Totally upset over my preorder for the iPhone5

Question

I've been a customer of VZW for well over 12 years and I've gotten upset before but nothing like I am right now.  I feel I have been  lied to and mislead. Actually I am thinking seriously of taking my business to another carrier. 
I pre-ordered the new iPhone 5 on the 14th and was told that my order would go out in the first mailing of phones.  My confirmation letter says Deliver By: 09/28/2012.  I was assured by the girl that took my order that I would get my phone most likely sooner than the expected delivery date. Last week when I checked and could not retrieve any  info on my order  I called and was told by the rep at that time that the order would be shipped on the 20th or the 21st and then I should be able to check my order when a tracking number would be issued.  I accepted that, I was not happy, but I accepted it. This morning I checked and there is still no info on my order so I called again.  This time I was told that the 28th was a ship by date.  I said "No" it plainly says Deliver By: 08/28/2012. She argued with me acting like I couldn't read what was right in front of me which made me more angry.  Much arguing and discussing back and forth ensued. I demanded to speak with a supervisor & she told me they could not help me anymore than she could. I told her that if half  the people who pre-ordered that new phone were as angry as I was then Verizon would be in big trouble! Because after all the years of being a loyal customer I was ready to cancel my phone service and go to another carrier. I again told her I wanted a supervisor and this time she connected me someone else. ( Probably the girl sitting next to her.)  This person spent a lot of time, in my opinion, talking in circles to me trying to calm me down. She ended with a  promise that they would  do further checking and would call me back by Wednesday.  Time will tell whether that promise  will be one more that is broken.
Bottom Line:  
If I could not get my phone  delivered to me as promised then why did the first rep I spoke with not tell me I might be better off to go to the store and purchase my phone either at the Verizon store or at the Apple store?  She was well aware that my present phone was not reliable. She knew that time was an important factor to me.
Why tell me that I would be among the first to receive my pre-ordered phone? 
Why tell me when I called to check on my order that my order would be shipped on the 20th or the 21st?
Why does my order confirmation letter give a Deliver By date if is  a possible Mail By date?
Anybody else get this same or similar spiel?

Answer 1

I understand that you are upset by the incorrect information provided to you verbally by CS when you called in about your order. That is understandable and seems to happen a lot since the CS reps are not kept in the loop about things (it appears) with VZW...and take the brunt of angry customers simply because they are the front line. What makes your argument a little less understandable (aside from being upset about poorly informed CS reps) is the fact that you admit your confirmation letter states 9/28 (which that date has not passed yet....and despite the ill information received verbally, your written confirmation is clearly stated and has yet to be incorrect information for you). You said you are upset about your pre-order when it appears you are upset about incorrect and conflicting verbal information. You apparently pre-ordered later in the day than the 1st batch people did. You knew based on written information that you were not supposed to be a part of the 1st batch and choose to ignore what your written information states because the verbal information gave you a more favorable outcome. Call and complain about the poor CS. That would be accurate. But in no way were you mistreated in the actual pre-order UNLESS the date passes and no information is provided. Being a loyal customer does not mean that verbal info trumps written info...nor does it mean that you should get your iPhone earlier than your confirmation states. You are well aware that the demand for this phone was and continues to be through the roof. If you choose to switch to another carrier but still want to get the iPhone 5 then be prepared for a far longer wait than 9/28 to receive it. It's something worth considering. Overall, understand that chances are you will encounter equal amounts of poor information via CS across the board with the various carriers....especially during high demand product launches. I'm sure there are current VZW customers that ordered the iPhone 5 with far later delivery dates than yourself that would love to be in your position.