WHAT SHALL I SAY TO EILEEN?

Big decisions are coming up! My 2-year contract with Vodafone has expired and now I have to decide whether to have a Blackberry or stick to the bog-standard mobile phone which is functioning well enough at the moment. The occasional problems I have experienced can be put down to 'user error'.

But these telephone companies are clever. They never tell you when the contract expires - and you go on happily paying the bill each month when you could be saving money. My contract ended three months ago; I ring up Vodafone and ask for a new telephone and a new deal. Bingo. I can do that for £10 which is less than half what I have been paying - and would continue to pay unless I had called their sales office.

That's clever. They keep taking the money yet know all the time that you could have exactly the same service for far less - plus an upgraded telephone. But they keep quiet and rake in as much as they can until you make the first move.

Now that's what some people call good business practice. I would call it sharp practice. They should look at the data on all calls and texts you have made during the contract period, realise that you would benefit from a new telephone and a cheaper tariff and do something about it. That's what customer service means to me.

Now what about this Blackberry? Do I need one? Will I be persuaded by Eileen at the sales office to go for it? Clearly I will not use all the gadgets and facilities it has to offer but maybe I should go with the technology. Don't want to be seen in a railway carriage making a call on a piece of equipment that is 18 months out-of-date do I?

So I shall think about it carefully. It would be nice to show off with a new Blackberry Curve but I'm not sure. What shall I say when Eileen rings back? Watch this space.