Anyone else have horrible in store experiences?

No, just the opposite, I wanted to switch carriers from Verizon to T-Mobile last March of this year.  I was a 20 year plus customer of Verizon and I was not sure how to port my number and I wanted a new phone to boot with no activation fee.  So I went into a T-Mobile store picked at random, closest to me, and 30 minutes later I walked out with a new phone working better than my Verizon phone and an $18.00 / month cheaper plan with unlimited everything, plus hotspot data. 8 months later I'm still very happy with the plan and connectivity.   I guess I was fortunate to work with a very competent and honest young lady that switched me over and waived the activation fee.  I've found if you say you won't pay the activation they will waive it to get a good credit account on the books.  I hope you can get it sorted soon.  IMO, for value, Verizon is the worst of the big three carriers.  YMMV.