This past week had all the key components for an exciting and memorable week. Then again, sometimes things don’t quite go as planned. As with anything, you have your ups and owns, potential disasters…and disasters averted. But most memorable is the case of the disappearing and re-appearing BlackBerry and the related trauma that goes with it.
Civic Holiday kicked things off, leaving us with a short 4-day week, coupled with a pair of vacation days Wednesday/Thursday, I was already excited to have two 1-day mini-weeks within the week. Add to that a Tuesday night roadtrip to Kingston to see Tool in concert, followed by a one-man expedition to Toronto on Wednesday for their next show at the Molson Amphitheatre… needless to say, I was stoked.
Sometimes things don’t quite go as planned.
Believe me, I’m as big a fan of the random as anyone. I tend to delight in most unexpected and strange happenings and occurrences, as they add so much spice to the most ordinary or extraordinary plans alike.
However, when en route to the airport Thursday morning, I reached into my pocket to grab my BlackBerry, when I came up with only pocket lint, delight was the furthest thing from my imagination.
Panic.
Outright panic.
I don’t know if the panic was wrought from the loss of what has become more of an appendage than a cell phone, or the thought of having to face my better half after having essentially “misplaced” $500… after only having splurged on the phone a very short two weeks ago. I can only imagine how well it would go over having to shell out the $699.95 for the same device without the benefit of a hardware upgrade or 3-year contact rebates. *groan*
I bolted back to the hotel. By the time I was done with the room, it looked like crime scene from Law & Order (by no means is this an indictment on the state of the hotel and/or room itself… although it was by far one of the least “elegant”, “posh” or “clean” places I’ve had the fortune of staying). I turned over everything, checking every last possible spot to no avail. Called the taxi company frantically, who while being incredibly helpful and supportive, did not have my recently lost device. Running out of time, I cut my losses and made my way to the airport.
The long walk to the airport seemed to clear my head. But waiting in an airport lounge without a BlackBerry reminded me of why the smartphone has become an extension of my hand.
As an aside, Telus is doing a fantastic job in their recent campaigns playing to this angle, and branding accordingly. With recent billboards squeezing words like “internet” and “email” into words like “queue” and “wait”, and the “Get a Jump on Life” campaign really hit home for me, as a huge personal fan of “web-to-go”. Waiting for anything is a far less enjoyable and/or productive experience without it. I don’t know how people survive without!
Anyhoo… back to the point, if you can call it that.
I resigned myself to the fact that I had lost my phone. I wasn’t overly optimistic that the taxi company or Toronto Metro Police would come through in the short term. I stopped at the Bell World store on my way home to share my tale of woe and to assess my options.
The tween in-store informed me that the extended warrantee that I had subscribed to when I purchased my phone two weeks ago, actually covers loss & theft.
I could’ve kissed him.
I’m usually not an extended-warrantee kind of guy. For a lot of things I see it as a total cash-grab on the part of the retailers. However, at the 13-15 month mark with my previous BlackBerry I started experiencing some issues with the trackball and charger that led me to enroll in Bell Mobility’s Smart/Phone Care Plan. I half-expected it to be a complete wash, but as it turns out, the plan’s coverage for loss & theft turned my bout of carelessness and bad luck into a serious breath of fresh air.
Here are a few details from Bell on their Smart/Phone Care Plan
The Premium plan covers failure due to defects in parts and workmanship, normal wear and tear, accidental damage, power surge and loss or theft for $7 a month
The plan covers one phone or smartphone and allows for up to two out-of-warranty replacements.
A replacement fee of $50 for a mobile phone and $150 for a smartphone applies. Our goal is to give you the same make and model that you purchased, but colour, features and accessory compatibility are not guaranteed.
These are month-to-month plans that can be cancelled at any time without penalty.
And so, after a very quick and painless call into customer service, my service was suspended and a claim filed to have a replacement device shipped to my office in 1-3 business days, with my account billed the $150 deductible. Compared to the no-contract, no-loyalty credit $700 cost of replacing my Tour 9630 net-new, I was more than happy.
More to my surprise, the following day, after less than 24 hours, my replacement phone arrived on my desk.
Flabbergasted.
I’ve been so impressed with the quality and speed of service provided by Bell throughout what could have been a dramatically more painful experience. At a point where the relatively little competition in the Canadian wireless space there’s much chagrin about the Big-Three Telco’s…. but this is one of those rare bright spots. Thank you Bell. Thank you thank you.
Now, back to my appendage.