got the whole world in my hands

The short version is that shortly after 6pm on Sunday we walked out of the Apple Store with two new iPhones. Yay!

I wish I could say it was easy. After our disappointing trip to the AT&T store on Friday, we didn't venture out on Saturday. B had called around and all indications were we would have come up empty handed.

On Sunday we headed over to the library. The Newport Beach Library recently upgraded its system, but in the process our books were due on weird dates. After checking out more books, we decided to grab a bite to eat at Lee's Sandwiches. After a late lunch B brought up the topic of the iPhone. Should we try the AT&T Stores in the OC?

I told him to call before we went searching aimlessly. He did, and learned that the AT&T Stores were sold out in the greater LA/Orange County area. It was suggested that we try the Apple Store. Apparently they could now handle current AT&T customers, even if they were looking to upgrade a current phone.

A call to the store in Fashion Island revealed that while they had iPhones in stock, they were closing within the hour, and had closed the line. Bummer.

On a whim we decided to just drive over to South Coast. They were still letting people in line. We were told it would take about an hour, but we got inside within 20 minutes.

It didn't matter what you wanted at the Apple Store, you had to wait in line. This upset a few people. Apparently at one point there were two lines (one for iPhone and one for everything else), but people lied. Crazy.

The really great thing was that once you entered the store, you had your own personal shopper. We basically told Matt what we wanted and he got it for us. So far, everything was going great!

The Apple Store no longer has cash registers. Instead they have a device slightly larger than a cell phone that can scan bar codes and swipe credit cards. The three bar codes necessary for the first iPhone were scanned and then we ran into a problem. B had interned at Motorola three summers ago. As such, he was given a discount at AT&T. This caused a problem. The solution seemed simple enough - dial 611 and get AT&T to take the discount off the account.

B managed to get through and the customer service rep claimed to have taken the discount off his account. Apparently not so.

Matt tried again, but the code was still blocking him from completing the transaction. He went and got the store's iPhone and called AT&T himself. He entered our phone number and pushed several menu buttons only to reach a recording telling him to call back later.

This is when we all stood there realizing we were not going to be able to buy the iPhones. Despite being loyal Apple customers and AT&T customers with money in hand, we were going to be turned away despite jumping over all these hoops. I didn't even mention that technically B works for Apple's second largest corporate customer. I was dreading having to deal with B all night.

But Matt didn't let us down. He was scheduled to end his shift at 6pm, and told us he would try AT&T again before that. In the meantime, he let us browse the store. We looked at cases and almost bought something called the Rockstar. It allows you and four friends to listen to your iPod together. We then moved over to software and Matt found us again. He managed to get AT&T on the line.

B answered the questions and we kept AT&T on the line until Matt was sure that the hold was lifted. In a few minutes we were a few hundred dollars poorer and on our way! Tomorrow I'll be sending off a glowing letter to Matt's boss. He really went above and beyond and saved our weekend.

I am still getting used to it. Our new plan with extra minutes won't begin until August. Our overage last month cost us just shy of $100. We need to be extra careful for the next 25 days. Too bad Skype doesn't work on the iPhone. That would be awesome.

on the night stand :: Her Last Death

where will you be on july 11

Many people, myself (likely) included, will be in line to buy a new iphone. When the iphone came out, B was still technically between jobs. It wasn't clear what was going to happen, and there was always the possibility that his new employer might have specific cell phone requirements, and might even provide him with one. So we agreed to wait until the next version came out.

It has been a long wait. In the meantime B's brother-in-law got an iphone. Don't get me wrong, B has nothing against his brother-in-law - it is just that he is usually the last kid on the block with new gadget, if you know what I mean.

I reminded B that it is he who laughs last.... Thankfully he stuck it out. I know there are a lot of unhappy people who waited in long lines and shelled out $600. Brian Unger is one of them (you have to LISTEN to this to get the full effect).

I still have my Chicago phone number. So does B. They are one number off each other, and I have remembered both, so I have been reluctant to change. We wouldn't have to switch carriers. I know though that there can be issues trying to keep a number that is out of area. I think we just need to make sure to go to an actual AT&T store and not a reseller - never go to a reseller.

on the night stand :: Snack Time