Apple should have separated "Launch Date" delivery from the rest of the times

[JonnyLegal]

I feel like a big reason people are getting so bent out of shape about not getting their watches on 4/24 is because Apple has made a huge deal about the launch date being ON 4/24, so everyone in that 1st wave has the false hope that they'll get it on day 1.

I bet if Apple had explicitly separated "delivers on 4/24" and "delivers in 2-4 weeks," folks in the latter window wouldn't have such high expectations of getting it on launch day.

I still don't have my watch, and I'm in the first window. I did have a false expectation that I would have it today though, so I'm disappointed.

 

[Kent01]

This is true. I especially feel it would have been nice had that email of death mentioned to expect the watch later in the window due to constraint. Then if people got it early it would have been a win-win.

 

[SixtyK]

I feel like a big reason people are getting so bent out of shape about not getting their watches on 4/24 is because Apple has made a huge deal about the launch date being ON 4/24, so everyone in that 1st wave has the false hope that they'll get it on day 1.

I bet if Apple had explicitly separated "delivers on 4/24" and "delivers in 2-4 weeks," folks in the latter window wouldn't have such high expectations of getting it on launch day.

I still don't have my watch, and I'm in the first window. I did have a false expectation that I would have it today though, so I'm disappointed.

But nobody was ever promised a 4/24 delivery.

 

[avalys]

Yes, no kidding. This is the major problem: they advertised "Available on 4/24" on the homepage, yet did not have enough stock and/or manufacturing capability to guarantee anyone a delivery by 4/24 - everyone in the first wave received the 4/24 - 5/8 window.

Even if they had revised the delivery window last week, to let people know that they wouldn't be received something on launch day, that would have been better. Instead, everyone has spent the week thinking there is still a possibility - checking flight tracking from China, etc. - and now many people are disappointed. If they had provided a firm estimate earlier (even a negative one), that would have been better.

Frankly, they should have said "Delivers by 5/8". That way there is no ambiguity, and if you get it any sooner, you're happy. "Delivers by 4/24 - 5/8" - of course everyone will be hoping they are one of the early ones, and disappointed when they're not.

 

[popeye88]

But nobody was ever promised a 4/24 delivery.

No, but going into the preorder I think there was an expectation of 4/24 delivery. Sure, once the order was placed and you got your delivery window, it was evident that there wasn't a guarantee your watch would arrive on launch day. But with the website indicating that the watch would become available on 4/24 and folks getting their orders in within the first 10 minutes, I think many had an expectation, even though there was no explicit promise, that they would receive it on the launch day.

 

[nathanalf]

But nobody was ever promised a 4/24 delivery.

I still think that they knew their stock, and what could reasonably get to a customer on the 4/24 date, and what could not. There are tons of people (including myself) that were within 15 seconds of the apparent 'cut off time' that are a little disappointed.

Could have been avoided by giving a for sure date for some, and later dates for people they weren't sure if it would arrive by today. Didn't they say they were trying to 'under promise, over deliver'?

 

[scottorque]

The most difficult thing to understand is people getting watches delivered despite ordering a significant amount of time later.

Seems to me the black sports band is the most popular and that's slowing down shipping times.

I've seen a few people in the same location as me (Brisbane. Australia) with the same watch as the one I ordered delivered today. They ordered hours later and my watch is still processing.

I also got the "email of death".

 

[JonnyLegal]

The most difficult thing to understand is people getting watches delivered despite ordering a significant amount of time later.

Seems to me the black sports band is the most popular and that's slowing down shipping times.

I've seen a few people in the same location as me (Brisbane. Australia) with the same watch as the one I ordered delivered today. They ordered hours later and my watch is still processing.

I also got the "email of death".

An Apple support agent confirmed that shipping times are specific to each configuration. People with later confirmation times may be getting their watch earlier than others if they ordered a less popular configuration.

It just makes me wish Apple had been more transparent about order fulfillment from the beginning. It's easier to stomach the wait when you at least have a vague idea of when yours might ship relative to others based on order confirmation time.