Okay, so Friday I was one of those geeks standing at the opening of the nearest AT&T store to get my iPhone. We waited in line…they came around and asked us to fill out a preliminary form, and to inquire as to which model we were interested in.

Around 9:40 after about 15 people had gone thru the store we were informed that they were out of stock. Apparently this store only had 30 iPhones in stock. And I swear the lady with the four little kids left with 5 of them.

It was quite annoying as the AT&T employees repeatedly refused to specify how many phones they had in stock. Even though they knew that they had twice as many people outside the door when they first opened. So we waited for a possible 10 o’clock UPS delivery which never came. The sales guy then offered people to sign up for a drop shipment to arrive in 2-10 days. Of course for many of us, including the guy from New Jersey standing in line, this was not the best store to drop ship too.

When someone asked when they might next expect a shipment. The salesperson stated 4pm. But then went on to say that they won’t be selling those until tomorrow. When asked why, he said because it’d be unfair to us – seeing as we stood (needlessly I might add) in line all morning. So I then asked, what if we stayed until 4pm. “No, we still won’t sell them until tomorrow.” So his answer was total balogne.

So a couple hours later I then went to another store nearby, this one happens to be on my way to & from work. And therefore much more convenient to drop ship to. Only to be told they’re not taking any more fulfillment orders.

So fast forward to Monday. I stop into a store nearby my work. They still have no iPhones. Ask about fulfillment but turns out I need my wife to be involved as well. Problem, I work in a different city than we live in. A couple hours later I then had my wife (with 1 yr old daughter in tow) go back to the store near us to do a fulfillment order. They tell her they’re no longer accepting fulfillment orders because the warehouse is backordered.

So then I talk to Apple customer service, waiting 15 minutes for a manager. The customer service rep was quite nice, but when she didn’t transfer the call properly.

[One week later]

I spend another morning in line again. I drove down from Pennsylvania to Maryland. And waited in line at the nearest Apple store to me.

The web site said they had availability of all models. Soon after opening they sold out of 8gb models. The rep said they should have enough 16gb models to go around. Then they ran out of the 16gb black. Now there were about 45 people to go. And soon they were going to be out of all iPhones. And I’d waited 2-3 hours in line again, this after driving an hour and traveling to another state.. Of course the reps are !@#$% restricted from telling you just how many they have.

I was so annoyed I went in and asked for a comment card. This was my fifth attempt. They asked why I hadn’t just ordered a fulfillment shipment. I explained I had tried twice at the local AT&T store. So one of the managers called the local store. And apparently….they’re a bunch of DUMB !@#$^% because they should have been doing the fulfillment. But apparently they misread a memo and weren’t doing them for a number of days.

So now I have a fulfillment order, finally. A week after when I should have. And an estimated 21 day wait. And about a day’s time lost.

I swear, if I ever get the opportunity to see Steve Jobs live. I am so pie-ing him.

*annoyed* is an under-statement.

***

Can we say five ***** for failure?

Apple should have just allowed ordering from their website like they used too. Or at the very least allowed you to order an iPhone and have it delivered to the nearest AT&T or Apple store.

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/os/open-moko-software.ars?rel