Should a cell phone cost more than a wedding dress?

Of course not! Doesn't that sound absurd? I confess that I watch reality tv shows featuring women shopping for wedding dresses and think to myself, "Why would anyone spend that much for a wedding dress they are going to wear once?" I will also confess that what I paid for my wedding dress 4 years ago was an unbelievable bargain! My dress shown here was on clearance at David's Bridal for $125 and was perfect for my destination wedding.

But for illustration's sake, I had budgeted up to $500 and even considered renting a dress. But this post is not about wedding dresses its about customer service failure. Failure over and over again. Mostly by Verizon Wireless and once by FedEx. These are not mom and pop operations. These corporations take in billions of dollars every year from millions of Americans. You'd think they'd have customer service down to a science by now.

So my rant begins a few weeks ago on a Monday. My phone was stolen from my place of business. Not pleased but took the blame for being careless so I ordered another through Verizon's customer service. The process was surprisingly smooth and my replacement (same model) was to be overnighted. The next day when my replacement doesn't arrive I find out I had to accept a new 2 yr contract before my phone could be shipped. I would have done that immediately had I known. Now I had missed 3pm daily shipment and was told the phone would be shipped the following day. On Wed I got a confirmation that my phone was being shipped via FedEx and given a tracking #. I track it on Thurs afternoon hoping it will be waiting on me at home and FedEx website shows it never left Memphis hub. Huh? Thurs evening I call Verizon back and their agent calls FedEx and they promise I will have Fri. Track again on Fri and still in Memphis w/o any updates?! I call FedEx directly and FedEx assigns a "trace agent" and I'm asked to call back in an hour. Instead I call Verizon ask if I can go to local store and pickup the same model because I cannot go another day without a phone? Verizon's rep cancels the lost phone and orders it be returned to HQ, calls the location I specified to explain my situation, they say tell her they have one and are expecting me. I get there and no one there by name I was given (Chris). Verizon store employee speculates the customer service agent must have called authorized retailer in same town instead of corporate store. What? Why would she not have called the correct store and sent me to a non-corporate location? This store doesn't have my phone in stock. Now 4 days w/o a phone which is critical to running my business. I'm so fed up that I decide to buy the next comparable which is twice as expensive as the phone I was supposed to get. I call customer service to complain about runaround on Saturday and was told that the original lost phone is still lost and no Droid Pros within 100 miles of me because that model has been discontinued. Also told because I used my early upgrade to get the phone I bought in the store that I would have to return the phone I bought let them process the return before I can order the original again. Unless I want them to charge my account the full retail value of $399.99! Inconsistent and even false info at every turn. Everyone passes the buck I'm left holding the bag.

So I resigned to the fact that I have purchased a more expensive phone, and signed a new 2 year contract with Verizon after being victimized in the 1st place which caused this whole mess. I get the bill which I expected to reflect the equipment charge for my new phone which will cost me about $150 after my $50 rebate card arrives. And to add insult to injury there is the original charge for the phone FedEx lost still on my bill! C'mon! Really? Another phone call means I have to retell the story. Just makes steam come out of my ears again and reminds me how unhappy I am with Verizon. Seriously thinking its worth it to pay the early termination fee and move to another company.

I feel bad enough that I'm so dependent on this contraption or technology in general but its a necessary evil when you're running a business and need to answer emails and phone calls no matter where I am. But its not right to fleece your customer because you know you have them in by the ehem... cahones. It sickens me to think I paid more for a cell phone that is sure to get lost, stolen, damaged, or otherwise fail and need replacing in the next year or so than I paid for the dress I wore on what some call "the most special day in a woman's life". 

‘Hardest Working Small Biz Mom’

Saturdays are bring-your-kid-to-work-days at Gumdrop Swap Kids Boutique. It's part of the reason I started my own business almost two years ago. Setting my own hours, not having to lie about when I have to take time off for my child's illness, finally being praised for all my hard work were all the "freedoms" I thought I'd enjoy as an entrepreneur. Sure, there's a lot of fulfillment in working for yourself. But I now realize, I work more hours than I ever did in corporate America, it's going to be a while before I can pay myself, and I took employer-paid benefits for granted. Self-employment is NOT for the weak! You have to push forward every day with blind faith and determination.

As a new (unemployed) mom in the recession of 2009, I launched what I expected to be online national kid's clothing swap club. The interest from local parents to swap in person pushed me to open a retail location. I invested my personal savings. In a year, I've built a customer family on little more than word-of-mouth referrals.

I laugh as I write this. This is an entry to Verizon’s ‘Hardest Working Small Biz Mom’ Contest and I'm supposed to answer " how do you manage running your own business and your household?" If I'm honest and brief, I'd answer "Not very well." As I type, my 3 yr old daughter, Corinne, is yelling "Mommy!" because I'm not participating in her  impromptu Knock Knock joke. I just celebrated my first anniversary of my children's boutique, so maybe I'm being a little hard on myself? I get discouraged after a long day at work and I come home to a sink full of dishes or hampers of dirty clothes. No matter how hard I work in my business, it doesn't cancel out any mom/wife responsibilities. I "manage" because my customers tell me what a blessing my business is to them. That helps.