I’m not a phone person so phones are a very low priority in my life. Most of my communication is directly face to face. Distant communication is mostly done via email. This arrangement continues to work very well in my day to day life.
For travel away from the house and as an emergency back-up, I’ve owned an “LG” flip-phone with an annual contract from Trac Fone for the past ten-years. Because I rarely use the mobile phone, I’ve accrued nearly 5,000 minutes of airtime. The annual contract expires 
each February so I routinely just buy another year. With that year, more minutes are added onto the total.
On their web site, Trac Fone has been promoting smart phones. I finally decided that it’s time to explore that option. This would not only update my technology, but would encourage me to use up the backlog of minutes. I went ahead and ordered a reconditioned Samsung Galaxy and renewed the annual airtime contract.
The new phone and a fresh contract PIN card arrived two days later. All I needed to do was activate the phone. That’s when I ran into the snag. While everything else worked beautifully with the device, the phone function was out of whack. I could not phone out and the Trac Fone technicians couldn’t connect either.
After an hour with a couple of tech people, they offered to exchange the phone. The offer is simple and direct at no extra cost to me. The company sent shipping supplies including costs. The phone is currently in transit. So far, I’m satisfied with the service. There has been no “jumping through hoops” trying to get help with the device.
This is an example of how a company should treat its customers. In a world of buck passing and blame gaming, prompt action regarding defective merchandise and/or inept service is very refreshing. When a company takes responsibility for their products and service in such a way, I want to continue to do business with them.
In my opinion, respect for consumer rights should be a very high priority of every company. Not only should they state they prioritize customer protection, they should follow through and make good on such policies when customers file legitimate complaints. Doing so, engenders trust and overall satisfaction. Taking care of customers lessens the need for official, legal enforcement of consumers’ rights.
Meantime, I eagerly await the arrival of the replacement smart phone to my home.
Ciao
The Blue Jay of Happiness quotes risk analyst and former stocks trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb. “The mortgage crisis was a clear instance of consumers who needed protection. There was predatory lending to people who didn’t know what they were doing.”
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