Long waits for reserved iPhones...

[phpmaven]

I went to the apple store located in legacy village,OH. got there at 6:50. I got my iphone at 12:45. I will never do the pickup from store again. what is the purpose of preorder? the only reason I chose to pick them at store was because Apple's system didn't allow me to order them online. 6 hours in line for the phone I reserved?!!! what a joke.

Hey Pal, just be glad you actually got one.

 

[ManOfTheHour]

I can't believe anyone is seriously complaining about the reserved iPhone lines given how it was a ridiculously longer line for the standby phones... Normally I wouldn't have a problem with this but since I know a large number of these people tried repeatedly to BOTH pre-order and get a reservation, and it was a matter of luck as to who was able to get these reservations. Its not like the reservation people really did anything warrant themselves an iPhone, besides perform an eligibility check. Had they paid or done anything like that, I'd be more on board with it.

However, I think Apple treated standby people VERY poorly, given my experience at the Mission Viejo Mall in Orange County, CA. Besides the country-wide, ridiculously high ratio between the two and how fast their lines moved, the standby's were nearly treated like second rate citizens. For example, every time they passed out food or drinks, etc. they always went to the front of the reserve line first and finished the entire reserve line before going to the back of the bus... even when they did the breakfast and it was entirely clear that the people left in the reserve line had literally just gotten there and the people who "needed" the breakfast (those standby's who camped out from the previous day) got shafted. I even heard an Apple leader tell the catering people that the reserve line was "the priority." Yet again, I'd understand this if it wasn't totally arbitrary as to who was able to get a reservation. Some ladies in the reserve line were even getting upset that those standbys who "couldn't even be bothered to reserve online" were trickling into get the iPhone at all... once every 20 or so reservation people.

 

[conan-kun]

I went to the apple store located in legacy village,OH. got there at 6:50. I got my iphone at 12:45. I will never do the pickup from store again. what is the purpose of preorder? the only reason I chose to pick them at store was because Apple's system didn't allow me to order them online. 6 hours in line for the phone I reserved?!!! what a joke.

I got to Legacy at around 6 am and was out the door by 10am. Was still a 4 hour wait... but not as bad.

 

[Eddieowns]

I stood in line at the apple store in Portland, Oregon at Pioneer Place for 7 hours. Got to the store at 6:50am, waited in line until 2pm. Very happy I got the phone. Time went by quickly, chatting with people in line and stuff like that.

First post with iPhone 4!!

 

[Blaunerts]

I got to the Dadeland Mall store in Miami, FL at 4AM. Waited 6 FREAKING HOURS to find out they sold out.

Very pissed off. Waiting for the white phone to be released no more hype and crap

 

[IrishVixen]

Standby line here was literally HALF the length of reserved by 11 AM. Yes, it probably takes as long, but regardless of what line you were in, the whole thing was ludicrously unnecessary. As another poster said, Apple already has the functionality to schedule and hold appointments. Why not do that over the next several days, even a week, rather than force people to waste hours waiting for a product that they would have rather ordered and had delivered to their homes or offices anyway? Especially since so many people had already wasted a day trying to get those orders placed?

Piss poor customer service coupled with piss poor process management throughout. That's what people are really upset about in the end.

 

[nws0291]

I got to the Dadeland Mall store in Miami, FL at 4AM. Waited 6 FREAKING HOURS to find out they sold out.

Very pissed off. Waiting for the white phone to be released no more hype and crap

2 friends pre-ordered from Aventura and walked in NO LINE at 11am and 2pm. I waited in the pre-order line in Fort Lauderdale for 7 hours. Big WTF. I figured Aventura would be the worst.

 

[CooKieMoNs7eR]

I stood in line from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. to get my iphone 4, 12 hrs in line, it was horrible, the reserved line was moving so fast comparing to the walk ins line, there was over 600 ppl, my reservation didnt go through so I had to pay the price and stay 12 hrs in line but its damn worth it now that I got my first iPhone

 

[rkulpajr]

dagored

Did you happen to have an apple south hills village shirt on this morning. I spoke to you briefly when you asked what the sales clerk said. I was wearing a red shirt. I agree with you that Apple really had their act together this morning. In fact, it was probably the smoothest release I have seen at South Hills.

 

[Consultant]

Reston VA
Reserved, 3 hours
Non-reserved, 12 hours

 

[chrismac2]

I arrived at the Northstar Mall in San Antonio around 6:45am.....the line was already really long to get in the mall.

Eventually, shortly after 7, they split everyone up into two lines, those with reservations, and those on stand-by.

The reservations line was much longer than the standby line. It was very muggy/humid and it was very uncomfortable outside. But the Apple employees were very enthusiastic and friendly. They brought by carts with water and breakfast tacos.

Around 8:00, the store manager counted along the standby line and told everyone beyond a certain point that they most likely would not even get in the store before closing, so a lot of people in the standby line gave up and left. He said they would let in 1 standby person for every 10 people with reservations.

Because it was so hot, they directed the lines to a different mall entrance and got everyone inside the air conditioned mall. Once inside, we were brought more water and snacks, and were told that Schlotsky's deli sandwiches would be offered soon. At 11:30am, I finally had my iPhone 4. Almost 5 hours in line. It was fun, but I'll probably never do that again. I would have had it delivered, but I'm in San Antonio temporarily and they would only ship to my billing address in Washington State.

 

[teerexx52]

6.5 hours in line

 

[dagored]

dagored

Did you happen to have an apple south hills village shirt on this morning. I spoke to you briefly when you asked what the sales clerk said. I was wearing a red shirt. I agree with you that Apple really had their act together this morning. In fact, it was probably the smoothest release I have seen at South Hills.

Yes, that was me.

 

[UCF Sam]

Does anyone know what happens if they don't get through the whole reserved line by the end of the business day? Isn't your reservation only supposed to be for today? If they're not going to extend it another Day, and people are getting turned away, wasnt the reservation system just a sham?

 

[tritonj]

Does anyone know what happens if they don't get through the whole reserved line by the end of the business day? Isn't your reservation only supposed to be for today? If they're not going to extend it another Day, and people are getting turned away, wasnt the reservation system just a sham?

i'm sure if you are in line when they close you'll get some sort of a ticket for the next day, but if you don't show up then you're SOL

 

[ipoddin]

I waited 5 1/2 hours in the reserve line at The Grove in Los Angeles. The employee at the front said that this launch blew away any previous launch they've had before.

 

[LanikaiGirl]

6 hours for reserve line at South Coast Plaza in OC, California. Pacific Whey was doing sandwiches and Apple was doing water and Popsicles. I left. I LOVE my iPhone, but really, 6 HOURS primarily in the sun?! I may make another run at it after dark. I am not sure.

 

[LanikaiGirl]

i'm sure if you are in line when they close you'll get some sort of a ticket for the next day, but if you don't show up then you're SOL

South Coast Plaza said that they would have a line cutoff before 9. They would not close until they completed the cutoff.

 

[nfl46]

It was HORRIBLE. It took me SEVEN hours. 10:30AM to 5:30PM (I walked out the store)

 

[3460169]

...
I feel really bad for the walk-ins, that has to be brutal.
...

The process was slow all around at the store here in the sticks of Long Island. My fiance and I were on the walk-in line with about 100 people in front of us. Was on it from 2am till 11am. Didn't get a phone -- not cuz there weren't any but because we gave up and had to get to work. The reserve line was never-ending and neither line appeared to move much. It seemed like every 20 minutes 15 store employees were handing out food and beverages; I felt they should've been inside helping with the phone orders and activations! Oh well. We put in an order for two phones earlier this week and will patiently wait till mid July. We only did the Apple store thing because we've never experienced that product launch insanity. Pretty sure we won't repeat this experience and stick to online ordering and home delivery!

 

[macpluslaptop]

5 hours at the Soho store in NYC. Croissants, drinks (nonalcoholic) and ice cream provided by a nearby espresso place (Aroma?). Very tasty. But I'll never do it this way again.

I told the Apple guy that I wanted to activate it at home, which he agreed to. Doing that now, so I can't weigh in on the phone itself. Except to say that the screen is sharp as a tack, and I'll be looking for yellow. And I'm told the i4 will blow my 3G away.

 

[bursthead]

11:51pm- it's currently 3:51pm.. Still in the standby line, and still about 50 people from the door...

16 hours!!

Damn you pasadena apple store!

 

[lidomkj]

Yes, that was me.

I was right in front of rkulpajr.

 

[Star-fire]

I got lucky, was in line at 4:30am, had phone in hand at 7:10am. There were very few in the reserved line.

 

[TheWart]

Got to the store at 6:30 and wow, the line was nuts. Took me ~3 hours but I finally got it.

The good news is that this phone is incredible and *well* worth the wait imo. It puts every other phone I have used to shame. The speed is very impressive and the ram and display make a huuuge difference.

Best way to sum it up is "wow"