Another AT&T Wild Goose Chase

Since June when I first got my first iPhone, I've only had trouble with it. It seems to me that my old Blackberry was great and other people rave about their iPhones, so why was mine so problematic? Well, everyone says AT&T is the reason and they are. 

Thursday, Kim called to talk to me about something and the call repeatedly dropped about 4 times in 10 minutes. Now Kim HATES AT&T and she doesn't even have it! Out of frustration, I dialed 611 that brought me to AT&T's menu. The menu that I've sat through a gazillion times. I have it memorized, so I punched in 0, that automatically brought me to a customer service representative. I'm on a first name basis with most of them. Sharon answered and we exchanged niceties. Then, as is our routine, she referred me to a tech specialist. This one was Michele. Michele was GREAT. So far she's done everything that she claimed she would do and left me on hold sans the recording that I swore that I'd jump out of a window if I was subjected to it again (lucky I live on the ground floor). Sweet silence filled my ears while she did her stuff. After about 10 full minutes, she came back so I muted Judge Judy and listened. She asked me if I had upgraded my software yet. I replied, no. It required a wi-fi connection, something I didn't have access to. So she sent me to the AT&T store where I was first sold my iPhone and I promised to go on Saturday, yesterday. When I arrived, there was only one salesperson waiting on a couple and after about 5 minutes of ignoring me, he looked up and said he'd be right with me, although I heard several voices in the back room. It must have been break time. About 3 more minutes later, he excused himself from his customers and went to get someone to help me. 

Here came Milty! I decided to introduce myself to this 15 year old child with a handshake, but it confused him. I may have been the first customer to offer a handshake upon contact. Let me describe Milty. As I said, Milty was about 15. He must have gotten a worker's permit from his school's principal, as we had to, when we wanted to work below the age of 16. Milty must have been having lunch, because he had a milk mustache and smelled of either tuna or sardines, I'm not sure which. He was short and still had that baby fat some kids hold onto. Under his milk mustache was the beginning of a real mustache trying to break through. I was smiling and he thought I was just nice. He asked how he could help me and I replied that the tech at AT&T referred me to him at this store, to have him do the upgrade on my iPhone. He started shaking his head, no and replied, we ain't got no wi-fi here! But you can go across the street to the hotel parking lot and steal it over there. That's what we do here. (Wild Goose Chase, phase one) The hotel parking lot was across the busy freeway and I decided there would be an easier way to access wi-fi than sitting in a parked car stealing it from a hotel, so I went home and texted LJ to ask if she had wi-fi? She replied that she did or I could also go home to where I live and ask my present roommate the password to her wi-fi. When I moved in there, I asked for it and instead of telling it to me, she had her 30 year old son secretly type it into my laptop. Evidently, it has great value to them. I didn't want to ask again!

Totally frustrated, I went home and waited until someone came home. A few hours later, my roommate entered and I asked her for the password and she replied, I donno! You have to ask Robbie. Robbie was nowhere to be seen. I asked her to ask Robbie and she replied that she can't he's not home and do I know where he went? I asked if she could call him and she did. What she gave me didn't work, why did that not surprise me? This is the same woman that I asked 2 days before the election who she was voting for and she replied, "Whoever is running against Obama"? The entire world has been bludgeoned to death with this campaign for the past 2 years and she didn't know who was running for president! Why in the world would she know the password for her wi-fi?

Robbie never did come home that night and about 5 AM, I heard him slam the front door indicating to me that he'd be sleeping all day today and he did. I was supposed to go to a friend's house to watch the Cardinal's game today, but since I was up and couldn't sleep last night, I missed have the game this morning anyway. At about 2:30, after the game, I showered and got dressed to go to the parking lot outside the hotel. Sneaking into a parking place, I turned off my car and opened my phone and went to "settings". I clicked on wifi and it showed the name of the hotel and no lock next to it, making it easy pickings for an experienced wifi thief. I clicked on download for the upgrade and waited as the download began. I thought of wearing a disguise, but then reconsidered. I tried to just be nonchalant about it all and watched other people exiting the hotel to smoke. That's when I looked down and saw that my download said, "3 hours until complete" WTF??? I can't sit here for 3 fricking hours stealing wifi! Should I rent a room? Hmm.... That would make the download almost as much as the iPhone! (Wild Goose Chase, phase 2) I closed out the upgrade and started my engine and pulled out to go home, disgusted.

When I walked in, at about 4 PM, there sat the elusive Robbie playing his games on the computer. I swear, if ever there is an invasion from outer space, this is the guy to know? I said to him, "Finally you're home"! He replied that he's been home all day. But he was passed out! I asked him for the password to the wifi and I could see he was reluctant to give it out. I told him that his mother tried to get it from him the night before but wasn't able to pass it along correctly. Neither of us were surprised. He gave it to me and minutes later, I was about to access wifi for the first time ever on my phone. Frankly, a big advantage so far. I still haven't spoken with anyone on it, everyone I call sends me to voicemail. I'm starting to get a complex.