Instant gratification
I went down to a local AT&T store this morning a little after 10. I counted about 30 people on line and they were also coming in behind me. Shortly after I walked up, the man in front of me yelled out loudly and suddenly (tourrets came to mind), “Do they have more phones?!?” to no one in particular.
Two women at the head of the line turned and explained they did, but only the 8 gig models, and probably only enough for the first few people in the line. One of them said the AT&T employees were coming out every 30 mins or so to provide updates. The women said they’d been there since 7am. I figured I’d wait for the next update.
Five or six people dropped out of the line, including the random shouter who left with a grunt.
A few minutes later an employee came out to tell us they were down to just a couple of phones, but they may have just received a shipment (deliveries can be so confusing). He promised to come back and update us soon. In the meantime, he said, another local AT&T store had just run out, but the nearest Apple store had “tons,” but there were also several hundred people already on line.
At this point 7 or 8 more people dropped off the line....
It had only been about 20 minutes and I was doing email on my work-issued AT&T Blackberry, but began to theorize they may determine I’m a “current customer” even though my personal account is Sprint, and screw me out of the new customer pricing. I put the Blackberry away.
The friendly employee came back out and announced they were completely out of stock, but there were options! The store will get more phones on Saturday and Monday, so lining up again is one option. The Apple store is an option… and direct fulfillment is an option. All you have to do is set up your account, pay for the phone, and they guarantee delivery in 7-10 days.
Great option! Get all the paperwork out of the way and have the phone soon.
But waiting 7-10 days was not good enough for 20 or more whining jackasses who bailed. Status obsess much? Thanks for getting out of my way though – I was in and out within the next 30 minutes.
Comments
I waited a few hours down here in Georgia and bought the model I wanted. My wife encouraged not get on a line but she's not against the purchase. I heard a lot of similar stories to yours. By the time I arrived home we had no network troubles.
Posted by: Brian | July 12, 2008 08:18 PM
I can understand your problem.Doing wait is really a tough job, but some time we are left with no other option.
Posted by: bathroom vanities | July 14, 2008 12:59 AM
Ah, I hope you are enjoying your new buy, Brian! I can't wait to play with mine!!
Posted by: suzie | July 14, 2008 10:30 PM
Um, that is to say I can't wait to play with my iPhone. Heh.
Posted by: suzie | July 14, 2008 10:30 PM
BV - I am not a very patient person so waiting doesn't come naturally - but hopping off the line and running around to get the phone on "day 1" didn't make ANY sense!!
Posted by: suzie | July 14, 2008 10:31 PM