Similar thing happened to me. I went to my local Shack to pre-order, but come to find out they're not a reseller. I was told that the closest store is about 100 miles away (no big deal, I was actually headed that way this weekend anyway). I tell him thanks for the info, and as I'm about to turn and walk out, he tells me that I should just get an iPhone. I pretty much tell him no way, thank him kindly, and leave.

I know most of the people they deal with are non-techy people that don't research a product for days before they buy, so, I bet they actually get quite a few sales like that. Whenever I buy any new gadget, I always know more than the salesman.

 

The complete opposite happened at my Radio Shack I went to.

The guy was very nice, realized I knew what I was talking about, and was rather excited that I was the first pre-order. Being the first pre-order, he did have to ask his Manager a few things, but it went as smooth as butter.

 

That sounds like a terrible experience. I went to the one in downtown Seattle and had zero problems. It is an "official" store and the guy who took my preorder was entirely professional about it.

 

It just comes down to whether or not the Radio Shack employee you deal with is an Apple fanboy.

 

I did both my orders at BB and the Shack, and was out in under 5 min. the conversation went the same at both, I want an EVO, AND HERE'S $50 AND MY PHONE NUMBER. Then continued talking on my incredible as they looked at me like I was nuts...short and sweet! However, the shack called me 20 min later and asked if I can come back and do a credit check so that it would be a faster process when I come back on the 4th. my answer to that was its a pre order, and I'll do everything on the 4th because I may not even pick it up from you. his reply was YOU MAY NOT WANT IT, OMG, WHY? I said ease up killa, I want it bad, that's why I got a pre order at best buy also, so who ever calls me first, gets my business. lol...right there is when he said...damm, ur not playin huh!

 

wow, long rant, but good. I see the pressure they are under at the Sprint store as well. Every time I go in they practically beg me to give them a good review when sprint calls. Best buy employees seem much more laid back. maybe the difference between working on commission or not.

 

Same here. The manager had two on pre-order for him and his girlfriend. The employee I dealt with was bummed because he had to wait a couple of months upgrade his Hero to the Evo.

Great experience. Although they did say that if people do not buy accessories, they don't make any money on phone sales. So they were bummed that I would not buy any.

 

The employee at my Shack had an iPhone around her neck but that never came up...she was way too excited for me and my EVO. She only had good things to say about it, and was hyped about trying out the pre-order system, as I happened to be there right after they opened the first day pre-orders started. She said her son is gonna be super jealous of me cuz he's on Sprint and is dying to get an EVO but his upgrade isn't till Sept.! Poor guy.

 

I got a hot girl, who didn't know anything about the phone. She never tried to sell me on anything and just did her job. She did ask me to come back and show her the phone after I got it, though.

 

Ask her on a date!

 

cool story,bro.

and,it's "micro," not "mini." don't want you to sound like you haven't been doing your homework on this phone.

(just messin')

 

Heh, sucks that you had a lousy experience.

I called a RS a block from my office yesterday & spoke to someone who wound up being the manager. I simply asked him to reconfirm the full price of the Evo if I'm not upgrade eligible, and if I could still pre-order. "Absolutely!"

Walked over 10 minutes later, said hi & asked to pre-order the Evo. "You the guy who called a few minutes ago? Yep! Okay, let's do it!" About 10 minutes later (he was a super slow typer), I was good to go. No hassles, no upselling nonsense, etc. I asked how many pre-orders he had and he said about 20 or so.

The irony is that I may not even wind up needing it, since I'm gambling on some of the Google IO Evo's out on Ebay. Hoping to get lucky there!

 

sorry you had such a DB @ your visit.

my RS trip was awesome, the sales guy and i talked for about 20 mins about how awesome the hardware is and that he even said, "I won't even make you open it up here" meaning i could just buy it and bolt.

anyway, sounds like you got a bad apple...

 

Man, I had a great experience pre-ordering my EVO at RadioShack. The dude working there had an iPhone and was talking about how he was getting rid of his iPhone for an EVO as well. He didn't try to shove anything down my throat and I left there quite happy about it.

 

I also had a wonderful experience preordering at The Shack

 

why would you let a RS salesperson ruin your EVO "karma"?

As long as he processed your pre-order properly, that's all that matters..

 

gal i ordered from was awesome.. she wants one too but has to wait until july.. =D

 

sucks the closest place i can get the Evo in store is a 2 hour drive, since the RS closest doesn't do Sprint, but they where nice, even though they hadn't even heard of the Evo

 

well, if you came to the RS where I work, I'd make sure you'd get that evo pre-order done!
(hardly an apple fanboy here )

 

I would love to go this route but I've heard that HTC's warranty is non-transferrable. Meaning if you don't buy from a retailer/sprint you aren't covered. Of course I could be wrong. I've also heard that the pre-orders from RS aren't refundable?

 

I had zero issues pre-ordering my EVO from my local Shack.

 

RS has the exact same 30 day return policy as a Sprint store. If you change your mind within 30 days of activation you get a full refund. The $50 deposit is a non-refundable purchase of a gift card which can be used for anything at RS, including the EVO.