It all started with this:
Yes, that’s a very bad photo of my iPhone with big black patchy blobs on its screen. It didn’t
get dropped, wet, or anything else. They
just showed up. Sadly, it’s un-fixable.
Though I didn’t have a lot of enthusiasm for having to spend
money on a replacement, the iPhone is necessary for me for business purposes (another story) and to be able to use back in the US. So, took a deep breath and went to the local electronics
store to buy one of the new models.
They looked at me like I was crazy.
I tried another store. Same
result.
Finally, I marshaled the energy to tackle the one Apple
store in Hong Kong. When it opened last
year, it practically caused a riot – people slept outside for a week to be the
first ones in. Police officers were
deployed to manage the crowds and fights broke out as people were accused of “jumping
the queue”. After a few months, I
figured the dust had settled.
Not so, but it wasn’t because it was an unruly mob.
I was greeted by two Apple employees at the door asking me
to state my purpose for visiting the store – no idle wandering around going on
there! I said I wanted to buy a new
iPhone. They stopped me in my tracks,
informing me that I needed to “reserve” one online and if I was “selected” one
of their colleagues would call me by 9 pm.
THEN I could come back to pick it up.
One employee had an iPad and showed me where to go online to
reserve the phone. In one of my more
aggressive Hong Kong moments, I said “great, let’s just sign me up right now!”
and commandeered the iPad. As I walked out of the store, thinking that my
destiny of having a new phone the next day was assured, one of the greeters
called out, “if you don’t get a call, you need to try again tomorrow!”
Whatever. As if that would be a problem. I figured that by providing my government
issued Hong Kong ID number as required (felt totally big brother-ish!), they’d
run a check to make sure that I’m not connected to any re-saler that buys the
phones and re-sells them at a steep mark up.
The esteemed Apple colleague didn't call.
I’ve diligently “reserved” a phone each day for the past
week during the three-hour period when reservations are taken.
I still haven’t won the lottery. Maybe I shouldn’t have commandeered that
iPad.
With the “rationing” method not working for me, I decided to
explore other options. A friend told me
that she and some other people had succeeded in getting a new iPhone by going
to a small electronics store and asking for the manager. She informed me this is how the conversation
should go:
You: I need an iPhone.
Manager: Ah, we don’t have any more iPhones. Very limited supply.
You: But I am very desperate - I need my phone for business.
Can you help me and just check your
backroom?
Manager: Well, let me see…
Then an iPhone will be “found” in the storage room.
Wow, how’s that for shady?
I could hardly keep a straight face while going through the conversation.
Alas, when I delivered the line “check
your backroom?” the manager smiled broadly and said that his backroom is now
empty. There was part of me that was
relieved that the transaction didn’t work.
My friend later told me that I would have had to pay in cash. Of course – how could I be so naïve?!
Dancing with the dark side clearly doesn’t work for me, so I decided to do something I'd be completely at peace with - “importing” one from the US. The Apple store there was happy to sell me
one, no lottery, government ID, or cash payment required. Getting
it here is a whole other story…but in the end, it’s going to be hand carried by
someone visiting from KC next week. A
happy end to my silly (but time consuming!) supply and demand problem!
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