Tire Blow-out

[photomat]

So I hit a curb yesterday and blew out a tire. I big chunk of the side wall was hanging out. I felt really stupid about this, until I saw another car do the same thing 5 minutes later blowing out two tires. The warning sign for the median was missing and the stump for the sign, was likely the cause of the blow-out. I deemed the tire undrivable due to the area of the blow-out and called BMW Assist for a tow. Frustrating, as I was 5 minutes from the dealership! 2 hours later a flatbed picks me up and takes me to the dealership. The tow truck driver agreed that it was undrivable. My biggest surprise about all of this is that the dealership didn't have any tires in the shop and couldn't find one in all of Ontario! They are currently shipping one from Montreal for me. It could be another day or two until I'm on the road...for a tire change! I drive a 4.8i with the standard wheels.
Maybe my expectations are too high, but I would expect a tire change to be fairly common and straight forward. Thoughts?