Not that long ago, I bought a new small mobile telephone and some wonderful person [sorry but I forget who it was] found me the English instructions - all 52 pages of them. And I love my little Alcatel mobile phone, once I had worked out how to use and sort it out as I want it. But I still had my old LG which I knew needed a new battery and they are not made any more. And now the service for the LG can not be used any more. Only I really do need two mobile phones and much as I love my Alcatel, I need another one "just in case". So I have ended up, horror of horrors, with a smart phone with the same number [but of course none of the numbers] of my old LG. And it actually costs half each month for the phone, which is on a 36 month contract, plus the sim card for unlimited calls. Fine. Except there are no instructions in English so I have the same problem I had with the Alcatel so I have to do a Google search to find how to use the thing. I did not want a smart phone which was why I was so happy to find the Alcatel. But I needed a spare and have ended up with something I do not know how to use. I have found it on Google but it does not tell me how to use the thing. It is a GINI S4 Pro - and fine, it is costing me less each month for my old LG - and even including the SIM card it will cost me peanuts, just as the Alcatel does. But it took me two hours at Pelephone to get someone to not only show me the phone, but to change it from Hebrew to English, and then did not tell me how to use the thing. David had taken me and I told him to get out because I had a hammer in my bag [I had gone on my mobile chair] and I was quite prepared to smash the place up if they kept me waiting any longer. Pelephone used to be the best service people - wait more than a minute and they would come and offer tea or coffee - and no way would I make someone like me, in a chair, to just wait until dozens of people who came in later were served. So - Two hours. Two hours taxi fares and waiting time. And a smart phone I do not know how to use. All I know is that they have given it the same number as my now unusable LG. No idea of the numbers that were in the LG as they could not get them, but luckily I had made a note of the urgent ones and put them into my Alcatel.. I do not think the people there liked me sitting in a wheelchair waving a hammer around though.
The smart phone has gone back to Pelephone. I found all the instructions but still could not change half to English, and the phone had got all emergency services listed with their numbers. All American emergency services. And no way could they be deleted. David was by then working in Tel Aviv so he gave me the number of a local taxi rank [which I had never heard of before] and a lovely young driver turned up. This time I was on my crutches because I had no intention of waiting but this guy helped me up my ramp path and into and out of his taxi, and waited outside Pelephone [on a yellow line but that was OK because I was inside]. Plonked in - barged in front of everyone - handed over the bag with everything in it and said if they dared try charging me I would take them to Court. All done - OK so I have lost my original cellphone number which they had transferred to the horrid smart phone but at least they cannot charge me for that number any more. And no, they do not have any more Alcatels or small basic cell phones [liars - I could see them on their shelves of phones] so I will have to ask David to check on another company for me. At least I now have a new taxi driver for emergencies, Meir having died a few months ago [he was only about mid 40s] and Aron not always available. But even though I have a landline at home [two, actually], I still need a cell phone - and I need two in case I do something stupid and drop the Alcatel. I am going to make an official complaint because of them making me wait for two hours when I went with David, as the law in this Country is that people who are registered as disabled do not have to queue and do not have to wait. Pelephone used to be the most respected mobile phone company. Now? I have never come across so many rude young assistants ever before.
Unfortunately, rude shop assistants are common-place these days. Customer service seems to be a thing of the past. These days it's refreshing when an assistant actually assists
I think I had better explain why I had a hammer in my bag. I usually carry some small tools in case my chair [or scooter] needs something doing - it was not meant for any other reason. Same as I always have a mini first-aid kit in my bag. But waving a roll of gauze bandage would not bring much attention! But the whole situation was getting from bad to worse. When I eventually did get an assistant she kept going off to deal with other people. I had no choice in what phone I would like, just had this one, in its box, plonked down in front of me and off she went - with my ID card. When she did come back, with sheets of paper "sign here. And here. And here." I am not sure how many times, and I cannot hold a pen to write properly so just scribbled my initials. "No no no - you have to sign properly". Well, if my bank accepts my cheques with just my initials and the amount, and whoever has the cheque filling in the rest, what on earth is wrong with Pelephone? I would have been paying by credit card so surely one signature would do? No. Sign properly - and she grabbed my hand to make me sign my name in full, leaving her fingernails dug into my hand. Yes I can type but I can not hold a pen to write more than my initials as a signature or to struggle to write numbers. OK so I cannot use my LG any more to make or receive calls, but it still has my numbers in it which, slowly slowly, I will transfer to the Alcatel. And Pelephone wanted me to give the LG to them? Why? Sorry for the rant but I just could not cope with all that balagan.
