Xbox 360 disaster

I started this blog to rant about things that bug me and I never really got into it....until NOW!

Let's talk about the horrible way Microsoft partnered with Best Buy and did the worst product launch in history.

November 22 was a fiasco. I won't even speak about that. I am more concerned with the BS that went on at Best Buys on December 18th (the second major delivery of xbox 360s)

We called Best Buy in South Coast Plasa, Costa Mesa, CA (the heart of orange county). They tell us that people have already began lining up at 12 noon December 17th. They also tell us that they will hand out numbers about an hour before they open on Dec. 18th until all the 360s are accounted for.

So we show up at Best Buy at 7pm on Dec. 17 and no one is in line. Yeah, baby! A dream come true.........NOT!

It seems that South Coast Plaza (the snobs that they are) don't allow people to be on the mall premises after it's closed. So Best Buy gives out the tickets for all the xboxes at 6pm on Dec. 17th and they are now sold out of them. They didn't give the tickets out an hour before opening. They didn't give them out even before they closed at 11pm. They hand them out in the middle of the day, about 12 hours before the Sunday ad comes out telling the whole world to come and buy your xboxes.

So now we call Best Buy in Fullerton, CA and they have about 60 xboxes. Not 60, but about 60. These idiots can't even count. They never ever tell you at any store exactly how many are there. It's always about 60 or about 53. That makes about as much sense as a $273 carpool violation fine. Why not $275 or $270.

Back to my living hell. So, my son and his buddy are going to wait up all night for a chance at one of the "about 60" xboxes. Not me. I would have fallen asleep and woke up sometime after the store had opened and everyone in line went home. I would be lying on the side of the building all by myself.

HERE IS THE BEST PART: My son calls me at 8am and tells me that the guy in front of him gets the last xbox 360 and he goes to pay and doesn't have enough money, SO THE MANAGER LETS HIM LEAVE THE STORE TO GO GET SOME MORE MONEY AND COME BACK AND BUY THE DAMN THING. MY SON IS LIVID. HE HAS THE MONEY AND CAN'T BUY IT.

I read other horror stories at other Best Buys where they opened the doors and let everyone come in before telling them that they were sold out, but the had a great deal on a compaq laptop for $499. If that isn't a bait and switch, I don't know what is.

Best Buy is an amazing store. They just never answer their phones, never are around to help you in the store, and charge you a 30% reshelving cost which is a big rip off.

There is a fine line in making sure the xboxes sold out and not having enough product in the marketplace to make a difference. If they want to take away some of Sony's 70% market share they are going to have to start moving more product fast.

I can't wait to get all my xbox 360 games for Christmas and have nothing to play them on. Thanks Microsoft. Have a Merry Christmas. OOOOPS! Sorry, for all you politically correct scrooges, Happy Holiday or Seasons greeting or whatever other BS thing you have renamed for no reason and tried to cram down our throats. Now, now. I must save that rant for another posting.