Imagining how this might go down for a 'normal' buyer
Sometimes my mind runs wild with imaginary scenarios. The name "the all-new HTC One" stuck out at me as potential for trouble. And it's not the first time HTC's gone down this rabbit hole. So... this happened in my head:
Chad walked into the AT&T store. He'd never felt comfortable in it, even after the most recent remodel with its lounge area full of curved couches and big-screen TVs. The walls of phones and accessories and tablets were overwhelming, and half the time it seemed like any employee he talked to was utterly clueless. The other half were pushing technical jargon he didn't understand. One of his coworkers had mentioned having a fairly similar experience at a Sprint store, though it apparently was awash in yellow tones, whereas this AT&T location was drenched in blues and oranges.
A female store employee, wearing khaki pants, a blue shirt emblazoned with the AT&T logo, and a lanyard with her name badge on it, walked up to Chad, smiling. "Hi, welcome to AT&T. I'm Lisa. Is there anything I can help you with today?" She held her arms out to the sides just a bit, as if she were ready to physically embrace him.
Chad focused his attention on her, blocking out the colorful cacophony of the rest of the store. "Yes, uh, I'd like to buy the new one."
Lisa quickly picked up on his confusion, "The new what?"
"The new one. I'd like to get one.""Do you mean the new HTC One?""Is that the new one?"
Chad repeated himself, "The new one. I'd like to get one."
"Do you mean the new HTC One?" Lisa prompted.
"Is that the new one?" Chad scratched his head.
Lisa forced a smile, "Are you asking about the HTC One?"
"I… I don't know one thing about this stuff. My one friend said I should get the new one."
Lisa pointed a hand down at a display next to her, "Well, sir, this is the all-new HTC One."
Chad looked down at the phone, "That's the one?"
"It is."
"I'm not sure that's the one."
Lisa chuckled, "Trust me, this is the new One."
Chad sighed, "I think he was talking about a different one. I don't know… I'm not good at these things."
"Perhaps he was talking about the old One?" Lisa offered.
Chad thought for a moment, "Maybe that's the one."
She took a step back and pointed at another phone, "Well, this is the old HTC One. It's only one year old."
Chad looked back and forth between the two phones, and then pointed at the newer generation HTC One, "I thought this was the one."
"That one is the new One," Lisa said. "This one is the old One."
Chad's mouth hung slightly open, "Which one's the old one?"
"This is the old One," Lisa gestured to the phone at her side, and then to the one by Chad, "That's the new One."
"Uhm…" Chad stared at the phone beside him, and then stepped next to Lisa to examine the other phone. He moved back to the newer phone, "This is the new one?"
"That one is the new One."
"This one looks the same as the other one," Chad said.
Lisa nodded, "The new One and the old One do have similar designs, but there are differences."
He furrowed his brow as he looked at the phone in front of him, "Show me one."
Moving to his side, Lisa grabbed the phone off the display, "Well, for one," she turned the phone over, "The rear camera on the new HTC One is actually two."
Chad sighed loudly, "Two?!"
