No One Likes It When You’re Pushy. Or Transparently Dishonest.

A day before a journey to a foreign country, my dad drops his phone and it doesn’t work anymore. I give him one of my old phones and I plan to go to a phone repair shop the next week. I already saw that his screen is broken (it’s not cracked), so it might just be a loose connection. The shop I visit has been in my town for over a decade, so it must be trustworthy. 

I am greeted by an older man who speaks little Dutch, but we manage to communicate. He calls someone, speaks to them in another language, and then gives me a (reasonable) quote. He asks me to go to the repair shop. I didn’t know it was separate, but it’s about 200 meters away and they can fix it within six to eight hours. Sounds great.

I go to the repair shop and I am greeted by a younger man. (He later introduces himself as the older man’s son.) He sees the phone and starts talking in the same language to his coworker. He does mention the brand of the phone a few times, so I know they are talking about the phone. He puts the phone on his workbench on some sort of plate. 

Man: “Miss, I can fix this phone for [slightly higher but still acceptable quote], but wouldn’t you rather have a whole new phone? I have this phone, which is the next gen, and it’s only 50 euros more.”

He shows me a phone out of its package, with a barcode sticker on the back and fingerprints and scratches all over it. I can see that even from the distance I’m standing away from him.

Me: “Oh, like a refurbished phone?”

Man: “No, no, this one is brand-new! It would be a lot better than changing the screen on this phone. I can do it — in thirty minutes, even — but I can’t guarantee that will make it as waterproof as before. This old phone is slow and already two years old.”

The coworker starts talking in their language again to the man who is helping me. I get a weird feeling, especially after seeing that banged-up “brand-new phone”.

Me: “Well, it’s actually my dad’s phone, so—”

Man: “Then he should definitely upgrade! This new phone here is very easy to use, and I can move any data from the old phone to the new one. You’d be doing good by not repairing this and just getting a brand-new phone for him.”

I’m feeling pressured, so I decide to trust my gut.

Me: “I’ll have to consult my father on this. Thank you.”

The man doesn’t move, speak, or anything.

Me: “May I please have the phone back?”

Man: “Why? Didn’t you want it repaired?”

Me: “Yes, but I need to talk to my dad about what he wants: a repair or a new one.”

The man hands me the phone.

Me: “Why is the phone so hot?”

Man: “Ah, it was on the heat plate, to ‘melt’ the glue. It will cool down soon.”

Me: “Sure, thanks. If my dad wants the upgrade, you’ll be seeing me again.”

I turn around, and immediately the two start talking in their language again, one slightly annoyed. When I am home, I call my dad.

Me: “Yeah, don’t go to that place. They tried to pressure me into buying a banged-up secondhand phone, out of the box, claiming it was brand-new. And I don’t know if they were talking about me, but my gut told me to get out of there. I’ll look for another store.”

I went to a phone repair shop that was recommended to me in the next town over. They looked at the phone, gave me a quote HALF the price, and told me they’d be done in about three hours. I did some shopping, had a drink at a cafe, and was called back half an hour later than estimated. When I got back, the shop owner showed me the broken screen (and what exactly was broken) and the now wonderfully working phone. The phone had even been charged.

Dad was very pleased when he came home from his vacation.