Lack of Information

[sjcdal]

I'm pretty sure that's a separate issue. The judge wants them to hash things out to make sure stuff like this doesn't happen again. The whole stuck-in-customs thing will most likely get resolved as soon as they verify the patent is no longer on the phones.

Good...I sure hope so. Still hoping that BB had it partially correct.

Amazon btw still showing it as shipping today with delivery estimate of Tuesday. If only.....

Item not yet shipped
Item: Qty:
HTC EVO LTE 4G Android Phone (Sprint) 1
[FREE GIFT] AmazonBasics Micro USB Universal Car Charger with Micro to Mini USB Adapter and Nokia Barrel Adapter 1
Delivery Estimate: May 22, 2012

 

[witnercoat]

Called Sprint to play ignorant and ask for info. They really don't seem to have any. The Indian bloke on the phone was just certain that it would ship in a couple days, but said they won't know when it has shipped until I get the tracking number.

The one bit of good news I got out of him is that they have expedited the shipment. So when it does ship, it shouldn't take long.

Although... my last phone I ordered online was purchased at 5:30pm and at my door by 9:00am the next day. Seemed pretty expedited.


On a side note... Just realized I spelled my user name wrong. Hmm... Glad the browser saved that one!

 

[anon(94115)]

I get the point of what the OP is saying BUT

Why the heck would they let you, and their investors, in on inside information? If they are transparent, and say oh it is going to be a month, they risk losing pre-orders to those that do not want to wait AND to any competing phones that may be released. If they string you along, more people than not will stay with the original purchase out of hope and out of "this is my first choice".

No doubt some people will cancel the preorders anyway, but it is a trickle compared to a possible onslaught. Just an example, it they lose 50% of pre-orders because of announcing the delay, they may only lose 30% by stringing you along. They save 20% of the orders this way.

Sprint really cannot say anything because this is not their issue. they are just the distributor. here is the conversation

S: Hey are we good with the EVO launch?
HTC: um...well you know that lawsuit, customs won't let them in the country so they are stuck on the docks
S: well that is bad, what are you doing about it?
HTC: we are doing everything we can. Working with customs and we have our lawyers on it.
S: Well how long?
HTC: we just don't know at this point. We are working as fast as we can.
S: ok you will let us know when everything is worked out right?
HTC: yep, you will know as soon as we do.

HTC owes you nothing except a phone that you paid for. THey couldnt hold up their end on time, but you have the freedom to bail out.

This is the reality of it all. In a "hello kitty world" they would be totally up front and let us know everything. This is the business world and it makes better sense to say nothing

 

[bwithey11]

Why the heck would they let you, and their investors, in on inside information?

The OP never said "I want a play by play of everything that happens" I feel it's more like a general outlook. If the phones are still being inspected, they should say so. They don't need to go into further detail, just give broad details that give the consumer (the people who are responsible for them making money) a bit of an answer if nothing else.

HTC owes you nothing except a phone that you paid for. THey couldnt hold up their end on time, but you have the freedom to bail out.

This is the reality of it all. In a "hello kitty world" they would be totally up front and let us know everything. This is the business world and it makes better sense to say nothing

You're right, HTC doesn't OWE pre order customers anything beyond the phone. But how do you think this affects the perception that consumers have of HTC? Especially those that are out $200 (or $550) with nothing to show for it and no idea of when they will get what they paid for? I don't care that you can cancel your preorder and get your money back. That's not the principle of the matter. If HTC wants to save face and show that they care about their customers, they would put out some information beyond "it's held up at customs." They can give date/time/location of court dates. That information is available to the public by law. They can say that the phones passed/didn't pass the inspection regarding the software (we know this bc the software was already brought up). So instead of being a negative Nancy, remove your hands from the keyboard and move on.

 

[anon(94115)]

The OP never said "I want a play by play of everything that happens" I feel it's more like a general outlook. If the phones are still being inspected, they should say so. They don't need to go into further detail, just give broad details that give the consumer (the people who are responsible for them making money) a bit of an answer if nothing else.

From the OP: Instead of allowing the general public and EVO fans to remain in the dark why not light up the room, be transparent about what steps and actions are being taken.

Kinda sounds like a step by step doesn't it? Transparency would mean knowing everything...

You're right, HTC doesn't OWE pre order customers anything beyond the phone. But how do you think this affects the perception that consumers have of HTC? Especially those that are out $200 (or $550) with nothing to show for it and no idea of when they will get what they paid for? I don't care that you can cancel your preorder and get your money back. That's not the principle of the matter. If HTC wants to save face and show that they care about their customers, they would put out some information beyond "it's held up at customs." They can give date/time/location of court dates. That information is available to the public by law. They can say that the phones passed/didn't pass the inspection regarding the software (we know this bc the software was already brought up). So instead of being a negative Nancy, remove your hands from the keyboard and move on.

You are basing this on one thing, the fact that HTC would want to care about what they are doing to the customer. Either way that this plays out, whether or not they tell all, this is not an issue that will break the company at all. It is almost irrelevant. Let me be generous and say they have 100K preorders and most of those preorders are techies and people that really research out what they want in a phone. Last year they sold 13.2 million phones, 100K is not that important and if you put it in terms of potential sales, it really isnt that important. Why? Because with what they have said up to this point they can push the blame all on Apple and on the courts (I do place the blame there BTW). Now if they do as you suggest and try to save face by putting out regular updates, they keep it in the news that HTC phones are stuck at the border. HTC has failed Customs inspection, HTC lost another court battle to Apple, HTC redesigning their software. It just isn't worth it for them to save face with 100K people and lose the potential sales.

I am not being negative at all, just a realist. Businesses are based on taking a look at all the calculated risks. This calculated risk favors them not saying anything. I have an HTC phone, and with all that is going on here, it would not affect my decision to buy another.

If I had preordered this phone, I would play the waiting game. I would keep my preorder until it is dead or until something better comes along. I havent lost anything...

 

[ffejjj]

If I had preordered this phone, I would play the waiting game. I would keep my preorder until it is dead or until something better comes along. I havent lost anything...

Finally, someone who gets it lol. I did order and i'm waiting

 

[Fubie]

I havent lost anything...

While I agree with most of what you say I have "lost" the funds I paid in order to have the phone in hand now.
I typically don't like giving interest free loans without an idea of when repayment will happen.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[creighton]

Sprint applied my payment for the EvoLTE pre-order to the balance on my last invoice. I assume when the phone actually ships I will then find a $200 charge on the bill for the phone and will have to pay for it then. At least for now, though, I am not out any money, except for the negative $41 balance my account shows since the invoice was less than the pre-order amount. Is this not what Sprint has done with all of the Sprint pre-orders?

 

[anon(94115)]

While I agree with most of what you say I have "lost" the funds I paid in order to have the phone in hand now.
I typically don't like giving interest free loans without an idea of when repayment will happen.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

So cancel. save the money in your account and get the interest, buy it when it is in the stores. Still nothing lost

 

[Phoenix Rev]

While I agree with most of what you say I have "lost" the funds I paid in order to have the phone in hand now.
I typically don't like giving interest free loans without an idea of when repayment will happen.

But what are you really out besides suffering some disappointment?

I have heard the "interest free loans" argument before and it is slightly disingenuous without adding the fact that even at an 8% annual rate-of-return on an investment, Sprint/HTC/whomever would be making ... $0.0033 (that's one-third of a cent) for every week the EVOLTE is delayed (8% / 12 months x $200 / 4 weeks = 0.0033).

It's even worse if you are worried about how much interest you could have been making if you had that $200 in your personal account since almost no one I know is making 8% ROI on their checkings/savings/money market accounts. Most are making about 2% so that is a whopping 8/10s of a penny you are missing out every week the phone is delayed.

 

[anon(21547)]

"Some of our products have passed the review and have been delivered to our telecoms operators? clients in the US," HTC said in a statement submitted to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.