I don't think I've ever truly "bricked" a iPhone, or got one to the point it CAN'T be put DFU mode and restored. Cydia tweaks made it sound like one wrong move could render your device permanently unusable, at most it was a inconvenience.
my point was that there was not "official" procedure to verify, I told him the story, he believed me, and went in the back and reset the password or something. They have the capability if they want to. He was a manager I think, and I didn't get to him through the reservations queue, I just walked up to the counter to find out if this was the place I should go, and after I asked my question he took an interest and solved the problem for me.