Don't tell Verizon

Well, I recently had to replace my cell phone when the keypad no longer worked. Erg!

I called the customer service line, and they told me it was likely a battery problem. Batteries are $40. So I called several stores to see if they had the batteries in stock. I ended up at Colorado Mills with a baby who was ready for his nap. He concentrated on stretching my bracelet until it broke, sending beads all over the floor. And I talked to the sales person who said even a new battery did not fix the problem.

He offered to order me a new handpiece, two-day delivery, at no cost to me. Of course when it was rung up, it did cost me $50 because my phone was no longer under warranty. So, what could I do?

Three days later, I got the phone (on FedEx's second delivery attempt). The sales guy had told me to bring the new phone in before sending back the old one. Maybe they could transfer the phone numbers. I went to a different store this time, with the kiddo on my hip.

When I handed the new and old phones to this sales guy, he gave me an annoyed look and asked where I got the phone. "It was ordered by another store's sales person." Not from the insurance company? "No." Did the sales person talk to you about liquid damage? "Liquid damage? No." Well, whoever ordered the new phone for you shouldn't have. He'll probably get in trouble. This white spot here indicates that the reason your old phone doesn't work is because of liquid damage. You should have had to buy a new phone or reconstructed phone...blah, blah, blah.

While he "blah'd," I wracked my brain for a time when I might have knocked over a water glass or dropped the phone in the sink or something. Nothing.

It wasn't until I talked to a friend who recently had to replace her phone under similar circumstances that it all became clear. She said she'd taken her broken phone in to the store, playing dumb, shortly after she saw her daughter (1 week younger than Zach) with the phone in her mouth!

So, maybe the second sales guy wasn't glowering at me, but at my darling drooling machine?