I have been having a particularly painful ordering saga with Apple this year. I ordered (Pro 256GB Space Grey unlocked) via the Apple Online Store shortly after pre-orders opened on Friday. I paid with a combination of credit card and Apple gift card, checked out no problem with 9/20 delivery date. I received my order confirmation via e-mail as expected.
When I went online to check my order status I saw that the order was pending because there was a payment issue. The online link to update just gave me the option to add a new credit card but I saw that my AMEX was already pending so I called instead. To make a very long story a bit shorter, Apple told me my credit card was not authorized. However I called AMEX and they said it was definitely all set. I then called Apple back and was told it was an issue with the gift card and there was $0 available. I thought this was odd as I had double checked before ordering and the balance was confirmed online at the time of order. After getting transferred around Apple confirmed the gift card was valid and the error was on their end. They would send it to the credit card department and the order would be released within 24 hours. 48 hours later the order was still pending. I had to call again this am and go through the entire process with 3 different people who ultimately told me the same thing, that it should be all set and process "soon". I finally got connected with a billing manager who gave me their direct extension should I have further issues. He was still showing an issue with the gift card, but traced its history and got everything straightened out. We stayed on the phone until the order showed as Processing and then Preparing to Ship online.
My delivery date still reflects 9/20 though I don't have a tracking number yet. However I had to spend nearly 3 hours on the phone to give Apple my money. Overall a terrible customer experience.