cell phones

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My Cell Phone Has Sent Me Into Depression

I’ve been getting a little depressed lately and the cause has to do with my cell phone. I’ve been thinking about getting a new phone but the thought of it has got me down because of what it’s going to cost me.

money

To just purchase a new iPhone will cost me more money than I’ve spent on my last two iPhones put together. I realize I purchased my first iPhone 6 years ago and then my last one 3 years ago, but still! – to get a new one I will have to pay about $100 dollars more than my combined purchases so far!

That’s kind of ridiculous. And I just saw a statistic that Apple has sold 700,000 iPhones. I thought the whole idea of manufacturing was that it brings the cost down.

I’m sure there’s a good reason why the price is so high. It’s probably because they’re making the cell phones so thin now that it’s hard to get Siri to fit inside.

Somebody has to be in there to answer my questions.

But I could live with the increased cost of the phone if that was it. But no, there’s more cost involved. To get a new plan (which I have to do because they don’t offer my old plan any more), I’m going to have to pay more money and get less for it.

I’m sure they have a team of bald-headed, hairy eye-browed men wearing dark-rimmed glasses figuring out how to extract the most from us.

On a new contract, I’ll have to pay $10 more per month to get one twelfth the data that I presently have!

This is significant for me because that data is my internet connection when I’m at my cottage. If I buy a new phone I’m going to have to spend more money to get internet while I’m there.

But as bad as all this sounds, what makes it more depressing is seeing US cell phone commercials on TV.

In Canada our big phone companies pretty much own all the television networks in the country.  Instead of blocking Super Bowl commercials, they should block out those US cell phone company ads.

They are depressing the average Canadian, making us feel worse than we did from all the extreme cold and snow we faced this winter.

I don’t know if I can take it to watch another T-Mobile commercial offering unlimited talk and data to its costumers for the mere cost of $50 a month! … Our big companies don’t want to even sell you a smart phone unless your monthly plan will be at least $60 per month.

And my cell phone company wants me to share everything with other people, only I have no one to share with. My kids are on their own and my wife has a plan with her work.

Maybe Rogers would like me to adopt someone … but I looked on their website and didn’t see any profile pictures of Canadians looking to be sponsored on a monthly basis.

I’m too depressed to make a decision. I guess I’ll just keep using what I have for a while longer.

Here’s the thing: There is all kinds of pressure on you to get on board with some kind of plan for your life. God has a plan, but He won’t force you into it. Be sure that the loud voices out there, trying to sell you on their plans, don’t keep you ignoring the plan God has for you.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What pressure to conform have you found yourself under lately? Leave your comment below.

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How Do You Feel About Your Cell Phone Company?

I wonder if there is anyone who is completely thrilled with their cell phone company.  We seem to have a love/hate relationship with them.  It doesn’t really matter which company; they all irritate us to some degree.

It’s either that monthly mystery fee, or the plans they offer that are never exactly what we want.  But the biggest problem with cell phone companies is communication.

That’s right! – these communication companies are horrible at communication, the very business they’re in.  I have two family members who are ready to tear their hair out over the ineptitude of two different cell phone companies.

If I owned a communication company, I would want to communicate to my prospective customers in the simplest, clearest way possible to instill enough confidence in them to try my company … NOT in our country, though!

Cell phone websites are some of the most frustrating, complicated and deceiving places you can spend your time on the internet.  The plans offered can’t be taken at face value; you have to investigate what they really mean by things like “local minutes”.

Do local minutes refer to calls I make from local area or calls to local numbers?  Finding yourself on hold for long periods of time with your cell phone company normal.  They sell phones!  They should have a few sitting around for people to answer!

If you have a problem with your phone or with ordering a phone, they don’t blame you necessarily, but they certainly don’t take the blame for their mistakes or incompetence.  You hang up or walk away from the store feeling unsure the issue will ever be resolved.

My daughter has been waiting since September for a phone!  They actually charged her credit card in October.  At last count, there was a problem in the warehouse.  Here’s a solution:  someone go to the warehouse, grab a phone and courier it to her today.  Three weeks later she still doesn’t have the phone.  I wonder what that warehouse problem was?  Did it burn down?!

My wife’s battle to get a phone has been much shorter.  She’s been dealing with the business department of a cell phone company.  I wonder if they really want to sell their phones to businesses.  Hours have been spent on the phone (lots of “on hold” time).  Hours have been spent in stores waiting.  Interestingly, when the store has to call their own company, they get put on hold like everyone else!  In the end, it’s still a mystery how a simple authorization for a phone could get so messed up.

Heres my solution:  Cell phone companies, take that $6.99 access fee millions of us send you and hire someone to create a simple, straightforward website.  Then, hire someone to train your staff in customer relations.  And finally, hire more people to man the phones in Canada.  Oh, and if you run short using that $6.99 fee, fire a top executive and use his salary!

Here’s the thing:  Sometimes we feel like I just described when requesting something from God.  We don’t get an answer or we don’t like the answer we get.  We might be confused and unsure whether the seeming answer is from God or we just made it up.  However, keep in mind that with God, He has the resources, He has the solution, He has your best interest in mind, His timing is perfect.  So stop, cool down, and don’t slam down the phone.  And, by the way, He does hear you, you can ALWAYS get through.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question:  What gives you perspective when a request to God seems to take forever?