Facepalm

A facepalm is just that: when you smack your face with your palm because of disgust, despair, or frustration.

Now, normally, I love AT&T customer service.  I have always had pretty good results from them and they have been kind, courteous, and knowledgeable.  I realize I might be in the minority with that, but so be it.

We upgraded phones for Katie back in November.  We thought it would be OK, but it’s not a great phone.  She didn’t like it, and after playing with it a bit, I didn’t either.  Of course, it was too late to take it back, they never give you an exchange period longer than the learning curve, so we felt like we were stuck.  Then another friend upgraded from the original iPhone to the new 3Gs and offered to sell us the old iPhone at a price we could get for Katie’s phone on Craigslist.

They told me on the phone that for Katie’s iPhone to work we would have to have a sim card that had never been in another phone.  I confirmed this when the iPhone arrived by trying Katie’s current sim card in the iPhone.  It would only let us make an emergency call.   Off to the AT&T store down in Cool Springs where we picked up her sim card.  Took it back home and activated the phone in iTunes.  Now for the dilemma: Katie’s contacts were all on her old phone.  I had been warned about the sim card and tested it myself, so I was worried about how to transfer.  I tried pushing a few via bluetooth to my laptop then to the iPhone, but that was going to take forever.  I called customer service.

[Introductory conversation where they verify my identity]

Me: I have these three models of phone.  I’m trying to get the contacts from one phone to an iPhone.  I don’t have a PC.  I was told the sim card needed to be brand new in the iPhone. Will any of them sync to a Mac?

AT&T: Hmmm, no.  Have you tried sending them via bluetooth?

Me: Can you send more than one at a time?

AT&T: No, I don’t think you can.

Me: I guess I could borrow a friend’s PC, synch up the contacts, export it as a CSV, then import it to the Mac, import it into Address Book and sync that way.

[this goes on for a few minutes, exchanging ideas, brainstorming.  Then,]

AT&T: You know, as a last resort, you could take the sim card in the iPhone, put it in the old phone, copy the contacts, then put it back in the iPhone and go to Settings, Mail, and import from sim card.  I don’t know how well that will work…

Me: *facepalm* So, once I initialized the sim card in the iPhone, I can use it in other phones?

AT&T: Oh sure.  That shouldn’t be a problem, but I’d only do that if you can’t find a friend’s PC.

Me: Thank you.

3 minutes later, I had Katie’s contacts in her iPhone.  I know you can’t bat 1.000, and I’m not really complaining.  More sharing because it was funny.

Oh, and Katie loves her iPhone.