NEVER LOSE YOUR CELL PHONE
This week has been dominated by the loss and replacement of my cell phone. It was accidentally lost during a foray from the house and the process of getting a replacement is, I believe a Job-ian fete.
I discovered the phone missing on Monday morning…looked for it everywhere. As if to punctuate the matter, we also got a foot of snow on Monday and Tuesday. If it’s outside, well, it won’t surface until sometime around the Fourth of July.
I called my service provider, heretofore known as “The Company That Shall Not Be Named But Starts With a ‘V'”. When I called, the person said–no problem (that means there’s going to be a problem). He instructed me to head on down to Salt Lake to the TCTSNBNBSWAV store where the helpful staff would replace my phone at the early upgrade price.
Tuesday morning, in between snow storms, I hopped in the Dodge and ran the 18 wiper fluid-squirting miles down the canyon to the store. After having to “check in” at a kiosk (even though there were three people in the store), I explained my issue to the young woman at the counter. She told me that, well, we can get you a replacement phone but you’ll have to pay full retail price for it (about the GNP of France). “Oh no,” I smiled. “See, I qualify for the early upgrade.” (Well, at least the guy on the phone made it sound special).
She fiddled with the computer awhile while I browsed around. When I came back to the counter, the manager was there staring at the screen. Without looking at me he says, “Well, see, we can’t give you the early upgrade price here in the store. You’ll have to do that online.”
Huh?
“Yeah, see, we’re on a different system than they are at the corporate level so we can’t give you a phone or a decent price for it here. You’ll have to call them or go online.”
Again, huh? I already called the company, see, and they sent me down here. I passed four or five teams of sled dogs to get here. Now you’re telling me I have to drive back up the canyon at risk of life and limb without even the satisfaction of a new phone? Isn’t this the same company? Don’t you have walls of phones here? Does this make sense to you? (I said all of this calmly, mind you, but my thoughts were more of the tower and deer rifle variety).
“Sorry.”
So, I drove back to the office and called the company again. This time, a helpful woman got me fixed up in five minutes, which is all I wanted in the first place. My new phone arrived today and it has more features than any human could want in a device, including the ability to download video. Video on a one-inch screen? Dude, I turn 43 tomorrow…I can’t see anything smaller than a foot! Oh, and it also came without a holster, so I had to spring for one of those, too.
The moral of the story? Whatever you do, never lose your cell phone! And, if you work with people in any capacity, try to remember that most people are just trying to get what they need with a minimum amount of hassle. There is still such a thing as customer service!
