Apple vs AT&T: The customer is always wrong.
It looks like the super thread is starting to wind down as some of the more vocal participants start to finally get there iPhone 3G’s. Posts are still coming but not as fast and furious as even yesterday morning. I can’t help but think a large part of that is the shutting down of the screen scraper sites, such as www.wheresmydamniphone.com by ATT&T which I mentioned HERE. There just isn’t the available information about potential queues and amounts shipping that was available earlier.
There is a phone service ATT&T provides which lets you enter you order number via the keys on the phone, some enterprising folks are using that to enter a few order numbers before and after theirs to see a glimpse into what’s shipping. The number is available on the ATT&T website and also should be on your receipt.
The stink at the moment is that Apple stores in most states now have iPhone 3G in all 3 configurations on shelves. Why is this bad? Well according to some folks, it means that Apple is putting themselves first and putting the loyal Apple supporters who got off their butts and ordered early last. DF (Direct Fulfillment) customers, some of whom have been waiting 10 -11 days, are still without iPhone 3G’s while someone who thinks they’ll pick one up on a whim one lunch time can waltz into a store and pick one up.
Personally, I’ve been waiting 6 days and while I’d love to have my iPhone now, I’m resigned to waiting til things resolve themselves. I believe that Apple should be routing extra to ATT&T to help move things along but also realise that business contracts are likely in place to route a set number of stock.
While we will probably never know the actual reasons for the decisions these companies are making, there are thousands of irate customers who feel they are being treated like 2nd class citizens.
In the end it’s just a phone right?
Cheers,
Shane
