Radioshack...What a joke!

[8mpg]

So I have to add my story...

I talked to RS on Monday...they were taking names for the list. The people were really nice about everything and took down names and phone numbers. They called me Monday night around 6pm to get the address and names of the phone numbers. Said dont worry...no need for lines tomorrow, we have you as number 5 on our list, you are good to go. Stop by Tuesday around 1:00 for your pin number.

Stop by around 12:50 after lunch...they havent had any luck and they were hammering their servers trying to get pin numbers. They could see other stores getting them, but they just couldnt get any. The guy said he will call me in just a bit when they get their preorders done. I go home thinking everything is cool.

I go to take a nap (I work nights in an ER) and wake up at 4:30pm to find out they never called. I call them and what do they say..."oh...we didnt get any of the preorders filled". Didnt bother to call and let anyone know. Hell, they only had 10 people on the list. So I ask how they will handle the ones they get in the store on launch day. They said it will happen one of two ways...

1. They get enough to fill all 10 preorders and they will call them to let them know they have them and are available for pick up.

2. They dont get enough and its a free for all...whoever is standing in line first gets them regardless of preorder.

Thanks for nothing Radio Shack.

I was able to scramble and get 2 ordered from Best Buy Mobile. They arent even on Best Buys website...they are in a mall and not many people seem to know about it. My sister has a friend that works there. She was there at 9:30 to reserve hers...no problem. Not a single person around to order one. Their store was supposed to get 30 or so. They had 12 reservations around 5:30pm when I got there. I called at 7:30pm because one of the Dr.s at work had to work all day and never got through on Apples website. The guy said he still had about 1/2 of them left. Im guessing tomorrow morning they will still have 8-10 reservations left

 

[JodyK]

You've got questions .... We've got answers! HAHAHA what a joke! Of course they never said "We have the right or correct answer!"

 

[mac jones]

Radio Shack?

Boy are you a glutton for abuse.

The stores are great for some things, but for something like this you might as well asked some random person on the street. At least they would tell you to try elsewhere.

 

[Andrew K.]

Going to Radio Shack is like going to your Grandparent's house to explain the internet.

 

[M-5]

Yeah, I always feel uncomfortable at Radio Shack. Their selection of electronics is embarrassing, and their staff really seems incompetent at the places I've gone too. I'd feel way more comfortable getting the iPhone at Walmart than going to Radio Shack, but they aren't doing pre-orders. All the times I've been to Radio Shack their store has been completely dead, and I just feel awkward inside the store and can't decide whether I want to leave quickly or pretend I'm somewhat interested in their products. It's a surprise to me that they're still operating.

 

[BiomaxDDS]

Pretty much the same thing happened to me today, ended up canceling with RS and ordered from AT&T

 

[RyanTheGeneral]

Wow. I was looking foward to getting the phone for free with trade as I need to save as much as I can. But now I'm almost sure I may want to rethink rs.

However I do have to say one thing good. I did go today to ask questions not knowing what to expect and like most people said here they had no clue what was going on. The nice thing though was the guy atleast told me straight out that they didn't know much they didn't inform them of anything and that he hates to do it but my best bet would go straight through apple or someplace where I would be guarenteed a pre order and info. He said I could come back if I wanted and give it a try but that he really didn't know what was going on.

I might just go through apple.

 

[jbro1999]

I got a pin number. They were really helpful at mine. Took over an hour and a half though to get through. They called me and told me I was all set.

 

[Sweetbike40]

I haven't even finished reading this and i had to comment. Radio Shack hires people who are clueless from my experiences too. They are lazy and know nothing about what they sell. It's a shame. I'm surprised they are still in business. Nothing to do with the iPhone...i'm talking in general. I'd never get the phone from them.

 

[AppleFreak89]

has anyone stopped to think it wasn't the employees fault?? you guys are real entitled.. maybe the employees got f****d to because everything was changed on them last minute....just saying.

 

[NJRonbo]

I don't believe it was the fault of the
employees at all.

The owner at the Shrewsbury NJ store
was exceptionally helpful to us. You can
see the frustration on his face as he was
getting on and off the phone with corporate
trying to find out why he could not get a
pin number for his customers.

I blame corporate for not clearly making
certain that the employees got their facts
straight about the preorder program. I
called 6 stores and every single one had
a different story from the previous.

I also blame corporate for devising a
pin system that was as unpredictable
as trying to order concert tickets through
Ticketmaster. How inane is it for all their
stores across the nation hitting one application
at the same time vying for a pin number?

I blame Apple for putting everyone through
crap yesterday both with their online preorders
and 3rd party retailers.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I knew better when I went in,

If you knew that old crusty punchline that RS AKA "The Shack" is why did you waste your time. Old craptastic companies are as capable of changing as old dogs. Unfortunately I do find myself in RS on occasion for an oddball adapter. The only people I see making big purchases are new immigrants that don't know "The Shacks" sordid past.

 

[siryak]

If you knew that old crusty punchline that RS AKA "The Shack" is why did you waste your time. Old craptastic companies are as capable of changing as old dogs. Unfortunately I do find myself in RS on occasion for an oddball adapter. The only people I see making big purchases are new immigrants that don't know "The Shacks" sordid past.

Lol because I really wanted to use their trade-in feature. I thought maybe I could get through it, but I couldn't.

has anyone stopped to think it wasn't the employees fault?? you guys are real entitled.. maybe the employees got f****d to because everything was changed on them last minute....just saying.

It was corporates fault that these employees were not educated. Although in my specific situation my rep happened to be rude on top of clueless.

 

[jglass38]

Just wanted to pass on my RS experience.

Since the AT&T/Apple servers were getting hammered I figured I would stop by my local RS and see what the deal was. It was 10AM and nobody was in the store. The manager took my name, phone # and address and told me he had a conference call but would call me in an hour and give me the scoop. Called and told me he would start putting in the pre-orders at 1PM but since Apple was only giving a limited number of iPhones to RS that he couldn't guarantee anything. Said he would call me back later and let me know the deal. He called me at 2PM and said he had a ton of problems with the system and mine was the only one he got entered and got a PIN # for. Said I should have it on the 24th but it may not come until the 25th. I want to get my hands on one but if RS doesn't come through then I will get it whenever it is back in stock at Apple. No big deal but worth a chance to not have to wait in line or spend 2 hours hitting refresh on my computer. Good luck to everyone that pre-ordered!

Jamie

 

[Blorzoga]

I reserved my iPhone 4 32GB at my local RadioShack after hours of unsuccessful Apple / AT&T site issues...

I called them this morning and the employee told me they were taking reservations at 10am. I go in, tell them I wanted to reserve the iPhone 4 32GB, the guy asks if I'm currently an AT&T customer... I said yes... he then asked if I was eligible for the $199 / $299 pricing, and I said yes... I guess the system was down so they wrote my information on a piece of paper...

The employee tells me I'm good to go, and that they'll call me on the 24th... I didn't get a receipt, deposit, or any kind of confirmation.... which is kinda sketchy.... but I asked what # I was in the queue for reservations, and he said #6, and that there is no reason why I shouldn't have an iPhone 4 on June 24th..... I hope he is right, or someone's getting a foot up the ass.

I wouldn't hold my breath. I went to radio shach at 1250 to sell my 3GS and pre order a new 32 g iphone4. After processing my trade in, for which I got a $247 radio shack gift card (even though their website says I should get $301, whatever) the guy tries to get a PIN for my iPhone reserve but by now it's been 10 minutes since the preordering window opened for RS, so he said it was too late, all the PINs are gone. So now I have a RS gift card and absolutely no idea if RS will have any phones on 6/24. The manager told me he has no idea how many if any he will get on launch day. I don't blame the RS people, they were just following a script; I think it's apple whose being less than forthcoming about what kind of stock they're going to commit to RS.

Meanwhile, I read a post that you could reserve one at an apple store by using the iPhone app. Fortunately I had my iPad with me, downloaded the app and within a couple minutes was able to reserve on for pickup at apple. So I'll wait until launch day and call radio shack. If they do get a shipment, which I doubt, I better be first on the list. If they don't have any, which I expect, then I'm off to apple. Anyone want to buy a radio shack gift card?

And please, don't post a reply about how I could have gotten a lot more on eBay or CL, i dont care, i just wanted to break even. With the flood of iPhones going out on those sites, as well as all the phones radio shack etc will be buying back, those high prices aren't going to hold up..they're already plummeting.