From the title of this blog, it might seem obvious what I do, but it’s a little more complicated than that. Almost none of the phones people bring to me are broken. The people are broken.
Almost every day, I have a guest (usually Consumer Cellular) come in with a problem on his or her phone. Usually, it’s not actually broken.
For example, today, a guest came in with her Doro flip phone, complaining that after she charges it, it turns off when she tries to call someone. She was pressing the red button (holding it down, actually) instead of the green button. She literally thought you used the red button to call someone. I had to explain “Green for go, red for stop.”
She then proceeded to ask me how to get to contacts, how to dial (repeatedly, and she only said red about four more times with me correcting her). Considering she was hard of hearing, I don’t know why she’s even using a phone that doesn’t go too loud.
I didn’t bother trying to explain the soft keys on her button.
The hardest part of my job is reassuring these people that they’re not idiots. They always say ‘I must seem so stupid to you.’ Well, yes, you do, but I can’t say that out loud.
From now on, I’ll vent my annoyance with these people on here. I will undoubtedly have plenty of material.