Your first mistake was walking into the Verizon store in the first place. As you found out, those places are a pit of quicksand. They'll suck you in and it's nearly impossible to get out. They're also the worst places to buy anything. Whether it's a new phone or tablet, or a charger cord or screen protector. You can ALWAYS find whatever you want way cheaper online. They'll charge you $15 for a screen protector you can get off ebay for $5 (and it's a pack of 3!). $50 for an Otterbox you can get off Amazon for $25. $80 for a Sandisk 32gb class 10 microSD card you can get for $21. And if you're buying a new phone, chances are you can find it for $50-100 cheaper if you just do 3 minutes of research online.
I've been in a Verizon store twice, for a combined 2.5-3 hours (to get warranty replacements). During that time, I tried to listen to everything that transpired with other customers, and I came to the conclusion that at least 95% of the people that go there are naive, or idiots, or they're naive idiots. People wait 30 minutes to have a problem solved that would have taken 30 seconds of googling. They buy what the reps tell them they should buy. And I can't speak for the store you went into, but the female reps at my local Verizon store are smoking hot, and smooth talkers to boot. One has to keep his wits about him. I'll have to disagree with Charlie in this regard: age definitely has something to do with it. A young, attractive female salesperson can have a serious influence on a prospective buyer. On my second visit, I witnessed such an associate talk a 50-60 year old man from buying an 8gb iPhone 5c into a 32gb iPhone 5s, because she "knew" what his daughter would want. I don't know if the sales reps get commission, but this woman certainly earned hers.
