Saturday morning I ventured out to the local Verizon store. This was an interesting experience. I was first met by a greeter who asked what I needed. At first I just wanted to look at phones. Once I was sure what my replacement was I went to the counter that appeared to be processing purchases. I was informed I needed to put my name on a list to be served. It was like a list at a resteraunt, I have never experienced anything like this. While I waited I looked around. There was also a customer service line, a tech support line and then an ATM like device to pay your bill at. Once my name was called a started working with the sales person. I explained I lost my phone and wanted to get a new one. He informed me that since it had only been 11 months since I got the last phone I would have to pay full retail. My immediate comment was that "I am being punished for being a current customer." He smiled and took it in stride, obviously he had heard this before. He told me he could cut me a little bit of a deal, but it was still about $100 more than the standard price. As a bonus I now have a new 2 year contract.
We talked about the fact that Verizon has crippled the phone I got (Motorola E815) just like they did my previous one (Motorola V710) and all other bluetooth phones. As he was finishing ringing me up he mentioned that the Motorola was better than the LG since it was "less" crippled. At this point I asked if he would have told me I made a bad choice if I got the LG phone. He said no, he doesn't recommend one brand over the other. The funny thing was the customer standing next to me was buying an LG phone and quickly asked "is there something wrong with LG?" The two verizon people then quickly showed that they both have LG phones trying to clean up the mess I created.
I now have a new phone and a new 410 cell number. Anyone reading this please send me your numbers so I can program them in my new phone. Thanks.
Leave a comment