounds like good customer service to me.

I flew American Airlines http://www.aa.com/homePage.do.  I am used to Southwest Airlines https://www.google.com/search?q=Southwest+airlines&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7ADBF&gws_rd=ssl and the attitude of we will make your experience pleasant.  American Airlines was a neutral experience.  

So two out of four got good marks for customer service.  The others did not get bad marks, but nothing to write home about, either.

Phishing

I have three email accounts with Suddenlink. I no longer use one, but the other two are very active accounts for me.  

Tonight, I was in my secondary account, and I opened an email ostensibly from Suddenlink. It basically said that they wanted to verify that the account was still active, and to "click here" to verify the account. Well, I was going back and forth between both of my accounts tonight, and I did not get a similar email for my primary account.

This was suspicious. My secondary account is very active, so there was no reason to need to re-validate it (as if it had been inactive for a while, which I would understand.)

I called Suddenlink. The IT technician I spoke to was Lance.  He verified that Suddenlink had not sent anything to either of my emails, and it was most likely "phishing." He said that since I did not click on the link or give them my information, I probably was okay, but I it would not hurt to change my password. (I think I will do that, if I can figure out how.)

He took my information, said they would check into it and thanked me for reporting this, acknowledging that they probably have other customers who are being "phished" and they want to investigate it.

A Nice Surprise

As I was driving home tonight from work, I got a call from Jerry Parrish at Gill Construction.  He agreed to call me back. He said he would be in the neighborhood, and if I had not mailed the check, he would come by for it.  I told him I did mail the check this morning.

He also asked about mounting towel racks.  I was surprised that he followed up with that small detail.  We set up a time for Tuesday to get that done. 

I am again and again pleased with their customer service!

Phone Service

So, my phone service was restored yesterday.  I am pleased about that.  I do want to upgrade to a smartphone. I just wonder about using the same service, or changing.  I am undecided. However, that decision will be put off for a while.

Tire Pressure

So the major cold front blew in Thursday night.  Along with freezing rain and ice and snow.  It took me about 20 minutes to defrost and scrape the ice off of the Vue when I left work. And, as I was driving home, the tire pressure indicator light came on.  Well, this might be to be expected, as the colder the weather, the lower the air pressure in the tires.   However, I could have actually had a flat tire.  I pulled off when it was convenient, and check the tires, and there was not a really flat tire.  So, I decided to deal with it in the morning.

So, in the morning, I went to a local self service air pressure station, and succeeded in deflating the tire even more.  Around the corner was a Firestone store.  I used to use them regularly, when I trusted the service manager. When he left, I was never sure if I was being taken advantage of or not, but use them from time to time, most recently, when I needed a flat tire repaired. When I explained my problem, the service manage told me to get in line.  The service technician who inflated my tires told me they have had multiple requests per day during the cold weather. This was a free service! 

We do not get much free service these days.  I wish I trusted these people because it was so nice to use them when the service manager was one I trusted.

Being Compulsive Is Not So Bad

When I was growing up, and even into my young adulthood, my compulsiveness sometimes earned me some derogatory comments from people who knew me.  But, compulsive I was.

And, compulsive I am.  I not quite a perfectionist, but I sure do hate making a mistake. I also try to think in terms of contingencies, and try to plan ahead for things. At work and at home.

And still, sometimes I face some derision.

Well, when I wrote about losing a file, and having created a back up without remembering that I did, that was my compulsiveness.

I should remember not apologize for my compulsiveness.  I am allowed to try to be compulsive and a perfectionist. But, I am allowed to make mistakes.  Is that a difficult life lesson for me to learn.

Sprint

I have been a Sprint http://www.sprint.com cell phone customer since 2003.  Ten years! I originally changed to Sprint from Cingular http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless which has morphed into AT&T Wireless http://www.att.com/shop/wireless.  The reason I changed was that there were parts of Lubbock County that had spotty coverage by Cingular, and Sprint was much better.

During that time, I was travelling back to Western Massachusetts some.  Cell phone coverage was kind of spotty at my parent's house, but Sprint's network was originally set up along interstates, and my parents lived less than 10 miles from an interstate, so my cell phone worked when my siblings' cell phone sometimes did not.

I have a plain flip phone that was high tech when I purchased it in 2007.  I had to purchase it because my phone slipped out of my hand and flew across the floor breaking it so badly that they could not even transfer my information when I purchased the new phone. When I purchased the phone, I had a deal for Internet service for $15 a month. But, the screen was so small and the service was so slow, that I discontinued the service.

I have, from time to time, considered updating to a smart phone. That would just about triple my monthly phone bill, which I can afford, but I am not sure I would get my money's worth out of it.  I do not usually text, but when I do, it adds a per text fee to my bill that nowhere nears what I would pay for unlimited call, text and data.

I have been very pleased with my Sprint service.  I recently took a survey and even said I would recommend Sprint to others. 

Hmmm.  This weekend, I have had trouble with my Sprint service. I usually get good reception at my home, inside and out. But this has not been the case this weekend. In fact, today, there was no service, and my phone spent the afternoon looking for service, which drained the charge. I finally shut the phone off, and charged it.

I contacted Sprint online and asked if there was a service disruption. I learned that there was, and that they were trying to fix it but it might not be fixed until October 1, 2013.  I did not think about it until I was writing this blog, but I did not request a service credit.  So, I got back online, and requested one. This makes me realize that a service credit would not be automatic.  So, I have contacted some friends and acquaintances whom I know use Sprint, and advised them to ask for a service credit if they are having phone problems.

When there is a power outage, there is not a credit given, but automatically, since we are not using electricity, we get a "credit."  But that same is not true of phone service, cable or Internet service. We have to ask for credit for lost service. Last December, my email service platform was not working, and I had to ask for credit, which I received. Frankly that amount of credit I received did not seem commensurate with the amount of disruption and inconvenience I suffered. But, something is better than nothing. 

I understand that nothing is perfect, and outages occur. But I should not have to pay for not having service.  And, Sprint recognizes that even if they do not automatically offer it.