Blue Tooth and Motorola

In February my cell phone contract was up with Rogers. I had been with Rogers since I got my first cell back in 99. They had treated me pretty well, although their billing system sucks and God forbid you make a change half-way through a billing period! A lot has changed in 10 year and this time I decided to check out the competition.

Fido seemed to be my best option, especially with no ‘system access fee’, whatever the hell that is. I thought I _was_ paying to use their system and yet here stands some sort of other fee that seemed to imply that if I didn’t pay it, I would have ‘access’. At $7 per month, that adds up over a year. So Fido has no such fee (nor a 911 ‘access fee’ either). During such times as these, it is wise to be price conscious so I chose to go with Fido for my next contract.  Oddly enough, Fido is owned by Rogers. They are what you would call ‘niche marketing’ line. They cater to a slightly different crowd but do overlap with their big brother company. I figured I saved at least $100 over a year going with them and that’s better in my pocket than theirs.

My old phone had a wired headset. While it served it’s purpose, it was rather cumbersome and got awkward at times while driving. So with the new phone, I decided I would get a Bluetooth headset. Besides being a way cool geek  accessory, it is also extremely convenient and has some neat features (such as allowing me to dial by number with
only the touch of one button on it). The headset is extremely lightweight, to the point that you don’t even notice it on your ear.  This H690 is a great headset if you are looking into one.

There is also a comfortable rubber piece that goes around the speaker part where it sits in your ear. This helps seal out exterior sound and provides stability to the headset so that it just doesn’t flop around on your ear. The downside is that the little rubber piece easily comes off. I’ve put it in my pocket and pulled out the headset without the rubber piece many times. The problem is that the last time I took it off, the rubber piece went missing. The speaker part is very harsh on my ear as it has some sharp edges and without the rubber piece, it flops around. I’ve managed to get around that by putting the clip part of it over my glasses arm so it at least is stable but pushing the button hurts like hell. So I go back to the store I bought it from because I can’t find the package that came with the ‘spare’ one. Guess what….they don’t sell it! What?! These stupid little things can get lost easily and they don’t sell them??  The rep said to try Motorola’s site. Ugh, that means using a credit card and all that crap. Not keep on that but after trying 4 other
stores in the mall, the website is my only choice.

So, off to http://www.motorola.com and see about getting this stupid little rubber piece. Oh look…an error message “This Content Component encountered an error”. Great, now what? By law I have to have a hands-free device and without the rubber part, my ear is getting sore.

I am extremely disappointed with Motorola and ANY cell phone retail store for not carrying these items. I mean, they can’t cost much and certainly don’t take up any significant room. Heck, the one rep said “We get asked for them all the time…” Umm, Hello!!! Business opportunity knocking! Well, I am certainly going to let Motorola know about this.  $70 for a piece of equipment that now causes me pain when I use it is not exactly ‘good customer relations’, not to mention a broken website. I will also point out this posting too and let them know that a LOT of people read my blog.

My message to Motorola:

“I am writing today to make a complain about necessary accessories for the H690 Bluetooth headset. A couple of days ago I lost the little rubber piece that fits over the speaker. I also could not find the spare. I went back to the store where I bought it and they don’t sell it, neither does any of the other 4 stores in the mall. The rep told me “I get asked for those all the time.”. How is it that an item in demand, albeit it small in cost, can’t be found. Especially something so small and easily popped off when placing the headset in a pocket for storage! I am severely disappointed because that $70 sitting on my ear is causing me pain because of sharp edges yet I am required by Ontario Law to have one while driving. How can I get the necessary piece so that I am not forced to return the product and try someone else’s headset (which means I’ll return my RAZR as well…).

BTW, I’ve written this into my blog, you can read all about it here: http://www.jadedtech.com/2009/05/22/blue-tooth-and-motorola/”

Tags: accessories, bluetooth, fido, headset, motolola, rogers