the random thoughts of a programmer

This past weekend I had the misfortune of needing to do some shopping for cell phone accessories. My quest was to purchase a Bluetooth headset, as I’m getting kind of tired of holding the phone (which effectively eliminates the possibility of doing anything useful, like typing).

Anyhow, my first thought is to go to the Verizon store since they hold my phone contract. Upon entering the store I’m greeted by a nice fellow who, after I tell him of what I seek, directs me to the wall with Bluetooth headsets. I’m told I’ll be helped as soon as possible. No need, I know what I want (a Motorola H700). So I grabbed the headset and tried to make my way to the checkout only to be snapped back by some form of locking device. That was highly irritating, but not to worry, I called back the friendly greeter and explained my predicament. “I know what I want, I want this one. Unlock it and sell it to me please”, says I. The reply I got was absolutely shocking, “Oh, I can’t do that, you’ll have to wait for a salesperson, I’m only here to make sure people don’t steal things.”

So perhaps I missed something, Verizon hires totally useless employees for the sole purpose of MONITORING PRODUCTS THAT ARE LOCKED IN THEIR SHELVES? WTF? About that time I walked out of the store. If Verizon would rather harass customers than push product I’ll be happy to take my business elsewhere.

I drove about a block up the street to the Cingular store. I was planning to stop in there anyhow to inquire about the cost of plans for the iPhone but now I also needed to purchase my Bluetooth headset. Talk about a radically different experience.

Upon walking into the Cingular store, which was every bit as busy as the Verizon store, I was greeted by a friendly salesperson who showed my over to the headsets. I told him what I wanted and he grabbed it from the unlocked shelf. After a brief detour on the way to the register to explain their data and voice plans he checks me out and I leave happy. The whole encounter lasted 5 minutes and I walked away satisfied.

In a few short months I’ll be moving my entire phone contract to Cingular. The moral of the story is customer service matters. Even if you are a cell phone company who has the leisure of locking people into 2-year plans, if your customer service sucks people will not be back no matter how good your network is. I know I sure won’t.