Lessons in Advetising and Customer Service

I made a visit to pick up a new cell phone today. You would think this to be a simple and trivial process. Wrong! The first store had one person working and he was having a difficult time. We waited twenty + minutes for him to finish with the people in front of us and when it was our turn, here come bad mullet hair and wants to step in. If that wasn't bad enough, they didn't have the free phone the advertised and I was in no mood to wait on a rebate.

We thanked him and left. Went to a store in another town and were told that they didn't have free phones without a plan, maybe one of our employers had a deal that would help. After finally getting access to the proper program, we were in luck, there was a free phone and for just $40 more a month, we could add another line. Not the $9.99 the advertised but 4 times that amount. I only need the phone for emergencies and I refuse to be used that way. My wife thanked the lady and we left.

Maybe I don't understand how the game is played. I am a simple person and if I am told I can add a line and it will cost XXX, that is what I expect. The old bait and switch is alive and well. It goes from the cell phone industry to the finance industry to the auto industry and I guess people accept it. I thinks it stinks and the American public should say no.