I'm GenX (47M) and OFTEN make fun of Boomers' tech support problems as my partner (45M) and I frequently help our Boomer parents, relatives, and co-workers sort-out basic consumer tech problems (e.g. smartphone, WiFi, computer, etc.).

A couple of days ago I tried to call my partner while I was picking him up from his work. I rarely call him because he has worked from home since the pandemic, but I was driving and couldn't text him.

Instead of getting his voicemail, I heard a message, 'This Verizon number is temporarily unavailable...'. We're on the same Verizon account and I pay the bills, so I knew there must be a problem. Eventually, I called him through Facebook messenger.

When we got home, I reset the network settings and rebooted both phones, but still received the same message. I eventually spent over an hour with Verizon tech support making sure my number was not blocked on his phone. The tech support agent advised that I should get a new SIM card at a store, but from his tone it sounded like he was stumped.

I set-up an appointment at the nearest Verizon store this weekend to get a new SIM card. The first store we were referred to on the Verizon website turned out to be a dealer that didn't provide free tech support. So, we made another appointment at a real Verizon store across town. The appointment was useless as we still waited an hour while the store was swamped with walk-in customers.

I told the store rep that tech support told us get a new SIM card. The rep quickly installed a new SIM and I tried calling my partner again. Again the same Verizon message was received. The rep reset my partner's phone and reviewed the blocked numbers on both of our phones, but no solution.

Then after another reboot, the rep noticed that I was using favorites to dial my partner. She opened up my favorite listing and realized his work telephone numbers were in the favorites. Somehow my favorite quick dial was calling his work number. His work number had been forwarded to his cell phone, so my prior calls had worked. However, his work discontinued his directly office number recently which happened to also be with Verizon. My middled-aged eyes didn't notice the small text indicating his work number was being called.

The Verizon rep was polite, but was almost as shocked as me. I basically wasted hours of Verizon's time on the phone at TWO stores and got a new SIM card to resolve what as me dialing the wrong the number.

TL;DR wasted hours of time with Verizon tech support and in-store reps to realize that I had programmed the wrong phone number in my iPhone favorites.