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Cel Phones

Started by Gilman, September 14, 2005, 02:51:08 PM

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Gilman

Just a reminder,
If you're thinking about changing cell phone companies, make sure you "try" to cancel a month prior to canceling.  Most cel phone companies will give you a free months service if you threaten to quit.  Heck, even if you are going to keep it, call and "try" to cancel.  ;D  I did this with AOL back in the early 90's annually.  Worked every year.

Oddly enough, hold times to:
1) Cancel your service, 9 minutes 48 seconds
2) Order new phone service, < 1 minute

Boy I hate phone bills  >:(  Especially the Gobernment improved billing disclosures, they provide for your convenience.

Kathy won't let me look at our phone bills anymore.
WM LT70, WM 40 Super, WM  '89 40HD
Cat throwing champion 1996, 1997, 1999. (retired)

Jeff

Our stupid cell pone service  CENTENIAL WIRELESS FOR ANYONE LISTENING.

Sends us "Courtesy phone calls" to let us know our bill is due.  We got our bill on tuesday. Yesterday.  At 11:00 AM  and then again at 1:00  we got the "Courtesy phone call"  letting us know we could pay online or by phone.  Again today, at 11 and 1.  I hang up on them every time.  Our service contract runs through November.  Tammy calls them today to complain about the "Courtesy phone calls"  (Cause I complained to her)  She said stop them or we are cancelling and going somewhere else.  They REMINDED her, that our contract will charge us 250 bucks a line if we cancel beofre end of contract.   COME ON NOVEMBER!
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

SwampDonkey

On our phone bills you don't even know what your being billed for.


Basic service
9-1-1 service  (what? you mean I pay tax plus I gotta give your phone company a free handout?)
simply all day (so what's this for?)

then they add at the end: Network Charge??

The last 3 charges are what I call nickel and dime charges

Why not just say Basic service and group all that gobblie goop together. I am charged the same month by month regardless if I pick up the phone or not. Honestly though, they must think their customers are real idiots.  ::)

I'm surprised there isn't a charge on there for me using my own $10.00 phone instead of renting theirs.  I think that used to be the biggest scam of all, they'd charge you $4.99 a month for a $10.00 phone. You'de be surprised how many customers that never caught on to that. :D :D

With the old phone company, we used to get service within 12 hours, now ya might have to wait for a week or more.  ::)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Blake22

This is what my bill has,

Government Fees & Taxes

Madison Local Comm Services Tax    $3.82
Florida State Comm Ser Tax                6.13
Fed Tax                                               2.03
Madison Co Wireless 911                   0.50

Surcharges & Fees

Fed Universal Sevice Fund                1.66
Fed Wireless# Pooling & Portability  0.15
Federal E911                                    0.40
                                                    _________

                                                      $14.69

Monthly Service is $65.00. What is with the local & fed 911 charges? Is the federal in case the post office is on fire & the local if a jiffy store is on fire? What in the hell does federal universal service fund mean? I am going to call c/s to find out & I will get back to you. Well, well, well they said it's for DanG's retirement fund.  ;D
Blake

sawguy21

Speaking of cell phones, are there any courses available on  common courtesy regarding their use? If so, they should be mandatory. Why is it considered permissable to be rude with one?
I get really pithed when the person I am talking to grabs the plastic pacifier and walks away in the middle of a conversation. We had a customer that yakked on her phone while she was dealing with our service writer. Finally, the woman was asked, forcefully but politely, to turn it off until the transaction was completed or quit wasting our time. She actually got mad. I carry one but it is turned off in other people's company. Got voice mail.
The mic phones are the worst. We have discussed putting a jammer in the store but the two owners are the worst offenders ;D.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

Furby

Have you seen cellular ??? ;D

beenthere

No Furby, I missed her.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Paschale

I'm one of those guys who refuses to get a cell phone.  I got burned real bad back when Verizon was Airtouch.  There are times when I really wish I had one, but most of the time, it's nice to not have to be bothered at any moment.  When I'm away from home, no one can reach me.   8)  It's totally my time, and no one else's.   ;D
Y'all can pronounce it "puh-SKOLLY"

pigman

I don't have a cell phone and I stay on the computer most of the evening. That way I am not bothered by customers that want me to saw for them. ;D Maybe if I put a locked gate on the driveway I would not be bothered at all. ::)  No , couldn't do that. The wife wouldn't want to open the gate on her way to and from work. ;)
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

Sprucegum

A person drove by me the other day, one hand holding a cell phone and the other holding a cigarette, I didn't see any hands on the wheel. I didn't hang around to see the accident but its bound to happen.

Cedarman

Just like the TV a cell phone has an off button, so if you don't want to be bothered turn it off.

Assertiveness really comes into play with cell phones. It is always rude if a third party interupts a conversation in progress.  You have to take charge and not put up with it.

The convenience of cell phones is great.  I love em!
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

SwampDonkey

I think the rudest thing is having a cell phone on in a lecture theatre. They should be banned, or if it's so important just stay out in the hall.  >:(

I have a cell phone too but it doesn't stay fixed to my hip. I only use it to call out or if I'm away from home a few days I have it with me. Other than that the house has an answering service. I get a $10 phone card per month and I hardly ever use all the minutes. At home the thing doesn't even work and I'm looking right at one cell tower and there are 3 others within 10 miles. ;)

A spokesman from J D Irving put up a map on the projector at a meeting I attended this spring. The map showed the cell phone coverage of the phone company. He then put up a map of his forest limits and if you could overlap the two maps mentally, you'de notice that the cell coverage was all outside the forest limits. Now for a company with 100,000's of acres of forest land that's gotta pith ya off.  :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

beetle

I only carry a Cell phone because my business depends on it. I travel for a living, however, when I am home it stays in my truck in the off postition, I do not carry it on my belt or any other place. I hate em, I have no problem going in the house to make a call on the land line. Got along 10 years ago just fine without it and can get along just fine today without it.
Too many hobbies...not enough time.

Patty

Both Norm & I have cell phones. Mine spends most of its time at home laying on the kitchen counter when I'm at work.  We don't have a land line at home, so we depend totally on the cell phones. I love them, they are very handy when I am on the road. I especially like them when I am at a store buying a widget for Norm; I can stand there at the shelf looking at all the widgets and have him tell me which one he needs. Or when we have a family gathering and we are all meeting at a specific site, we can coordinate our locations.I also take Norm's order for the weekly McDonald's stop while driving down the street. Yep that's me, phone in one hand, pen and paper in the other...while driving 90 mph in my big ash SUV.  8)
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

DonE911

Well... since there is a 911 side to this ... I'll explain the .50 charge in very general terms.

All 911's in the US are largely supported by that charge per phone.   The taxes you pay ( in FL counties ) pay the employees and associated charges, but they generally do not support the PSAP or the PSAP equipment itself.  You see many area's adding fee's onto Moving Violation tickets to assit in the cost of upgrades to public safety upgrades such as Radio and Data tranmissions that are not PSAP related. PSAP - Public Service Answering Point or Public Safety Answering Point ( depends on where you are from )

911 equipment is not cheap and tecnologies are changing so fast you can not use the same equipment for long periods and purchase it thru a bond like you would for new buildings or something. That .50 does not go in the cell companies pocket.

When cell phones came out, there was no 911 charge on those lines like there was on all landlines.  The last study compiled in my former FL county showed that near 35% of all 911 calls came from cellular phones.  It is not uncommon for a person to have a cellular phone only and no landline phone in the house. I'm sure that in Larger metro area's that number is much higher. For those that don't know... even if you have no phone in the house... if the house has a phone line wired you can still plug in a phone and dial 911.... nothing else though.

Cellular technology has advanced so fast that the cellular companies have not been keeping pace.  In over 95% of the country when you call 911 from a cell the 911 operators have no idea where you are calling from.  There are a few cities serving as a test bed that can actually find you at a football game, but it takes time.  everywhere else they may be able to tell which tower your signal is bouncing off of and your cellular phone number, but thats it.  It is possible to triangulate your position, but there is not a cell carrier that has completely updated thier own tower equipment to make that possible.  This capability is Phase 2 of a 3 phase plan mandated by government to be in place by a certain date.  Now I have no idea what the new phase 3 date is because not a single company was fully phase 2 compliant... this was more than 2 years after the initial deadline.   I know that in FL that not every 911 was compliant with the mandate either... they were prepared to make the required equipment changes to be compliant, but many decided to wait on the cell companies to catch up to avoid having outdated equipment when it was needed. This has turned out to be a good call. I've been out of all this for almost a year so some of this may have changed, but I doubt it.

Some day that .50 charge will become larger... . possible double so 911 can pinpoint your position if you need help, but cant speak.

Well this was to danG long... anyway that's why you see the .50 per line for 911... anyone ever ask your cell carrier what portion of your bill is used to update thier own emergency capabilities?

sprucebunny

That's very informative, Don . Thanks.

That's why I had to buy a new cell phone that has built in GPS or something. ??? They wouldn't activate my extra phone that didn't have that feature.  ::) 

Drowned the old one ... it fell off me when I was fixing a drainage ditch in the spring  ::)

It's great to have one when you are alone 5 miles out in the woods so you can let people know you are fine today ;D



MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

DonE911

Actually this is not a GPS technology... it is however a full digital technology.  Your old phone probably had analog features that would stir up the mudpuddle. 

GPS would make the system simple, but cost killed that idea.  Ever look into the cost of a sat phone? or even the Sat phone minutes? 

No way the masses could afford the phones or the minutes....  think of the increased number of Sat's that would have to go into space to support those calls....  they'd block out the sun :D

Furby

I have priced the sat phones and seen the per minute cost. :o
But wouldn't that cost come down if spread out over millions of users?
I mean look what cell phones cost years ago.

Corley5

My Motorola phone is Assisted GPS capable.  With the feature on you're position can be determined in 30 seconds or less IF the emergency response center can receive and process AGPS info  ;) ;D
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

wiam

From a firefighter's view:  A lot of days I hate cell phones.  They could be a help if the calls could be tracked.  I think a lot of people driving down the interstate see an accident and think about calling.  Then 5 miles down the road they do and look for a mile marker and guess how far back.  We have chased car fires and accidents called  at the north end of town and the situation found 30 miles south of us. :( :(  I guess my point is stop near the situation and call.  Stay there so we will know where it is.  

I think I'm done for now. ::)

Will

SwampDonkey

Sat phone cost $0.75 a minute back in 1996 at the logging camp. BC tel had one set up like a pay phone. Other than that we used repeaters when in the bush and that had varying success because of the valleys and mountains and distance from the coastline.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Gilman

Good point Wiam,
When calling 911 from the road I always look for the next exit number I pass or the next mile marker.
WM LT70, WM 40 Super, WM  '89 40HD
Cat throwing champion 1996, 1997, 1999. (retired)

DonE911

911 employees have a saying about "fat man with a cell phone"

Fat guy keeps it on his left side and gets in the car/truck.... then he leans up against it and activates the emergency call feature ( automatic if you hold a button down for to long ) and the 911 operator gets to hear his conversation for as long as they want to listen....  I've heard some xxx rated things, guys ording MCd's at the drive thru... loads of good stories about this.... :o

Fat guys are not as bad a women though... not fat women ... any woman .. they put the phone in their purse and then flop it down on a table or in the car seat ... same result as the fat guy  >:( >:(

I have had cell companies turn off phones for this... if you hang up, the phone just recalls 911 again and the phone will not ring when in emergency mode..

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