Re: Sprint's LG G2: Official KitKat info - The Rumors, Conjecture and Hearsay thread.
The $36 re-stocking fee applies no matter what when you want to return a phone in the 14 day window. If the phone is activated or you take it our the box, the fee applies. No matter what. In theory the store manager could waive it, but it'd have to be a very out of the ordinary circumstance. The rep probably just didn't want a fight over the fee and went with 'oh, yeah, and update will fix that if you wait, otherwise pay up.' Plus they get knocked every time someone returns a phone, even if it's an exchange, and right now is not a good time to have you store look bad.
Sprint reps in any line of business never have advance knowledge of when an update is coming. We only find out the day it happens, rarely the day before. I didn't go into work today so there could be chance there is some news about it. if enough people report a certain issue then we can get told it's a known issue and it's being worked out, but that's about it.