An Exercise in Futility

Did you ever go to the phone store with great expectations and excitement for what might be and get them all dashed to the ground and stomped on by a clerk??? Well, then, you know just how my daughter and I felt this morning.

She has decided to change her cell phone plan to our company, since hers doesn't work around here (and some places between here and where she lives and works), so off we went this morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed, to the Ver*zon store. The company she works for has an agreement with Veriz*n, giving her a discount, so the idea was to get a family plan with the three of us on it, and change her current cell number to the new phone.

We looked at all the models that were available, and she settled on something called the Alias 2. First, the clerk had to search 4 different places to see if they had that phone in stock. After 5-6 minutes and the help of another clerk, he finally found one. Then he set out on the computer to gather all the information he'd need. My daughter wanted to know what the discounts would be, both on the plan and the phone before she locked into anything. It is unfortunate that the only way the clerk can know that info is to input all our personal info into his computer first. I think they try to wear you down by making you stand there for a long time. They used to have stools to sit on (when it was Allt*l), but now they've removed them. Maybe they think if they keep you there for a long time you'll make a quick decision to buy without really looking at the plans.

Would you believe that the clerk had no idea how the phone opened up? The photos of the phone on the box showed it opening 2 different ways, depending on whether you were making a call or texting. He said "They must have changed that model.", without even asking anyone else how it worked. I picked it up and studied it; noticed an extra hinge on the top and discovered it would open sideways (horizontally) as well as vertically. In my eyes at that moment, the clerk was dead meat. How on earth can they employ someone who doesn't know how the phones work??? Especially someone whose appearance isn't exactly going to inspire confidence. He had to have been at least 45-50 and he wore a deep, bright purple shirt with a yellow, black and white tie. That wasn't too bad, but the thing was: he had a receding hairline and a long, lank graying ponytail - and I mean long - at least 2 and 1/2 feet hanging down his back. That, and a pot belly does not bespeak one who knows his business - especially when he so readily proves that by not being familiar with the merchandise.

If he had said....."Bear with me; I'm new at this." I would have been happy to. If he had said, "I need to ask someone else", I would have been patient. All he did was get up and walk off (2-3 times) without saying a word about why and where he was going. Is that any way to treat customers?

At that point, I went to a chair in the waiting area. A short time later, I saw my daughter with another clerk, and apparently she wasn't any more satisfying than the first one. We left. We just walked away without saying goodbye. We figured if he could do that - so could we.