Cell Phone Snafu

The leash, the lifeline, and the prime source of attention and entertainment for many people around the world. Yes, the cell phone.

I got my first cell phone about five years ago. At first, it was just an amazing convenience. Slowly it started invading my life at an astonishing rate! Now I'm no phone junky, but my cell phone is literally my only phone, and is pretty much something I take everywhere....whether I mean to or not.

So last weekend, Brent's parents are having this pool party at their amazing house. The backyard of this house is PREMIER for entertaining. It has a pool, jacuzzi, cabana, fire pit, BBQ, and hidden speakers for surround sound music. At night, everything lights up in different colors, tiki candles are lit everywhere, and the fire pit is...well...firing.

Anyways, the sun was shining and it was the perfect day for a pool party. One of the main events that usually occur at there house is Pool-Volleyball.

Me, liking to stir up the pot a little bit, got the trash talk going with the "older folk" concerning the imminent pool volleyball domination that us younger folk were about to put down.

In preparation for the big game, I ripped off my shirt (to much audience approval), tossed my keys aside, and dove in! After doing a warmup lap I suddenly start feeling a tingle....no a buzzing....no.....a VIBRATING...from my cell phone! My first instinct is, "Ooooh! I have a call. I wonder who it is!" (This instinct lasted about half a second).

My second instinct was, "Oh shit! I'm in the POOL!" Apparently my first instincts aren't exactly the sharpest ones.

I wipped the phone out of my pocket as soon as possible. The screens were all dead, but the phone was vibrating uncontrollably. Hmm, probably not a good sign. I tried saving it by following the drying instructions I found on the net, but I made a few mistakes before reading the instructions (namely, trying to turn it back on while the phone was still wet) which rendered saving it impossible.

By the way, if anyone ever gets their phone wet, or submerged in water, Turn it off and remove the battery immediately. DO NOT TRY TO TURN IT ON UNTIL IT IS COMPLETELY DRY! That's the mistake I made. Anyways I trust all of you can look up the rest of the "phone save" instructions on your own.

Or you can finagle a BRAND NEW, practically free phone from the manufacturers like I did!

How did I do this you ask? A little bit of charm, a lotta bit of sympathy, and maybe a smidgen of luck.

So I walk into the Verizon Wireless store a couple days ago and go directly to customer service. There's a young girl working behind the counter. Immediately I look at her name tag and take notice of her name.

Me: "Hi Adriana, how's your day going?"
Her: "Oh, pretty well. It's busy as usual"
Us: Blah blah blah...some small talk and banter.

Since I worked in customer service before, I know a few things that help get them on YOUR (the customer's) side. Being super friendly is number one! Then, establishing a simple rapport (the ensuing conversation), and using the persons name to establish a sense of familiarity.

Now she was ready to help me!

Me: "Well I was at a friends party this weekend, and I'm not really sure what happened, but I think my phone may have gotten a little wet. Now it doesn't seem to work."

Ok ok...so I didn't tell her the ENTIRE truth about jumping into the pool, but I wanted to save myself from looking like a complete idiot. Fair enough, right?

Her: "Hmmmm, well I'm looking at your account and you don't have insurance do you?"
Me: "Unfortunately I don't" (I've never had it because I've never had to use it...until now [assuming I had it])

She then opened the battery compartment to look for the moisture indicator sticker. Someone at the party removed it for me apparently thinking not having the sticker would help...wrong!

Her: "Well the sticker is missing and unfortunately that voids the manufacturer's warranty"

So here I am with a double whammy. Not only do I not have insurance, but my manufacturer's guarantee is gone! Time to up my game.

Me: "Darn. Well Adriana, is there anything I can do? I feel so stupid for not taking proper care of my phone, but it looks like I made a $250 mistake eh?"
Her: (Looking at the computer screen thinking)
Me: "Do I have any options Adriana? Is there anything you might be able to do for me?"

This is where is gets good.

Her: "Well....I suppose I could we could pretend that you have the insurance and we could pretend that the moisture indicator sticker is still intact in which case you just have to pay the deductable for a new phone"
Me: "You'd be able to do that for me?"
Her: "Yea I think I can swing it"
Me: "Ahhhh! Thanks Adriana!! You're the BEST!"

So instead of shelling out over $250 for a new phone, I paid the $50 deductable under the insurance I don't have and got a brand new phone shipped to me!

Verizon is the best! I've always liked their customer service, but this girl seriously hooked me up!

So what's the moral of the story?

Moral 1: Don't jump into the swimming pool with a cell phone.
Moral 2: If your first instinct when it's vibrating is, "Oooh, I wonder who's calling?" Slap yourself, and get out of the pool!
Moral 3: Don't give up hope! You might be able to charm customer service into giving you a new phone even if you don't have insurance!

I'm back on the wire, so feel free to call me!