The best buy Xbox 360 launch was the worst experience I ever had. Planning to wake up at 6am I went to bed early last night to have the opportunity to stand in line at 630; I didn’t sleep at all, just too much anxiety I guess. Like a kid on Christmas eve.
So I arrive at best buy at 630 to count the line and I’m 75th, knowing the inventory was 84 I was golden, I could at least get a core system. Jason M. arrived shortly after and he counted me at 80th, WTF? Thinking it was a mistake I waited until 750 and counted again. 84th now and furious, I politely walked up to the door and asked the manager, Henry Lo, please pass out the tickets because people are cutting. His response was, “We will pass them out when we are ready”, I replied, “What do you mean you can just pass them out now…it will take 10 minutes…you have to do it anyways, why not now?…people need to know if they should leave or not…I’m on the verge of not getting one because people are cutting”. He then gives the excuses that people will counterfeit the tickets. What a bullshit answer, no one is going to copy the tickets then get back in line with the same number as the guy next to him, I told him this and he still didn’t care.
830 now and I count myself as 90th, I go back and talk to the same guy again. “Come on…you have to do something or there will be some fighting, people are blatantly cutting. And No one wants to do anything because they are with their “dogs”". HE just said he hoped people would police themselves and there was a “list”. I argued, CALMLY, he said it was company policy but then stumbled saying it was the store discussion, “so what is it, yours or corporate?”. He didn’t want anything to do with it. Bunch of SHIT.
845: they start passing out the tickets. I noticed the “list” wasn’t being used and terrified that the wait was for nothing. I noticed this guy originally directly in front of me in line slithered 6 spots up, and no one said anything. Finally they run out of the ultimate packages then he starts with the core packages, the last one handed out was: 4 guys in front of me. Steamed Jason and I confronted some cutters but that didn’t last because we knew we had to find another store. Target: No. CompUSA: No. Costco: No. Toy r’ us: No. Circuit City: No. K-Mart: No. and finally Sears: they fooled us with empty f’ng boxes, NO.
I also said I will never shop at Best Buy again, unless they have the 360.
[Update] other good stories…read.
Poor Dan. Did you try Game Stop or any of the toy places.
I guess if you’re really going to do it, you’ve got to do it all the way; it sounds like you probably would have had to be within the first 10 to guarantee that there wouldn’t be any cutting.
Did they have any signs posted saying that people couldn’t save places for anyone else?
The other places pre-order.
No signs nothing, like they didn’t even care. The only time they did anything before the tickets were passed out was have some chick try to pawn off the no-interest financing credit card.
I’m so pissed.
I almost bought someones place in line for $50 but hesitated because Jason M. wasn’t there.
They probably didn’t really care; the way they see it, they’re going to sell every single 360 they’ve got anyway, so who cares about whether it’s you or some idiot who cut in line. Considering Best Buy’s other anti-for-the-good-of-the-customer policies, this shouldn’t be too big of a shock.
It seems like preorder would have been the best way to go on these. If I owned a store, I would just have numbered tickets that people can buy (tied to their IDs in my computer or something) for weeks in advance, so that way there’s no having to deal with unruly lines like this.
But then secretly I would hold out a few and put them on the shelves so that the ruomrs would fly that I’m not really sold out and everyone would still flock to my store the day of the release.
I hate “dogs”. Man that story bummed me out. So sorry to hear all that. I can check the EB Games here is SB and get you one if they do. Not sure what the chances are.
You should submit this stroy to digg.
Thanks. Pre-orders killed those chances though. Is there a target up there? Rich people don’t go to target do they? Or walmart?
No. Rich people hate even having Targets K-Marts or Wal-Marts in their same town. There are none of those in Santa Barbara. They make their maids drive to Ventura or Goleta.
Ha, ha. Sorry, but I just can’t feel sorry for you.
I guess if you’re really going to do it, you’ve got to do it all the way; it sounds like you probably would have had to be within the first 10 to guarantee that there wouldn’t be any cutting.
Did they have any signs posted saying that people couldn’t save places for anyone else?
The other places pre-order.
No signs nothing, like they didn’t even care. The only time they did anything before the tickets were passed out was have some chick try to pawn off the no-interest financing credit card.
I’m so pissed.
I almost bought someones place in line for $50 but hesitated because Jason M. wasn’t there.
I know some rich people who go to Target. And, why must you have everything the day it comes out. You’re spoiled.
They probably didn’t really care; the way they see it, they’re going to sell every single 360 they’ve got anyway, so who cares about whether it’s you or some idiot who cut in line. Considering Best Buy’s other anti-for-the-good-of-the-customer policies, this shouldn’t be too big of a shock.
It seems like preorder would have been the best way to go on these. If I owned a store, I would just have numbered tickets that people can buy (tied to their IDs in my computer or something) for weeks in advance, so that way there’s no having to deal with unruly lines like this.
I hate “dogs”. Man that story bummed me out. So sorry to hear all that. I can check the EB Games here is SB and get you one if they do. Not sure what the chances are.
You should submit this stroy to digg.
Martha: Not everything, just everything that I’ve been waited for, for about 6 months and planned to use on an upcoming 4 day weekend when I actually have to time to use it. I’m not spoiled either, I’m actually pretty tight when it comes to money, I’ve just saved and sold a lot to get it.
You should tell your husband that when he wants to wait out in front of a theater to watch a movie.
Nate: Sorry, you’re a…ummm…mean.
I’ve heard that rich people shop there too, but most prefer their servant staff to do the shopping at places where they have “sales” and sheets with less than a 500 count.
I’m kidding by the way.
And yes Dan, what do you need it the day it comes out for you already have a Game Cube.
Because I want my Call of Duty and Zero in all of it’s high res glory, not just Mario Baseball or Mario Tennis.
Oh yeah,
Anyone want to buy an Xbox and/or Gamecube?
Play Call of Duty on your PC. I can let you borrow it.
You play it then.
I bought Half-Life 2 and still haven’t installed it because I hate my PC, oh yeah, and I have a crappy video card because my 9600xt crapped out. So I guess I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
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Ok, you are tight, I’ll give you that. I do tell Jared that when he goes to opening night movies. Good job for saving. Sorry you didn’t get your toy. That sucks that people cut and the store didn’t have the sense to make it fair. Sometimes delayed gratification can be good for you, though. You are teaching Avery that, right?
Martha: Not everything, just everything that I’ve been waited for, for about 6 months and planned to use on an upcoming 4 day weekend when I actually have to time to use it. I’m not spoiled either, I’m actually pretty tight when it comes to money, I’ve just saved and sold a lot to get it.
You should tell your husband that when he wants to wait out in front of a theater to watch a movie.
Nate: Sorry, you’re a…ummm…mean.
I’ve heard that rich people shop there too, but most prefer their servant staff to do the shopping at places where they have “sales” and sheets with less than a 500 count.
I’m kidding by the way.
And yes Dan, what do you need it the day it comes out for you already have a Game Cube.
Because I want my Call of Duty and Zero in all of it’s high res glory, not just Mario Baseball or Mario Tennis.
Oh yeah,
Anyone want to buy an Xbox and/or Gamecube?
After thinking about it, I am spoiled, ’cause I do get almost everything I want, anything reasonable.
Delayed what?
Yeah, that’s why we don’t buy her toys. He have only bought 2 or 3 all the rest hand me downs.
You play it then.
I bought Half-Life 2 and still haven’t installed it because I hate my PC, oh yeah, and I have a crappy video card because my 9600xt crapped out. So I guess I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
After thinking about it, I am spoiled, ’cause I do get almost everything I want, anything reasonable.
Delayed what?
Yeah, that’s why we don’t buy her toys. He have only bought 2 or 3 all the rest hand me downs.
I’ve never waited for more than a few hours to see a movie, and that was for Star Wars, which I would argue is more of a significant cultural event than the release of the latest video game console.
Also, while waiting in said line, I didn’t wuss out and let a bunch of people cut in front of me.
I forgot to put a smiley face on that last comment, but hopefully everyone could tell that I was joking.
i just heard a rumor that those things cost $400…is that true?!
I’ve never waited for more than a few hours to see a movie, and that was for Star Wars, which I would argue is more of a significant cultural event than the release of the latest video game console.
Also, while waiting in said line, I didn’t wuss out and let a bunch of people cut in front of me.
Not really a rumor but yeah.
Jared: I don’t see the problem then, I waited a couple hours too and your culture is clearly different then mine because I would never wait for a movie, especially since you could just buy the tickets online(now anyways). What did you wait in line for anyways, since you already had the tickets? The best seat?
Oh yeah, I know you were joking but you were a cutter if I understand correctly, you had Randy wait the whole time then just shuffled your way in.
CUTTER!
four hundred dollars?! for a game system?! geez…
Not really a rumor but yeah.
Jared: I don’t see the problem then, I waited a couple hours too and your culture is clearly different then mine because I would never wait for a movie, especially since you could just buy the tickets online(now anyways). What did you wait in line for anyways, since you already had the tickets? The best seat?
Oh yeah, I know you were joking but you were a cutter if I understand correctly, you had Randy wait the whole time then just shuffled your way in.
CUTTER!
I did buy the tickets online, but for a sold out movie, you have to get there early for a good seat unless you want a neck cramp the next day.
I may have cut, but at least I didn’t let anyone cut in front of me. It’s better to be the cutter than the cutee, I always say, especially when there’s no “rules” disallowing it.
I didn’t check it out before, but $400 does seem a bit steep.
I did buy the tickets online, but for a sold out movie, you have to get there early for a good seat unless you want a neck cramp the next day.
I may have cut, but at least I didn’t let anyone cut in front of me. It’s better to be the cutter than the cutee, I always say, especially when there’s no “rules” disallowing it.
I didn’t check it out before, but $400 does seem a bit steep.
didn’t you let morgan cut? or am i miss reading the story?
No because one guy arrived before he did and it didn’t matter. I had already talked to him about that.
$400 isn’t a lot compared to other system launches. And the $400 is for the advanced package. $300 is for the core package.
I hope you were jocking about the cutting thing.
$400 isn’t a lot compared to other system launches. And the $400 is for the advanced package. $300 is for the core package.
I hope you were jocking about the cutting thing.
I wasn’t really joking about the cutting thing, if you were asking me.
Of course, I don’t endorse blatant insertion into the line at some random point and trying to get away with it, but people saving places in line for their friends is completely different, and as long as there aren’t any rules posted to not allow it, should be perfectly fine.
Even people letting other people into the line in front of them that they weren’t originally saving a place for is OK, again unless there is a policy of the establishment that forbids it. Now if one guy was standing at the front and letting in like 50 people before him, that would be a little crazy, but it doesn’t sound like that’s what happened here.
I wasn’t really joking about the cutting thing, if you were asking me.
Of course, I don’t endorse blatant insertion into the line at some random point and trying to get away with it, but people saving places in line for their friends is completely different, and as long as there aren’t any rules posted to not allow it, should be perfectly fine.
Even people letting other people into the line in front of them that they weren’t originally saving a place for is OK, again unless there is a policy of the establishment that forbids it. Now if one guy was standing at the front and letting in like 50 people before him, that would be a little crazy, but it doesn’t sound like that’s what happened here.
grab your pillow. More 360s comin’ http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/xboxdoessecond…
grab your news search tool, broken link!
<del datetime=”2005-11-29T23:07:11+00:00″>Why does Jared always have troubles with linking here.</del>
Anyways, I already read the story this morning.
Although that was Jason, not me, the problem lies somewhere in your comment handling code. If you include the link as the last part of the comment, it will include the closing paragraph tag in the link for some reason. If you put the link inside other (non-link) text, it seems to be OK.
You should get that checked out…
grab your pillow. More 360s comin’ http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/xboxdoessecondroundof360s;_ylt=Aoo_BBT_pZLfLd0CgAEs6e7Dr7sF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
Why does Jared always have troubles with linking here.Anyways, I already read the story this morning.
Although that was Jason, not me, the problem lies somewhere in your comment handling code. If you include the link as the last part of the comment, it will include the closing paragraph tag in the link for some reason. If you put the link inside other (non-link) text, it seems to be OK.
You should get that checked out…
i think it’s just protesting jason’s failure to use the term a-comin’ which was clearly in order.