The Trials and Tribulations of Looking Younger than Your Actual Age

I'm no stranger to dealing with surprised people who find out that I'm about 5-10 years older than I look. I'm pretty used to it, but every once in a while, it gets under my skin when people react strangely.

This afternoon, I walked into a Verizon Store to check out some new phones and I asked if I could look at the BlackBerry and the Palm Pre. Instead of cordially walking me over to the section with those on display, he reached behind his desk and gave me 2 phones that looked as if they'd been collecting dust for a few days. I was surprised by this, but took a quick look and asked him to tell me when I'm eligible for an upgrade. He asked for my phone # and my ID. (not sure why he needed my ID)

He then looked at my ID, looked up at me, looked at the ID and looked back up at me as if I had 3 heads. He had a look on his face as if he couldn't believe his eyes. I asked him what was wrong and he replied "You were born in 1981? I thought you were about 18 or 19 years old. I can't believe it."

Ya, Ya, thanks. Can I have my ID back now? It's no surprise that he thought I looked younger, but did he really have to look at me as if I'd just pulled a monkey out of my pocket? I mean, really! Not to mention, if he knew my real age, would I have received better customer service? Perhaps I would have received an actual sales pitch to buy a new phone rather than the lame attempt to reach into his desk for them?