O2

Dear lord.
Dropped in from the US (yes, yes, start your flaming) and needed to pick up a prepaid SIM for data only.
Now, I am usually a very sweet traveler. I try to smile, and I don’t expect other cultures to smile back. I speak carefully as I can, and I try very hard not to have communication issues. When I travel, I understand at my core that I am a stranger in a strange land. The weird one. I GET it. I am more inclined to think that any rudeness is due to me, or my misinterpretation of the culture, than another party.
So… when I leave a conversation in another country wishing that the other party would accidentally shit themselves at work, I tend to think they REALLY WERE ruder than the average person.
Enter, then, the girl that assisted me at this counter.
As I’ve stated, I walked into O2 to acquire a prepaid SIM for a data plan. I’m pretty solid on smartphones — I know what bands the IEEE has dictated for WiFi use, I recognize the value of a world/​unlocked phone, I know the difference between GSM and CDMA. So all I did was asked for a prepaid data SIM. The lady directed me to a monthly bundle that was CLOSE to as much data as I wanted. Looked good. I went to make a purchase, and that’s where things got shitty.
Yes, lady. Just because you’ve never heard of the OnePlus One doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You don’t need to pull a face.
Yes, lady. It’s a micro SIM, and it is unlocked. Don’t roll your eyes.
«Will this plan attempt to bill me at the end of the month?» «This plan is a prepaid plan.» «Thank you. I’m wondering though, because some cell carriers will attempt to bill you at the end of the month for the next month. Will this plan attempt to do that?» «This is not a contract plan.» «Is that a yes or a no?» Look, cell carriers are shady. Just answer my fucking question.
By now, I’m mildly irritated. And I’m keeping it COMPLETELY out of my voice.
What’s that, your SIM tool isn’t working to remove the phone? «Do you guys have paper clips?» «This is the only SIM tool I have.» «…I asked if you have paper clips, not another SIM tool.» «This is the only SIM tool I have.» Are you a goddamn robot?
«Okay, just give me the SIM and I’ll figure out a way to put it in the phone later.»
She gets the order rung up, and I remember one last thing.
This is where
comes into play. Take a look under «content lock.» To summarize, most SIMs in the UK come with a content lock that may interfere with facebook, or IM apps (like groupme or something). Reading between the lines of the link, it looks like a whitelist (everything on the ‘net blocked unless specifically not blocked. May not be the case, but it looks a lot like it). You must have a UK credit card to remove it yourself, otherwise you need to ask a representative.
Now, my feeling was ‘better safe than sorry.’ It may be old information (3G era), but hey, I use google hangouts for EVERYTHING, and I gotta have it work, or the phone is useless to me in the UK, right?
Aaaand this is where the communication broke down. I asked her to remove the ‘whitelist.’ That was my mistake.
«What?»
“You know — you guys have a whitelist you’re using to block some websites. I’ve heard it can interfere with some IM apps.”
«I don’t understand, you mean the content lock?» She’s speaking louder now. Why is she speaking louder?
«Oh, yes, that. That’s what it’s called.»
«YOU MEAN UNBLOCK THE OVER-​18 SITES?» Loud as possible. The rest of the customers in the store turn to stare.
Thanks, bitch. Now I look like a fantastic pervert. Was «yes, that» not enough?
There are two reasons this is receiving two stars. The first is because I was dumb enough to use the term ‘whitelist’ instead of ‘content lock.’ I should have known a telecom representative was just a dumb kid with a retail job.
The second is that maybe she wasn’t a bitch. Maybe she was JUST THAT THICK as to not realize she was being rude. Hire better, O2. Hire better.
Also also — yes, I know that the OPO doesn’t support band 20, where most UK telecoms serve 4G. Funny thing, that.