S4 Delayed?

[Anonymous]

Hey all.

As usual a complaint has brought a new member to the forum. I do apologise about that.

Being a bit of a tech nut I've weighed up the benefits of my 3rd HTC in a row, with it's consistently poor battery life but overall great experience against the plastic, but awesome UI of the S4.

I really liked the S2 so I decided I'd give it a go, it's got loads of great features I'd never use  which sounds appealing to me.

I went in earlier this week to my local O2 and preordered the S4 and I was told I'd get it in store on Friday (today) and I just had to wait for a text. I called O2 yesterday to see if they had any news on the preorder as tomorrow is the only morning I could really take a couple of hours off as I'm busy working Saturday and Sunday.

They had no idea about the order and told me that the store runs like a franchise and they don't share information. What? I was assured by the store when I preordered that I'd recieve it today as they hadn't had many pre orders so I trusted that information.

I call up this morning and no, they don't have any phones and they 'SHOULD' get them tomorrow. This is one of the biggest tech launches in the calender year, how can they delay it by a day? 

Did anyone else get this from their local store? I guess I should be happy that I'm going to get it tomorrow (if I can get away) as I read that many wont be getting there's for a week or so, but still, if you're guaranteed something and then they don't deliver it's annoying whatever the case is.

[Bambino]

I don't think I'm missing the point at all. You can't say for certain that O2 knew the numbers. How do you know that they weren't given particular numbers by Samsung, and that Samsung didn't deliver the correct amount? It isn't just O2 that's been affected by this. This could have happened if you were on any network. 

[Anonymous]

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@Bambino wrote:

I really don't understand this obsessive desire of people having to have a newly released phone on the very first day. Not just this phone. It happens every time any other interesting phone or new iPhone is released. Maybe it's just me, or I'm getting too old, but I just don't understand all the ranting. There is a supply shortage which has most likely been instigated by the manufacturer to make the phone more desirable. Does anyone really think that O2, or any of the other networks want their Customer Service lines jammed with people complaining that they haven't had their delivery? It's a phone. You'll have it when they can deliver it. Earth won't stop turning if you don't get it until next week. 

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Definitely the principle of the matter - when I preordered it, I would have been more than happy to be told at the time that I may not get it on release day as I feel I got a good deal, but to be told one thing one day by one person and then a completely contradicting thing by another person on another day is poor to be honest...

[Bambino]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Bambino wrote:

I really don't understand this obsessive desire of people having to have a newly released phone on the very first day. Not just this phone. It happens every time any other interesting phone or new iPhone is released. Maybe it's just me, or I'm getting too old, but I just don't understand all the ranting. There is a supply shortage which has most likely been instigated by the manufacturer to make the phone more desirable. Does anyone really think that O2, or any of the other networks want their Customer Service lines jammed with people complaining that they haven't had their delivery? It's a phone. You'll have it when they can deliver it. Earth won't stop turning if you don't get it until next week. 

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Definitely the principle of the matter - when I preordered it, I would have been more than happy to be told at the time that I may not get it on release day as I feel I got a good deal, but to be told one thing one day by one person and then a completely contradicting thing by another person on another day is poor to be honest...

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How could anyone have known when you preordered that you wouldn't get it on release day? Apart from not getting your phone today, what has changed about the deal you got? I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever took your order didn't have a crystal ball. If the delay has come from the manufacturer, which it seems from every indication that it has, you can't hold anyone else responsible. Send your complaint to Samsung.

[Anonymous]

Likewise, I specifically asked if there would be sufficient stock to fill my order for a launch day delivery.  Otherwise I was not interested in pre-ordering and would simply try in-store.  I was categorically told "absolutely yes".  I too would have been happy with the standard answer of "no idea, first come, first serve etc".  The information was put up by O2 informing customers that all pre-orders had been sold, and those people who ordered before the 19th would definitely be getting their order on launch date.

I don't buy for one second that "oh we have no idea how many we will be receiving" etc.  It's total bs.  Someone in the company is responsible and knows exactly how many are on order, when they are turning up and how many have been sold to pre-order.  A catastrophe at Samsung's factory, or a bunch of stock going missing or something I can understand.  These are huge companies, they can count, but more and more commonly this is becoming the norm.

The reality is it's all done deliberately to further increase the hype, as has already been discussed in this thread.  I got sick of Apple for these tactics, I didn't want to wait for 2 months to maybe possibly get a new phone.

[Anonymous]

I think your right

[Anonymous]

Calm down guys, it's a phone!!

I pre-ordered my HTC one (from HTC) the day they started taking orders and guess what - there was a delay!! Instead of being delivered on release day it was 'expected in 13 days'.

The phone was then despatched 13 days later - on the evening of Thursday 28th March - easter bank holiday weekend! So it was not delivered until the following Tuesday!

Ok, I wasn't too chuffed about this situation but I certainly wasn't going to let it wind me off the clock.

Look at it this way - you've still got that special something to look forward to, and when it does arrive you'll quickly forget about the delays.

Now - breathe deeply .......

[Anonymous]

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@Bambino wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Bambino wrote:

I really don't understand this obsessive desire of people having to have a newly released phone on the very first day. Not just this phone. It happens every time any other interesting phone or new iPhone is released. Maybe it's just me, or I'm getting too old, but I just don't understand all the ranting. There is a supply shortage which has most likely been instigated by the manufacturer to make the phone more desirable. Does anyone really think that O2, or any of the other networks want their Customer Service lines jammed with people complaining that they haven't had their delivery? It's a phone. You'll have it when they can deliver it. Earth won't stop turning if you don't get it until next week. 

---

Definitely the principle of the matter - when I preordered it, I would have been more than happy to be told at the time that I may not get it on release day as I feel I got a good deal, but to be told one thing one day by one person and then a completely contradicting thing by another person on another day is poor to be honest...

---

How could anyone have known when you preordered that you wouldn't get it on release day? Apart from not getting your phone today, what has changed about the deal you got? I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever took your order didn't have a crystal ball. If the delay has come from the manufacturer, which it seems from every indication that it has, you can't hold anyone else responsible. Send your complaint to Samsung.

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I'm not talking about the person who took my preorder nearly 2 weeks ago - I'm mainly annoyed at the person I spoke to yesterday who assured me it would arrive today.  The main problem for me is I need to know when it will be delivered so I can have it sent to the right place (work, home etc).  I wouldn't have been so annoyed if I had just been given the correct information - even knowing that it would be here next Thursday would be fine if I knew.

Good news though - I have now been told that it has been dispatched (and I have a tracking number) so at least I can sort out where to have it sent (and on what day).  Also, got the chance to have a play with one in Tesco on the way home and it's very, very nice - can't wait for next week now!

[Bambino]

Well then I'm glad you've gotten it sorted out. Enjoy your new phone whenever you get it.

[Anonymous]

It's not so much the delay as it is the fact that just one day ago we were being told it would be out today and people take time off work to recieve it. What happened in one day? Don't they get the stock in the day before? Don't they communicate? Did no one think to tell anyone that those phones weren't out for delivery, anywhere?

We are interested in technology and we are giving a crap load of money to these companies who let us down. Whether or not it's a phone or not is irrelevant, we are interested in technology and please try and respect that. It's a first world problem but it's important to make sure that we are treated with respect. At the moment I don't think we are.

Whether or not it's O2 or Samsung or that waste of space company Yodel, this happens too often and if it were me I'd be screaming at whoever was meant to deliver the phone to me. So Me>O2>Distributor>Samsung.

They need to get their supply chain in order and stop **bleep** us around. 

[Bambino]

I understand your frustration, but if you look at the sites that are selling the phone sim free you will see that they are experiencing delays as well. Even the likes of Amazon are now showing a delay.

The bottom line is it's probably not a great idea to try and get a phone on the very first day of its release. It's probably much more sensible to wait until the dust settles and order it a week or two after. You probably stand a much better chance of getting it delivered at a time of your choosing.