Andy Rankin

I could make this a long story but I’ll try to keep it short. It starts off with me buying something from Verizon Wireless so you can guess where this is going.

I’m finally ready to give up on my Treo 700p. I’ve been using a Treo for years now. It seemed so cool years ago but now it feels like I’m carrying around a semi-functional brick (that’s the topic for another blog post someday). So, I decided to give the BlackBerry Pearl a try.

I decided to make the purchase online (it was 11pm on Thursday when I made this decision). It showed I was due for my “new every two” discount and they also had an online special going - so the phone would only cost me about $100. Good deal (except for selling my soul to them for another two years)!

When I got back to the office yesterday after the New Year’s break my new phone was here. I installed the battery and got started with it. I quickly discovered that either the unit was busted or I didn’t know how to use a trackball. I confirmed that I do in fact know how to use a trackball and therefore the unit must be busted.

Okay, the story is getting too long, here is the punch line. While on the phone with Verizon doing the exchange, waiting for some computer stuff to happen, I make small talk with the rep and ask if they ever have a chance to suggest improvements to their processes. She says yes. I suggest that they somehow work out a deal with their retail stores so defective online orders can be exchanged at a physical location instead of waiting for replacement phones to go back and forth in the mail. Her response, “that’s never going to happen - that’s a policy that will never change.” Of course, she’s right and I knew she was right before I even made the suggestion - but why not humor me? Why not say, “hey, that’s a great idea - I’ll mention it the next time I talk to my boss.”

Update: So after my complaining the replacement phone actually came today - so that was pretty fast service. Another “plus” is that they’ve stopped offering online activation (at least they didn’t with this phone) - which is good because the 7-9 times I’ve tried to activate phones online over the years have never worked.