The Insomniac Coder

Image via CrunchBase No, this is not a repeat . No, this is not an Inception parody, but it almost feels like one. A timeline: On 1/29/2011 I replaced my Blackberry Curve (fucking bulletproof phone ) with a Samsung Intercept . I also replaced Ivette's LG Rumor Touch with a Samsung Intercept.  On 2/8/2011 I received a warranty replacement on the Samsung Intercept since the 1/29 unit was shutting itself off at random times. Ivette's phone? No issues whatsoever.  On 2/14/2011 I received a warranty replacement on my Samsung Intercept since the 2/8 unit (itself a warranty replacement) was shutting itself every time I closed the keyboard . Every single time. Ivette's phone? No issues whatsoever.  Sometime on 2/28 I am scheduled to receive a warranty replacement on my Samsung Intercept since the 2/14 unit was shutting itself every time I closed the keyboard. Every damn time. Yup, you guessed it, Ivette's phone still works absolutely perfectly.  So there you have ...

Image via Wikipedia Not a repeat. My new Samsung Intercept kept shutting itself down, and the Internet consensus was that it was a hardware issue and that Virgin Mobile will immediately replace the device. I emailed customer service, and I just told them the bare minimum: "Hi, my phone is a couple of days old and it keeps shutting itself off." Their reply came after a couple hours: "We are sorry for your problem with your phone. You can either go back to the store and swap it, or we'll send you a replacement and a prepaid return envelope." My reply: "My retailer sucks. Please send me a replacement." They said sure, asked me to verify my shipping address, and FEDEX 'd a replacement phone. Just like that. NO buts, no excuses, they simply overnighted a replacement phone and a prepaid padded pouch to return the old phone. I could get used to this kind of customer service. The phone swap was actually really simple and I was done in ab...

According to UPS , they redesigned their tracking page based on customer feedback. After seeing this, all I can think of is that they have a lot of fucking nerve to claim such a thing. Take a look at this: Let's see... It shows the package on time. Of course it does! And when there's an exception for whatever reason, it will probably say "NEW arrival date is .... and still show it in time." "By end of day" is bullshit because it lets UPS cut down on their workforce and force the remaining drivers in the route to work longer hours. I haven't received a FEDEX package after 5 in almost a year, but UPS keeps showing up as late as 9:00 PM, which is a really long fucking stretch of the "End of day" statement. "Updated" timestamp is a placebo. Of course it will always show a current date/time, just don't expect UPS to poll their database every time you reload the page. Their tracking system is either queued, so you won'...