Ok, guys just got home and wow what a nightmare! Basically, we had to call Sprint 3 times before we got a rep who would let me upgrade my phone there. Apparently there's some policy that if you are on a discounted plan (we are on some Family+ plan that is slightly less per month than the normal one), you have to upgrade through a Sprint corporate store. Only problem with that policy is that I've never had to do that! I've upgraded at a Best buy at least a couple of times, one being just two weeks ago for my wife's phone - got her an SIII. We FINALLY got someone who would let us do it, went through activating the phone, then when they went to go process the purchase, Best Buy's system wouldn't let them.
The mobile manager and a higher-level manager came over and there were like 5 or 6 BB employees going through all their systems, and they were all scratching their heads. They said that normally if a phone is already being sold by a carrier, than it is fair game for them to sell it (when they get it in stock). If, as it occasionally happens, there is some kind of exclusivity for the carrier, they will note it down in the system so that reps know not to sell it. So they had to undo the upgrade and reactivate my old phone. I spent over two hours there and had to walk out empty handed. At least they said they were holding the phone for me and that I should be able to pick it up on Sunday, and they said they'd email me if they were suddenly able to do the purchase ealier than that. I'm just envisioning another nightmare with trying to get Sprint to upgrade it again! They were very nice about it and said I could get a free case for my hassle, although when I asked them if they had any for the Note 2 they said not yet. So, I feel defeated, but at least now I THINK I'll be able to get it latest by Sunday, maybe even earlier if I'm lucky.
Mostly I'm just exhausted, but also really pissed at Sprint for having this stupid policy. Best Buy was great, very patient, at least as far as the reps went. I'm not sure whether it's more Sprint's doing or Best Buy corporate, or maybe both share the blame in having this exclusivity deal without telling the customer - or even their own reps. All in all, this is the worst upgrade experience I've ever had with Sprint and it really makes me wonder why I continue to use them. Yes, they have unlimited data, and yes, they are less costly than the other carriers, but if you add on all these additional hassles onto the already slow network, it becomes really hard to justify the savings for such more customer care...