My phone’s been slowly loosing it’s umph over the past month or so. This afternoon it died completely and I decided it was time to get a new one. After work I headed off to a local Verizon dealer to take care of business. I’m not into fancy cell phones. In fact all I wanted was the same model I have. I don’t need a camera, email, web, blah blah blah. I really only want a phone that makes calls.
The dealer where I originally bought the phone was gone. I went to a newer place called United Telecom USA and was helped by a guy named Dean. That is after waiting for the seemingly drunk old man who was there before me to finish rambling on and on. Dean did the usual routine of checking my account and said, “OK sir, February 24, 2006.” I replied, “Um, excuse me?” He said, “That’s when you will be eligible to upgrade your phone.” I had no idea what that meant. After all, my phone is dead now. “So you mean I can’t buy a phone until February?!” At that point he explained Verizon’s odd concept of customer service.
You see, if you sign up for a two-year contract, not only can you not cancel without a hefty fee, you also have to pay full retail if you try to upgrade (or in my case, replace) your phone. This is the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard. So, in other words I’m penalized for being a customer in good standing but rewarded if I let my contract run out. I was furious. I apologized to the guys in the store. I knew this was not their fault. I was aware of Verizon’s lousy service from a while back when I dumped them as my home provider. However, up until now I hadn’t had any real problems with their wireless division.
Dean was kind enough to give me a replacement battery for free that he dug out of a box of returns. He suggested I call Verizon to see if I can work something out which I did when I got home. After a half-hour on the phone, I was right back where I started … with an iffy phone and no resolution, other than the suggestion of updating my phone’s software which should improve its ability to find service. The fact is that it’s more of a strain on the battery to search for service than actually talking on the phone.
If this doesn’t work than basically it would be cheaper for me to pay the $175 to get out of my contract than it would be to get a new phone. The Verizon rep also suggested that I go to a technician to see if they can sort out the source of the problem. While Dean and crew are not techs, they are nice guys so if I decide to stay with Verizon, I’ll very likely return to their shop to get a new phone when the time comes.
