So in a bid to reclaim my sanity, I finally connected with The Phone Co-operative, who are a small, ethically run mobile phone service provider outside Oxford. I have to admit that when I first contacted them, I was put off by the apparently small scale of the business, compared to the warehouse-sized call centres of Orange or o2. On my first enquiry to the company, the line was engaged. On the second attempt I got an answer phone. I began to wonder if the Phone Co-Op's network was built with string and tin cans.
However my confidence was fully restored when I did finally engage with an employee. Helpful, knowledgeable, courteous and professional are not words I would normally use to describe the drones on the end of the phone at Orange, but these folks were; almost to their discredit (what kind of company treats their customers with respect these days?).
Within five days I had a new number, a new sim card and a recycled, de-branded, unlocked handset, which cost me £20 from recyclemymobile.com (complete with the previous owner's address book, a Mr Rizwan from Bolton, as far as I can make out). Yes it is a Nokia. Believe me, I searched all corners of the earth for a generic non-branded phone, but to the best of my knowledge, there is none. To compensate, I chose the cheapest, nastiest, most basic phone on the website; as a status symbol, this phone says I have the aspirations of a nomadic goat farmer. An object of pure utility, this is not something that draws admiring comments when left on the table of a pub, and when I walk past gangs of young hooded phone robbers on the street, they pay me no attention whatsoever.
If you have a mobile (who doesn't) and are fed up with impersonal service, endless call queues and stupid marketing gimmicks (Orange's call packages are now called squirrel and elk, I believe) then wriggle out of your contract and speak to the Phone Co-Operative. I'd keep your polyphonic colour screen walkman camera phone though, as this stone age brick ain't much fun.
21 Comments:
Glad you discovered the Phone Co-op. They're good people, and do land lines as well.
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Surely the Phone Co-op, regardless of who owns it and how, is a brand. A nice brand, an ethical brand, but nevertheless a brand. I would have thought that as well as giving them up you'd also stop pimping them.
Apart from that one minor niggle, well done.
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Matt
you are right, the Phone Co-op is a brand. From day one, I have admitted that this project is fraught with contradictions and impossibilities.
The withdrawl from mibile disconnection is far worse than living without the TV, I can tell you.
Neil;
I can sympathise with this, as I was for a short period, cut off from the entire world. I went on a world cruise back in Jan, and it was weird, not being able to pick up any telephone, mobile or internet signal. You (sometimes) got a small photocopied bit of daily news put in your cabin, but it was really eerie. You had only the 2000-or so people around you, and no contact with the outside world at all. (at least you can communicate with your co-workers et all.) We were all nervous wrecks after one particular bout of communication-black out lasting for nearly 5 days!!!
I have the same phone its only let
down is battery life, keep up the good work
PS If you go to a good Street Market you will find cheep non branded covers ect for your phone
Dana
I'm amazed that there were no statellite phones or broadband on board the ship.. what did you sail on, a Russian oil tanker?
I agree, the anxiety of being un-contactable is terrifying, and for me quite overwhelming. For the first week, I tried to remind myself that for twenty years of my life (75-95) I lived perfectly well without a mobile, but it was no use. The fear that I might be missing out on something, social, work, a bit of news, anything, was too terrible to bear. Pathetic isn't it?
Steven
glad I am in good company sir. Oops, are we bonding over a specific brand of phone here?
No Neil,
I was on a luxury ship; however there were both a) problems with the IT onboard, and b) aparently there are places in the ocean that is out of specific "footprints" of satelites, and you go into incommunicado mode, No television (except pre-recorded stuff) No emails, no bbc, no telephones, mobiles.. nothing. Just a floating island of people.
It's amazing how comfortable and daresay dependant you become on technology. Think back to the colonial days, where it could take several MONTHS before you heard from anyone.. :\
I’m one of those people “who doesn’t” have a mobile phone. Or maybe I should say, I’ve chosen not to live with one. I’m not anti-tech or anti them per se, I just found my life a lot easier, more peaceful and less stressful without one. A friend lent me one for three months, in part to try and encourage me to get one, because apparently it is a real pain for ‘everyone’, in that they cannot easily get hold of me. Also, I discovered that whenever I turned it of for extended periods of time (say half a day) people would leave “I’m annoyed with you” messages on the answer phone complaining that what was the point of me having one if I turned it of.
Now, I realise that life has shifted, that being available ‘right now’ via mobiles has radically transformed our everyday interactional habits, expectations and routines. For me, life goes on quite well without one ~ I manage to be a friend to all my friends (I hope), to keep up with shifts in plans/venues for meetings, to turn up late without phoning to say “I’m on my way”, and in general to know what’s going on. However, I also realise that other people have to configure their actions and expectations around my mobile free life.
Now you've done two dumbass things in your life: the initial addiction to brands, and the burning of the stuff. Really, you should have given it all to a charity shop and helped others instead of concentrating on yourself.
I'm branding you a wally.
p.s I only heard about you because you were in the local rag over in Japan! Doh! Don't get me wrong, it's admirable to limit your shopping sprees to merely food and the occasional 'Toilet Duck', but it's really not such a hard thing to do, and others have been living without tv/mobiles/, sometimes even refrigeration, for quite some time now.
There is one disturbing thing about what you are trying to achieve, and that's the fact that it appears to be an all-consuming occupation! Take a breather; relax; life has always been simple.
Hi there Neil
wot no updates!
Anyway I've been buying up all sorts of old 'style / culture' mags of late and I found an interesting article in THE FACE from 92 - the article is all about Otaku which I think is japanese slang for geek however in this article its all about japanese kids who spend their time surfing networks and sending faxes (remember this was pre proper internet) anyway there's a quote from the main guy chatting about the culture of the Otaku 15 years ago
'They should realise that we are the future - more comfortable with things than people. That's definitely the way we're headed as a society'
Anyway I just thought that was interesting seeing the way that people nowadays spend so much time developing online personalities (myspace, youtube, blogger etc).
You can have the mag when I'm done with if you want - good article.
Hello there,
Whilst I am disapointed at the burning of items that should have been recycled and reused, I think I understand what you are trying to achieve and applaud your eforts.
I do think it's a shame that so many negative commentors have taken time out of their days to point out the obvious - that almost everything is / can be viewed as a brand.
At least you've made a few more people think a little about what we buy / consume and why.
Best wishes, Ecomonkey
ecomonkey.blogspot.com
p.s. I think recyclemymobile.com should read recyclemymobile.co.uk
Grumblemouse
yes I'd love to see that piece... what edition is it... i'll dig it out from somewhere.
We never met met up after the bonfire, fancy a drink soon?
Ecomonkey
thanks for the comment. The one positive thing you can say about all the negative posts on this site is that the project has effected people to the point that they are moved to sit down and write (sometimes very long) letters on the subject.
Well, that's what I tell myself when I get the really poisonous ones.
As a general point, I really think this blog would look better with out the token clip art and stock images inserted willy nilly.
These kind of generic images don't make the blog easier to read - they just make it look cheap. We all know what tin cans and a mobile phone look like.
If the words are strong enough, you don't need cheap images to placate your readers.
Err, OK thanks for the advice. I guess you might be right.
Is that why you have that particularly classy image of Danni Minogue frolicking in black fishnet in the surf on your own page, DJ Meathead??
These kind of generic images don't make the blog easier to read - they just make it look cheap.
your own words dude.
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I don't have a mobile phone, TV,radio or microwave and I have a fantastic life. One way to get away from adverting hype is to live in the country. If we abandoned the need to impress others, we would probably be happier people. I read a lot and have a garden. We talk a lot and read stories aloud. I also knit. My information and news comes from the net so I am not left behind in that way. My car was manufactured in 1985 and still runs well. I refuse to get another one while this one serves my purposes. I do buy good clothes ... not flash ones but well-made and practical and I do like certain labels. I make all my husband's and my socks and jumpers as well as scarves etc. I wish I could sew then I would make all our clothes. It is amazing how peaceful and leisurely one's life can be, despite having a hectic professional life, if one decides to not buy into all the nonsense that surrounds us. I also refuse to allow work to encroach on the time I spend at home. This is not popular at work but I still maintain this balance. Learn to be truly happy by being who you are and not by being anyone's puppet. I really enjoyed your article that I read today. It made me think about my choices. I was not aware of how differently I behave until I wrote it all down. I never eat out either. That makes me sound so weird. I am not on a mission or anything it is just what I do. I am not regarded as strange as I do not evangalize a cause, it is just what has evolved. Buy a hammock and read in a perfumed garden... that is a way to a happy life. Reading Victorian era books also helps one escape the hustle and bustle of other people's expectations and demands too. Anyway, I really enjoyed your thoughts and your article got me thinking. I will try to get your book. Good luck with it and have fun!
Virginia Waldron
Cobden, Australia
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