My Beef With Sprint

My cell phone broke. More specifically, the LCD screen is completely white with black squiggles so I can't see my friend's phone numbers, any text messages or the number I'm dialing. Annoying!

Part 1: Searching for a Repair Shop

On Thursday, I go to Sprint's website, find the closest repair shop to me and go out on my lunch hour to get my phone fixed. After driving around for my entire lunch hour, I determine the shop doesn't exist. Last night, I go to the second closest repair shop to me according to Sprint's website. I map it out, make it all the way there...and they've moved. They have a map on their door so I head to the next location. Surprise, surprise - they put the wrong map on the door. Apparently I spent an hour driving around the wrong side of Sawmill Road.

Part 2: The Manufacturer's Warranty

Completely peeved, I call customer service. The rep tells me the closest repair shop is in Grove City, which is about 40 minutes from me. My other option is to make an insurance claim and pay $50. I told her I didn't want to pay $50 to fix a phone I've only had for four months. "Oh!" she exclaims. "You're covered by the manufacturer's warranty. Just go to any Sprint store and swap it out."

I drive to the nearest Sprint store, where it turns out I AM covered by the manufacturer's warranty, but I'd have to mail my phone to directly to Samsung and I'd get it back in 3-4 weeks. That seems like an annoying option - and at this point, I'm about ready to cry - so she tells me there's a repair store at Easton open until 9 p.m. I drive 20 minutes to Easton and got there about an hour before it closed.

Part 3: The Repair Shop

The checkout guy examines my phone and says "Your LCD screen is cracked. Did you drop it?" I explain I was charging my phone and then went to use it and the screen was all messed up. "No...you must've dropped it. Do you keep it in your purse?" Obviously I do, because where the hell else are you supposed to keep your phone? "Well that's it - it must've broken in your purse."

He says it'll take 15-20 minutes to fix and that in 30 minutes I should go to the front of the store and tell the guy working there that I've come to pick up my phone. This doesn't make a lot of sense as someone would have to pass me in order to talk to the guy at the front of the store but apparently that's the process.

The store is filled with the most scary, ghetto people on earth - a couple of high school or college girls wearing track pants that said 'Apple Bottom' on the butt. What the hell does that even mean? They were flirting in an overly sexual manner with the gross checkout boys so I decide to go to Panera to get away from the insanity About 15 minutes later, I come back and sit down. The checkout guy says "Did you go tell the guy you're here to pick-up your phone?" I explained it hadn't been 30 minutes so I was just going to hang out. "No! Go tell him." So I did, and surprise, surprise, my phone isn't ready.

While I'm waiting, I ask the guy what car charger works with my phone. He gives me one and I buy it. The check-out guy rings me up, and throws the box and all the packaging away. Finally, the guy from the front of the store brings me my phone and explains that he's sorry, but they're going to have to replace it so I'll have to come back on Monday or Tuesday to pick it up.

Part 4: The Finale

He goes on to explain that they don't even carry parts for that model in the shop so the only way they can fix it is to replace it. At this point, I'm pissed. If they didn't carry that model, couldn't they have told me at the very beginning so I didn't have to wait 30 minutes? Don't they know what they can fix and what they can't?

I ask the dude this and he looks at me like I'm crazy. Then he says, "Well, we have to check for water damage." I'm going to show him water damage. (I don't really know what that means, but it felt good to type.) It would've even been better had they said, "We're going to have to replace it, but first we'll have to check it for water damage so we know if it's covered by your insurance."

To top it off, the charger they gave me doesn't fit my phone. I have no packaging, so I hope my receipt will be good enough. I hope I get the same model of phone back. Otherwise, I'm going to open up a can of whoop ass. And if my phone isn't red, I'm going to open up a second can of whoop ass. Argh.