Cellphone plans and my nightmare ...

Mobile phones are one of the best technology products of this century.  With the introduction of smart phones, the need for a computer is almost eliminated. What I find very disturbing though is the cost of owning a cell phone in the US. A customer at any of the major US based wireless provider could end up paying $40 just to carry a cellphone - not make any calls or receive any calls but to just carry it. With the popularity of smart phones, add another $30 to the monthly price and you are looking atleast $70 to own a cellphone.  A customer is charged not only for calls originating from his cell phone but also for receiving calls and for a reasonably priced plan (at ATT , I am on a $39.99/ mo  for 450 min of voice), you get a grand total of 450 min - 7.5 hrs. Its one thing limiting yourself to making a few calls every month and ensuring that your calls do not run too long but how do you control the number of calls or the duration of each call you receive? When I got my first cell phone in the US, I was already working for more than a year and still felt it was a luxury. At the persuasion of my family that they needed to reach me in an emergency, I went in for a cell phone. When I was first explained by the salesman about how I would be charged for receiving and making calls, I was taken aback! Added to it, I was told that I would be allotted a certain number of minutes which would expire at the end of the month even if I had any remaining (no roll-over with Verizon!!!). This did not make any sense to me then and still does not make any sense. Why should I not retain the minutes I have paid for. Does it cost the wireless provider more if I used my minutes this month versus last month!!! Should it even matter to the wireless provider when and how I connect with friends, family and coworkers? The concept of weekend / night time discounted prices is something I find even more ridiculous. If I have a cell phone and a calling plan I have paid for and if I need to talk to someone during the day, just because I do not have sufficient (day-time) minutes this month, I need to postpone my conversation or go in search of a land line! On top of all this, I wont even touch the topic of limiting my choices of cellphone instruments to the ones offered by wireless providers as a part of their contract and cell phone plan. Everytime I shop for cell phone plans or cell phones, I feel I have no to little choice as a consumer when it comes to finding economical plans.  


On a regular basis, I contrast this to the cell phone payment options and plans (or lack thereof) in India and other Asian countries where the option of pre-paid plans or "pay as you go" plans are very popular and used by the majority of cell phone users. And yes- you pay only for calls you make and you do not pay for calls you receive.  On my last trip to India, I was pleasantly surprised to find the concept of pre-paid plans for data plans as well. For a very small daily fee, you get access to the internet from your smart phone.  And ofcourse, customers in India and Asia walk into any cellphone store, buy the phone they like and bundle it themselves with a carrier of their choice. If they are not happy with the provider or the phone, they change it immediately (no concept of contract!!!)

I recently read about the two major wireless providers in the US limiting the amount of data transfer for the  flat monthly rate they charge now!!! I had forgotten all about this and a couple of days back dreamed about cellphones and cellphone prices - yes - dreamed about cellphone plans!!! Thats what happens when you are finally nearing the end of your contract with your current cell phone provider and you so badly want to make a choice for a cellphone plan/ wireless provider that you cannot change for the next two years once you have chosen it! Every time I have to do this, I dread the fine print and wonder which rule kicks in before which rule as a part of your plan. A couple of years back, when I wanted to switch to ATT (purely driven by my desire to carry an iphone!), I had questions like - What happens to my 5000 night and weekend minutes if I talk to another customer thats on ATT wireless during the weekend or night time?? Do my weekend/ night time minutes get consumed or do I talk for free??? This particular question required some research on the salesman part (after giving me a stare that said - the fine print is not something you are supposed to be reading!!)

Back to my dream - I am calling different cellphone providers to understand their latest plans (Its been two years since I shopped for cellphone plans and lots could have changed!) , how their contracts work etc and one of the salespeople I am talking to says - "Ma'am - for new customers, we have introduced a tiered rate plan depending on the daily cellphone usage.  If you keep your cell phone ON for 24 hrs a day, we charge you a flat rate that will put your bill at $112/ mo!! If you think you keep it on for 16 hrs a day, the rate falls a little and the rate further drops if you keep your phone on only for 12 hrs / day. I immediately ask the salesperson - "how do you know when i keep my phone switched on or off" and I immediately get a reply - "we would send a signal every few min to your phone to check if its on or off".. OMG- the next thing I know is I have hung up on the salesperson and shaking my head wondering if the fees and the plans these cellphone providers come up with and keep changing will ever stop!!! One more thing the salesperson told me - Once you have a signed a contract indicating the # of hrs you will keep your cell phone on per day, you cannot go to a plan that has a lower number of daily hours that you will keep it turned on. So, I have to decide how many hours a day I will keep my phone switched on for the next two years!!!

Now, thats what I call a nightmare ....:-) :-)

PS: Once I woke up and thought about my dream a little more - I wondered - isnt the cellphone something you keep switched on 24/7 and what a concept would it be in reality if the cellphone carriers charged you for just keeping the cellphone switched ON.

How many ways to keep in touch...

A few months ago, I received a hug from one of my friends on Facebook!!! Now there are several things you can do in the virtual world but a hug?!? I found the whole concept of receiving a hug over the internet pretty interesting and sorta funny:-). I spent a few more minutes (ofcourse searching the web!) and I realized that not only hugs, but virtual gifts, drinks and many more could be sent to your friends. What a concept - share a hug, share a drink, share anything with someone you know without moving and inch. Wow!

While growing up, I remember sending (real!) greeting cards and writing letters (yes - the ones that you actually write on a piece of paper) to friends and family to fill in on what was going on in my world. I sometimes wonder if anyone still does it. I used to enjoy going out every few months to shop for letter writing stationery , greeting cards that I could (snail) mail friends / family on their birthdays, anniversaries or to just wish them luck. As much as I love and use technology, I wonder if we will ever see good ole' letter writing ever become popular again :-(

We live in the age of Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, email & instant messaging and being able to do all of these and more right from your phone! Thanks to these social / professional sites, I got in touch with quite a few of my classmates from school and college who had moved many times from my hometown which I think is great! But once you get in touch and exchange a few emails, a few FB wall postings etc filling in each other on whats happened over some years, what next?

I know friends who constantly update their status on Facebook status - how many people do you really think are curious to know if you've picked groceries or if you are having sleep issues or if you are having a bad day at work or if you are going to be hosting a dinner and how many different ways do you want to tell people you know well and not so well about all this and many more mundane everyday thoughts and activities? Even though I use some these networking sites and emails on a frequent basis, I sometimes worry that I will have one too many ways to keep in touch with family and friends; each one convenient and quick but none of them as personal and special as the letters and cards I used to send and receive when I was growing up!

Ok, now i have to find a way to email this blog post to some folks and share this blog post on my FB a/c :-)

It's time to Spring Forward!

When I first came to the US, it was summer and I had only heard of the concept of Day Light Savings. I still remember someone I knew knocking at my door on a warm Nov evening to remind me that I could set the clock back by an hour before I went to bed. My thought - Thats fun!! Yet, it was a weird feeling to change the time and a have a different offset in time with the rest of the world. Only a few months later in April did I realize what Day Light Savings meant with the clocks moving forward an hour to take advantage of the long days and what the loss of 1hr of sleep did to me and many others I knew. I remember going to a store on that Sun morning and having to wait an hr for the store to open; obviously the store clerk had not moved his clock ahead. For me, each year, the worrying about loss of 1hr of sleep starts on the previous day and its amazing how the day speeds by on the Sun the clocks are changed! For someone who has dealt with jet lag many times, I always thought dealing with an hour's time change should not be very difficult but alas its indeed tough to give up one hr of sleep!

On the other hand, spring forward is not all about messing with your body clock - its the beginning of spring leading on to summer and for some one who lives in a place that is cold for some months of the year, its an awesome feeling of looking forward to all the fun and activities spring is going to bring. The days are finally longer and I am not getting out of my house thinking about how cold its going to be and I still have sunlight when I leave work. I can move from drinking hot lattes to frappuccinos. I dont have to worry about clearing the snow from my windshield at the end of a long snowy day or worry about carrying my scarf and gloves wherever I go. Its finally time to spring forward and for lots of summer activities!

Learning people skills ....

I was in the first session of a management/leadership training class yesterday. Most participants were managers of a group of people and had been on their job for a while. We were all asked what we wanted to take away from this class. It was quite amazing to hear most participants say they wanted to learn how to improve their people skills/ gain people skills needed to manage a group! All I could think when I heard that every time was - " Were these people or the people who made them managers in the first place out of their minds?" To me, one of the first qualities to be in a people management position is people skills and here was a group of managers who wanted to gain people skills after they had done their job for a while... I feel sad for the employees these people have been managing!

Another though running through my mind was - at the end of this class, are these guys and gals going to be "better" people and hence better managers? I honestly dont know the answer.. In anycase, I am really looking forward to this course and hopefully there are lots of things I can take away from this class that can make me more effective on my job..

The most ironic aspect of all this was - many people in that group were not managers when I first came to know them and they had a laundry list of things they thought their managers should be working on and on top of the list was - "they should learn some people skills!!!" Happy learning to me and my classmates!

What's with Reality TV shows?

I am neither what you would call a couch potato (by anybody's definition) nor one among the growing by the minute reality TV watchers. I have my favorite shows that I watch whenever I can and dont own a TiVo since I am perfectly fine missing one or more episodes of my favorite show(s) - I am what you could describe a casual TV watcher.

Growing up, I did not know what a reality TV show was although I know watched my share of some version of it in those days - general knowledge quiz programs, a few game shows in the later years etc.

In the last few years, however, I have seen the number of reality TV shows increase. There is a show for anything and everything from eating to dancing to skating to losing weight to getting married/ engaged to adventure racing... In my mind I could never understand the obsession with reality TV shows - how can someone get hooked to these shows and start rooting for one or more participants? Is it because we identify ourselves with those participants, is it because we aspire to be one of the participants or is it because we can never guess what is going to happen next or is it because we see real people show some real emotions and talent?

While I am still wondering what makes a reality show a hit show (or not), I am guilty of becoming hooked to a reality TV show myself - the talent search show - American Idol. I have watched many episodes of the show in every season, every episode seems to be so new and interesting! When it comes to explaining to someone why I like the shows, I am at a loss and ask myself the question - what's with these reality shows and what makes me watch one of them? Is it the participants or is it the creator or is the judges or is it the host ? I guess I will always be wondering but the new season of American Idol just started a week ago and I am pretty sure I will have my favorites and be rooting for them as the season progresses...

New Year Resolutions ...

I have never made a new years resolution (even if I made one it has never lasted for more than 2 weeks!) but have always found it an interesting concept. What is with this time of the year that makes people think on what they want to start doing or what they want to quit doing... Why are birthdays or anniversaries or any other time of the year almost always never used for thinking about change or making resolutions... Are these not important enough events for individuals to inspire such thinking? The (funny) thing I have noticed is that more often than not, people end up making the same resolutions year after year!

Do we give up on our resolutions more easily because we call them so? Would it be better if we never called them resolutions and just did it?

Happy New Year to everyone out there and good luck in keeping up your new year resolution(s) if you do make one!

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