Last Thursday, my trusty old cell phone finally bit the dust. I was at work when the phone became incredibly hot to the touch and shut itself off. No matter what I tried, it wouldn't turn back on. So, after work, I headed off to Verizon to finally upgrade to a new phone.
Now, I should preface all of this by saying that I've been doing research on new smartphones and was torn between canceling my account with Verizon after 14 years (was with Kansas Cellular, who became Alltel, who became Verizon) and signing a new two year contract. Part of me wanted to go with AT&T and get an iPhone, but the other part of me wanted to stay with Verizon to get a Droid. Well, I finally decided to re-up with Verizon and buy a cute little Droid.
So, back to my story...I walked in to the store, knowing pretty much what I wanted to buy, but was accosted by a salesguy, who I could immediately tell was full of himself and ready to do basically anything to sell me a phone. I kind of ignored him, but finally told him the exact phone I wanted to purchase. His eyes lit up because, of course, they work on commission and he was getting a heck of a sale.
As we walked to the computer to complete my sale, I asked him why the phone cost $100 more in the store than online. He told me that was just the way it was...and I told him he could either give me the same deal (I didn't want to mess with waiting for six-eight weeks to receive a rebate in the mail), or I'd walk and buy it online. He told me that was impossible, so I headed for the door. He quickly chased me down and told me he could "get permission" to give me the deal. Okay, no problem...right? Wrong.
After about 15 minutes of ringing up my new phone and waiting through me picking a case, he finally told me that the phone wasn't in stock and it would have to be shipped to me. Again, I told him I was walking because I didn't want to wait. He told me, "I will have it overnighted to you today so that it will be on your doorstep tomorrow by 1 pm. I PROMISE it will be there." I should have known he was a liar.
Friday morning came and went and, when I took a late lunch at 1 pm, I came home to find...no phone. Back at work, I received an email that indicated that my phone would arrive on Monday. Um, what? That wasn't what I was promised. I called the Verizon store manager and after a pretty long discussion (mostly one-sided), we reached an amicable solution, which includes some discounts for me. But I still had no phone...and wouldn't until Monday.
Monday finally rolls around and I met the FedEx truck at the end of my street on my lunch break. I was so excited because I knew he'd left my phone. Wrong! He left me a note that said I had to sign for the package, which meant I had to drive to the south side to pick up my phone...after 4 pm.
After work, I drive down to the south side and pick up my phone. I immediately head to the Verizon store to have my numbers and contacts transferred to my new phone...and encountered another semi-jackassish salesguy (not my original one, who, I have a hunch, may have gotten fired after what the manager told me), offered to help me. I dealt with his so-called humor for nearly an hour and finally set out for home, with my shiny new pink encased Droid in my hands.
This morning, I grabbed my car charger on the way out the door. I went to plug it in, once in the car, and discovered that they sent me the wrong charger. I began to wonder if this phone saga was ever going to end! After work, I went back to Verizon AGAIN, and, after waiting 20 minutes to be waited on, they gave me the new charger and told me good-bye. I have a hunch they were happy to see the last of me...I know that I don't want to see them again!
So, is this the phone saga that never ends? I guess we'll see. For now, everything seems to be great and I absolutely LOVE my phone (no regrets about not getting an iPhone)!
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