The Cell Phone Fiasco

As the title so aptly suggests, there was a fiasco at the cell phone store yesterday. In an attempt to be proactive and non-dependent on my Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) I walked to the Softbank (one of the 3 big cellphone companies here in Japan) and, with prepared questions, intended to inquire about the proceedure and materials I would need to get a cell phone. I thought the store was empty and i felt the likely hood of making a fool out of myself would be really high if there were other people in the store. I trotted in and asked the bored-looking clerk if he spoke English. He mumbbled, a little and said "yes, but very little." So i said, "Yoshu, I speak very little japanese." I proceeded to sit down and go through my questions, props and hand gestures that i had prepared for this moment. Only then did i notice a Japanese woman and an American man peeking over the next stall. The Japanese woman offered to translate for me while she waited for her tech-savvy husband to pick out the features and settings for his new Iphone. But i digress.

I asked the clerk if i would be able to successfully purchase a phone with the materials i had, a temporary alien registration card, a hanko(name stamp), an electric bill with the date and my address, medical insurance card, and my bank account number and book. The man said yes, you will be able to get the phone with all of that. So i got comfortable and proceeded to pick out a phone, a plan, all the accessories and programs. We then start the paper work and pick a phone number. The clerk gets the phone out and is programming it, he puts the sd chip in with all the information, he even changes the language on the phone to english for me. This is when everything went to hell. He looks at his computer and says in english, you cant buy the phone, sorry. So naturally my curiosity takes over and I ask why. He says, "because you are a foreigner, you cannot purchase softbank phone, if you have a credit card you can." So I take out my Wells Fargo bank card and hand it over. He has to now put in all of the information again. so i need to take all of my paperwork again. Another 20 minutes go by and he says, "because you are a foreigner you cannot buy softbank unless you purchase the phone in cash, instead of paying over time." Well at this point im quite pissed, but composed on the outside. So i tell the man that i dont have the 60,000yen($600) on me. Still curious, I ask, "Why would you let me go through all of this if I wasnt able to purchase the phoneplan from the start?" The woman translating for me looked shocked and was helping me as much as she could. Eventually we found out that Softbank fears foreigners will get their phones for little to no cost and leave the country with a free phone. The clerk then says that he is sorry for the discrimination but there is nothing he do.

All in all, 1.5 hours were spent there for nothing. The woman and her husband left the store with me and did not know what to say other than that they were sorry they could not help. We exchanged info and went our separate ways.

Now today was my first work day at Todo High School in Uji City. I just barely made it to school and time and met with my supervisor. I told him the story of the softbank disaster and told him of my plans to try a different company after work. He suggested that we kill time by going into Uji city and getting a cellphone before lunch. I was excited to hear all of that. So i researched what i wanted from Au (the other cell phone company) and was prepared to kick ass and take names. We get there and spend the next hour and a half filling out paperwork, copying files and choosing plans for my new phone. After everthing was finished, the woman at the desk told us that they would need an hour to process the paperwork and to submit everything. My JTE and I did not have enough time to wait around because we had a teachers meeting in the near future. So as we speak/as i write to you and you read, my new cellphone is sitting on a desk where i cannot access it. I will go to the store and hopefully pick it up without any issues. we shall see though, we shall see. I trust no one.

wish me luck.
Gio