As recounted in my post from 8/20/2016,
In fact, I've come to learn in the course of this ordeal (as every dealing with Verizon is, am I right?) that my keyboard phone is kind of the unique missing link between the flip phone,
Anyway, when my old phone broke the day before I was to leave for a 2 1/2 week trip to the West Coast, I, in a combined state of anxious haste, Verizon store-induced confusion and rank orneriness bought a flip phone to replace it.
I immediately hated my new phone and was overcome with a gargantuan case of buyer's remorse.
But the next day I flew to Los Angeles and I really didn't know what to do about my awful phone anyway, except to complain about it.
In truth I think I was just too focused on my own personal pickle to see the pickle jar.
But then my daughter Claire informed me in a blog comment that there is a two-week window during which one can return a Verizon phone - the kid who sold me my flip phone neglected to tell me this - and my Facebook friend Susan advised me to cart myself back to the Verizon store, take a deep breath, and ask for what I wanted. It was thanks to those wise counselings that I finally saw the light: I was by no means condemned to live my life in flip-phone hell.
Except that now I was in Los Angeles on co-babysitting assignment with Tom. So when I tried to leave for the local Verizon store of course my 5-year-old grand daughter tagged after me crying out the little-kid battle cry: "Grammie! Where are you going?! Can I come?! I want to come!"
Naturally my instinctive reaction was that the Verizon store was no place for a child. But then Tom suggested that maybe my grand daughter wasn't to young to witness this paradigm of the workings of the world.
So I made my way with my granddaughter to the Manhattan Beach area Verizon store,
Then she said she'd just look it up and asked me for my phone number. After giving my record a thorough going-over my rep girl asked me if I had the box.
Do I look like I have the flippin' box?! I wanted to respond, but I just said no.
She then informed me that I could exchange the phone but that there would be a $35 restocking fee. I don't know whether the fee was because I didn't have the box or if it was just part of the standard juicing process.
1. Why it was more cost effective to pay the $109.99 price of the phone in 24 monthly installments of $4.58 each than to pay the whole $109.99 upfront (she told me I'd have to pay an extra $10 if I paid for the phone upfront. Go figure), and 2. What these mysterious extra fees were that added up to another $41.15. |
And my grand daughter enjoyed playing with the box.