Wireless Access Bait and Switch?

I am in New York at back-to-back conferences. I've had a weird couple of days, Internet-wise. I've been able to get on the Net and usually to receive E-mails -- but not to send them. With more than a dozen messages stacked in my Outbox (including a couple or urgent ones), in desperation I went to Starbuck's at 75th & Broadway in Manhattan. Starbuck's boasts of its wireless access called t-Mobile Hotspots. A counter card offered 60 minutes for $6 or a 24-hour day pass for $9.99. I only needed to send and receive a day's worth of messages, and perhaps answer a few of them, so 60 minutes was ample. When I connected to t-Mobile however, the cheaper option was not on the menu. It was urgent for me to get on-line today, so I was ready to pay more for the service I didn't need. The crisis-level problem was that I could not get t-Mobile to take my credit card and connect me. I went to Kinko's, used their high-speed cable connection at 10 cents a minute. The charge was $2.40. No atmosphere. No coffee at hand. But fast and hassle-free.