Best Buy has low expectations for iPhone 4 inventory on launch day

If you pre-ordered your iPhone 4 from Best Buy, you might feel the color draining from your cheeks. A leaked set of instructions that went out to individual stores from the top brass, like Moses descending upon the people with the two tablets in his hands, give stores a precise set of directions on what to do on June 24th and the days leading up to it. By the week of the launch, each store will have a pretty good idea about how many units they will receive. Employees are to call those who have pre-ordered an iPhone 4 and schedule an appointment with them for launch day. A "customer appointment form" is supposed to be used by Best Buy staff to "ensure a positive customer experience" and helps the store plan traffic flow and know how many employees will be needed at various times. So far, so good. Here is where the problem comes in. With inventory expected to be "minimal" on launch day, the directions say to contact any customers who pre-ordered and "will not have a unit available for them" and tell them that their pre-order "will be fulfilled ASAP based on time and date of the pre-sale." Best Buy management made it clear that they do not want reps to give out speculative dates when a customer's order might be completed. What the execs want the reps to do is to tell customers that the store is doing everything they can to get their new iPhone to them.

Some Best Buy stores are going to offer those who did not pre-order an iPhone 4, the chance to be added to the list of those who did. Up to 11 am local time, a customer can pre-order the phone. Again, reps are supposed to be tight-lipped about when a phone might be made available to anyone who pre-orders on launch day and Best Buy employees are not allowed to participate. But with the expected "minimal" inventory, we can't really see that route being too successful for those who have not yet pre-ordered the phone.

Apple iPhone 4 Specifications

source: MacRumors