The $600 Root Beer Float

Earlier this year, I upgraded my wireless phone to a HTC Touch Pro. It was an order of magnitude improvement over the old Palm Treo. Not long after I had purchased it, Terri and I stopped at a favorite eatery for dinner on the way home after work.



When we left the restaurant, Terri topped off her drink for the drive home. Terri was drinking root beer. When we got in the car, Terri committed an irrational act by placing her cup of root beer in the cup holder between the two front seats. Everyone knows that cup holders in a car are intended to hold a person's cell phone, not beverages. As we left, I removed my cell phone and placed it in its proper spot, the cup holder. Since it was dark, I did not notice anything unusual.



A few hundred yards down the road, Terri reached for her root beer and took a swig. The first sign of a problem was when my cell phone bumped into her nose. She immediately let me know of the problem. I yanked my new HTC from it's carrying case and popped the battery out as I drove with my knees. After pulling into a nearby parking lot, I inspected the damage. It was bad. The entire phone was wet and appeared to have been fully immersed in the root beer. The red stickers on the battery and in the phone that signal liquid damage were both activated. Things were grim, but I still had hope.



When I arrived home, I carefully disassembled the phone as much as I could and gently used a blow dryer to dry all components. I then put it all together again and turned it on. No joy. Instead, the phone began to continually vibrate, and the camera flash came on and remained on. I turned everything off and conceded defeat.



I never purchase product protection insurance because I know the odds are against me. More often that not, the manufacturer is the only one who comes out ahead in that deal. But for some reason, I had bought the insurance for my new phone. One call to the insurance company and a new replacement phone was on its way. My cost, $50 versus $600 without insurance.



The insurance plan requires you to return the broken phone once you receive the replacement. Out of curiosity, I turned the root beer damaged phone on before mailing it in. It worked! The inside of the screen was root beer stained, but otherwise all functions seemed to be working.



Regardless, I felt fortunate that I replaced my phone for far less than retail price. I continue to work with Terri on the purpose of cup holders.