I managed to keep it functioning for a couple more months after my first disastrous visit to the Verizon store. I was really intimidated by their sales staff that day and did not want to go back. Kind of like not wanting to go to the dentist.
When I walked into the Verizon store this time I was immediately greeted. I explained how my phone was dead. The greeter took one look at it and said, "I haven't seen one of these in years!" He confirmed the phone's defunct state and asked me to wait while he got someone to help me. In a few moments, he introduced me to Edgar, the young man who would be assisting me.
Now, Edgar didn't smile at all. And, that was OK, because he proceeded to ask me questions about how I used my phone, and what type of phone I liked. He showed me a couple of phones that I didn't like. From that information, he was able to understand what I wanted. (Of course, what I wanted was not even on display. I guess I just have antiquated taste in phones.)
He went to the back room to get some phones that he thought I would like. He was right, two of them were what I was looking for. I was able to question him about the features of each of the two phones. And, he was knowledgeable enough to answer and to lead me to a decision.
What a difference from my first experience! This time I had someone helping me to make a decision. He asked leading questions. He was able to figure out what I needed from my responses. He never talked down to me or acted like my questions were stupid.
Remember, sometimes you will get a confused customer. Sometimes they are just so overwhelmed from all the art that they just can't make a decision. You can help them make that decision.
So, now I can write the happy ending to my cell phone story. I have a new cell phone!