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Sunday, April 3, 2016

Ambushed at the Verizon Store

Yesterday morning, I hopped in my car and merrily made my way to the Verizon store near my parents' house.

That magical time had arrived, the one that only happens once every two years.

Phone upgrade time.

I had already purchased my Rifle Paper Co. phone case and tempered glass screen protector.

I was ready.

I beat my mom to the store and eagerly began doing business with the associate. He wasn't very friendly, but I chalked it up to him not being a morning person and didn't let it affect my jolly mood.

"Hi!" I waved when my mom finally walked in the door. "I already picked out my phone! Here is how the new plans work."

The associate had written down on a sheet of paper the new phone upgrade structure.

Basically, you now have a monthly payment for your phone rather than a single, one-time purchase fee in the beginning. To be frank, I think it's stupid and a rip-off compared to the old way, but who am I to argue with "The Nation's Largest and Most Reliable 4GLTE Network"?

"Oh, no," my mom replied, taking a look over the sheet. "Can't we just pay for the phone outright today?"

"Sure, but you're still going to see your monthly payments go up," the grumpy associate explained, going through the new plan structure once more.

Basically, it was sort of a lose-lose.

"Well. It seems like this is the time for you to get your own plan," my mom shrugged.

!!!

I stared at her in shock, sure she must have misspoken.
"MOM. What?" I said incredulously. "You're kicking me off the family plan?"

"You're twenty-six-years-old. It's time."

This is embarrassing to admit, but my eyes actually welled up with tears and I felt sick to my stomach.

"How much will it be?" I managed to squeak to the very unsympathetic associate.

"A hundred bucks."

"THAT IS SO MUCH MORE THAN I PAY NOW ON THE FAMILY PLAN!" Panic was setting in. I could hardly think straight. "I...I don't even know if I should do this phone upgrade now."

The associate raised his eyebrows at me and stopped working on the switchover, awaiting my next move.

"I mean...okay. Do it," I sighed.

And then, as he finished up my paperwork, I panicked about money and let feelings of betrayal fester in me. I was so upset.

I was being a total entitled millennial.

It was undoubtedly the worst phone upgrade experience of my young adult life.

And then, as I was driving away from the Verizon store, I realized what a complete jerk I had been.

Growing up is hard to do, sometimes.

It was nice of my parents to let me stay on their plan and pay them monthly payments for so long. And honestly, with the phone upgrade, I'm really not paying that much more per month than I would be if I had still stayed on the family plan.

Basically, I had been acting like a spoiled brat.

I called and apologized to my mom and that afternoon, we had a lovely time seeing our play and enjoyed a splendid dinner.

And now, I'm going to properly enjoy this new iPhone.

And stop whining already.

1 comment:

  1. Oh my, this is so funny Jenna! I didn't even know something like family plans existed, we have nothing of sorts here in Slovakia. And, honestly, I think your reaction is understandable - becoming a real adult is so hard sometimes! But in the end, paying your own invoices can be really empowering, you'll see :P Congrats on your new phone baby :)

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