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Do you think the Apple Watch preorder and launch has been a complete mess/disaster?
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Here's the bottom line: Apple can only produce products so fast. So, let's say they could produce (for example) 1 million units by April 24, 2 million by May 8, and 3 million by May 22. If total initial demand was going to be 3 million units, they could either: (1) start selling them on April 24, knowing that some people will be happy to get their units on day 1 and many more will have to wait for delivery over the following weeks, or (2) start selling on May 22 and everyone who wants one gets one on the first day of sales. Notwithstanding the frustration of some people having to wait while others have their watches, I would much prefer that they choose option (1).
This is something I find very hard to believe as well, especially given the massive financial resources at Apple's disposal. The fact that they still can't give anything better than an entire month (June) 2 weeks after initial preorder date is baffling (coupled with the fact that it's still listed as June 2 weeks later, and hasn't been pushed back even further).
IIRC, they gave no timeframe at all on the delay of the white iPhone 4, except 'available soon', and despite Jobs stating that it would be available.
Food for thought.
BL.
I wouldn't go so far as to say "complete mess or disaster" but I do think they've done very poorly relative to most other launches. Yes, I know, new product line, lots of variables etc, but there were far better ways to deal with that than how they did.
My problem with the launch is the abrupt shift from Apple's important fan culture to the new 1%'ers in VIP clubs with velvet ropes culture for this product. The wealthy are very fickle and I would never gamble a stake as large as Apple on them. They will tire of the watch and throw it in the trash or give to the housekeeper.
I think this poll says it all. The majority of those who participated in the poll are dissatisfied with this rollout. It's not good to make over 50% of your target audience unhappy with you.
I hope Apple takes something away from this. My opinion is products have to be available in stores on launch day, even if limited quantities.
I hope Apple takes something away from this. My opinion is products have to be available in stores on launch day, even if limited quantities.
I'm irked by the fact that they did try on and pre order at the same time (leaving no real reason to go do the try on), irked by the fact that the exact model of what I ordered (and have an expected june delivery date) is what was offered in the "developer lottery", and irked by reports of people ordering the exact model of watch that I ordered as late as two days ago are receiving shipping confirmations already.
It honestly feels like there is no logical system in place for any of this.
It honestly feels like there is no logical system in place for any of this.
Yeah communication has been very poor ... I would think they could give me some specifics based on my model and order time, but all the reps will repeat is the originally stated window... The whole thing feels opaque....
Precisely.
Still waiting on that, Angela...Remember the first rule of marketing is don't promise what you can't deliver...
But Jobs understood the importance of underselling and over delivering when it came to orders, supply, and availability. Also, the most persistent of customers could keep an eye on store stock of iPhones, iPads, etc. and probably get one within a few days thanks to constant shipments to stores. If you want a Watch right now, good luck. It's months until you see certain models. Ever since he passed, the retail and purchasing experience has suffered. First the iPhone 6 pre-order problems in the Fall and now the Watch. Jobs was more willing to take chances with increased supply because he knew any excess overhead was worth the payoff with consumers (it's what got Apple in trouble in the 80s with too optimistic sales production of computers that left them with unsold inventory and what helped them when the iPhone, iPad, etc came out with satisfied customers and orders). Jobs could both "sell" the scarcity idea and keep the fact that they had more than enough to keep stores open through launch day a secret. The "new-guard" is much more conservative and it's hurting perception. I mean, to literally not have a SINGLE example of certain watches available for launch after having finalized the design 6 months ago is ludicrous. It's like they assumed NO ONE would want a Stainless Steel/Space Black Link watch. Who in their right mind at Apple would have thought "I dunno, I don't think we'll be able to sell ANY of these, don't make any." The iron fist of Apple is gone and we're all worse for it. This is just the result.
Managing expectations
Honestly, I'm disappointed too to be still waiting, but only because I had been expecting to be included in the "first wave." The big mistake was giving all early orderers the same delivery window. Apple knew exactly what the launch quantities would be 2 weeks ago. They should have given people who were getting a launch day delivery *for sure* a 4/24 delivery date. Then people who were on the bubble should have gotten the 4/24-5/8 delivery window. That way, instead of giving everyone with the same delivery window the same false hope, some of us would have known that we weren't a sure thing.
Apple can't do anything they aren't already doing to meet demand any faster. But they could have done a lot more about managing expectations.
Honestly, I'm disappointed too to be still waiting, but only because I had been expecting to be included in the "first wave." The big mistake was giving all early orderers the same delivery window. Apple knew exactly what the launch quantities would be 2 weeks ago. They should have given people who were getting a launch day delivery *for sure* a 4/24 delivery date. Then people who were on the bubble should have gotten the 4/24-5/8 delivery window. That way, instead of giving everyone with the same delivery window the same false hope, some of us would have known that we weren't a sure thing.
Apple can't do anything they aren't already doing to meet demand any faster. But they could have done a lot more about managing expectations.
Yet in the case of the 4, he oversold and under delivered. By the time the White iPhone 4 was available, AntennaGate occurred, and work was already started on the 4S, making waiting better than immediately jumping on the 4.
BL.
In both cases they were also VERY quick to address concerns whether it be with no questions refunds, Q&A sessions with the top brass at Apple, the infamous post-sale price cut and refund for the original iPhone. They would have never been as silent as they have been about the whole Watch fiasco.
By then, the damage had already been done. Those that didn't want to wait immediately jumped on the Black iPhone 4, while the white 4 sold immensely less than its counterpart.
It took at least a month to find out the reason why the iPhone 4 was delayed; not exactly "quick". With this, you're already condemning the brass at Apple without even finding out what may or may not be happening.
BL.
I'm condemning the idiotic and asinine management that thought it would be a good idea to make absolutely ZERO of some models of the watch and much fewer than necessary of others. The case and band designs have been final for more than 6 months, they could have made a lot in that amount of time (because if the lead time from them ordering components to delivery was that long, waits for orders would be MUCH longer than weeks to months).
Let's say you are Apple. You have sold out of every new product you've released in nearly a decade. You couldn't make the last couple products fast enough for months at a time...but you decide to make watches on an order basis (i.e. starting production 2-3 weeks ago) thinking what? You won't sell any? That people don't want your first completely new product in 5 years? Really? The people at the top at Apple were THAT gun shy about the Watch? If that's the case, there needs to be a cull in Apple management on some levels, because your average "man on the street" could tell you would be selling these faster than you can make them for months, so why not give yourself more than a 2 week lead time. Link watches had 4-6 week deliveries from the start because even their videos say it takes longer to make and brush the bands, which leads even more credence to the speculation that Apple didn't make a single watch until Pre-orders began...WHAT?!?!? I just can't wrap my head around it.
I totally agree.
Honestly, I wonder if Apple was actually afraid of the Watch flopping, and thus was overly conservative with production. As noted, they had more than enough time to produce these. Don't forget, if Apple can ship tens of millions of iPhones in a quarter, then they should have been able to produce several million watches over the course of many months.
I would've expected Apple used the "favorite" function of the Apple Store to somewhat predict consumer trends as of 4/10 to better allocate supply, but clearly they didn't do this.
Or they did use the data from the "favourite" function and what people bookmarked ended up not being the same as what they bought. People go window shopping all the time and say they "want this" or "want that" but when it comes time to actually spend their money their choices are often very different.
Apple is a computer company. They have decades of experience and data so that they can probably, and very easily, accurately predict exactly how many of each type and size capacity of iPhone to make. What data did they have to know how fashion trends and tastes would affect the watch? Essentially none. This is an entirely new product with a new scope unlike the rest of their products. You can say "they should have know...they should have know!!!" but they could only know so much and the end result is some models are more or less popular then they anticipated, some products (like pink flourelastomer bands and leather loops) are having manufacturing challenges, and so some people are getting theirs really early and some people (like myself) have a bit of a wait.
Yeah it wasn't a "great" launch. But it wasn't bad either. Of course people in this forum are going to tend see it as the worst thing to ever happen because they are bum hurt that they didn't get their watch on day 1. Outside of here though, most people don't care. Not the first time a new product, of any kind, has had to deal with a learning curve, and won't be the last. It was pretty clear leading up to pre-ordering that it wasn't going to be an easy product to get and that waits would be inevitable. It was clear at ordering when the shipping dates came up that Day 1 deliveries were going to be thin. And as a first gen product it's a given that there are a lot of unknowns and challenges to work through. This is pretty much how I would have expected this launch to go.
Maybe they just didn't know what stock they had so had to give a 2 week delivery window. However I suppose after a week or so they would have known who was going to get their watch on the 24/4 so they could have updated delivery dates accordingly. When I first saw the window in my confirmation email I assumed that some people had a 24/4 date but then I saw that everyone had the same window so though I had just as much chance as everyone else of getting it on launch day, but was satisfied with the 2 week window as it seems reasonable. I'd have been more upset if I'd been given June. Yet it does happen I had to wait until Novemebr to get my 6 plus in 128GB and even then I didn't get the colour I really wanted.
I said this in another threat but I'll say it here again and it's the same as others have said, in this case Apple have unfortunately vastly over promised and under delivered. Initial advertising stated availability on 24/04 which suddenly changed to delivery windows when pre-order went live. Any questions about more accurate delivery timescales have been met with answers which are evasive at best.
Apple would do very well now to simply admit that demand has outstripped supply for many of the models and they're working to get supplies as quickly as possible. They should also address the issue that their much mentioned "first come first served" policy has completely failed.
Apple definitely haven't covered themselves in glory over this one.
Apple would do very well now to simply admit that demand has outstripped supply for many of the models and they're working to get supplies as quickly as possible. They should also address the issue that their much mentioned "first come first served" policy has completely failed.
Apple definitely haven't covered themselves in glory over this one.
I don't understand how they have under delivered. Yes the advert does say available on the 24th but some people did get theirs on the 24th. Also everyone got a 2 week window and we would have to wait until the end of the window before we could say that they have under delivered. I think the first come first policy is difficult to apply here as there are so many variations. It's not like a phone or an iPad where there are only a few combinations. If you ordered later but the watch you ordered isn't very popular then it makes sense that you might get yours before someone who ordered earlier but ordered a very in demand watch. It doesn't make sense to delay orders they can fulfill just so they ship after orders they can't fulfill.
I think we Apple fans are upset -- and should be because clearly TC and co. were not completely truthful about the April 24 launch day. The watch did launch that day but it wasn't generally available and even if you preordered 3 minutes after the Apple Store opened you were pushed back a week or even weeks. It's obvious Apple did not have much launch inventory and they should have been more forthcoming about that at the official announcement in March.
But for TC and co. I think this launch had gone precisely to what they planned. They played a game of poker with watch demand and bluffed the entire time. They really had no idea which models would sell and were not willing (smartly) to invest in inventory yet. The preorder helped them gauge production going forward which will work in Apple's favor come holiday season. Apple also knew the firmware still needed tweaks -- but that early adopters would be patient while mainline consumers would reject. So by limited availability early on it give Apple time to tweak the firmware before any ill will is sowed.
But for TC and co. I think this launch had gone precisely to what they planned. They played a game of poker with watch demand and bluffed the entire time. They really had no idea which models would sell and were not willing (smartly) to invest in inventory yet. The preorder helped them gauge production going forward which will work in Apple's favor come holiday season. Apple also knew the firmware still needed tweaks -- but that early adopters would be patient while mainline consumers would reject. So by limited availability early on it give Apple time to tweak the firmware before any ill will is sowed.
Apple watch is a first. It appears from the sampling of this pole that %50 of the 2 million are dissatisfied, for one reason or another - that they did not receive their order on day 1, that the quoted delivery window is later than they had imagined - the lamentations go on.
I have to wonder how all the Tesla Model X pre-order folks feel after their $5000 deposit with no published delivery info whatsoever. I wonder if they're posting multiple messages per day on their user-forums...
Louis CK sums up my "no" vote pretty well: https://youtu.be/uEY58fiSK8E?t=83
I have to wonder how all the Tesla Model X pre-order folks feel after their $5000 deposit with no published delivery info whatsoever. I wonder if they're posting multiple messages per day on their user-forums...
Louis CK sums up my "no" vote pretty well: https://youtu.be/uEY58fiSK8E?t=83