All I wanted was to buy and Apple iPhone. It became a rather frustrating journey. I was so disappointed. I have always been a huge Apple fan, and they'd let me down. I shared my story on this blog, hoping I'd been fair and balanced in the telling. The post attracted quite a few responses - both public comments and private emails.

Everyone found a way to support Apple.

I was puzzled. I reread my post, thinking I hadn't been clear describing the situation. In my reality, ATT was the hero and Apple was the dark knight.  It was clear to me. 

Then I saw more comments, each different in its 'excuse', yet every one supporting Apple. WOW. It was a trip.  Some were pro-Apple, some anti-ATT, some forgiving of Apple and not-so-much-so of ATT. Check out some of the common themes. I added my reality in italics just to make it more interesting.

• That's what happens when you have a high demand product and limited supply.  iPhone 3Gs' are readily available. Pretty much anywhere. ATT had 6 in the store of my model and color.

• ATT service sucks more than their network. ATT offered to 'waste a' $700 phone so I wouldn't be out of service for 4 days. I personally like their cellular service and have been with them for 10 years.

• That's ATT's system problem not Apple's. Not what the folks at both companies told me. But more importantly, not the point.  I paid Apple for a service (fast shipping) that I wasn't going to receive. They treated me poorly when I pointed that out. That's the crux of the matter.

Then there was my favorite.

Say what?  I paid for fast shipping, and I did it for a reason. My Palm is rebooting faster than I can dial a number. Palm users know what that means.  Bye Bye phone. Plus, I paid for a service and Apple wasn't going to deliver it.

When you have a great brand, you can get by with a lot.

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