Saturday, September 26, 2009

Meeting Benny?

Hey, guys, good afternoon. I have been sans mobile for the past two days. Nam Hoang, my wonderful friend, gave me his old mobile that he picked up in Ireland this summer when he studied drawing in Waterloo. The service provider is 3 Mobile, a very popular provider in the UK because it comes with skype and teh interwebs use. Well, yesterday, I took the phone to the 3 Store to get a UK SIM card to replace the Irish one. When the 3 employee put the new card in, the phone locked up and required a security code. I got in touch with Nam later that day, and he gave me what could be the right code, but he wasn't sure. Well, I went back this morning as they opened (10am), and we went through the whole SIM card routine again. The code didn't work. (Way to fail Nam!) So, I left 3 Mobile discouraged, thinking I was going to have to shell out 50 pounds for a mobile. But, I didn't give up. I went across the street to The Carphone Warehouse, and walked up to this employee, and we had a dialogue that went like this:
Employee: Yeah, what's up, mate?

Me: Um, I have this 3 mobile from Ireland with a new UK SIM card in it, and it's locked up on me. Is there anything you can do?

Employee: Oh. Right. Well, what you need to do is go see Benny's down the street. It's right after the post office.

Me: Benny's?

Employee: Benny's.

Me: Right. Ok. Thanks.

Employee: Cheers!

Cheers. So, I went on to Benny's, this little convenience/corner store and explained the situation. This guy (who may or may not have been Benny) said, "Yeah. I think I can do it. It'll be 12 pounds." He took my phone, hooked it up to a computer behind the counter, played with it for about five minutes, and handed the phone back--unlocked. I payed him and went on about my great day (which you should check out on my other blog, The Way He Travels). But, um, you know, I'm not entirely sure that Benny's was entirely on the up and up, you know?

5 comments:

  1. Yay for Carphone Warehouse -- and for Benny!

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  2. I'm not sure Benny's "business" is legit...

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  3. Legit or not, "Benny" got the job done.

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  4. Haha - You always find the most sketch places to do business. I just don't understand, but it's so funny!

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  5. Rhiannon, so true. And John, the sketch finds me!

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