TUAW Video: Aspen Grove Apple Store on 3G Day

I didn't think that anyone who blogged, especially on Mac blogs, had grey hair. The world just got a little bigger for me.

I feel bad for the Apple employee who you almost called an AT&T employee...besides that, good stuff!

Folks in the Boulder, CO Apple store were awesome!
- Stood in line for about 2.5 hours (got in line at 3:30pm).
- Got the 3rd-to-last black 16GB that day (Friday)
- During the sales/activation process the woman helping me (who was great) got an error on her wireless checkout unit that said she had to call AT&T
- Long story short I & the apple rep spent another 2 hours trying to get the 16GB black phone up and running. The AT&T store is right across the street from the Apple store so it went like this after the error: she called AT&T, we walked over to the AT&T store, we went back to the Apple store, we went back to the AT&T store, we went back to the Apple store.
- The problem was that my account got activated on AT&T but the phone itself was in some kind of digital limbo in Apple's system so she couldn't finalize the transaction, nor could void it or start over or ANYTHING. Apparently this happened to several people that day (in addition to all the other problems reported in the news).
- By the time all that was over there were no more 16GB black phones left, so in the end she gave me an 8GB black phone and said to just come and exchange it when the get more 16GB phones in (which they didn't have today (Saturday)).

As for that 16GB phone that we tried to activate - it ended up in a big tub in the Apple store's back room with all the other phones that couldn't be activated. They all had to be shipped back to some central corporate location to be dealt with. I assume this is all because AT&T is really trying to prevent as many unlocked phones from getting out there as possible. To me, that seems like a lovely exercise in futility which will waste a lot of their money and not make much of a dent in the unlocked phone trade.

All in all, I chalk most of the hassle I had up to the price I pay for going out on day 1. However, I am appalled at how both Apple & AT&T corporate gave their people in the field no ability to solve problems "on the ground." Once that error happened (in THEIR system), the phone was useless - to me, to Apple and to AT&T. Why would you implement a corporate strategy that renders perfectly good inventory useless? Maybe because you're Apple and AT&T and you just care about your bottom line more than you care about your customers and field employees. Sad but true.

Once I had the activated 8GB phone, all has been well. It's my first iPhone (first Apple product, for that matter). There are certainly some glaring omissions from the software, but at least those can be remedied by updates and 3rd party apps.

If only I didn't live in Springs I could have an iPhone now instead of ordering one through AT&T, oh well :(

Nice hat and shirt Steve. I think we have the same tailor.

great vid! nice quality too, what camcorder to you have?

I'm sure I saw a dog in there. I'm taking my ridgeback in today. I'll use this video as evidence.

Mr. Sande sounds like Will Ferrell

MY LOCAL STORE!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!! Not too sure why but that just made my day :D
anywhoo i never really thought that there would be that many people there. Sadly enough I am in Arizona. And I have to wait to get an iPhone, but cool cool. Steve Sande you just became my favorite blogger.

What a bunch of losers! Make that pathetic losers.