yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] mattucf:
I had a conversation with the Atlanta area District Connect Sales Manager and he was very understanding of the situation going on. To begin with he apologized and said this was not how Best Buy wanted to treat it's customers. He realized that there was a disconnect of information in the process and even himself he was somewhat in the dark. He did check all the area stores and there are no phones available...so he's not able to get me the phone today like he wanted. He plans on following up with me Monday and giving me a $50 giftcard when I pickup my phone. I do appreciate that! So now I'm at $330 of best buy gift cards when I only need $200 to buy the phone..oh well :) I can always spend money at BB! As for the Georgia / Atlanta area getting the phone..he said the best estimate he can give is sometime within the next week. We will see where this goes. There just aren't any around here! I think I will email back the corporate contact later to let them know the dire lack of phones in this area!
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] cardinalryan:
Steven Waligoski?? Wasn't he "Woogie" in Something About Mary?
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] bluesolarflare:
Wow I am completely floored. Best Buy came through with what they said. The Regional manager picked up my phone from Burbank and drove it all the way to the store I ordered from and hand delivered it to the store manager who just called me and said he has my phone in his hands. I am going to pick it up after work!
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] jbrook10:
You have to give them credit for that. Can he drop one off in Illinois for me?
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] mehal88:
if he can head out to DC that would be nice...

---------- Post added at 04:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:03 PM ----------

From my experience, the $36 activation fee can be waived when you call 611 after you get the bill. I am assuming you are referring to the premier service.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] SeanPR1:
Just got mine today. Pebble Blue AT&T Philadelphia Area. Pre-ordered Saturday. They only got 2 in. That was all the preorders they had.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] bmoreboy02:
Hey bro drive up to arundel mills mall they have em in stock for sprint
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] wgarrido:
Yea, my store had some Sprint ones on the 21st. Darn AT&T! But had them since 1996.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] RTBee:
Just got a call from the Mobile Manager at BestBuy to tell me my phone was in!!!!!! As soon as I hung up I got the email that it was in. Finally. I had preordered in store on 6/13 for a 16gb Pebble Blue AT&T. They told me last week that it would be in on the 28th. I was getting discouraged when 3:00 came and went but at 4:30 I got the call! :laugh::D:D
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] ucity3:
Just talked to the BB in St. Louis and have gotten a confirmation that the pre-orders at all BB location have been shipped overnight. They will be at your location by noon tomorrow...:)
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] jbadboy2007:
Exact same scenario for me in Lansing lol. I'm going to Philly on Saturday.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] drksilenc:
i hope so that would be great
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] worldwidepmp:
I'm in DC but I did a $50 gift card pre order in Va. I also did a Wirefly pre order which I got an email from basically saying they didn't know when they would get the phone. If Best Buy calls me tomorrow saying they got it, I might be tempted to go get it.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] Ind3lible:
Called mine again he said the shipment is expected within a day or so . Haven't heard anything. I wish I had ordered from sprint. Never buy from best buy again.. ! Bastards!
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] mercado79:
insurance through sprint went up to $11 per month and the deductible is $150. that's just crazy. well... maybe for the first couple of months...maybe. after that, you can start picking up phones on ebay for around $200. the nexus s 4g started selling for around $150 - $180 on ebay within 7 months of release. likewise, i've seen others here in the forum say they bought an evo 3d from last summer for $100. insurance just seems like a rip off at that point.

if you insist on having insurance, best buy's insurance is $9.99 per month and no deductible. less if you prepay for the two years.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] danipoak:
How about squaretrade insurance? No deductible but doesn't cover theft. Anyone tried ensquared? They cover theft.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] pathtologos:
Hope you're right. My bb hasn't given me such a definitive answer. Maybe they're just playing it safe. One guy DID tell me they we're POSSIBLY getting some tomorrow (today, now) and to check back.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] pathtologos:
I'm sure this goes without saying but if anyone gets an email/call about your s3 being ready for pickup, please take a quick sec to let us know!
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] jbadboy2007:
Sprints deductible on this phone is $200
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] lepapirriky:
I was going to say that, they have gone way up, its not on the 100's anymore but 200

I'm going with best buy insurance, I just gotta make sure my phone don't get lost :P I'll have to put her on a leash :P
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] Mr Ian B:
Squaretrade.com has a 1 year for 70 and 2 year for 130 plan but, each claim you file has a 100 deductible. that kills the 70 price for one year and not worth it to me. Seems like the BB insurance is the best way to go now.

Please post if something better comes along.

Ian B

Hoping my GS 3 comes in today at BB in Austin, Tx.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] MadFlava:
10AM on the east coast. Let the waiting begin!
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] Chevyboxer:
BOOM just got called my phone is ready.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] Tkdawg22:
Where in the country would you be? What carrier do you have?
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] pathtologos:
Congrats, and damn you!
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] mercado79:
please... for everyone's benefit, when you post an update, also post your location.

i really hope i get the call soon. i'm seriously considering sneaking out of work to pick it up!
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] screwhead728:
City, State, and Carrier please. LOL.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] lepapirriky:
Are you trolling and playing with our feelings?? :confused::sly:
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] fatboypup:
shouldnt carrier be a given in a sprint specific area? :silly:
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] wgarrido:
That's great to hear. Gives the rest of us hope that you got it that late. Almost 2pm West coast so still some more time to hope.

When you got the call what does BB website show for inventory?

Thanks
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] socalwrx:
just curious, any word on BB getting them for verizon? I thought the 28th was the date supposedly?
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] bluesolarflare:
I would be weary about what the inventory shows on the website. I inquired about some earlier this morning and websites show they have some phones and one CSR said they had none and another said they have some but were not allowed to sell them until AT&T gave them a hard release date.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] bacuy82:
Just received my phone call from BBYM... At& t blue... @ 330 pm... OKC. Was almost discouraged when they told me nothing yet when I called an hr earlier.. Super excited.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] wgarrido:
I agree, I was just curious.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] RTBee:
Funny you should ask, I've been checking it all day and all day it says unavailable. So I was checking it again (probably while you were posting) and it still says unavailable. So maybe a takes a bit longer for them to update the site.

Btw, I'm from Indianapolis, Indiana, west side.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] Adminkiller:
Lol same store I got mine from this morning !! If you're talking about the one on Rinehart Rd
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] aNdroidnut:
I'm still waiting. What store?
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] KriztopherKY:
What Best Buy could not do in 3 weeks, ATT did in less than 7 hours after ordering....I have a tracking number in hand where my phone has shipped... Best Buy failure complete.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] cent_0_o:
Yeah I ordered from AT&T at 1pm and at 2 it changed from back ordered to processed/pending shipment. Hope it will ship soon. With my luck best buy will get my phone tomorrow but at least I'm making progress with AT&T
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] xemtra:
mine was a bust, North Atlanta GA. i called and they said they have no "official" word on when they will get them. so basically their "estimated" date that was printed out on all our pre order receipts was pointless.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] Knight613:
My Best Buys are now saying July 1. I'm guessing there was a corporate memo for it. I hope it's for AT&T as well since I know only Sprint has their official date for the 1st, though AT&T typically does launch phones on a Sunday.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] pnizzle20:
your order will deff ship today, calling att direct is best move you made!
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] zmore:
Best Buy corporate (in Minnesnowwwda) was nice enough to call me back (in NYC) a few hours after I emailed them about my disappointment in the SGS3 pre-order FAIL.

She (forgot her name already) said they understood and that they really didn't know what was going on, but that she'd call me back when they did. She also mentioned something about BB having an exclusive on some other android phone for a couple months before anyone else, but I didn't care about the consolation.

Anyway - If still no pickup email by tomorrow @ 5pm, I'm bailing on BB in order to lock-in my actual upgrade cycle before month-end.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] zaisaroni:
Seen or heard about accessories at Best Buy around the cities yet? I figure I would use the $50 gift card on a case or two instead of arguing with them for a return of it after cancelling my preorder.

Got my 64 gig UHS class card and ROCK case from amazon today... Pretty slick!
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] drksilenc:
ahh just picked one up from the best buy mobile in youngstown ohio woot an hour drive 1 way but thats not a really big deal
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] xemtra:
did u pre order?
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] nsrini:
Got my Phone today at 11 AM, So less than 24 hrs after ordering , I have the phone. Ordered Pebble Blue, it's a beautiful phone ! Very fast !
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] ThatJawn:
Hello gentlemen.

Just a little insight. I work for bestbuy. Preordered from there well because, discount is nice.

But anyway just to clear a couple things up and so no one actually gets mad at the store itself.

Every store is on their lonesome in terms of when they will recieve the phone. I just got my confirmation email today about the phone itself. I have ATT. Official release is the first of July, with the verizon version being the 8th atleast according to our system.

But the thing is like I said, it all comes down to what our warehouses were sent. We had gotten in the Sprint versions first on the 19th I believe, very early.

If anyone else has questions toss me a PM. I'll do my best to answer.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] ngocdao:
Ours came in yesterday for pre orders. Freaking awesome phone!
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] sxracerb25:
The Best Buy near my house says "In-Store Only" on the Pebble Blue for Sprint, does that mean they have pre-orders or I should be able to walk in and buy one? I called but they said all they have are ones for pre-orders....
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] tico1986:
I gave up on Best Buy even though I heard back from their upper management apologizing and whatnot. My Best Buy store is still clueless on when they will get them in. So I went to the AT&T store next door, ordered my GSIII and should be shipped tomorrow. It does say back-ordered and my email says it will ship in 10 days? I assume it is incorrect from hearing everybody else that this is incorrect and it should be shipped in 24 hours.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] tuffluck:
guys, seriously...screw best buy. i ordered the phone yesterday at 12pm from ATT (over the phone), and i already have the phone, it's activated, screen protector and case on. just order from ATT and be done with it. BB ain't getting them in any timeframe your comfortable with (which means we just don't know when they are getting them!).
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] pnizzle20:
TRUTH! ordered mine last night and already got it! screw BB and all the uncertainty!
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] KriztopherKY:
yep, I ordered mine at my local ATT store this morning at ~10:45am, received a shipment notification email at 5:35pm, and it has passed through a USPS sorting facility at 7:39pm this evening....
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] wgarrido:
I really wish I could order from AT&T. I usually do but last time I did BB and did buy back now I am stuck. Last time it worked out cause bb had it in store before at&t. Almost tempted to cough up the $199 and just get gift card for buy back if you can do that. Then put it towards a dslr. The anticipation is killing me because it could be any day. Worse than knowing even if it was a week away.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] mehal88:
haha thanks for the suggestion but im looking for at&t.

I stopped by a different bestbuy tonight and they said there was some big conference call about the at&t gs3's yesterday. Supposedly, they are supposed to ship out today and should be in store either tomorrow or Saturday. Here's hoping its tomorrow, since I'm going on vacation saturday morning.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] Gadgetz:
:cool:

Sacramento, CA. Store #133

Long story as to how I came upon this.....stay tuned
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] KLLSWITCH:
not cool ^^^^^^^^^^^^:crying:
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] JayFReaZy:
A location would've been nice; and I am extremely envious, lol.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] send2amrish:
can't wait to hear this...i'm still waiting for my AT&T preorder or my BB preorder what ever comes first i'll take.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] rockstarbrad04:
So.... emailing corporate is the way to go. I got a call from my bestbuy telling me to come get my phone lol after they eearlier today told me they couldn't sell me one.

They threw in screen protectors and a car charger too.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] wgarrido:
Who did you email?
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] rockstarbrad04:
It was a gentlemen whose email was listed in a previous post. I can't recall offhand but it did work
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] wgarrido:
Hmm I emailed him and haven't heard back.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] mehal88:
totally think that you need to stop playing with your new toy and tell us poor guys without our phones the story :-)
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] KLLSWITCH:
yea cause im like 15 mins from sac so not fair dude
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] KLLSWITCH:
WOW you lucky SOB:good:
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] mehal88:
I don't even expect a fraction of the courtesy and professionalism from my store. I went to a different store after work today and it was completely different from how I've been greeted at the store I preordered from. The manager at the store was very happy to talk to me and understood how frustrating it is that my friends who ordered from at&t got their phones last thursday while I'm still waiting for mine.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] Gadgetz:
Yeah man, they hooked me up.

I hear you man...I was at my wits end after getting the "sorry" speech this afternoon, very frustrating. I'm just glad it worked out like it did for me and hope you guys get yours soon. Ordering direct from AT&T seems to be the fastest way to get it so those of you who can, should.

Alright guys, see you in the forums....and remember, squeaky wheel gets the grease! Good luck fellas
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] pnizzle20:
hahah thats awesome man! AT&T paid for my phone too, $589 ! They did this because the lady who took my order was incompetent, took over an hour to make the order, and when she finally placed she shipped it to the wrong address. So i had to wait just 1 day and got the phone for free.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] bluesolarflare:
It's been a long night but I am the owner of a new Marble White Galaxy S III. Best Buy followed through and I got a call at 12:30 to pick up the phone. The district manager did indeed deliver the phone to my home store. I stopped by at 6:30 to pick up the phone and the mobile manager Nate was very helpful. I had planned to swap out some games and get a $55 gift card (thats how much they came up for in the best buy app) and then also trade in my iphone and get about $80. Unfortunately their thumb print system was down (They need your thumb print for tracking) they were not able to process my request. To make up for this and the hassle of not getting the phone on time, not only did the manager price match my target add I brought in ($150) but he also gave me a 32 GB micro SD card for FREE.

They have gone above and beyond all expectations and I will definitely shop there again.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] screwhead728:
How can I get the number to the Best Buy district manager? I live in Miami, FL.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] wgarrido:
So you are the that bought the one from Modesto lol. I saw that one and thought about it but kind of far from Monterey.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] mehal88:
you mentioned that you price matched to target, did you bring in a physical ad or did you just have them look it up online? I have had them look it up online to match before but considering how much of a PITA I've been, I'm afraid they're going to give me a hell of a time when I finally get my preorder.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] lepapirriky:
Quick question guys, if I buy my phone from sprint, can I still buy BB insurance? Someone in the forum told me I can't, I just want to double check if that is right.

Thank you!
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] PowerMan572:
You don't want Best Buy cell phone insurance anyway. I had it on my Galaxy Note and I did NOT opt for it last night when buying the S3. He asked why and I told him about the horror stories I found all over the internet and there's not one positive insurance policy. He asked for examples and all he said was "interesting". Just Google it, you won't want it after that.

My lady sold me the insurance last time because she said "if you spill water on it or it gets any water damage, just bring it in and we'll give you a brand new one right on the spot!" That's a lie. They try to send it out and replace it 4 times first before considering it a lemon policy.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] lepapirriky:
Well as long as they replace the phone I'm fine with it, but I don't know if I can still get it
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] tico1986:
For those who ended up going through AT&T is it normal for it to say that it is back-ordered? I ordered mine last night at an AT&T store and it still says back-ordered...
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] xemtra:
no, i asked my store when i pre ordered on the 5th and he said to get the insurance you must order from bestbuy. I had it on my Evo and they replaced it twice. got it back in 2-3 days both times. no charge except the 9.99 a month. i will be using it again.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] pnizzle20:
yea thats normal mine said back ordered for a nearly 12 hrs, it will prob go to processing later today, then to shipping shortly after. if you paid for over night it will ship some time today for sure.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] lepapirriky:
Damn!!! I want the 32gb but I don't want sprint stupid tep anymore
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] MeVirtually:
I doubt it, because they'd need a receipt showing the phone purchased on it in order to exchange it if it ever came to that. I used to work there several years ago, and I won a 22" TV in a raffle. The manager said I could but the service plan on it, so I did, and it was written up as such. Well, fast forward a couple years, new managers in, I'm no longer an employee, the TV goes in to service a couple times and the second time they decide it's not worth fixing, so they okay it for exchange - but I have no receipt for the TV itself. Fortunately I still knew people there, so I got my exchange (though it wasn't the usual "pick out another TV", it was "you get this TV", but I later went to another store to exchange the new one to what I wanted since this time I had a receipt), so maybe they're nicer now that they need customers, but if you go into your store and ask a manager, hopefully he or she didn't just approve it because they need the extra sale to pad the numbers.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] Jahspree:
Not sure where you read that but not all best buys are like that. The best buy I worked at had phones back in at least 3 or 4 days. So it really depends on where you go.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] tico1986:
Ok good. The guy I ordered from at the store told it was going to be shipped today so I assume it was overnight shipping. Thanks!
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] ngocdao:
As long as you don't lose the the phone that insurance is amazing. No deductible and unlimited claims. Amazing
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] tjr2010:
Thats one heck of a story. Best story as far as this whole s3 and best buy shindig. I'd have to get a couple miracles and fire a couple best buy employees and hire angels just to get half off a phone. I hope its that much more awesome for ya!
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] screwhead728:
I have heard from a lot of you that BB told you that today "Friday" was going to be the day.... It's already 10:49 AM Eastern Time, and I haven't gotten any e-mail, not anyone else here in the forum.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] moz68:
+1 Sitting here waiting as well. Not getting my hopes too high. Atl., GA
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] pdubcramp:
Still too early, I don't think my location gets deliveries until close to 5 pm. Your mileage may vary.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] LightningGA:
Impatiently waiting till 1pm to call to be disappointed. They have told me if they are coming into my BB it should be by then. 1.5 hours to go.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] bluesolarflare:
I printed out the ad about two weeks ago :D had been sitting in my car ever since. After I preordered I was looking around everywhere online and I found a Target Online ad showing $149.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] screwhead728:
Does anyone know how can I find out the District Manager e-mail or phone number?
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] cliff p:
Pre-ordered mine on Wednesday this week, and picked it up from BB yesterday after work.

They had VERY few pre-orders. The local ATT retail stores are all telling customers that they will not be released for a few more weeks yet, so I think the populace is just sadly uninformed :(

Loving the phone though.
[Galaxy S III General (US Carriers)] eweezy12:
Steve Waligoski... Someone provided his email earlier in this thread.. I e-mailed corporate yesterday about my frustration, nothing rude, just voiced my opinion... i actually gave up hope.. but today i got a call from my stores manager, and they have my phone, shortly after that i received a call from Steve himself to make sure the issue had been resolved.... Best Buy actually came through for me... It went a long way to keep my future buisness. I am extremely pleased with the fast resolution after my initial e mail... Will post an update later... And again ... I thank everyone for your activity and feed back here...it helped... I actually found it... Steven.Waligoski@bestbuy.com I however did e-mail Greg Johnson @ the e-mail in the post below... he in turn forwarded it to Steve, who is the gentleman that resolved the issue for me