Evan Schuman's StorefrontBacktalk

This story is about Wal-Mart and mobile and privacy issues. Well, it really isn’t, but it’s so stunningly perplexing that we can’t resist sharing it. Earlier this month, a man walked into a Tennessee Wal-Mart asking for help with repairs for a mobile phone he had purchased at the store. The associate quickly worked on the phone and was able to complete the repair–the phone had been locked. But when the screen returned, it featured a topless woman.

The story then moves into its baffling mode, according to details from The Daily Times. The customer became agitated about the image, so he “demanded that the cell phone be destroyed.” No explanation for why he didn’t just grab the phone, thank the associate for the repairs and go. The associate then, for no discernible reason, “complied with the man’s request by hitting the cell phone repeatedly with a hammer until it was in several pieces. The man was given a replacement phone and then left the store.” The customer left the store, only to return shortly with a bottle of something the story dubbed “tobacco spit,” which the customer poured over five for-sale laptops. Honestly, there’s just no pleasing some people.