March 7, 2008 – 5:59 pm
Jd Rant Time.
Consider yourselves warned.
Here we go….
My five-year-old cell phone finally conked out–the display doesn’t work
anymore.
Keep in mind, I rarely use my cell phone. Unlike some people I see around
here who seem to have it glued to their ears or the palm of their hands, I
treat my cell phone as an emergency device, first and foremost, or a means
of contact for my employer.
I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on a new phone.
I went to my nearby Verizon store, and the salesman said I can use any
Verizon cell phone with my pricing plan. However, because I have an old,
antiquated pay-as-you-go account that isn’t even offered by Verizon anymore,
I’m not going to get a “deal.” I’ll have to pay full retail…or so said
the salesman. I countered by saying I already have a phone and am just
upgrading. He said it didn’t matter.
The cheapest phone he has for my pricing plan was $159.95.
The heck with that.
We also discussed pricing plans. There is a newer pay-as-you-go Verizon
plan called Inpulse. It offers me more tools and features than the old
plan, so I considered upgrading. I asked him if the money on my old
pay-as-you-go account could be transferred to the Inpulse plan. He said no.
I’d be starting from scratch, and that I should use up my balance before
upgrading.
I said the heck with that (to myself, not to the salesperson) and left.
I headed to Best Buy, just to see if there were any different phones. The
least expensive phone at Best Buy was the exact same phone that the Verizon
salesman showed me. Thinking that I’m screwed and about to get the shaft, a
Best Buy salesman came up to me. I told him the same exact things that I
told the Verizon salesman.
The Best Buy salesman, who could not have been more than 22 years old, said,
“Sir, don’t ever set foot in a Verizon store. I’ll get you the same phone,
I’ll get it connected to your pay-as-you-go account, and I’ll save you a
hundred dollars.”
He made a few calls, and within oh, maybe 15 minutes, I had the cell phone
connected to my pay-as-you-go account, with no problems. The cost: 60
bucks. Not 160 bucks, just 60.
I asked him a thousand questions about the phone, and he patiently and
courteously answered all of them, and more. I ended up spending about an
hour or so with him, and he was friendly, courteous, polite, helpful,
enthusiastic, and most importantly, patient.
I walked away impressed, with my faith in the younger generation restored.
The kids I work with don’t care about their jobs. This young man seemed to
be thoroughly loving every minute of it.
There’s more to this story. I called Verizon customer service to get help
with two features on the phone. While I was on the phone, I inquired about
the newer Inpulse pay-as-you-go plan, and asked why my balance can’t be
transferred over.
The girl on the phone said, “Of course it can! I can do it for you right
now in less than two minutes.”
I said, “Why did the Verizon salesman say I couldn’t?” She said, “Well, I
shouldn’t criticize fellow employees, so let’s just say he was misinformed.”
I asked her what features and tools are available with the new pay-as-you-go
plan that are not available with the old one I have now. She rattled off
several.
She then said, “Since your old plan is no longer offered, once you switch to
Inpulse, you can’t go back. But you probably wouldn’t want to.”
I’ve been thinking about switching to the new plan anyway, so I said, “Let’s
do it.”
Now, with a new phone and a new payment plan, I’ve made a discovery.
I, Jack Danniel, new state-of-the-art cell phone user, am….sigh….get
ready to laugh….I’m addicted to ringtones!
Heh.
Now, when my boss calls me from work, my phone blasts out You’re a Mean One,
Mister Grinch.
(How a propos is that, eh?)
But the moral of the story is this: If you’re a salesman, don’t mess with a
Jersey boy.
Jd
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