Originally Posted by
Ten Four However, back in the day when the 1020 was actually a "thing" with ads on TV, ...the local AT&T corporate store...literally did not stock even a floor sample! In the store the only Lumia phone visible at that time was a 520 hanging on the GoPhone rack in the back of the store in the least obvious location.
...So, in my experience the only way to get to know Windows phones has been to purchase and use them. You can't even examine one in a store most of the time.
I find this shocking, and if these were truly corporate stores, I can only conclude that AT&T either operates very differently in different regions or the marketing director in your area is really bad at his job.
When I worked at AT&T, I was in charge of setting up the demo phones (activating their phone numbers, setting up active email accounts, installing the app that runs the demo video loop when idle) and I was also in charge of placing the demo phones and accessories, store signs, etc., out for display.
The placement of everything in the store was mandated by our regional marketing director. They had floor plans of every store in the area, and they told us exactly where to place each phone and accessory. The iPhones and iPads had custom-built displays, then the rest of the phones were displayed on walls that contained 4 to 6 phones each, grouped by phone type, then by smartphone OS. All GoPhones were together. All basic/flip phones together. All feature phones (non-smartphones with full keyboard or touchscreen) together. Then smartphones were grouped together by OS (Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone). We also had a wall designated to other non-iOS tablets and netbooks.
As for which phones were on display with a live demo, it was every phone we carried in-stores at the time, with few exceptions. Some basic GoPhones were not displayed depending on the number of GoPhones models for sale. We didn't carry any inventory or demo units marketed through the website as online-only offers. On rare occasions, there was a delay in production so we might not have had a demo unit at the launch of some phones.
For the phones in stock, we had a system to automatically replenish our inventory based on 2 week sales trends. Even if we weren't selling any units of a particular item, we would still keep at least 1 unit, usually 2, in stock as long as it was still in production. The exception to this would be if a manufacturer had an item on backorder, which again sometimes happened prior to the launch date, and some color options were by special order only.
By the time the 1020 was released, I was no longer working for the AT&T, but my dad and step-mom both purchased one from my old store. The Lumia 1020 and Lumia 1520 were on the first wall at the front of the store. My dad got the black 1020 and my step-mom had to order a yellow 1020. They also got a discount on a 2520 tablet at the same time, which they had to order in the store as well.
Again, maybe AT&T isn't consistent in their handling of Windows Phones across the country. The sales reps will almost certainly push Android and iPhone the hardest, but I've never experienced a full array of current phone models, regardless of brand/OS, not being at least available for demo in my area.
"Give that kid a chocolate medal!" (cit. Obama)
