Travis Smith: my resume, bio and photos back to the main blog page

So it turns out that my assigned cell phone number was really screwed up by wireless phone company here, Rogers.  And because of their incompetence, I have to change my number.

My NEW cell phone number is (604) [removed] which is a bummer of a number.  You’ll probably have forgotten it by the time you get to the end of this paragraph.  There, it’s gone.

So what happened? Well stand back, because I’m going to vent big-time: I bought my phone in a Rogers Wireless store.  The fellow who helped me originally assigned me (604) 615-8728.  I told him I’d be living downtown, and it took him a few attempts to get me a number.  That number , the 605 one, turns out to be on an Abbotsford exchange.  However, calling Abbotsford from the main part of Vancouver—you know, the place I got my phone—is a long distance call.  And the message the phone company gives me is a generic “you can’t reach that number” which means most people who call that number think they have it wrong.

I tried twice to get this resolved, because I didn’t know what was happening.  Rogers first tried to justify it by saying that 615 was a new exchange that was assigned to Vancouver, and that Telus was the one that hadn’t updated their list of exchanges.  But that’s wrong.  They lied to me.

I called again today and the customer service rep I got had a new story.  He said that the 615 Abbotsford exchange is “local to Rogers” meaning that I wasn’t charged roaming or long distance when I called downtown Vancouver from downtown Vancouver. So to them, that’s “local.” He said that Rogers had run out of downtown Vancouver numbers and hadn’t had any for several weeks, which is why they probably assigned me an Abbotsford number.

OK, I said I know why you numbskulls think it’s a local number, but that means that when my wife / friends / contacts try to call me from downtown, THEY have to pay long distance.  That’s not our problem, Rogers said.

Yes, the customer service rep actually said that.  What a tuber-brain.  Of course it’s your problem, Rogers.  Because you basically lied to me and screwed me over, and that’s a problem for me and you’re the one who’s asking me to pay you each month.

Customer Service Guy was willing to waive the usual charge to change my number to a downtown one, which he said was now available.  But I’ve got to reprint all my business cards.  What a drag and a cost.  And will Rogers agree to reimburse me when I write to them to formally complain?  I won’t hold my breath.

UPDATE: Oh, what a screw up.  Turns out that changing my number also resets my voice mail box.  Customer Service Guy never told me that.  My saved messages are lost, and I can’t get into it because I don’t know the “temporary password.”  Thanks for less than nothing, Rogers.  It’s good to know that crappy cell phone companies are a border-crossing international phenomenon.



 
 

 

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Overheard

“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.”

...who said it?

“Almost every American I know does trade large portions of his life for entertainment, hour by weeknight hour, binge by Saturday binge, Facebook check by Facebook check. I’m one of them. In the course of writing this I’ve watched all 13 episodes of House of Cards and who knows how many more West Wing episodes, and I’ve spent any number of blurred hours falling down internet rabbit holes. All instead of reading, or writing, or working, or spending real time with people I love.”

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“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

...who said it?

“I play with variables constantly.”

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“Only the person who has learned Continual Love coming from a heart of Gratitude/Worship can effectively deal with the problem of loneliness.”

...who said it?

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