Checking on Repair Status.. no answer and no info

So my 30gig iPod video fell victim to the "no audio" issue that most of these models suffer from. I took it to the Apple Store and he said this is a known issue and was replacing my iPod for free, but they needed to order it because they didn't have any in stock.

It has been a week and I haven't heard anything yet so I called the Apple Store just a second ago. There were 3 calls in front of me, I waited 20 mins until it finally started ringing... but it rang and rang. Nobody answered. I let it ring for 6 minutes straight and finally hung up.

I looked online for my status but it said "Status Unavailable"...

I live in rural Texas and the nearest Apple Store is a long trip, I really need to contact somebody before I drive all the way into San Antonio to pick up my replacement. Is there anything else I can do since I can't get hold of anybody at the NorthStar Mall Apple Store Location?