beware the blue bars.....

The next time you need a word for something large, huge, gigantic or massive, try this:

Monstramental - mahn-struh-'men-tuhl
1)highly significant
2)having extraordinary, often overwhelming, size
3)shockingly wrong or riduculous

What's the origin of this new word, you might ask? This is word was actually manufactured by my lovely bride the other day while explaining to me what could happen with our AT&T Wireless bill. Here's the semi-short story:

On November 10, 2004, I purchased two wireless phones on-line with AT&T Wireless. Not only did we want to move the bride's plan from Sprint, but we also wanted to add Meg onto our service as a surprise Christmas gift. (You might find this hard to believe, but until December 25, 2004, Meg was the ONLY 14-YEAR-OLD IN THE WORLD WITHOUT A CELL PHONE.) We had the phones delivered to the bride's parents' house to maintain secrecy. The bride's phone worked just fine, and we put Meg's phone back in hiding. About 10 days before Christmas, we decided to make sure Meg's phone was OK. On December 17, after fully charging the batter and doing all the things the manual said to do, we discovered that the screen was dead. Over the next two days, we talked with SEVENTEEN different customer service reps, and spent FOUR HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES on the phone before having everything fixed. Since then, we've had THREE MORE PHONES shipped to us. They're not doing this because they like us, but because their customer service process leaves alot to be desired. It's so bad, in fact, that my quiet, docile bride actually semi-screamed (not a full scream; she stayed in control) to someone who was around the 14th rep, "YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE STINKS!" The February issue of Consumer Reports ranks AT&T/Cingular at the bottom of almost every customer satisfaction survey. We know this firsthand, now, and wished we had known it two months ago.

So unless you like monstramental screw-ups with your wireless service, I'd stay away from AT&T Wireless/Cingular, at least until these merger logistics are finalized. The deals may be great, and the plans may be desireable, but there's always a cost. And if a deal sounds too good to be true, well......