Verizon leaving the "all you can eat" data buffet

Verizon announced a couple days ago that starting July 7th, it will no longer offer unlimited data plans for new customers or customers upgrading to a smartphone from a less advanced "dumb-phone".  Rumors have it that prices will start at $30 for 2GB ($30 currently gets you unlimited data) which is actually $5 a month more than rival AT&T's 2GB offering. Those customers that already have unlimited data (like me) will be grandfathered in and allowed to keep their current plan.  Rumors also say that you will still be able to keep that unlimited plan even when upgrading to a newer phone at the end of your contract.  However I seriously doubt that can be true because AT&T irritated a lot of people upgrading from an iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 4 by getting rid of their unlimited data.

According to various statistics I've seen online, the average user uses less than 1GB a month, so for most people this change won't affect them.  "Power users" such as myself use much more than that.  I average about 5GB a month and back in December I used nearly 9GB of data! (all thanks to youtube videos keeping me occupied during the boring days spent with extended famliy around Christmas and the two days I was stuck in various airports around the country for hours on end thanks to snow storms).  While tiered data is excellent for the phone company, it's not so great for the average consumer whose data use is only going to increase in the coming years.

With apps such as youtube, netflix, and upcoming hulu apps, that 2GB limit suddenly doesn't seem that high.  4G speeds make the problem even worse.  Assuming an 8 megabit connection (which is actually rather conservative) from Verizon's new 4G LTE network, that 2GB of data will be exhausted in less than 5 hours.  Personally, I don't support caps at all on 4G PHONES (data cards however, should be capped) but I believe caps could successfully be used on 3G networks because they're getting to the point where they can't handle today's usage.  Sprint's data cards have a 3G limit but not a 4G limit (phones still have unlimited data).  I believe Verizon should do the same thing with phones, but makes tiers fall in line with what the vast majority of people use (to help keep those who abuse the system by constantly tethering at bay), say something like 3 or 4GB a month.

But for the time being, I'm quite happy with my Droid 2 Global and my unlimited data plan that certainly isn't going away anytime soon.

Running late for work

Today I had an interesting customer in the drive-thru.  It started yesterday when she ordered two Frappes (we can't call them Frappucinos because Starbucks copy-writes that) and we had to tell her to pull up while we finished making them.  It was only going to take about another 30 seconds or so, and most people understand the concept of "parking cars" as we call it.  We finished her frappes about 45 seconds after we parked her and when we went outside to give them to her, she was no where to be found!  $5 worth of coffee and she didn't even stick around to get them!

Today she came through again, and this time pulled up straight to the window and wanted the coffees she ordered 24 hours prior.  Again, we had to park her because two frappes take much more time to make than the two Cokes that were in line behind her.  She became VERY indignant and demanded to see my manager.  She told my manager that she was running late for work and couldn't wait for them.  Then she actually had the gall to say that she's an important executive and we should treat her as such.

Ok, if one minute makes THAT much of a difference, then why are you stopping at all?  Either leave the house a couple minutes earlier or don't stop to get some coffees in the drive-thru.  And what does being an executive have to do with anything?  In our eyes, the guy scrounging up change to get a coffee is just as important as the guy in the BMW ordering a Big Mac meal.

Since when did society get this horrible sense of entitlement?

Father's Day

Sorry about the long time since my last post, I've been very busy with work and my phone decided to take a dump on me so I've been back and forth with Verizon for the last few days getting that taken care of.

Tomorrow is Father's Day, the day we appreciate our overall underrated dads for everything they've done.  It's always intrigued me as to why our moms get much more appreciation than our dads.  Yes, I know, our moms carried us around as a parasite for 9 months and squeezed us out of a very tight body cavity one day, but our dads taught us a lot throughout our lives as well.  For the longest time (I'd say it started to change in the 70s and 80s) dads ruled the house and were looked up to.  Nowadays dads are portrayed as the incompetent, simplistic, stupid members of the family that the moms always have to clean up after.

I blame that stigma on the media.  Look at all of the popular sitcoms and TV shows of the last 10-15 years.  Everybody Loves Raymond, the King of Queens, Malcolm in the Middle, According to Jim, The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show... the one thing they all have in common is that the dad/husband is an idiot and his wife is always cleaning up after him.  It's not just TV shows either.  Most commercials are the same way, whether it's mom "tricking" dad into cooking dinner by buying charcoal for the grill or catching her husband in the act of staying up late playing Xbox with their son.

So for all you dads out there, happy Father's Day and don't hurt yourself trying to open the envelope with the card

To moonlight or not to moonlight

Today while I was literally scrubbing the bathroom floors at the McDonalds where I now work, I got a phone call from a number I have never seen before.  Not wanting to break any rules on my first day on the job, I let it ring and go straight to voicemail.  After work I checked the message and it was a phone call from Meijer saying they're doing interviews for part time afternoon positions.

As much as I'd like the extra income, I find myself in a bind.  Right now McDonalds is only giving me 20 hours a week which is half of what I'd like to be seeing.  Today was also my first day so once they see what I'm capable of, I'm sure I'll be getting more hours.  If I was to get a second job, I can't even be sure McDonalds would give me a full schedule only working mornings.  Plus my girlfriend isn't quite keen on the idea of not being able to see me as much.  I sympathize with her too because I'm driving back down to Florida for school in two months and I want to spend as much time with her as I possibly can.

And it's also entirely possible the extra cash from the Meijer job wouldn't even off-set my reduced availability at McDonalds and the gas I'd be burning to drive 15 miles through a construction zone during evening rush hour.  I could REALLY use that extra money though, but is it worth time at home with my family and my girlfriend whom I barely get to see as it is?

Decisions decisions...

My First post... about McDonalds Jobs

I've been thinking about writing a blog for years, and I'm now deciding to start one up, keeping a personal journal of sorts, with my thoughts about the world and how I interact with it.

Tomorrow I start my summer job at McDonalds in Taylor, MI.  I've worked at two other McDonalds before, one in Dearborn Heights and another one down at school in Daytona Beach, FL.  All of my friends give me a hard time about working at McDonalds saying that I need to get the hell out of fast food.  Personally, I see nothing wrong with it.  I came home from school for the summer near the end of May and put in applications for more than 150 different positions for everything from food service and retail, to warehouse work and janitorial positions.  I managed to get one, and only one phone call... from McDonalds.  With today's economy, especially in Southeast Michigan, I'm very fortunate to even have a job.  Everyone says McDonalds is an easy dead-end job, but they couldn't be more wrong.  It's very stressful and very fast paced.  I'd be willing to bet than the average Joe wouldn't be able to survive a month working at a busy restaurant.  You deal with everything from rude customers, to massive orders for 20 sandwiches or more, to out of control kids and bathroom disasters that would make even the most seasoned janitor cringe.  Despite the challenges, with the right crew and management team, the job can be VERY enjoyable.  Some of the best people I've met in my life I worked with at McDonalds and there are some customers I will never forget because of the profound impression they made on me.

Yes, I can say I'm looking forward to my new job and a paycheck