Fradam

… or so one lady would have you believe.

As some would be aware, I was recently in the market for a new mobile phone. My beloved 6131’s calendar decided to stop working, which made it incredibly useful. My needs for a phone are exceedingly complex:

• must be able to send and receive texts
• must be able to make and receive calls
• must have working calendar

Apparently, Nokia doesn’t have many phones which are big enough for my ogre-sized thumbs and meet my stringent criteria though - just two. One newer model (6220) and one older model (6121). Armed with the knowledge that these phones could be secured for free by sticking with Vodafone, I decided to try and find it in a Vodafone store… little did I know, that phone stores do not actually carry phone stock; they exist to merely capture contact details so that they can order in the phone and call you back later. 3 of the 6 Vodafone stores I visited did exactly that - and none have called me so far!

My experience at the North Sydney store was an interesting one; this was whilst I was still investigating different phone models to see what I could get. With only one sales person (we’ll call him John) manning the store, I was told that the other customers would need to be served by John whilst I checked out phones. There were two people in the line after me; a young man who looked a bit out-of-sorts - we’ll call Fred, and a well-dressed business woman that we’ll call Felicity - she’s got her credit card out and looks like she just needs credit.

Fred: I must have the cheapest phone you have available!!!

John: Er.. okay.. here you go.

John rummages about under a counter and hands Fred a small box.
Fred: Thankyou!

Fred looks at the sealed box and tries valiantly to open it, to no avail, before looking plainitively around.
Felicity: Here, let me help.

Felicity takes the box and easily opens it with a single run of a well-manicured fingernail that was born to slice open plastic sealed mobile phone boxes.

Fred: Thankyou!!

John: What is your fixed address?

Fred: I only got into the country yesterday, I don’t have one yet .. that is why I need the phone, I need to call up some places today..

John: Well, I’m sorry Vodafone has just placed some new rules as of July this year, we can’t give out prepaid phones without proof of a fixed address.

Fred: But I don’t have one!

John: It’s the rules, sorry.

Felicity: Why don’t you put down my address instead… I’ve for proof of it.

John: I don’t know.. technically that is okay, but it’s not his address…

Felicity: It’ll help him get his phone, and I’m sure when he’s got his own address, he can update it!

John: Fine fine…

Fred bursts back into the store, just before Felicity can make her request.

Fred: Does anyone know how to get to York street in the city? I need to go near the Victoria building..

Felicity: Sure, first you head out this door…

Felicity proceeds to explain quite carefully where the train station is in relation to the store, what ticket he needs to purchase, how much it will cost, which platform to go onto, where he needs to get out, where he will come out, and exactly where he needs to walk. As Fred leavs, I tell Felicity how impressed I am with her; just her helpful attitude and all. Felicity purchases $50 worth of credit and is out of the store in under a minute. Not only did she wait patiently for her turn, she happily went out of her way to help this guy out.

Such an encouragement to see someone holding such a great attitude toward life and the people in it. I came away from the experience hoping that I would be able to spot such opportunities when they presented themselves.

Little did I know that at the Bondi Junction store, the very same conversation sparked up (over the requirement of a fixed address being required) between a customer who was in line before me, and the sales assistant. Feeling that no sign could be more pointed than this, I stepped forward, volunteering my own address to be used as a proxy, just as Felicity had done just a few days earlier.

Unfortunately, the sales assistant quickly rebuffed me - “We don’t allow that”, before fixing his attention firmly on the lady in question again. The customer became somewhat vexed during the conversation, having had an unfortunate experience during the day of having to return to this very store, 3 times during a single day, since the previous sales assistants had not fully explained all the requirements of a phone plan to her. As time wore onward, so did the pitch of her voice, and in the midst of a particularly painful trill, did the words “It’s easier to get a car than a phone” sprout forth, forever being etched in my memory as the state of vehicular and communicative purchasing standards at the moment. My sole contribution during this exchange was to attempt to calm the lady; no easy task given her day, but hopefully made it a touch more bearable.

Eventually everything ended on a positive note: she got a phone plan, Vodafone got a few more sales, and I got a shiny new phone. Woohoo