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Long waits for reserved iPhones...
- Thread starter FelixDerKater
- Start date
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I was there at about 3 and the line was insane long.... Store is still open for 2 more hours unless they extend the hours, so I think im going to go by now and see what happens. I mean reserved people have to stop comping at some point right? Unless they just gave out an unlimited amount of reservations ..
Four hours for me here. The whole process was BS though...a LOT of people in the reserve line didn't actually have reservations. All they had to do was claim that they reserved it and they let them stay, even if they didn't have a printout and weren't showing up in the system.
Arrived at Roosevelt Field Mall = 7:30 am
Waited on reserve line which bee-lined on the ground floor of the parking garage.
Got out of the parking garage & waited on a line inside of the mall= 11:30
Inside Apple Store = 12:15
Out of the Apple Store = 12:25
TOTAL = 5 hours
It was a great experience though. Apple reps were all happy, nice to answer concerns and generous with the snacks; and I got to befriend people around me in the line.
Waited on reserve line which bee-lined on the ground floor of the parking garage.
Got out of the parking garage & waited on a line inside of the mall= 11:30
Inside Apple Store = 12:15
Out of the Apple Store = 12:25
TOTAL = 5 hours
It was a great experience though. Apple reps were all happy, nice to answer concerns and generous with the snacks; and I got to befriend people around me in the line.
I waited in line for SIX hours and I reserved my iPhone. From 7AM-12PM. Went back around 1:30 after getting food, the line was still over a hundred people long.
Crazy.
Crazy.
First time poster...first time iPhone owner.
Waited 9 (NINE) hours at Memorial City Mall in Houston. Arrived at 8, got into store at 5. Took 20 min once in store. Still have no idea what the holdup was, but needless to say...NEVER waiting in line on release day again!!!
I've never given in to the hype and long lines of a big retail event, and never will again!
BTW...got my old Palm Centro POS deactivated, but my new phone is not yet active, so no phone at all for me right now.
What a day!!!
FYI...this was the reserved line to boot!
Waited 9 (NINE) hours at Memorial City Mall in Houston. Arrived at 8, got into store at 5. Took 20 min once in store. Still have no idea what the holdup was, but needless to say...NEVER waiting in line on release day again!!!
I've never given in to the hype and long lines of a big retail event, and never will again!
BTW...got my old Palm Centro POS deactivated, but my new phone is not yet active, so no phone at all for me right now.
What a day!!!
FYI...this was the reserved line to boot!
It would be a little more settling if, for those of us who had reservations, they would have given out a continuation form to come back tomorrow or the next day and get the phone, as opposed to having them go back into the walk-up pool.
SLC store said they would stay open until all of the reservation line was gone. Also it was mentioned that the walk in line was longer then the stock they had, so they will probably run out of non reserved phones by 9pm
The location is a outdoor mall, so they don't really have to close at any point...
About 31/2 hours at the Glendale Galleria in Southern California.
As has been posted elsewhere, the Apple Store employees were very friendly, passed out cookies, doughnuts, coffee and water to those in line. Things were handled very professionally. They double and triple checked to make sure you actually HAD a reserved phone before they let you go inside. But it was all very friendly!
They were letting one non-reserved person in for every 50 with reservations.
Since my kids didn't pre-order, we also drove to Pasadena, and it was mobbed! Lines well around the block. I sat back and ate lunch and drank a beer outside instead of waiting in THAT line!
As has been posted elsewhere, the Apple Store employees were very friendly, passed out cookies, doughnuts, coffee and water to those in line. Things were handled very professionally. They double and triple checked to make sure you actually HAD a reserved phone before they let you go inside. But it was all very friendly!
They were letting one non-reserved person in for every 50 with reservations.
Since my kids didn't pre-order, we also drove to Pasadena, and it was mobbed! Lines well around the block. I sat back and ate lunch and drank a beer outside instead of waiting in THAT line!
The issue is the activation. There should have been a line for reserved people who just wanted to pay and go home. I went in the early afternoon and each phone took 15 mins to activate and Apple employees waited with each customer while it tried to connect.
A line where you walk in, they ask for your phone number (to check price eligibility), swipe your credit card and hand you an unopened box would have saved people hours.
A line where you walk in, they ask for your phone number (to check price eligibility), swipe your credit card and hand you an unopened box would have saved people hours.
I got to the Eastview Mall store in Victor, NY at 3:15 AM. Wound up being 32nd in line but I was third once they split off into reservations and non-reservations. Got in on the first group of eight and got out FIRST for the entire store! Got interviewed on TV and did a little demo they've been running all day. My 15 minutes I guess.
I believe it's AT&T that forces them to do this. If you purchase a phone with a no commitment pricing, they scan the box, have you pay, and you're on your way.
I got the the Columbia, MD Apple Store at 5:15am and was out by around 9:15 -- so 4 hours.
From what I heard, the Towson, MD Apple Store was ridiculously busy and slow in the morning as well but really picked up in the afternoon. Co-workers went in around 3:30pm and were out in 20 minutes.
From what I heard, the Towson, MD Apple Store was ridiculously busy and slow in the morning as well but really picked up in the afternoon. Co-workers went in around 3:30pm and were out in 20 minutes.
you could buy 3GS phones without in store activation, been like that for the last year
and all those who had them shipped did it from home, it is all the same thing
That doesn't make much sense since you can have it shipped to your home. I'm not saying you are wrong, but I don't understand the purpose.
It's not the same thing. Apple actually assigns the "activated" iPhones to your line before you leave the store. The same goes for when they're shipped to you, the SIM is already setup to your number waiting for a simple OTA activation. If you buy off contract pricing iPhones, they are not applied to your number and the SIM is in limbo land.
Honestly, I purchased two phones today. One was on upgrade pricing and was handled in store and one was off contract and they just handed me the box. It took maybe a minute tops for the sales rep to hook up my wife's phone to the Mac and finish activation. Sure, those minutes add up, but out of the 8 minutes or so total for the transaction, the activation was really not the time consuming part.
9 hours at town center, Vegas. People were gettin pissed that the non reserves were getting their phones at a ratio of 1:3. And their line was about a third of ours. Complete ********. It's just like Seinfeld said,"you know how to take a reservation, you just dint know how to keep one."
There's two parts to activation. Part ties the phone to your account/number, and the other is the OTA activation that switches the active SIM.
The account/number tie occurs before they ship it to you, binding you to the two year contract. Same deal at the Apple store. The connecting to iTunes and OTA activation takes about 30 seconds tops, and honestly, after waiting in line for a while a lot of people want to walk out with a working phone.
The activation took longer and longer as the day went on. The rep said that it only took a minute or two in the morning but in the afternoon was taking 10-15 mins. I left the store after 15 mins and it took another 10 for my phone to get the activation notice.
So the Columbia, MD apple store is turning me away even thugh I have a reservation... They sid that security has made them shut down the line at 8:00 EST... WTF
