AT&T sending out iPhone 3G release vibes
The original launch of the iPhone was signaled with an AT&T vacation block preventing employees from taking a month off in June/July of last year. After much anticipation about the new 3G iPhone, AT&T is blocking vacations again this summer. Could it signal a launch date after all this time?
This time the vacation embargo for AT&T staff is June 15th to July 12th, 2008. According to the AT&T memo (published here, originally):
AT&T Mobility
Vacation Schedules
To: All Employees
Last year at this time we asked that all vacations be scheduled before June 15 or after July 15, to ensure adequate store staffing and to give everyone an equal opportunity to benefit from an exciting product launch. Thanks to your hard work, we experienced excellent sales during the mid-summer period. This year, the numbers you produced in 2007 will be hard to beat; but as a business, we must rise to the challenge, and make every effort to exceed last year’s sales results. Your management team is counting on you!
We’ll meet the challenge “head-on” by providing an exciting Summer Promotional Launch to enable your sales to soar. We again anticipate heavier than normal customer traffic in our stores, providing an excellent earning opportunity for every front line retail sales consultant (RSC) in company owned retail stores.
To ensure proper staffing during this period, Sales personnel planning to take approved time off are encouraged to schedule their vacations before June 15 or after July 12 to participate in the heavy selling period
Previously approved vacation will be allowed where voluntary rescheduling is not feasible
No additional vacation will be approved for 6/15 – 7/12
If customer traffic is manageable, there may be an opportunity to approve vacation toward the end of the period. Managers will communicate updates as they become available.
Due to the proximity of the dates to the Apple World Developer Conference, as well as how well they mesh with the projected launch date of June 27th, speculation is running rampant that this is when Apple will release the new 3G iPhone. The new iPhone is already in hot demand before it even hits the shelves, and could put strain on the AT&T sales machine, which is the supposed reason behind stacking the staff to accommodate that.
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