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Saturday, March 17, 2012

Tech Issues

Resolving tech issues can be exhausting. It has been days since my last posting. In my last post, I mentioned the problem with my DROID phone. It was slowly dying.

Carol and I have been talking about switching from AT&T to Verizon when our AT&T contract expired in July. At that time, I would also move from DROID to iPhone. Well, it ain't July so what am I going to do. If I move to Verizon now, I will either have to pay a cancellation fee of $120 for the remaining unused contract time or get a new number and let the AT&T contract expire. Of course in the last option, I would be paying for the DROID that I would not be able to use.

A third option would be to stay with AT&T and upgrade my phone now. It was time to have a conversation with Verizon to determine if it would be worth the extra $120 AT&T termination fee to make the switch. Thursday afternoon, we headed to New Bern to visit the Verizon store to clarify how the Verizon network operates.

One of the AT&T network features that has been extremely helpful to us is the ability to look up information stored in our Google account while talking on the phone. The Verizon rep verified that this is not something their network currently does. They are working on upgrading their network to allow that but for now, that is not possible. Sounds like a deal breaker to me.

We walked across the parking lot to the AT&T store. Teresa greeted us at the door with a smile and asked, "How may I help you today?" I explained the problem with the DROID and told her I was interested in upgrading to the iPhone. We walked over to the iPhones where she explained features, benefits and costs. OK, let's wrap up this deal. After completing the paperwork, she came to my side of the counter and explained how the transaction will appear on our phone bill. Then she brought out my new phone and demonstrated how it works.

I am not sure if AT&T has improved the customer service training or if this store is different. The experience with AT&T was certainly different than the last time I visited an AT&T store in Corpus Christi, Tx. I was certainly a satisfied customer this time and would easily recommend this store to anyone. I've not had any issues with AT&T service. The dead zones I've encountered is common to all carriers.

Thursday evening, I spent time with my new phone and can say that I am impressed with how well it works. Many of the features are common to those found on a Mac Pro so I felt right at home quickly with it. The only thing I've discovered is that I am not able to connect reliable to our Verizon MiFi with my Mac or phone. Carol also has issues connecting to the MiFi so I feel pretty confident that the problem is with the MiFi. We are currently on our third MiFi in less than 12 months.

Friday the 16th, Carol and I decide to head back to New Bern AT&T store to upgrade her phone as well. One of the benefits of us booth being on the same phone is that I can help her when she has a question about her phone. We specifically went back to Teresa since she was so helpful to me. Teresa's manager comment that I should just use my phone in place of the MiFi. Not sure how that would work, but I will look into it.

While we are on a techy spending spree, we decided to head to BestBuy (Jacksonville) to get Carol her birthday present. We replace her iPad with the New iPad. She was a happy camper. So Friday evening and most of today, she spend getting her phone and iPad configured with her special aps. So what is going on with the deck project? Glad you asked. It is progressing nicely. We got the posts cemented and beams built on Friday.

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Today I got the joists connected to the beams. Yep, I measured twice and cut once.


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I brought Cody with me to the job site. He likes being with me and is my supervisor.

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Today, here is what the project looks like. I need to make a beam to support the steps coming off the end of the deck. This will give me a place to mount the additional stair stringers. Then add the decking and build the rail. As long as the weather cooperates, I should have it done by end of next week.
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That's it for now. Thanks for stopping by.

2 comments:

  1. The deck is looking good and I like the looks of your supervisor too!!

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  2. Glad you got your phone issues resolved. I've been with AT&T for nearly 20 years and have had great customer service like you describe 99% of the time. :)

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