What not to do if you pre-ordered the Droid Maxx

Sep 10, 2011
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So after much research and anticipation, I bit the bullet late last week and pre-ordered the Droid Maxx direct from the Verizon website. Following my purchase, I did receive a basic email confirmation but in checking the status of the order over the past several days, the status of my order has remained unchanged at "we received and are processing your order" or something like that.

In retrospect, I probably put too much stock in the idea of hoping that "pre-order" might mean actually having the phone on release day (in Verizon's defense their website did say that Maxx orders would ship by 8/27).

Anyway, earlier today I figured I'd head over to my local Verizon store to see if they had any in stock. They did have the Maxx in stock and so I told the salesperson I'd like to purchase one outright. After trying to talk me into the Ultra with an accessory pack instead of the Maxx at the same price (uggghhh) the salesperson started to enter my order. At this point he paused to tell me that he could not proceed with the order as I currently had a pending order on my account. I told him that I'd planned to cancel that order if I was able to purchase one in the store. He told me that this was not possible and that I would need to cancel my online order first.

No problem, I said, so I called Verizon from the store and used the automated prompts to cancel my order (which was still at a pending status). When the local store salesperson attempted to proceed with ringing up the phone he was again stopped as the system showed my order as cancelled but would not allow a new order to be placed. The salesperson then called Verizon using the same number that regular customer use (so much for thinking that Verizon stores would have a direct path to assistance) and waited about 10 minutes on hold before being told that there was nothing that could be done and that I would need to wait for the "system to refresh" before the phone could be purchased. The salesperson was told this could take between 30 seconds and 24 hours.

So the salesperson gave me his card and told me to call back later and he could check to see if the system had refreshed and the hold had been removed from my account. He also said he would be checking and would give me a call with an update. About 5 hours later I called back and was told that they had been very busy and had not had a chance to look into it further but that they would in the next hour. That was about an hour ago, so we'll see if they call back.

Anyway, the moral of this story to all those who pre-ordered and have not already received their Droid Maxx is as follows: unless my experience is highly unusual, don't expect that it will be quick/easy to cancel a pre-order and purchase from your local store instead. My experience has dampened my enthusiasm and made we wish I'd never "pre-ordered" in the first place.

Good luck to all!
 
Sorry to hear that man. I've never really had a good experience with them when I was a Verizon customer. There are lots of good stories, I just don't have one. I really hope that you are able to get this rectified. You did nothing to deserve that.
 
A quick update...

Verizon store never did call me back "within an hour" yesterday, so I called them this morning. The person who answered said they would need to look into it and would call me back. About 15 minutes later and to my surprise they actually did, only to tell me that they were now sold out of the Droid Maxx. I asked if that meant that they hold sold the one they'd put my name on and told me that they would hold until the "cancelled order" issue was resolved with their systems. The salesperson I spoke with told me he was only telling me what he knew and that he just relaying the message. He also told me that the salesperson I'd been working with yesterday was apparently their "District Manager".

I told the guy I was disappointed that they had not followed through on at least three things they said that they would do. He said he understood.

About 3 minutes later he called back and said that UPS had just delivered a Droid Maxx and that he'd hold it for me if I came to the store by the end of the day. Against my better judgement and not trusting that they would actually hold the phone, I made another trip to the store (about 30 miles roundtrip).

Once there, things went reasonably well up until the salesperson tried to actually sell me the phone. At that point he ran into an "issue" whereby the store inventory system would not allow him to sell the phone. The "store manager" attempted to put the Droid Maxx into inventory numerous times with no luck. Then the "store manager" informed me that my order yesterday had "messed up their inventory" and that they would not be able to sell that phone to me or to anyone else until the next inventory period (early September). I asked several times if there was anyone they could call who could help them sort out the issue, but was told that there was not.

At this point the "store manager" disappeared into the back and the salesperson said, "sorry guy".

I'd heard Verizon store horror stories previously, but up to this point (probably based on having actually gone into a VZW store only two times previous to this debacle) I'd not had a personal bad experience.

It should not be this difficult to give a company $700+. First world problems, I suppose, but wow what an incredibly surreal and frustrating experience.

To you more patient "pre-orderers" and to those folks lucky enough to actually purchase the Maxx from a Verizon Store, I offer you a jealous congratulations!
 
A quick update...

It should not be this difficult to give a company $700+. First world problems, I suppose, but wow what an incredibly surreal and frustrating experience.

To you more patient "pre-orderers" and to those folks lucky enough to actually purchase the Maxx from a Verizon Store, I offer you a jealous congratulations!

So you were trying to buy the phone off-contract? I've heard of many people being lied to about not being able to buy a phone off-contract, presumably because all Verizon wants are new contracts/resubs. The Verizon Corporate stores are quite possibly the worst cesspools of customer service I've ever encountered. I've had a salesperson tell me straight out that they have no desire to sell phones at the Verizon Wireless store, and actually prefer it when people go to Best Buy as they are off the hook for all hardware related issues at that point. I went to Best Buy Mobile with a family member who wanted to upgrade two lines, and they not only waived the upgrade and activation fee (charged it, but credited it back on first bill), they price matched Staples who had the phone at $150 less than Verizon Wireless and didn't try to pressure her into buying anything she didn't need/want. Granted one salesperson isn't representative of the experience everyone will get, but I will only buy from Best Buy from now on (I buy full retail).
 
I ran into a similar problem but it was "financing" the phone as I don't have $700 upfront. They kept thinking I meant the new Edge program they have coming out. I dealt with the reps at two stores and someone at the call center until they finally understood and pushed it through. I know the money isn't up front, but I'm buying this off contract at full price AND paying a finance fee. Take my money! Don't make it difficult.
 
A quick update...

Verizon store never did call me back "within an hour" yesterday, so I called them this morning. The person who answered said they would need to look into it and would call me back. About 15 minutes later and to my surprise they actually did, only to tell me that they were now sold out of the Droid Maxx. I asked if that meant that they hold sold the one they'd put my name on and told me that they would hold until the "cancelled order" issue was resolved with their systems. The salesperson I spoke with told me he was only telling me what he knew and that he just relaying the message. He also told me that the salesperson I'd been working with yesterday was apparently their "District Manager".

I told the guy I was disappointed that they had not followed through on at least three things they said that they would do. He said he understood.

About 3 minutes later he called back and said that UPS had just delivered a Droid Maxx and that he'd hold it for me if I came to the store by the end of the day. Against my better judgement and not trusting that they would actually hold the phone, I made another trip to the store (about 30 miles roundtrip).

Once there, things went reasonably well up until the salesperson tried to actually sell me the phone. At that point he ran into an "issue" whereby the store inventory system would not allow him to sell the phone. The "store manager" attempted to put the Droid Maxx into inventory numerous times with no luck. Then the "store manager" informed me that my order yesterday had "messed up their inventory" and that they would not be able to sell that phone to me or to anyone else until the next inventory period (early September). I asked several times if there was anyone they could call who could help them sort out the issue, but was told that there was not.

At this point the "store manager" disappeared into the back and the salesperson said, "sorry guy".

I'd heard Verizon store horror stories previously, but up to this point (probably based on having actually gone into a VZW store only two times previous to this debacle) I'd not had a personal bad experience.

It should not be this difficult to give a company $700+. First world problems, I suppose, but wow what an incredibly surreal and frustrating experience.

To you more patient "pre-orderers" and to those folks lucky enough to actually purchase the Maxx from a Verizon Store, I offer you a jealous congratulations!

This story is ridiculous from so many standpoints, and really demonstrates the issues we have today with customer service. This is the type of stuff case studies are made from. I encourage you to communicate to the highest levels you can to get your point across, even though it will be a pain in the *** and you will probably gain nothing from it.
 
Yes, buying the Maxx off-contract was (and still is my plan). I've been holding on tightly to my ol' unlimited data plan and have resigned myself to the notion of paying full retail for a new phone. But based on my experience yesterday and today, I'm going to take some time to consider other options for where I purchase the phone.

Thanks for sharing your positive experience with BB. Good to know. Having spent an inordinate amount of time in a VZW Corporate store over the past few days, as a casual observer I cannot believe what a circus it is from both a customer and an employee standpoint. I also can't believe how many customers walk out frustrated/angry (not counting the two times I did). It was almost DMV-like.