Sigh...the parents never learn

apac

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2003
6,212
0
71
Since we all started carrying cell phones a few years ago, I handled the purchasing/account setup and made sure my parents ended up with good phones. Both of the prior times that we've upgraded it was through the Amazon cell rebate plans, which let us get nearly top of the line hardware for free (when the rebates processed 4 months later). Those phones lasted quite a long time and had no issues until they started to wear out.

Last summer my father's phone broke and he went to the T-mobile store. Without consulting me he decided to get a new phone since his 2 year discount was ready, and ended up with a really shitty Nokia. Apparently bad enough that the front flip panel flexes into the internal buttons and calls people when it's in his pocket.

In the last couple weeks it's been time for my mom and I to upgrade as well. After a couple days of research I knew which ones would be best, and picked one for myself. I called mom to let her know what I found and which phones I thought would be the best option for her. To my surprise, she'd already found an article in Consumer Reports that recommended exactly the same phones I'd picked out. So she had a couple in mind, and I let her play around with the one I bought (it was a slider). Problem solved.

Well, she apparently went to the store to get it and was told that they had a "special promotion" running on a "flip version" of that phone ...hook, line, and sinker. She sounded happy with the choice, but I was skeptical. There's nothing online about any special offer, except for a somewhat similar model which is 1) completely different from the phone she was there to purchase and 2) has piss poor user reviews, most notably because it overheats and shuts itself off.

Now I can either tell her to go swap it, making her feel stupid and costing a $15 restocking fee on a free phone, or just let it go and hope she doesn't run into problems. What the fuck.
 

effowe

Diamond Member
Nov 1, 2004
6,012
18
81
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.
 

apac

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2003
6,212
0
71
Originally posted by: effowe
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.

You realize that I am 23, live on my own, have a bachelors degree and an engineering job, and pay 1/3 of the family plan, correct?
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
Originally posted by: apac
Originally posted by: effowe
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.

You realize that I am 23, live on my own, have a bachelors degree and an engineering job, and pay 1/3 of the family plan, correct?

so? what does that have to do wht how they spend their money?
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
It's worth you going over this with your parents once again. Also 15$ is not bad for a phone that lasts them a significant amount of time. Your dad is already plagued with the shit phone, your mom doesn't need to go through the same crappy experience. Mistakes happen, for many older people, mistakes with technology are commonplace.
 

RedArmy

Platinum Member
Mar 1, 2005
2,648
0
0
Originally posted by: apac
Originally posted by: effowe
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.

You realize that I am 23, live on my own, have a bachelors degree and an engineering job, and pay 1/3 of the family plan, correct?

When did you ever say that?
 

So

Lifer
Jul 2, 2001
25,923
17
81
Originally posted by: effowe
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.

Yes, we should all let our family members make poor decisions and not be concerned about it at all.
 
Dec 8, 2008
506
0
0
Originally posted by: apac
Originally posted by: effowe
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.

You realize that I am 23, live on my own, have a bachelors degree and an engineering job, and pay 1/3 of the family plan, correct?

HTF are we supposed to "realize" that?
 

rudeguy

Lifer
Dec 27, 2001
47,351
14
61
Originally posted by: apac
Originally posted by: effowe
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.

You realize that I am 23, live on my own, have a bachelors degree and an engineering job, and pay 1/3 of the family plan, correct?

And that you posted a rant that your parents acted on their own will instead of yours.

Your parents are grown and pay 2/3 of the family plan. Relax man. You don't have to control everything. It'll be alright!
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
Originally posted by: So
Originally posted by: effowe
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.

Yes, we should all let our family members make poor decisions and not be concerned about it at all.

no, but you can't babysit them all the time.
 

apac

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2003
6,212
0
71
Originally posted by: NSFW
Originally posted by: apac
Originally posted by: effowe
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.

You realize that I am 23, live on my own, have a bachelors degree and an engineering job, and pay 1/3 of the family plan, correct?

And that you posted a rant that your parents acted on their own will instead of yours.

Your parents are grown and pay 2/3 of the family plan. Relax man. You don't have to control everything. It'll be alright!

You have to admit that it is frustrating when you have their best interests in mind and they still decide to make their own, silly decisions, yes?
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
1,049
126
I choose the phone for my parents... they comment on the negatives such as the screen being too small (prior to their RAZR it was pretty small) but for free, I'm not sure you can get better (at that time). They never want to pay anything if there are phones for free... the most frustrating thing is they always expect more and more. If I had let them get their own, it would surely have been a bigger mess.
 

So

Lifer
Jul 2, 2001
25,923
17
81
Originally posted by: pontifex
Originally posted by: So
Originally posted by: effowe
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.

Yes, we should all let our family members make poor decisions and not be concerned about it at all.

no, but you can't babysit them all the time.

Who said you could?
 

wota

Member
Nov 25, 2008
105
0
0
Originally posted by: effowe
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.

yeah, it's cool let tech unsaavy parents make poor purchasing decisions that will comeback to bite them in the butt.
concern for your parents, oh noes the horror.

to me it sounded like the op's rant was "doh, my parents are buying crappy products that break or are defective" not "doh, my parents are spending money without my permission"
 

rudeguy

Lifer
Dec 27, 2001
47,351
14
61
Originally posted by: apac

You have to admit that it is frustrating when you have their best interests in mind and they still decide to make their own, silly decisions, yes?

Absolutely! But then again...your parents were probably proud of themselves for being able to upgrade their phones on their own. They probably don't need top of the line phones. Having sold cell phones for almost 10 years, I can tell you that older people generally like lower end phones. The things that are important to them (loud ringer, large font, ease of use) probably aren't as important to you.

While I am sure your parents are grateful for your help, it sounds like they are capable of making decisions on their own. The flip phone that your mom got upgraded to might have been an in-store promo, so that's why it wasn't on the website. The guys don't make much money on upgrades, so they probably put her into a basic phone that they have had good luck with.

Don't let something like this get you worked up. Is there anywhere near you that sells cookies? It sounds like you could really use a cookie.
 

Wheezer

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 1999
6,731
1
81
Originally posted by: apac
Originally posted by: effowe
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.

You realize that I am 23, live on my own, have a bachelors degree and an engineering job, and pay 1/3 of the family plan, correct?

well la-dee-freakin-da!..who gives a fuck about your stature, your degree or where you live.

apparently you are not all that great if you went with T-mobile in the first place......they suck.....you would be better off going with Tracfone.

The problem with you, is that your parents made a call without your input....let them....after raising such a pompous ass like yourself they deserve it.
 

pstylesss

Platinum Member
Mar 21, 2007
2,914
0
0
Originally posted by: apac
Originally posted by: NSFW
Originally posted by: apac
Originally posted by: effowe
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.

You realize that I am 23, live on my own, have a bachelors degree and an engineering job, and pay 1/3 of the family plan, correct?

And that you posted a rant that your parents acted on their own will instead of yours.

Your parents are grown and pay 2/3 of the family plan. Relax man. You don't have to control everything. It'll be alright!

You have to admit that it is frustrating when you have their best interests in mind and they still decide to make their own, silly decisions, yes?

You mean... kinda like what you did the first 23 years of your life? :Q
 

apac

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2003
6,212
0
71
Originally posted by: NSFW
Originally posted by: apac

You have to admit that it is frustrating when you have their best interests in mind and they still decide to make their own, silly decisions, yes?

Absolutely! But then again...your parents were probably proud of themselves for being able to upgrade their phones on their own. They probably don't need top of the line phones. Having sold cell phones for almost 10 years, I can tell you that older people generally like lower end phones. The things that are important to them (loud ringer, large font, ease of use) probably aren't as important to you.

While I am sure your parents are grateful for your help, it sounds like they are capable of making decisions on their own. The flip phone that your mom got upgraded to might have been an in-store promo, so that's why it wasn't on the website. The guys don't make much money on upgrades, so they probably put her into a basic phone that they have had good luck with.

Don't let something like this get you worked up. Is there anywhere near you that sells cookies? It sounds like you could really use a cookie.

Perhaps I should have clarified. The phone I chose and recommended was free, and was the best I could find in durability, reception, call quality, and battery life. Nowadays the newest phones are far too complex, even for me. I'm not sure how their in-store promo could have beaten "free" :).

Either way, I was a little worked up, which is why I decided to post this and get it all out.
 

apac

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2003
6,212
0
71
Originally posted by: ZeroIQ
Originally posted by: apac
Originally posted by: NSFW
Originally posted by: apac
Originally posted by: effowe
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.

You realize that I am 23, live on my own, have a bachelors degree and an engineering job, and pay 1/3 of the family plan, correct?

And that you posted a rant that your parents acted on their own will instead of yours.

Your parents are grown and pay 2/3 of the family plan. Relax man. You don't have to control everything. It'll be alright!

You have to admit that it is frustrating when you have their best interests in mind and they still decide to make their own, silly decisions, yes?

You mean... kinda like what you did the first 23 years of your life? :Q

Haha absolutely! And I'm sure it was just as frustrating for them as it is for me now :).
 
Oct 27, 2007
17,009
5
0
Originally posted by: waggy
Originally posted by: apac
Originally posted by: effowe
Yeah, damn parents not spending their money how you want them to.

You realize that I am 23, live on my own, have a bachelors degree and an engineering job, and pay 1/3 of the family plan, correct?

so? what does that have to do wht how they spend their money?

He's doing his parents a favour, and he's obviously just blowing off steam because sometimes it feels like no matter how much you try to help people, they can still make things difficult for themselves and you. Why are you being an asshole to the OP who is trying to do something nice and venting his frustration when things don't go his way?
 

rudeguy

Lifer
Dec 27, 2001
47,351
14
61
Originally posted by: apac
Originally posted by: NSFW
Originally posted by: apac

You have to admit that it is frustrating when you have their best interests in mind and they still decide to make their own, silly decisions, yes?

Absolutely! But then again...your parents were probably proud of themselves for being able to upgrade their phones on their own. They probably don't need top of the line phones. Having sold cell phones for almost 10 years, I can tell you that older people generally like lower end phones. The things that are important to them (loud ringer, large font, ease of use) probably aren't as important to you.

While I am sure your parents are grateful for your help, it sounds like they are capable of making decisions on their own. The flip phone that your mom got upgraded to might have been an in-store promo, so that's why it wasn't on the website. The guys don't make much money on upgrades, so they probably put her into a basic phone that they have had good luck with.

Don't let something like this get you worked up. Is there anywhere near you that sells cookies? It sounds like you could really use a cookie.

Perhaps I should have clarified. The phone I chose and recommended was free, and was the best I could find in durability, reception, call quality, and battery life. Nowadays the newest phones are far too complex, even for me. I'm not sure how their in-store promo could have beaten "free" :).

Either way, I was a little worked up, which is why I decided to post this and get it all out.

What about the cookies?

I have yet to find a problem that a warm, freshly baked cookie couldn't fix.
 

ric1287

Diamond Member
Nov 29, 2005
4,845
0
0
I get this from everyone in my family. They beg me to give them advice on what to get, brand, price etc...then I visit them and find they bought some p.o.s. that most of the time I told them to stay away from. Why even ask for advice?
 

skyking

Lifer
Nov 21, 2001
22,764
5,928
146
Yeah, i feel for ya. sometimes parents will avoid bringing you into something because they "don't want to be a nuisance" to you. Most of the time that equals a hell of a lot more nuisance than if they had just called in the first place.:p:D