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Mr. Tim Cook

I worked my butt off to get straight A's and I never got a $1,000 iPhone or any other kind of expensive reward. My reward was the love from my parents that I made them very proud of me. They didn't have that kind of money when I was growing up. Teenagers today are spoiled. At 15 I would have rather been saving $1,000 towards a car. Are you buying her a Mercedes?
 
Wanski said:
To report that the demand is SO crazy that you are selling out. Selling out of what? THERE WASN'T EVEN PRODUCT TO SELL!
This was the reality Mr. Cook. I don't know what it was like in "Palo Alto", but it was a pretty pathetic scene in middle America.
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First world problems. Sigh.

Release-day stock-outs have been a tradition since 2007 yet some folks can't wrap their minds around it or embrace it as a sport. Instead they whine and stamp their widdle feets when they don't get what they think they're entitled to.

Upwards of five million highly complex devices distributed and activated over a space of three days is an amazing feat that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. Try it sometime and see if you can make everyone in every burg happy.

I hope the tears have dried by now.
 
not just because of this thread, but the amount of expectation and anxiety the iphone launch produces on people is nothing short of fascinating.


from those who line up days (if not weeks) in advance to those who let themselves get so overly upset because they didn't get one on the very first day it was released its a phenomenon that doesnt quite reflect on many other products (if any).
 
Wanski said:
Last year my daughter came to me and wanted to upgrade her iPhone 4 to the new 5 because she was having some problems with it that I couldn't resolve. She wanted to trade hers in, pay for some of it out of her money, and I could pay the balance. I told her I would make her a deal. Get straight A's for the entire school year and I would get her the new phone.
She worked her butt off for the entire year and did it. Not even 1 B+. And this was in a new school that we had moved to.
So in June I told her I would get her a new phone or she could wait for the new 5S to come out. She thought she could wait if it didn't take to long because her phone was acting up all the time. She waited and waited. I kept her updated on all the leaks about the new 5S.
Finally it was released. My wife was up with me at 3:00 a.m. and stood in line at the Verizon store to make sure she got her new phone that she earned the day it was released. She was first in line and others filed in behind her. When the doors opened they told her they had NO SILVER 5S PHONES IN 64GB or 32GB. We searched all over and couldn't find one.
After work I called every outlet within a three hour drive and of course no luck. So I went home and ordered one online and had to tell my daughter it "might" be here in a couple weeks. Being a bright, well adjusted, and secure 15 year old she took the news very well. She continues to amaze me and make me so proud. She understands that we did all that we could do. She is not at all upset with my wife and I rather with Apple. I told her I would write a blog that showed the reality to you and hopefully the board and your stockholders.
My thoughts to you are this. I think it is very poor business practice to release a highly anticipated product to the world and not actually have the product to sell. This all in the name of publicity so the media can report on the long lines waiting to get their hands on your latest, greatest thing. To report that the demand is SO crazy that you are selling out. Selling out of what? THERE WASN'T EVEN PRODUCT TO SELL!
This was the reality Mr. Cook. I don't know what it was like in "Palo Alto", but it was a pretty pathetic scene in middle America.
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Ummm. You know that Tim Cook probably isn't reading this forum right? Or is this rant for dramas sake......
 
Should have ordered online.

IMO I think this whole story is BS and the OP just wants a silver phone and was too late.
 
Sounds like a really frustrated parent.

This whole release day thing is becoming BS, I always not pre-order my phone. I think apple dropped the ball big time on the 5S pre-orders this year.

Don't expect too much support on here, since apple has become popular the maturity level on MR has dropped to record lows.

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Carlanga said:
Should have ordered online.

IMO I think this whole story is BS and the OP just wants a silver phone and was too late.
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Grow up mate.

There was no stock available on sale online, US got 1-3 days dispatch, while other parts of the world 7-10, most people who ordered online will not get thier phones till october.

His complaint was that there really was not stock of the phones available at launch, read the post at least!
 
It is a bit ridiculous that they release a phone (or apparently release a phone) knowing full well that they have an extremely limited supply of them for the first week or two after release. From all of the threads it seems like they only had 2million or so ready for day one. Distribute those across all of the stores that are selling them and that's a ridiculously low number per store.
 
sjinsjca said:
First world problems. Sigh.

Release-day stock-outs have been a tradition since 2007 yet some folks can't wrap their minds around it or embrace it as a sport. Instead they whine and stamp their widdle feets when they don't get what they think they're entitled to.

Upwards of five million highly complex devices distributed and activated over a space of three days is an amazing feat that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. Try it sometime and see if you can make everyone in every burg happy.

I hope the tears have dried by now.
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Put down the Apple Koolaid bro, you've had too much ;)
 
To the OP, sounds like you guys are great parents and I feel the pain honestly

But it's best to email Mr. Cook or send your letter to Apple directly as suggested in the first page.
 
It's obvious that some part of the 5s caused low hardware yields, probably either the A7 chip or the fingerprint scanner. Also keep in mind that this is the first time they've sold in China on Day One as well. I don't believe this was a case of artificial constraint of supply; I think Tim just couldn't get enough units made in time.

You should write Tim if you really feel upset about this, but I'd suggest you write him only when it's something actually important*, not just because you have to wait a little while for a product. It's just a phone man, and your daughter is taking it well.


(*) - I wrote Tim and suggested to him that Ive become head of design, this was three months before Forstall was ousted. I'd like to think my letter had some effect. I know that Jobs (or his assistants) read my letter during the original iPhone launch when I couldn't get mine to activate for three days, as a bigwig at ATT contacted me and made everything right. So they do listen, but it's not something to abuse.
 
Im sure Tim will just rush about and buy another 5000 CNC machines to speed up production after reading this.

I mean they are only a few hundred thousand dollars each, not to mention the highly trained engineers needed to operate them and the factories to put them in.
 
petsounds said:
It's obvious that some part of the 5s caused low hardware yields, probably either the A7 chip or the fingerprint scanner. Also keep in mind that this is the first time they've sold in China on Day One as well. I don't believe this was a case of artificial constraint of supply; I think Tim just couldn't get enough units made in time.

You should write Tim if you really feel upset about this, but I'd suggest you write him only when it's something actually important*, not just because you have to wait a little while for a product. It's just a phone man, and your daughter is taking it well.


(*) - I wrote Tim and suggested to him that Ive become head of design, this was three months before Forstall was ousted. I'd like to think my letter had some effect. I know that Jobs (or his assistants) read my letter during the original iPhone launch when I couldn't get mine to activate for three days, as a bigwig at ATT contacted me and made everything right. So they do listen, but it's not something to abuse.
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Jobs read your letter during the original Iphone launch? That would imply you had an iphone before launch. I think you got that a little mixed up, but I know what you mean.
 
MH01 said:
Sounds like a really frustrated parent.

This whole release day thing is becoming BS, I always not pre-order my phone. I think apple dropped the ball big time on the 5S pre-orders this year.

Don't expect too much support on here, since apple has become popular the maturity level on MR has dropped to record lows.

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Grow up mate.

There was no stock available on sale online, US got 1-3 days dispatch, while other parts of the world 7-10, most people who ordered online will not get thier phones till october.

His complaint was that there really was not stock of the phones available at launch, read the post at least!
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I read it and stand w what I said. Did you even read that he lives in the US + I'm getting mine on Monday and I ordered online.
 
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Not sure why you're complaining to the chief executive of Apple about the levels of stock/service offered by Verizon. Surely this is Verizon's problem, not that they were obliged to provide or sell you a phone either..

Definitely sounds like your daughter's was the more mature response, so well done on that.
 
Wouldn't the best thing for Apple customers and non-corporate vendors have been for Apple to acknowledge/state clearly ahead of launch that silver and gold iPhone 5s stock would be severely limited so that normal people (who don't frequent Mac forums and devour tech news;)) could make an informed decision as to whether it was a wise use of time to stand in long lines through the night to get a gold or silver phone? In my opinion, Apple valued hype and publicity over any care or consideration for their arguably "best" customers - those willing to stand in line overnight for a new iPhone. Just sayin'.... And that doesn't mean that I don't agree that OP needs to put things in perspective. First world problem. He/his daughter are no more special or entitled than every other other poor sod who stood in line through night and outside elements for mostly nonexistent gold and silver iPhones. Don't kid yourself - this was no surprise to Apple - just lots of their customers.
 
musukosan said:
I don't understand this line of thinking. If Apple had waited a week to launch the phone, then the people currently waiting for one would still be waiting for one. Releasing the phone later does not let people receive the phone sooner. :confused: You can order one now and wait two weeks, or order one a week from now and wait a week...
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Waiting until there's adequate supply would result in more satisfied customers and fewer disappointed and frustrated ones at launch

Say the phone came out a few weeks from now instead. You're right, the people without phones would still not have them, but they also wouldn't have expected to. They wouldn't have gotten their hopes up for Sept 20th, stood in line, placed orders, and still been told "Tough luck. Maybe you'll get it next week, or next month... Who knows?"

It's a game that Apple, and most other companies with big releases, play. There's always some excuse like the lack components for fingerprint scanners, or another time it was lack of retina displays.
 
Well, okay, but in return please enlighten me in what sense what I wrote was Koolaid-ish.

My main point was that no one should be surprised by launch-day stockouts and spotty availability after we've gone around and around this track since 2007.

That, and then I was responding to a whiny tone regarding what, in the larger picture, is an entirely temporary triviality. That always sharpens my teeth.

There are several take-aways:

  • To the OP: Don't make promises you can't keep, and be mindful of circumstances out of your control. There's an opportunity here for a nice lesson in maturity, patience and perspective for your daughter.
  • To Apple: Note there are few if any such tales of woe regarding the 5C. If its preorder approach contributed to a more orderly roll-out or at least more rational customer expectations, then maybe that's a model for future launches.
  • To the rest of us: launches have become a social event as much as a shopping event. Enjoy them for what they are ...and roll with the punches, folks!
 
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joeblow7777 said:
Waiting until there's adequate supply would result in more satisfied customers and fewer disappointed and frustrated ones at launch

Say the phone came out a few weeks from now instead. You're right, the people without phones would still not have them, but they also wouldn't have expected to. They wouldn't have gotten their hopes up for Sept 20th, stood in line, placed orders, and still been told "Tough luck. Maybe you'll get it next week, or next month... Who knows?"
Click to expand...

Most people who want a phone ON launch day have reason to believe they might not get one. People wait in lines for a reason. If it was easy to get a phone on launch day (any year from year 1) you could just show up at any time in the day and just buy one. It's always been WIDELY publicized that there is sometimes a shortage on launch day so no one should expect to get one.

Every year I expect I'll hear "tough luck", but if I was told that I have a chance of getting one on the 20th or I could be guaranteed to get one 2 weeks later, I would definitely take the chance.
 
To the OP, it's a phone. Nice that your daughter achieved good grades but perhaps the inspiration you could have given her to do so was a bright and happy future not the prospects of a new phone that you seem very upset about not getting on the day of it's release.
 
Tammster said:
Most people who want a phone ON launch day have reason to believe they might not get one. People wait in lines for a reason. If it was easy to get a phone on launch day (any year from year 1) you could just show up at any time in the day and just buy one. It's always been WIDELY publicized that there is sometimes a shortage on launch day so no one should expect to get one.

Every year I expect I'll hear "tough luck", but if I was told that I have a chance of getting one on the 20th or I could be guaranteed to get one 2 weeks later, I would definitely take the chance.
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I know. I'm just saying that if Apple really wanted to, they could make it so that everyone who wants a phone on the release day could get one, without uncertainty, without camping, and without waking up early to place orders. But that wouldn't create the same buzz.
 
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