“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 754 (Saturday) – tech and phones and food

Despite being locked out of my online phone account, a new phone was successfully ordered with the help of online chat rep “Daphne.” The process took nearly as long as driving to the Verizon store at the Pheasant Lane Mall in New Hampshire and doing it in person would have taken, which was the original plan for the morning. It was so much the plan that hair had been styled, makeup applied, and “going out of the house” attire chosen from the wardrobe.

By the time all the personal hygiene and wardrobe preparations had been made, it was nearly lunchtime, so an eggroll was prepared for the noon repast. Then comparisons of various phones and the Verizon website were consulted for an advance idea of the quest item. That’s when it got tricky with the need to log in to see my pricing and options as an existing customer doing an upgrade with "Device Dollars" accumulated monthly for at least a year. This led to the web chat option. 

Web chat Daphne made an upsell attempt for a car charger and protective case. The charger looked exactly like the one I already have, but I was 100% onboard for the case. Unfortunately, after it being offered and accepted, Daphne apologized because “there are no cases available for that phone.” Oops. And now I’m on my own for that item. Knowing how many times the current phone has succumbed to gravity, there is no way I am going without a case. An hour had been sucked out of the day. Anyway, the new phone will arrive soon, which is significantly less gratifying than walking out of a store with a pricey new technology device in hand. 

After closing all the many tabs that opened during the purchase process, email was checked. The receipt was already in the inbox, but of course, it wasn’t the actual receipt, it was a link to access it by logging into my account which is still locked since yesterday. All I really wanted to do was confirm the specific phone model to shop online for a case.

The number for customer service was on the screen with the “Account Locked” declaration, which led to another lengthy wait on the phone for a rep. After the previous prolonged online chat to buy a new phone and the lengthy call with a rep last night, I wasn’t in the mood to be texting about the account lockout for what could be another hour. After 15 minutes and 5 seconds on hold, I tapped out and hung up.

By the time the phone ordeal was completed/abandoned, it was 2:30, and suddenly felt too late to head out for planned excursion #2 of the day, at Western Ave Studios for the April Open Studios, which begin at 12:00 and end at 5:00. That meant the day’s going out of the house preparations were wasted on not making it beyond the front yard.

Determined to expand the supper dining options, a place that recently sent a menu in the mail was considered. Their menu has many of the same pizza shop and seafood items as the regular place, plus additional luxury items like Clam chowder and lobster roll sandwich. The front of the menu was emblazoned with a website, so I went there. A screen appeared with buttons for “Pizza Menu,” “Restaurant Menu,” and “Menu.” The Pizza Menu button linked to a website for different pizza place one town over. The Restaurant Menu and Menu buttons link to Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza and Wings in Wyomissing Pennsylvania. That delivery would probably take a lot longer than I would be willing to wait.  Apparently, tech glitches are not exclusive to me. The regular and reliable place won the supper lottery.