Hot off the presses… and by presses, I mean Sprint Press Releases…
Within hours of offering Palm® Pre™ – the most widely anticipated electronic device of the year – eager customers delivered the result: a record Sprint (NYSE:S) sales debut.
By late Sunday, Palm Pre had broken previous sales records (first day and first weekend) for a Sprint device.
“Sprint is a very different company than it was 12 months ago,” said Dan Hesse, president and chief executive officer. “Palm Pre is the coming out party for the new Sprint. It is the perfect device that highlights all of the positive changes in our company, including our revolutionary Ready Now retail store experience, greatly improved customer care, unmatched value pricing plans and America’s most dependable 3G network.”
The anticipation of getting a device found many customers waiting in line at Sprint retail stores Saturday morning. One person in line – on his wedding day – was Theodore Travis.
On Saturday at 7 a.m., Theodore was 14th in line at an Atlanta-area Sprint store, fidgeting for his new Pre. His wedding was scheduled for 8 a.m. As much as Theodore wanted Pre, he wanted his bride, Anita, to see him at the altar at the appointed time. At 7:45, he abandoned his wait and left his line-number and credit card information with a Sprint store employee, asking that he “hold the 14th phone for me.” The Sprint store employee obliged. Minutes after the recessional, the newlyweds returned to pick up their phone, spending the first minutes of married life with a Ready Now consultant who walked the happy couple through Pre’s setup and features. The new Mrs. Travis later revealed that her reaction was “You did what?” to her husband spending the hour before their wedding waiting for a phone, but later admitted, “I guess I kind of understand now.”
The Pre launch was a great example of the changes that have taken place at Sprint, showcased by customers delighted with both the product and their experience.
With the strong customer response to the launch of Pre, as expected, Sprint has sold out in many locations. Sprint is getting the device in to its retail locations as fast as Palm can make them.
Want to read the whole thing for yourself? You can find it here.
One Comment, Comment or Ping
Joseph
I was third in line at 6:15 AM! I am a very picky smartphone geek – and after putting my new Pre through the ringer, I LOVE it! I cannot even imagine what Palm will do with the inevitable upgrades to come.
Anyway, I am told that at the Spring store from where I bought mine, that they were sold out by 11:00 AM.
Jun 8th, 2009
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