You might have thought that those lucky Verizon employees would have first dibs on the new iPhone when it launches Feb. 10. Not so. In a memo to managers Verizon Wireless COO John Stratton urged employees to hold off buying the device for a while to make sure customer demand was satisfied.

Stratton wrote that this was a chance to "to show those millions of people what it means to be a Verizon customer -- providing them the best network, joined by the very best customer service and support, all adding up to a world-class customer experience."

Nothing wrong with that. But don't you wish that sometimes - just sometimes - managers would write, "Guys, we can't screw this up. You've waited this long, just wait a little longer." That would get me on board to hold off buying something. And that's not always an easy thing to do.

 -- Mark Feffer