maybe you should try a ethical rep? :shrug: an indirect? :shrug:
seriously none of you guys are telling me anything new. i hear about it all the time, and im surpsied at it as well. only thing u can do is find someone who knows what they are talking about and cares more about repeat customers than short term gains.
o wait… 
edit: also, to talk about vzw being a year behind is far from true nowadays. take a look at the current lineup and whats coming out in a month.
vzw’s (major) polices are no different than any other major carrier. you sign a contract for service, not for hardware. your phone breaks within that contract, thats up to you to take care of. thats the same as with ANY OTHER CARRIER. (warranty replacements are a different story). dont expect the phone that you just send into a puddle to still be under warranty. its not VZW’s warranty, its the MANUFACTURER. vzw just happens to be one of the only carrier that has in house tech’s (yes i know it doesnt help that most of the techs dont know their elbow from the ass). VZW is also the only one with any sort of New every 2 discount, everyone else (afaik) just gives you new customer pricing, and sometimes less (sprint anyone?)
sales reps at direct stores are under so much pressure to hit numbers its no wonder they dont care about you if you need something other than a new 5 line 3000 min plan with 20 acc.
i could be making at least $15k more a year at a direct store, but i like the enviroment and the attitude and relaxed atmospher of the inderect better. and hey guess what i can do EVERYTHING they can, only ive been doing it longer than most.
those that have sprint, try taking your broken phone after 13 months to a sprint store to get a new one, or even one at new customer pricing. it WONT happen. hell, you cingular folk try doing the same.
the ONLY reason you get your phone for free or for $50 is because of that contract. 2 years gets you more off than one year. next time you are at a store take a look at the retail price of the handset. (again warranty replacements are a diff story). we buy those phones for damn near the retail price.
my point is, VZW doesnt have any crazy out of wack policies that any of the other companies dont also have. and with free backup assistant, minute check, early upgrades and NE2, plus a top notch customer service PHONE department (read: not in retail locations) i think they are doing pretty well.