New kit in the offing

I'm now out of the cooling-off period for that Vodafone-to-BT mobile phone service switch, and the rewards are coming. On or after the 8th August, I can claim my prepaid credit card, with £65 to spend on whatever I wish. And BT have told me that their major reward  - a JBL Flip 4 bluetooth speaker, 'worth £119' - has left their warehouse and is going to be delivered shortly. Delivery details to follow.

Why am I not jumping with joy?

I suppose it's because I feel bought. It feels as if I've taken part in a game that has somehow undermined my personal integrity, or is at least alien to how I really want to do things.

These 'gifts' were all inducements to make me desert Vodafone and come across to BT. And although I can tell myself that it was a very good deal, and that no person of any sense would have ignored it, I still feel that I sold my customer loyalty cheaply. After all, BT's bait was worth only £184 (that's £119 plus £65). And that's the retail value to me: the true cost to BT would be much less.

Thank goodness I had a proper reason for moving to BT, which was to get a better mobile phone service. And I did get that: BT connected me with hardly a blip while on holiday, whether on breezy East Anglian shorelines, or deep in East Anglian forests. I would probably have had a weaker or patchier connection if I'd stayed with Vodafone - although in all honesty, not that much weaker or patchier. The difference has been enough, however, to make me feel that I've secured an ongoing benefit worth having, independently of any other consideration. I didn't merely react to a slick offer. That'll be some consolation when, six months from now, the speaker, and whatever other gadget I buy with that £65, are no longer new and shiny.

I'm uncomfortable playing the Switching Game, even if in this instance I've come out ahead. I'm not much looking forward to the next time I need to do it.

Well, the deed is done. I will make the best of it, and enjoy the new kit. At least I can see a definite use for the speaker, at home or in the caravan. Playing music (or listening to a catch-up radio programme) on my phone is something I do quite a lot of, but it's not a high-quality audio experience. Linking the phone to a speaker with bluetooth will greatly improve the sound output.

I still plan to buy a pair of bluetooth earbuds with that £65, although to get good ones I'll need to stump up as least as much again. (I've been doing a little preliminary research) While on holiday I got talking to a gardener in the Abbey Park in Bury St Edmunds, who was sporting a pair of medium-cost bluetooth earbuds he had purchased for very little on eBay. They looked good, and although he admitted they were a bit soft at the bass end, they did the job, and he was able to enjoy his favourite music while working. His taste seemed to lean heavily towards the heavy metal and thrash end of the spectrum. For lighter fare, he also liked Exit Eden (he played me Paparazzi) and Apocalyptica. We agreed that (a) he knew his bands; (b) his musical taste was far more evolved that mine; but (c) we were both lucky to have been around to witness and personally investigate every music genre that had had its moment in the past decades.

I prefer ear phones or earbuds to any speaker. First: I think you get a louder, clearer sound. Second: they are portable. Third: they are private - nobody knows what you're listening to, and you can enjoy The Moody Blues, Engelbert Humperdinck, ELO or Abba without odd looks coming your way. Fourth: you are not disturbing anyone with your dreadful noise. So I'd pop them in, even at home.