Official release date: 8.20.13

[tdizzel]

I stopped at a Verizon store when I was at the mall today. I asked the guy there if an official date was announced yet for the Droids. I wasn't expecting him to know, and of course he didn't. I came home and watched some NFL preseason games, and they're now airing commercials that say the phones will be in stores on 8.20.13. So its now official.
Kinda sad, but completely expected, that you still can't get a straight answer from a Verizon store about anything.

 

[Greg C]

No kidding! Verizon really should keep their employees update. When a customer asks a pretty basic question.... the cs should have an answer. You wpuld think a cs rep would know weeks in advance... especially when a commercial is coming out for a new release.

I stopped at a Verizon store when I was at the mall today. I asked the guy there if an official date was announced yet for the Droids. I wasn't expecting him to know, and of course he didn't. I came home and watched some NFL preseason games, and they're now airing commercials that say the phones will be in stores on 8.20.13. So its now official.
Kinda sad, but completely expected, that you still can't get a straight answer from a Verizon store about anything.

 

[Nec3f]

I stopped in my store and asked the guy at the door, he asked someone else and they told me that Ultra and Maxx would be available on the 20th and the other one (Mini) would be available a week later. So the people in my store knew. But to play devil's advocate for a minute, they probably have new phones coming out every week* and just because we've been tracking this phone for a month and drooling over it doesn't mean it's that big of a deal to them. The release date will come and go with little fanfare and they'll have another phone come out a few days later that someone else has been dying to get their hands on for weeks. I mean, after he told me what day it came out, should I have asked him if it would be available right away when they opened or if I should wait a few hours? A fair question, but not something 'random employee' should be expected to know, IMHO.
The only phone these guys probably have the release time memorized, down to the hour, is the iPhone.



*Yes, I know there's lots of dinky/nothing/cheap/free phones, but there's these three, Moto X, the new HTC, the next Note and probably some others all coming out soon, they can't be expected to have all the dates memorized.

 

[tdizzel]

I stopped in my store and asked the guy at the door, he asked someone else and they told me that Ultra and Maxx would be available on the 20th and the other one (Mini) would be available a week later. So the people in my store knew. But to play devil's advocate for a minute, they probably have new phones coming out every week* and just because we've been tracking this phone for a month and drooling over it doesn't mean it's that big of a deal to them. The release date will come and go with little fanfare and they'll have another phone come out a few days later that someone else has been dying to get their hands on for weeks. I mean, after he told me what day it came out, should I have asked him if it would be available right away when they opened or if I should wait a few hours? A fair question, but not something 'random employee' should be expected to know, IMHO.
The only phone these guys probably have the release time memorized, down to the hour, is the iPhone.



*Yes, I know there's lots of dinky/nothing/cheap/free phones, but there's these three, Moto X, the new HTC, the next Note and probably some others all coming out soon, they can't be expected to have all the dates memorized.

I think the Droid brand is more important to Verizon than any other brand except the iPhone. I don't expect them to know when every phone will be released(although really, that should be part of their job) but I think the Droid should be one they should know. The thing is, I wouldn't have even bothered stopping at the store, but when I walked by it, there were about half a dozen giant Droid signs on the windows/doors/walls. So obviously its a pretty big deal. Unfortunately its pretty typical to not get an answer.

 

[gamepolice]

I think the Droid brand is more important to Verizon than any other brand except the iPhone. I don't expect them to know when every phone will be released(although really, that should be part of their job) but I think the Droid should be one they should know. The thing is, I wouldn't have even bothered stopping at the store, but when I walked by it, there were about half a dozen giant Droid signs on the windows/doors/walls. So obviously its a pretty big deal. Unfortunately its pretty typical to not get an answer.

Those Verizon employees must not be paying attention because I work for Verizon and they've been beating these phones into our heads for the last month. I can't wait, but Verizon internally is treating this as the 2nd coming. If any employee did not know about the release date then they do not care at all is just dumb.

 

[Honestabebread]

Those Verizon employees must not be paying attention because I work for Verizon and they've been beating these phones into our heads for the last month. I can't wait, but Verizon internally is treating this as the 2nd coming. If any employee did not know about the release date then they do not care at all is just dumb.

This so much. There's even an employee edition of the phone for Christ's sake.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[DestinedtoGame]

It shall be interesting to see how this plays out. You have the Droid line coming out and the HTC One in the same week!

 

[Groovysunflowers]

I stopped at a Verizon store when I was at the mall today. I asked the guy there if an official date was announced yet for the Droids. I wasn't expecting him to know, and of course he didn't. I came home and watched some NFL preseason games, and they're now airing commercials that say the phones will be in stores on 8.20.13. So its now official.
Kinda sad, but completely expected, that you still can't get a straight answer from a Verizon store about anything.

I experienced this back in July regarding the HTC One. The employee told me that Verizon decided to skip the phone altogether because "it's an ok phone." He apparently wasn't aware of Verizon's tweets confirming the release or even how good the phone is, so at that point I lost all faith in the knowledge (or lack thereof) of the Verizon employees. These forums and rumors are closer to being right than they ever are. What makes me mad though is we are such a small minority of customers (the ones that follow tech news and forums); if I had walked in there without prior knowledge of the phone and was just as blind and willing as any other regular customer, what he said would have been grounds for me to switch carriers at that point or end up letting him talk me into a different phone I would have regretted.

 

[Groovysunflowers]

It shall be interesting to see how this plays out. You have the Droid line coming out and the HTC One in the same week!

Yeah it will be interesting, considering the pre-order ship dates for the Droid lines were pushed back from 8/20 to 8/27 last time I checked

 

[YAYTech]

Yeah it will be interesting, considering the pre-order ship dates for the Droid lines were pushed back from 8/20 to 8/27 last time I checked

That was for *additional* pre-orders. Folks who pre-ordered when they had a posted date of 8/20 have been reporting getting shipment emails.

 

[Groovysunflowers]

That was for *additional* pre-orders. Folks who pre-ordered when they had a posted date of 8/20 have been reporting getting shipment emails.

Oh ok good. You never know with Verizon lol

 

[Chiplg]

I stopped in my store and asked the guy at the door, he asked someone else and they told me that Ultra and Maxx would be available on the 20th and the other one (Mini) would be available a week later. So the people in my store knew. But to play devil's advocate for a minute, they probably have new phones coming out every week* and just because we've been tracking this phone for a month and drooling over it doesn't mean it's that big of a deal to them. The release date will come and go with little fanfare and they'll have another phone come out a few days later that someone else has been dying to get their hands on for weeks. I mean, after he told me what day it came out, should I have asked him if it would be available right away when they opened or if I should wait a few hours? A fair question, but not something 'random employee' should be expected to know, IMHO.
The only phone these guys probably have the release time memorized, down to the hour, is the iPhone.



*Yes, I know there's lots of dinky/nothing/cheap/free phones, but there's these three, Moto X, the new HTC, the next Note and probably some others all coming out soon, they can't be expected to have all the dates memorized.

Really? Why are you letting them off? It's pathetic. It is pathetic that I went in today to see if the display was up early, and walked out when it wasn't without even bothering to talk to anyone, because past experience told me not to bother. It is pathetic that I am more familiar with their product line than they are. I was leaning towards a Windows phone, and last month when I went in to look at it, the rep basically said she didn't know anything about it. Glad I already knew what I wanted to examine on the phone. It is pathetic that when I bought my RAZR, the rep had no idea when the car dock was going to be available. Then when I came later back I was handed a desktop dock. That rep had no idea what the difference was, and when she brought out the car dock, she asked me if it was right. I don't expect the reps to know as much as we know from reading these forums, but I expect them to understand what I'm talking about and be able to answer simple questions. If I exhibited the same level of knowledge at my job, I wouldn't have it anymore.


If you walk into a store and ask about a TV, you expect that the rep will have reasonable knowledge about the TV. The same is true of many other consumer electronic devices. Phone models refresh frequently, but it's not like there is that much information to gather. General specs and attributes, release info, basic information on where it fits in the product line, more information on accessories other than "look in that corner over there." I'm asking for what any person of average intelligence can accomplish.

I don't expect brilliance, but I do expect competence.