yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] blkswanpres:
From Wirefly's Facebook. "HTC EVO 4G LTE Inventory Update

We have confirmation that our shipment of the HTC EVO 4G LTE was shipped to us today. It will be delivered to us tomorrow and we will turn them around and ship the entire order out via next business day shipping through FedEx to pre-order customers in the order that they were placed. We have also received communication that we should receive more inventory from Sprint towards the end of next week. Everyone at Wirefly is working hard to make sure that you get your HTC EVO 4G LTE as soon as possible."
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] SilentSummer:
According to WF's response to some of the comments, folks should be getting them Monday vs Tuesday.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] darwin619:
Wirefly botched this whole thing horribly. A company estimated to be worth as much as $25 million needs at least a small PR department. Clearly PR currently consists of one guy who is only capable of pissing people off on Twitter and Facebook.

I'm sure that had way more information than they provided customers, and they made the decision that it was best to withhold that information rather than throw Sprint or HTC under the bus.

If they had come out and said the phones were still in customs and Sprint has prioritized other retailers, then the backlash would have radically switched directions.

They will never know if they made the right choice, but the choice they did make cost them a lot of money now and in the future.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] shook187:
I don't think Wire Fly should get a new PR firm just for a bunch of HTC-XDA phone fanatic. In the real world no body cared about this whole delay.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] SPreston2001:
Honestly the amount of money this whole thing cost them is pennies in the grand scheme of things. So your saying they should bite the big hand that feeds them to please a few potential customers?? Maybe Sprint/HTC told them not to give any updates in terms of availability. We as phone junkies only make up a fraction of overall sales so to think they should tell us everything they know is ridiculous. Yes they could have kept us in the loop more but its really not as bad as everyone is making it out to be. I mean come'on they had the phone for $119.99!!!

---------- Post added at 11:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 AM ----------

My point exactly. Go ask the average joe and I bet they wont even know about this whole delay. Most people wont even know about the phone until the commercials start rolling.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] ptrd:
I think the general public will. This delay was posted all over the tech websites not just xda. Customers now are used to quickly info and a quick Google search will surely bring up this thread. With your loyal customer base it will always be an issue. I am pretty sure the average online buyer looks at reviews or goes to forums. People are more conscience of their purchases nowadays.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] darwin619:
Did I say hire a PR firm? I sure wish people would read rather than fall over themselves to flame. I said a small PR department, which a company of their size should employ anyway.

While you can go on defending WF to your death, (do you work for them btw?) the average Joe doesn't matter in this situation because the average Joe doesn't buy his cellphone from Wirefly.

The market for WF is going to be slightly more tech savy than the average person. Most of the people I know walk into a cellphone store to buy their phones. What WF is dealing with is at least a somewhat more knowledgable clientelle that is seeking deals on a specific phone. If you have a specific phone in mind, then you are already beyond the average Joe that buys whatever the store rep tells him is the best.

With all of that being said, I would say a very large portion of their Evo LTE sales came from people who went in knowing exactly what phone they wanted and were eagerly anticipating it. This whole fiasco soured that, and will most certainly cost them money.

The fact that you think the average Joe is Wirefly's customer base muddys your whole argument.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] ignardaj:
my chat transcript

You have been connected to Linda.

Linda: Hi Albert. Thank you for contacting our chat support group. I'd be glad to help you with your concern.

Al: hello

Linda: How are you doing today?

Al: im good thanks,i ordered the htc evo lte a few weeks ago and see that they will be released officially tomorrow

Linda: That's great, you are welcome.

Linda: Sure, I understand and I'll help you.

Linda: For security reasons, could you please verify the last four digits of your Social Security Number?

Al: ####

Al: i also got the email from your ceo that states they we will be give upgraded shipping, since i already had paid for that will that be waved?

Linda: Thank you for the verification.

Linda: Please allow me two minutes while I review the order.

Linda: Thank you for your patience.

Linda: Yes, according to the recent update we should receive the phone at our distribution center by today.

Linda: The phone will be shipped accordingly, the earliest placed orders that are approved will ship first.

Linda: Sure, I'll waive the shipping charge $7.99 which you paid.

Al: ive also seen that you guys are offering a bluetooth or case in some cases, is that offer still on the table?

Linda: Sure, I'll include a free case as well, it will be shipped along with the phone.

Linda: You will receive an email once the phone is ready for the shipment.

Linda: Is there anything else I can help you with?

Al: so as best as you can tell will they ship today or monday

Linda: It depends at what time we receive the phone at our distribution center.

Linda: Is there anything else I can do for you today?

Al: no thats it....thanks linda

Linda: Thank you for contacting our chat support team. Please feel free to come back to WhereIsMyOrder.com for another chat session if there is anything else we can help you with.

Linda: Have a great day!

seems like either today or monday they'll go out...for $119 its worth the wait for me....
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] Clock190:
The problem with this line of thinking is that your average joe probably wouldn't have preordered a phone in the first place, never mind from a smaller, less-known company such as Wirefly.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] SPreston2001:
Ok your whole argument is silly lol. How can you possibly put the blame on wirefly if they don't have a shipment to send out?!! Lol I mean thats just retarded. Yes I've said many of times that they could have handled it better but how is it "their" fault??? And to answer ur question no I don't work for wirefly I preordered and paid for my phone just like everyone else. Matter of fact since you must know I work in I.T. for a company called Alliance Data here in Columbus OH. And do you realize how many people shop online nowadays??? Online shopping is huge!!!! Hell my grandma shops online more than she does in the store but that doesn't make her a techno geek. Look at the sales amazon and eBay do during the holiday months and I can guarantee most of those sales come from average joes. When I say average joe all I'm saying is people who aren't phone junkies like most people on these forums. So again your arguement that wirefly is to blame for everything is just plain retarded...
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] SPreston2001:
Ok so what's ur point?? I never said the average joe preordered the phone, I'm saying outside of the online forums and tech savy people most others (average joes) won't even know about this situation.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] ThrowingKs:
He had to wait on his phone, so obviously WF has no idea what they are doing. /s

There is not much that WF could have done different. Anger Sprint and divulge everything to customers, or cater to Sprint and anger a couple customers that probably only paid $119 anyways. Seems like WF did what they were supposed to, and the free shipping/bluetooth/case is above and beyond their obligations.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] Clock190:
The point is that saying something like "Wirefly doesn't need to work on their PR because Average Joe (who is likely never going to be a Wirefly customer anyhow) probably didn't know about this debacle even though the enthusiasts (who are much more likely to be Wirefly customers) did" makes no sense.

Wirefly's sales base is comprised of exactly enthusiasts like us, and we're exactly the people who saw this debacle unfold, and that is exactly why they might want to have some Lessons Learned meetings from the incident on how they could've handled the incident better. Average Joe has nothing to do with that.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] sandtrapjack:
I've made purchases through Wirefly before. So this is not my first experience with them.

In past experiences, no problem. Fast shipping, products arrived on time as promised. I have never had to return anything. I was also very happy with the way they did the verification on the account. The steps they took to make sure that I was who I said I was and was not "hijacking" a Sprint account. Really impressed.

Also like the fact that it is one of the few places where when you call customer support, you actually speak to a person and not a machine.

This experience with the pre-order of the EVO LTE has been horrendous. But I have to give WF the benefit of the doubt here because most third party retailers were just as much in the dark as WF.

The only "gotcha" with Wirefly is that it took the CEO of the company to give us straight answers. Customer Support, of whom are being paid to provide the customer with those answers, didn't know. Anytime we got straight answers, it had to come from the CEO.

I was going to hit Best Buy first thing Saturday to get this phone. Then I get home and see the post from the CEO last night that they will get the phones on Saturday as well. Dilema......do I just wait for WF, or hit BB in the A.M.?
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] SPreston2001:
Ok obviously ur not reading my post. I never said they handled the situation perfectly lol. I'm saying they did everything they could do to keep us happy. Ordering a cellphone online does not make you a enthusiast. Average joes shop online a lot!!! So if you honestly think majority of wireflys sales come from enthusiasts, then you have alot to learn my friend. Us enthusiasts only make up a small percentage of online sales. It may seem like a lot because we frequent online forums but we are in fact a minority. So wirefly should just roll out the red carpet because a few Sprint customers are upset about a preorder?? Hell Sprint isnt even their biggest fish lol. That's the nature of big corporations. Anger a few to please the masses...
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] Pyro1284:
Anybody order through newegg.com???
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] SilentSummer:
Just got an email from WF. It states what has been posted already on their FB page. Still hoping that them shipping them out Saturday = Monday delivery.

That's if I'm even in the first batch.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] ajohnson16:
Did anyone else who has canceled get an email today saying that they've received their shipment as if you still have an active order?

Mine is showing as canceled still but I did get the email.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] rdeets:
That's my concern. I wonder if THEY even know how many units will be in the first batch. At this point I just wish they would give us an indication as to where we are in line (#/# so that we can get a rough estimate of which shipment we'll be in.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] TeeJai:
If I don't get mine in said first batch, I am refusing delivery and ordering elsewhere out of principle. I am surprised that they even have any pre-orders left.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] Ragster:
I canceled mine may 15th. No email.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] caspertodd:
I would just go with whoever is cheaper, which is probably Wirefly. But it may be worth it to you to pay a few dollars more to not have the extra terms that Wirefly has. Also, keep in mind that you may not be in the first batch, so your phone could be a little over a week away. I have a good phone, so I can afford to wait, but I'm a tech junkie, and waiting is hard to do.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] vulcZ:
I placed my order on 5/7. Anyone else place theirs sooner? Trying to gauge my position in line :p
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] jpbme:
Me: One more question - if my phone is in the first batch that get shipped tomorrow, next business day would mean I would receive the phone Monday?

Ibadul : The order for HTC EVO 4G LTE will start shipping from Mnoday because Fed Ex doesn't work for us during weekends.

Me: So if you receive my phone tomorrow - you will ship it out Monday? And I should receive it Tuesday??

Ibadul : Once your order is processed, you phone will delivered in 24 hours from the date of shipment and you will also receive confirmation e-mail on the order shipment.

Ibadul : Yes, that is correct.

Well according to Ibadul.. they won't ship out on Saturday. So Tuesday may be the day it arrives, even though I'm pretty sure on the e-mail they said they would ship out the same day?

I guess we'll see...
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] Wirefly_Kim:
Hi Everyone,

I work at Wirefly's HQ, and am a member of our Social Media team. I want to personally thank the Mods for lifting the 10 post requirement, so that I can post here and be of assistance to you all regarding any issues and questions that you might have with Wirefly.

I know many of you know about the emails we have sent and the messages posted by our CEO regarding the delay of the new EVO. We sincerely apologize for the delay you have experienced in receiving your phone(s) and we appreciate your patience while we work with Sprint to get our order in. Thank you!

We have been providing information to our customers as soon as Sprint has given us information that we can provide. Has this been perfect? No, but we are working to increase and improve the communication with our customers regarding this phone launch. Like you, we are very excited about this phone and have been frustrated by the delays as well.

We are receiving our first shipment of phones tomorrow, and we are turning those phones around to customers tomorrow and shipping them via Next Business Day shipping. The phones we ship tomorrow will be delivered to customers on Monday.

If you have problems with or questions about your order(s), I am here and happy to help. If you have a specific issue with your order, please PM me and I will be happy to look at your order and see how I can help you.

Again, thank you for patience while we get the new EVO and ship it out to our customers.:)
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] leebo:
Hemant : Hi. Thank you for contacting our chat support group. I'd be glad to help you with your concern.

Hemant : Thank you for the verification.

Hemant : Please allow me two minutes while I review your order.

Hemant : Thank you for your patience.

Me: This has been a less than satisfying experience.

Hemant : I apologize for the delay.

Hemant : Evo's have been released! Our first shipment of Evo's are being shipped to our distribution center no later than tomorrow.

Hemant : The phone will available in stock by Saturday.

Me: I had heard that they were to go to the first pre-orders. Is there any way to tell if my order is included in that group?

Hemant : Unfortunately, I cannot confirm you that how many orders are before you.

Me: OK.

Hemant : The phone will be shipped out on first come first serve basis.

Me: I also heard that Wirefly might be offering some customers a free cover to partially make up for the wait. Is there any truth to that?

Hemant : Okay, let me check it for you.

Hemant : I apologize for the delay.

Hemant : Okay, I can add Black Silicone Case for HTC Evo 4G LTE for the delay in the order.

Me: Thats great! I appriciate that.

Hemant : Thank you.

Me: I will keep my fingers and toes crossed

Me: Have a good day.

Hemant : YOu are welcome.

The above took about 30 minutes to complete. If I were a lawyer, that amount of time would have paid for my EVO LTE!
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] rdeets:
Hey Kim, nice to see you on XDA (Deets86 on Android Central).

I have a question. Does WF have an idea as to how many units are expected in the initial shipment, and how far they initial shipment will stretch for preorders?

If you can't give an exact number, can you give an estimate to what date's preorder will be fulfilled (5/10, 5/11, 5/13, etc.)?

And as for the second shipment, is it likely that it will fill the remainder of the preorders, and it will be in customer's hands by Friday, 6/8?
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] five40:
A little late to the party are we.

Wirefly should've done this weeks ago. We understand the circumstances were beyond your control but the communication or lack there of was very unprofessional and demonstrated very poor customer service.

I ordered from Wirefly in the past but doubt I would ever do so again.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] ThrowingKs:
Scott @ http://facebook.com/wirefly just confirmed shipping on Saturday.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] SilentSummer:
All we can do now is to see who gets tracking numbers on Saturday and what day they ordered on.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] shook187:
Don't let the door hit you. Go pay more elsewhere.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] mrrogers1:
While we'll NEVER truly know, what anyone with any sense (no pun) should understand is that THIS was the best decision for WF. We'll be ok and we'll get our phones. :)
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] Wirefly_Kim:
Hi! :) As for the exact number, I do not have that information and honestly I dont know how far date-wise it will reach. I dont want to guess and give anyone wrong information either. We are working with Sprint to get our second shipment in next week and we will ship those out to customers as soon as we get them. If I hear anything about exact numbers or a shipping date for the second shipment, I will certainly let people know. Sorry I dont have much more information than that, but I will keep you in touch with what I know. :)
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] caspertodd:
She is not obligated to be here, but is doing so just to help. And you are going to complain about it?
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] SPreston2001:
Some people are just never happy and/or love to complain... Smh.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] five40:
While I do understand that she is not obligated to be here, Wirefly should've communicated better with their customer's.

The phones are being shipped tomorrow what exactly is the point of her being here now? She or someone from Wirefly should've been here weeks ago.

Just because a retailer offers low prices should poor customer service be expected with that also? I don't think so.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] jimmyg41:
Thanks Kim for coming to the forum and sharing that info. Like most people mentioned, I'm sure this is an isolated incident due to the unique circumstances with this particular phone. This is my first experience with Wirefly and it hasn't been the greatest but you guys are doing your best to get info out there and it's appreciated by some.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] five40:
I'll gladly pay more for peace of mind a knowing I will receive the item I paid for in a timely fashion.

Again i'm not blaming Wirefly for the delays, just the way they communicated with customers.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] Clock190:
This is really simple, my friend.

The sort of people who go out of their way to preorder phones that aren't even being advertised (in significant ways) yet and do so via a third party website can't be likened to anyone who simply shops online. This should be fairly obvious.

Point being that writing off this whole thing as not being consequential for Wirefly because the only ones who would notice are the enthusiasts is... humorous. Don't believe me? Their CEO is writing "emails" and posting to Facebook and there's a Wirefly employee posting in this thread. Still think that we're not important enough for Wirefly to cater some of their PR strategies to?

Now all of this said - I think it's clear that in the logistical sense, Wirefly wasn't too blame. That doesn't mean the situation couldn't have been handled better. The lesson learned for them might be to instruct their CSRs with better responses that don't imply that a shipment that is not physically moving is somehow on its way. It would've been a lot easier for folks to swallow if they didn't think "TOMORROW'S THE DAY, F5 F5 F5!" for a week and a half.

Good god, just a few more days.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] Wirefly_Kim:
You are welcome! Glad I can provide what I can. This is extremely unusual for how a phone launch occurs for us, and we are taking away from this what we can to make sure it doesn't happen again. I will be sure to post here as well as other forums and keep everyone notified of information when I have it to share.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] blkswanpres:
And remember most of us realize this isn't Wirefly's fault, and don't hold it against you.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] Txsrooster:
In two years we will be having this same conversation...from the same people.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] hayabusa1300cc:
Waaah gtf already :thumbup::D

______

-1988 Mustang GT hatch

Trick Flow Specialties Stage 1 cam, Mac long tube headers, Mac prochamber, Spintech super pro street mufflers, gt40p heads/intake, Crane beehive springs, hardened pushrods, underdrive pulleys, no smog, electric fan, 70maf sensor, bbk 70mm throttle body, Hotchkis suspension CC plates, welded subframe connectors, dual friction clutch, 3.73 gears positraction, freezing cold AC
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] conquereddroiduser:
Thanks for the info Kim. Is it safe to assume that if we don't get a shipping confirmation on Saturday, that our preorders will not be filled for approximately one week, or will the shipping confirmations stretch into monday for the first batch? I ask because I'll be leaving on a trip early next week, and really need to get this sorted out by then.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] Clock190:
Kim: I think most of us understand in a purely logistical sense, Wirefly wasn't to blame. My experience as a customer which, in all honesty, may give me pause to use Wirefly again was the customer service experience. I think a lot of my frustration came from hearing mixed answers after asking where our phones were. The worst part was probably reading the CSR responses that implied that the phones were on their way for distribution a week and a half ago, when they obviously weren't. Instead of setting the expectation where it should have been, i.e. "we're waiting on customs / this could take a while," I kept assuming that the delay would be very shot term (a few days) based on the CSR's verbage.

What would've kept me happier:

Having a message right on my order status screen explaining that there were delays out of Wirefly's hands and NOT imply that any inventory was on its way. This probably would've saved a lot of your CSRs, and in turn would've kept a lot of the confusion down.

Ensure the CSRs all had the same message as the above

Provide more updates wherever possible, even if nothing happened that day. Probably a tricky thing given that you can't call out your supplier or your logistics people, but the theme here would be to ensure that an open line of communication was being regularly updated.

Just my take. Again, I understand the delay wasn't the company's fault, but obviously you folks don't want your customers to have a sour experience associated with doing business with you. That's my best take on how to mitigate it.

Your efforts to actually talk to us in this forum are absolutely appreciated!
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] Wirefly_Kim:
You are welcome. You are correct, if you do not get a shipping confirmation email tomorrow with your tracking information included, then your order was not shipped within the first batch of orders. As for the second batch, I do not have a date we are receiving it from Sprint, so I cannot say when those phones will ship out next week. If you PM me your order, I will be happy to look at it and have a customer service manager reach out to you to assist if you have logistics issues due to your trip.
[Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE] Art2Fly:
So you will be shipping on a Saturday even though Fed Ex doesn't operate for you on weekends?