I needed a new phone. I liked my phone, but it was becoming more and more erratic. I’d plug it in to recharge overnight, when it might be at 17% power, or so. Then, when I got up in the morning, it might be at 20% power. Or, 15% power. I’d assume that I’d just not pushed the charger end in adequately, and I’d try again, even though I’d been counting on its being fully charged, as I was headed outside to do some yard work and wanted to listen to a book. Some days, it would charge completely, and other days, not much at all.
Kevin and April and Peter came for Father’s Day (and a few days early, to work on that garage storage stuff). I talked to Kevin about the problem, and he said it sounded like I needed a new phone. And, his idea was that, when I brought Peter (who was staying with us for several days after Kevin and April went back to Fort Worth) back home, we could go to the Apple store.
April said why didn’t we just go to the AT&T store, right here in Waco. Kevin said that the Apple store was so wonderful and had so many interesting, exciting things to see, and, as long as I was coming up anyway, we might as well go there. That’s the plan we made.
Kevin called me a couple of days before I was bringing Peter home and said that the Apple store requires making an appointment to come in, and would that be all right, and I said “sure,” so he said he’d make the appointment. Then, when I took Peter back, Kevin said that, well, you can’t actually go into an Apple store unless you have a problem or need a repair, and, yes, we were going to have to go to the Fort Worth AT&T store to get the phone. And, yes, indeed, April was right. We did go to the Fort Worth AT&T store, where I got a new phone.
They didn’t have much of a variety of phone cases for my phone, so I didn’t get one there. When I got back to Waco, I stopped at Target, where I’d gotten the case for my previous phone, which was a lovely pink, and the case was clear on the back, so the lovely back showed. At Target, there was only one case labeled for my phone, and it was really unattractive. The next morning, I headed out to look other places. April had said that she’d sometimes gotten phone cases at Best Buy, so I tried there. They had lots and lots of phone cas
es, but I couldn’t find a single one that was labeled for my phone. I walked around, all bent over, because nothing was at my eye level, and, while there were several staff people there, no one seemed available to help me find what I needed. And, there was a guy doing some repairs, or maybe changing lightbulbs, on a scissor lift, and every time he had to move the lift, he was (I suppose) required to sound a warning beep, to let nearby folks know he was moving. It was a LOUD warning beep. And it was going off every three or four minutes. And I finally had to leave. Too much noise. Not enough employees to be able to help. No cases for my phone.
I left and went next door to an Office Depot store. It was much quieter there, and the employees were just as helpful as the ones at Best Buy. And, I couldn’t find any cases that were labeled for my phone. As I left the store, I thought that I should just go over to the Waco AT&T store, where I thought there were would at least be the same couple of cases that had been available at the Fort Worth store.
But, first, I needed to go to Wal-Mart, which was on the way. I had a variety of items on my list, and, before I headed to the grocery area, I walked past the electronics area at the back of the store and thought, maybe they have phone cases. And, of course they did. I went to one of the cases labeled “iPhone” and bent over to start looking. Before I had read the label of a single case, an employee was at my side. “Can I help,” she said. I said I needed a case for my phone, but I’d not been able to find one identified as being for my phone. And she said, “Oh, these cases here will work with your phone,” and she pointed to a whole row of cases that, while labeled for one kind of phone, would also work with mine. “Which one do you like?” I chose one of the several cases there.
I said, “Great, I like this one.” And she said, “Are you comfortable checking out back here (in that department)?” And I said, “Sure.” And in about three minutes we were done. I guess I’ve been selling Wal-Mart short when it comes to customer service.
She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
Proverbs 31: 18, 26 (New International Version)
Standing on your feet all day, trying to help a wide clientele of shoppers, knowing all the characteristics of all the products, staying happy, engaged, and informative, well, it just cannot be all that easy. I certainly hope it’s fulfilling.