Cell H*ll

Once again we are having cell phone issues. This time it isn't being falsely billed for months, or getting no reception anywhere, or being told that we can't get a local phone number when we moved unless we pay tons of fees and sign a new contract. No, this time it's the poor quality of the phone itself.

My husband loves getting the latest phone when he can find a rebate. He had been having difficulty charging his Motorola and we were still suck with the phone numbers from a different city. So he found a great rebate on a Motorola Razr V3 and took a lesser plan with Cingular to get the phone, a new phone for me, and Cleveland numbers for both of us.

I wasn't thrilled with my new phone but I don't use it so often. My husband was satisfied with his purchase, until he started having problems charging it. Basically after a few weeks it didn't stay plugged into the charger unless he stood there holding it. Same problem as his previous Motorola. So he called and asked for a new phone, which surprisingly arrived in less than 24 hours. Problem -- it didn't plug into the charger.

The customer service sent him from one person to another, and the end result was being told that he would just need to buy a new phone. Fortunately the people at the local store are a bit more into actual customer service, so he will be going in tomorrow to see what they can do.

The bigger issue here, of course, is that EVERYONE seems to have these problems. Almost everyone has a cell phone, and no matter which company they use there are billing, reception, and phone quality issues. There's not even a point in switching companies because you'll just have a new set of problems. (Although we are not with Cingular by choice -- we were satisfied with AT&T and have not been receiving the promised "benefits" of Cingular's buyout.)

I will try to post later this week my thoughts on how this is the real morality issue today.