How Apple blew the launch

[Surf Monkey]

Is that really your rebuttal??? Lol!

LOL all you like. The bottom line is that your bad experience and resulting tantrum =/= a bad launch. I've rebutted your specific points many times already, as have others. At this point it's dead obvious that you're not interested in reason. You just want to crap on the launch because you personally didn't have a good experience.

 

[corriewf]

They did it for the iPad 1. Not sure if it started on launch day, but my girlfriend got on one a week or two later to buy one for one of her friends in another country. They called when it came in a week or so after she added her name to the list.

That's the option I wanted. I had to work and wasn't going to be there right at five so I assumed I wouldn't get one. I am fine waiting a few weeks. Anyway when I got there shortly after five I got in line just to see if I could one or reserve one for later. I was surprised when there was so much of the line left when they ran out. There was almost a riot. There was no inventory checking. No option to reserve for later....just come back and wait another...that's a giant load of bs imo. I don't mind waiting a few weeks but without a reserve list, I'm not going to constantly call the apple store to get one. That's absurd. Apple needs to have proper channels for people to reserve at a local store etc. They are wasting their customers time and their own employees time answering call after call.

 

[admanimal]

Can the OP remind me again why he didn't just order online the first day? You are complaining about how your time is too valuable to run around all day looking for one, yet surely you have spent more time creating this thread than it would have taken you to order the iPad of your choice and have it delivered in the next week or two.

 

[Surf Monkey]

The answer is in your post. You got there at five. Now you're pissed because you showed up late and didn't get what you wanted. It appears to me that it's you who failed, not Apple.

 

[spinedoc77]

This is the one part I found distasteful about my Apple store launch experience. The employees did absolutely no monitoring of the line. Apple fanboys started gathering in the morning (about 40 fanboys showed up by 1pm), the store closed at 3pm. During the proceeding 2 hours the line swelled to hundreds. So for 2 hours the store had a dozen or more employees holed up inside pulling out stock and communicating absolutely nothing with the customers outside. Before closing they had the stock in the back but refused to divulge how much or what models. Instead they told folks to just get in line and find out later. One employee was actually disappointed the line wasn't bigger at 1pm.

Then when 5pm rolled around it took an hour and a half for the line to progress into the store. Again no communication from the employees, just tidbits from from customers inside the store texting to family and friends outside.

I can see the uncertainty of waiting before the sale, but I was really disappointed to see how the employees managed the line. No prep, no fun, nothing but a few mall security guards to make sure fights didn't break out or the line didn't block other store entrances. When news finally came that they were sold out of all but one model the line just disintegrated and people walked away in disgust. There were no offers to sign up for a waiting list as consolation. Just one employee barking at the crowd that they were "sold out".

Compare that to the little Best Buy Mobile in the mall who made it known hours before exactly how many and what models they had available. That line was very cordial and we all got to play with the display device in the hour leading up to sale. If I'd been in the market for a 16GB, I would have had a pleasant experience.

Perhaps it is just that some Apple Stores did better than others. Mine is hit or miss. I was actually surprised they didn't offer to take a waiting list for the next week's shipments.

I'm not sure what they should have done before they opened, maybe post a big sign out front that said exactly how much of which units they had? (actually reading that maybe that isn't a bad idea). I do know they were pretty good to us where I waited in line, we always had an Apple rep close by handing out water and answering questions, we had starbucks walking by taking orders, and everything seemed to move along very smoothly. As mentioned we also had someone come by and ask which model we wanted, I know I was advised I probably wouldn't get mine but I went ahead and stood in line for 2 hours anyhow, completely not Apple's fault and I praise the fact that they took the time to tell me I was probably wasting mine.

But maybe you are right, maybe some Apple stores did a better job than others, that certainly makes sense. Overall though I still don't see what preorders would have done, they still would have physically ran out of ipads on launch day.

 

[3N16MA]

iPad 2 sells out because of high demand and not everyone can get one = Apple blew the launch.

iPad 2 does not sell out and there is lots to go around = Apple blew it with the iPad 2.

No matter what Apple does there is someone out there ready to complain.

 

[spinedoc77]

Can the OP remind me again why he didn't just order online the first day? You are complaining about how your time is too valuable to run around all day looking for one, yet surely you have spent more time creating this thread than it would have taken you to order the iPad of your choice and have it delivered in the next week or two.

This. I'm just as guilty as the op, in my head I knew I had to order online BEFORE launch just to be safe. But I didn't and risked standing in line. How that is Apple's fault I have no idea, it was poor planning on my part. I can see bitching about Apple not having Flash, or not having notifications or lockscreen info, stuff like that, but I can't see what they did wrong on the launch other than releasing such a good product that it sold out very quickly.

 

[corriewf]

LOL all you like. The bottom line is that your bad experience and resulting tantrum =/= a bad launch. I've rebutted your specific points many times already, as have others. At this point it's dead obvious that you're not interested in reason. You just want to crap on the launch because you personally didn't have a good experience.

Well its a tad frustrating when people like you defend Apple to the death. The only arguments you can put forth is supply and demand which isn't relevant and sales numbers which also isn't relevant. You seem to not want to see ANY flaw in the sales process on launch day. We all know that Apple couldn't make enough for everyone. We all know that they sold a bunch. My points have ALWAYS been that free for all is never a very good business model for high demand product launches. The more options you have for customers, the smoother the process is for everyone involved. This is by far the most confusing, disorganized, chaotic launch I have ever seen from Apple. Is that my opinion? Yes. But it is based on factual data tied to lack of preorder options and consumer reports from different locations.

I'm not upset I didn't get an iPad 2 on launch. I didn't expect to get one. I had to work. But I was disturbed by what I saw when I got to the Apple store and the experience my wife had at three targets, best buy, and Walmart.

 

[ravenas]

I anticipate a lot of differences of opinion come because different stores had different things they did; I would agree that the lack of a SOP between all the stores was not a good thing.

At my store, they were out and spending time with the line, passing out water bottles and that sort of thing.

It's quite possible they didn't know. It does take some time to count stock.

They got their shipment in the morning and were overstaffed. I counted 5 employees standing at the entrance talking to a security guard and doing little else. Sorry I just cannot believe no one had any idea what they had. We weren't told if they had a shipment of 10 or 1000 units let alone which ones. The stock answer when you asked was "go wait in the line and find out later".

Like I said, in my line, after they had a count of how many there were, there was an employee who was walking down the line; her iPhone/iPod Touch had a custom app for tracking things, and so when she got to me, I said what I wanted, and she said "we're out, but we still have X" (I said "Okay, thank you for letting me know" and left).

That would have been nice. At the very least it would have cleared the line snaking through the mall within 30 minutes instead of the 90 it took.

My store never seems to know anything. In fact I just called to see if they expected anymore shipments this week. I was told they have no idea. It's "blind shipments".

Oh well. Next time I want something from Apple I'll just order online. The store experience just isn't a good one for me.

The ironic thing is that I went for the launch experience because I was told how much fun it was for the iPad1 launch at this store. In the past I just mocked the lemmings lining up all day for an overpriced Apple product.

Live and learn.

When the 4g Touch came out last year I waited until Amazon had it and bought at a discount. Got it a week after launch but that was a pleasant experience.

Caveat: To be honest I'm disappointed my Apple Store was little fun but I'm more disgruntled with how I managed things last week. I believed the hype that 64GB models would be the last to sell and thought I'd have no issue. I gave away my iPad1 to my brother the weekend before assuming I'd only be without for a week at most. I could have ordered online at 4am and 8am (I was awake both times and at a laptop) but wanted didn't want to mess with a return or cancellation if I scored one in my line experience. I could have joined the fanboy line at 1:30pm, but thought that was just nuts and unnecessary. So I came home empty-handed and ordered online for delivery next month. I'm disappointed not to have one to use but I'll live.

Now I'm kinda glad I'll wait a few weeks and get the benefit of the 3rd party accessory releases and first-run production issue resolutions. I still have my Touch to use.

I am curious to see just how quickly Apple stocks its stores and levels out this demand. If it takes them a while thus showing they truly didn't have the stock to meet demand then I'm inclined to be more agreeable. If it levels out within a week or two then I'm inclined to believe Apple was shortchanging stores to get the publicity of lines. If it's the latter then I'd see Apple as the evil company my Microsoft Fangirl heart always thought.

 

[admanimal]

I'm not upset I didn't get an iPad 2 on launch. I didn't expect to get one. I had to work. But I was disturbed by what I saw when I got to the Apple store and the experience my wife had at three targets, best buy, and Walmart.

And you didn't order online because? You said yourself in a post above that you are fine waiting a few weeks.

 

[Surf Monkey]

I'm not "defending Apple to the death." I'm pointing out the absurdity of your petty bitter read on an event you showed up late to. If you wanted an iPad on launch day you should have gotten in line a lot earlier than five. The fact that you didn't isn't Apple's fault and it doesn't make the launch a failure. It makes your expectations unrealistic and your rantings unreasonable.

 

[corriewf]

Can the OP remind me again why he didn't just order online the first day? You are complaining about how your time is too valuable to run around all day looking for one, yet surely you have spent more time creating this thread than it would have taken you to order the iPad of your choice and have it delivered in the next week or two.

I have said this before and I will say it again, I couldn't get up at 4 am to order in the middle of the night. I was just going to go to the store and reserve one on launch day to get on the next time they received a shipment.

 

[Surf Monkey]

I have said this before and I will say it again, I couldn't get up at 4 am to order in the middle of the night. I was just going to go to the store and reserve one on launch day to get on the next time they received a shipment.

So, your lack of research beforehand is Apple's fault. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

 

[corriewf]

So, your lack of research beforehand is Apple's fault. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

Nope, I knew beforehand what time it was starting. Quit attacking me. You make yourself seem desperate. I have a job and waking up at 4 in the morning to order an ipad 2 so I can get it in 2-3 days is not an option. I am lucky to get 8 hours of sleep with a 3 year old anyway, but im sure as hell not going to wake up in the middle of the night intentionally. Just not my cup of tea. I think Apple was nice to at least offer that option but they left off a lot of options they have included in many other options...But for some reason, you dont want to admit that. Your too busy attacking me.

 

[Surf Monkey]

The fact that I disagree with your unhinged rant doesn't mean that I haven't read your posts. Grow up.

Look, the fact of the matter is that you're being completely irrational about this. To that extent I see no compelling reason to waste any more time on you or this idiotic thread.

 

[ravenas]

I didn't just make this thread for myself. I did it for everyone that got shafted on launch day. I am not that shallow to only care about myself.

Well I thank you for starting this thread. The more I read about what other Apple Stores did and the positive experiences at Best Buy the more I realize what a disappointment my store was.

 

[corriewf]

The fact that I disagree with your unhinged rant doesn't mean that I haven't read your posts. Grow up.

Look, the fact of the matter is that you're being completely irrational about this. To that extent I see no compelling reason to waste any more time on you or this idiotic thread.

Please dont. You dont seem to have anything to say anymore and never really said anything worth while to begin with. I have actually been pretty clear and concise with my point. All you want to do is change the subject to make it about me and how pissed I must be. Dude... it gets old. I have made myself clear many times and you ignore those statements and insist I am some disgruntled die hard petty person that HAD to have one on launch day.

I think you asked why I made this thread? To be honest. I wanted an outlet for those that went through a not so great experience and to point out the flaws in the launch. I think the more attention this thread gets, the more hope I have that the next time Apple does a launch, they bring back the same launch options they have offered in the past. If they see enough complaints about a lack of pre-order or reserve process, I know they will.

 

[dmaul1114]

Well, the online launch hasn't been great either.

I can't complain since mine should be here Thursday, but there are plenty who ordered 20 minutes or so before (since sales started earlier than 1am PST and I set my alarm for 12:58am pst) and haven't even gotten a prepared to ship notice.


That's not the advertised "Fast, Free Shipping" IMO....

Again not worth all the griping going on here and in the shipping thread IMO since it's just a gadget. But there's no disputing there are a lot of unhappy customers who both tried to buy local, ordered online or did both.

But not much point in arguing about what they could do better. It's done and it's just a matter of being patient if you haven't gotten one yet at this point.

 

[miamialley]

That's the option I wanted. I had to work and wasn't going to be there right at five so I assumed I wouldn't get one. I am fine waiting a few weeks. Anyway when I got there shortly after five I got in line just to see if I could one or reserve one for later. I was surprised when there was so much of the line left when they ran out. There was almost a riot. There was no inventory checking. No option to reserve for later....just come back and wait another...that's a giant load of bs imo. I don't mind waiting a few weeks but without a reserve list, I'm not going to constantly call the apple store to get one. That's absurd. Apple needs to have proper channels for people to reserve at a local store etc. They are wasting their customers time and their own employees time answering call after call.

The only way to get one is to check back frequently and get lucky. Pretty ridiculous. And that IS how I got one at Apple.

 

[Axiem]

Sorry I just cannot believe no one had any idea what they had. We weren't told if they had a shipment of 10 or 1000 units let alone which ones. The stock answer when you asked was "go wait in the line and find out later".

And it's possible that they were instructed to do that by corporate. Which if that's the case, I would say is not conducive to good customer satisfaction in that regard.

My store never seems to know anything. In fact I just called to see if they expected anymore shipments this week. I was told they have no idea. It's "blind shipments".

I'm given to understand that this isn't uncommon in retail. Distribution centers tend to decide overnight where stock is going the next day based on sales the previous day: if SKU X is selling out first in New Jersey but SKU Y is selling out first in New York, then they're going to send more X to NJ and more Y to NY. And this will change day-to-day.

And even if the store manager is told when shipments are coming and how many units will be on there, that doesn't mean the information is effectively distributed to employees.

This is a problem that I don't think is unique to Apple. I seem to recall a very similar problem with the Wii.

Oh well. Next time I want something from Apple I'll just order online. The store experience just isn't a good one for me.

Not a bad idea, although my experience with the Apple Store is that it's great if I can get there when they're not crowded. The more people shopping there, the less I like it.

Now I'm kinda glad I'll wait a few weeks and get the benefit of the 3rd party accessory releases and first-run production issue resolutions.

That's one reason I'm not too upset over not getting one yet. I want something other than the smart cover (I'd like padding), and I wouldn't mind there being more time for that stuff to come to market.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Please dont. You dont seem to have anything to say anymore and never really said anything worth while to begin with. I have actually been pretty clear and concise with my point. All you want to do is change the subject to make it about me and how pissed I must be. Dude... it gets old. I have made myself clear many times and you ignore those statements and insist I am some disgruntled die hard petty person that HAD to have one on launch day.

I think you asked why I made this thread? To be honest. I wanted an outlet for those that went through a not so great experience and to point out the flaws in the launch. I think the more attention this thread gets, the more hope I have that the next time Apple does a launch, they bring back the same launch options they have offered in the past. If they see enough complaints about a lack of pre-order or reserve process, I know they will.

Wow. It's as if you've ignored every post that didn't agree with your POV.

Good day to you, sir.

 

[spinedoc77]

I didn't just make this thread for myself. I did it for everyone that got shafted on launch day. I am not that shallow to only care about myself.

Who got shafted though?!? This is what I don't understand, NO ONE got "shafted". You had to work all day and couldn't get up at 4am so you didn't end up with an ipad, guess what I sat in line for 2 hours and also didn't end up with an ipad. I would say neither of us got "shafted", there just wasn't enough supply left for the demand.

Now I completely agree that it seems as if some stores handled the launch better than others, but that is on those particular stores. I don't know if Apple had an official policy of having reps head count and advise those in line who were not going to get an ipad to go home, or if that was something that each individual store did on there own, but it was pretty nice IMO but not necessary for a for profit company to do in selling a product.

If Apple had an agenda to create a media frenzy, which I'll bet they did (thats a compliment to their genius marketing) then they would have accomplished this by having the long lines but having enough supplies so that everyone got an ipad, kinda like the iphone 4 had long lines but most everyone in line got one. It's obvious that for whatever reason, manufacturing, delivery, whatever, Apple did not have enough units on hand to supply the demand.

 

[Krandor]

And it's possible that they were instructed to do that by corporate. Which if that's the case, I would say is not conducive to good customer satisfaction in that regard.

I think they is the case. When I was in line at Best Buy, the manager made the comment "They couldn't tell us how many they had" but did indicate they did not get as many as expected. Based on that and other reports of Apple Stores also not giving any inventory information, it really does look like there were explicit instructions given that inventory numbers were not to be given before 5. After 5 the manager told us they expected 280 but only got 130. So I think they knew the numbers but were not allowed to tell.

Part of the problem here is that there are 18 different SKUs. I will use by Best Buy as an example. If they capped the line at 130 (since 130 is all they had) that wouldn't be smart before person 120 may not want any of the models that are left but person 150 in line might be fine with what is left.

The Best Buy I went to was very unorganized with the handling of the fact that there were 18 models available and the way they did it made it tough to get your second choice.

I really think the 18 versions is the part that made the launch a little more unorganized then normal which is why it is tough to compare this to the iPhone 4 launch where there was just two models. Even the iPad 1 launch just had 3 verrsions since the initial launch was Wi-Fi only. I bet the stores and Apple learned a lot from this and hopefully will have some better procedures the last time.


I don't think Apple or Best Buy has had to handle a launch before with 18 different SKUs hitting the same day. I bet next year will be smoother as they learn from this one.

 

[corriewf]

The only way to get one is to check back frequently and get lucky. Pretty ridiculous. And that IS how I got one at Apple.

Yup...pretty lame. You can order online...should get it around April 15th... I wonder how much longer before the employee that answers the phone at the store goes postal. I won't be calling more, but out of the two times I have called, she sounded like a robot.

 

[Krandor]

Yup...pretty lame. You can order online...should get it around April 15th... I wonder how much longer before the employee that answers the phone at the store goes postal. I won't be calling more, but out of the two times I have called, she sounded like a robot.

I have a feeling they are playing it safe with the online delivery estimates and you will likely get it sooner then what they are quoting. I would take the current numbers as "we'll ship it as soon as we get some stock to send you".