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iPad My in store pick-up experience (not great)

C

caesarp

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 30, 2012
1,078
619
The center city Philadelphia Apple Store was bedlam. No line to get in the door, but mobbed inside with no clear direction on who to talk to regarding store pick up. I found one free blue-shirt, she took my name and disappeared.

I then walked back to the genuis bar and asked who to talk to for in-store pickup. He said look for the guy near the front with the red ipad cover. Found him and finally got someone to help me about 5 minutes later.

Then there was a fiasco with the smart cover. Apparently in all Apple Stores there is a problem with an order for a smart case or smart cover placed online. It shows as processing, even though they have it there. The only thing they could do was to have me buy a smart cover there (although I had paid online already) and they would cancel the online order. First they told me to cancel it, but it said "order not eligible to cancel online". So someone in the "back of the house" had to cancel it for me.

And the guy who was helping me was clearly new and out of his element, even though he had had 3 people with the exact same issue earlier that day (all who ordered smart covers online with the ipad air). You think he would have known what to do at this point.

So the whole process took about 1/2 an hour, instead of what should have been 5 minutes.

Another final thing, the tax online is "estimated". It was actually about $10.00 more when I paid.
 
I surprisingly had the best experience I've ever had with the pickup (this was in Manhattan Beach). Parking was plentiful, I came from the back entrance and there was pretty much no one around in the mall yet. Even the store (which is tiny compared to most Apple stores) was not as crazy as it usually is.

They had a sign telling you where to wait if you had a pickup email, but there was no one in it. Someone came over to help me and I was out in less than 10 minutes. I've been to this store many times and have never been in and out so quickly, probably just dumb luck in timing.
 
caesarp said:
Then there was a fiasco with the smart cover. Apparently in all Apple Stores there is a problem with an order for a smart case or smart cover placed online. It shows as processing, even though they have it there. The only thing they could do was to have me buy a smart cover there (although I had paid online already) and they would cancel the online order. First they told me to cancel it, but it said "order not eligible to cancel online". So someone in the "back of the house" had to cancel it for me.
Click to expand...

So, did you receive the email saying that your smart cover was ready for pickup? or did you just receive one for the ipad?
 
In Indy we had a nice organized process. Two lines; walk ins and pickups. A couple of guys at the front were managing things and passing around a demo for anyone waiting to look at. I was 6th in the pick up line at 8:20. Got in to a "blue shirt" in about 5 minutes. Was set up and out 10 minutes later.

Easy peasy
 
ngenerator said:
So, did you receive the email saying that your smart cover was ready for pickup? or did you just receive one for the ipad?
Click to expand...

The email was for both, but it said the smart cover was preparing for shipment, yet still available today. In other words, a little confusing.

I called the store (TWICE) before I went over and they said the cover will be there. While it was there, they didn't make it easy. I assumed they would just pull one off the shelf and put it with my air -- no could do.

The issue with the cover apparently effects lots of store pick up orders.
 
I ordered through the Apple Store app on my phone for in-store pickup. When I arrived at the store on my lunch break, while still in the parking lot the app notified me via Location Services that a team member had been alerted that I was there. When I walked in the door, I was met by someone who knew my name, and he sent to the back for someone to bring up my iPad. It was brought to me, scanned, and I signed for it. The store was otherwise crazy busy. I'm glad I didn't have to hunt someone down on my own.

5 minutes in and out. Pretty cool.
 
Aside from being annoyed that they have to send a 3rd party to retrieve your device, I was probably still in and out in 5-10 minutes.
 
Hay at least you can order for in store pick up. In the UK we don't get that option. As I have to work I ordered mine online and it will be here Tuesday. My neighbour drove to PC world and picked hers up. No queues or anything.
 
I ordered the Air and a lightning adapter on one order. A couple hours later I decided to order a smart case for it. When I got the alert that it was ready for pick up, I went to pick everything up.

The employee who helped me was surprised that my case was ready because of the issues with the cases all day - maybe because it was in an order by itself? However, my adapter never showed as available for pick-up - I had to just buy another one and will cancel the pending one later. Based on my experience, it seems like any accessories ordered with the iPad are screwing up. If you order them on their own order, they're available for pick up just fine.
 
Stop moaning, it took 30 mins instead of what you expected, 5 mins. Get a grip dude ffs.
 
At 12:01 AM on November 1, 2013, I ordered one (1) iPad Air 128GB WiFi + Cellular (AT&T) Silver, one (1) iPad Air SmartCase Beige, one (1) iPad Air 128GB WiFi + Cellular (AT&T) Space Grey, one (1) iPad Air SmartCase Black, and two (2) AppleCare+. By 4:14 AM PST all the items were ready for in store pick up except the iPad Air 128GB WiFi + Cellular (AT&T) Space Grey. I picked up the available items at 11:17 AM and asked the associate if the second iPad Air was in stock and available for in store pick up as indicated on the website. The associate confirmed stock and availability of the iPad Air 128GB WiFi + Cellular (AT&T). She state I could purchase the iPad Air with AppleCare+ immediately, but I would be charged again. The remaining portion of my online order would then have to be cancelled and credited back to my account in 5-10 business days. Unfortunately, I was not comfortable charging another thousand dollars for Apple (just purchased a BTO late 2013 MacBook Pro 13" with Retina Display earlier this week). I spoke with a customer service representative at 1-800-MY-APPLE at 4:21 PM PST and he stated the system has not transferred payment confirmation to the store on orders of multiple products all day long. He had to submit a form (assume electronic) to the store. At this point, it should be one more hour before my order is complete.:mad:
 
caesarp said:
Then there was a fiasco with the smart cover. Apparently in all Apple Stores there is a problem with an order for a smart case or smart cover placed online. It shows as processing, even though they have it there. The only thing they could do was to have me buy a smart cover there (although I had paid online already) and they would cancel the online order. First they told me to cancel it, but it said "order not eligible to cancel online". So someone in the "back of the house" had to cancel it for me.
Click to expand...

Didn't have that experience in my store. Ordered it, got the confirmation email, picked it up. In and out in 10 minutes.
 
I ordered a smart case, iPad, and AppleCare all at once from the iOS app. I received the e-mails before the store opened that they were all ready for pickup. I went in at lunch and picked them up.

Sorry you had an issue but it's not "all Apple Stores". However, in hindsight I should not have ordered them all together. Too many chances for a problem.
 
I ordered the Smart Case + Air together as well, and it initially said only the Air was ready for pickup and the Smart Case had to be shipped to the store... a few hours later I received another email saying the Smart Case was ready to be picked up. I was at work for a while longer so after I went and they had both with no problems...in and out.
 
I ordered a 64gb space grey wifi at 3am. Then, since accessories had been in short supply in the past, I ordered a pink smart cover at about 3:30 on a separate order. The smart cover was "ready for pickup" at 6:30. My iPad was not "ready for pickup" until about 10:00am. Since I had gone to Target on my way to work, I bought the iPad there with my 5% off and canceled the online order. I had a blue iPhone 5/s cover that I wanted to exchange so I went to the Apple store to do that. I ended up not picking up my "ready" Smart Cover so I could make the exchange. It was done quickly and I canceled the pink Smart Cover when I got back to work. Overall, very pleased with my launch day experience!
 
Your bad experience is nothing, old story and post on here somewhere but me and a "genius" had an altercation before with security etc lol
 
Apple fanboy said:
Hay at least you can order for in store pick up. In the UK we don't get that option. As I have to work I ordered mine online and it will be here Tuesday. My neighbour drove to PC world and picked hers up. No queues or anything.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Those in the US should count themselves lucky they can even pick up in store as we can't. I also ordered online and have to wait for the estimated delivery on Tuesday. I don't even know if anyone will be home on that day to accept it. :(
 
Yeah, my pick up could have been smoother, too. My iPad and Smart Case were ready. My AppleCare was not ready for pick up. How does this even happen? It's not a physical product even. Anyway, they had to sell me AppleCare on a separate invoice and cancel the stuck order. Took about 15 min. on top of everything else.
 
Amazing ... all the Walmarts in my area had them and there wasn't a single person in the store buying (at least around 10AM). If one likes the "Apple Store Experience" fine, but if you want to walk in and right out with one try Walmart. :) They also have an extended holiday refund policy with no restocking fee. If you buy on/after 11/1 you have until 14 days AFTER Xmas for refund.
 
My saga continues. Apple can not fulfill the order. Spoke with the store manager and 1-800-MY-APPLE at the same time. Apple can not cancel the order either! My only resolution is to wait until Apple figures out the order processing bug. Admittedly I could file a claim with my CC. Very bad situation for $2400 order!!!
 
shortcut3d said:
At 12:01 AM on November 1, 2013, I ordered one (1) iPad Air 128GB WiFi + Cellular (AT&T) Silver, one (1) iPad Air SmartCase Beige, one (1) iPad Air 128GB WiFi + Cellular (AT&T) Space Grey, one (1) iPad Air SmartCase Black, and two (2) AppleCare+. By 4:14 AM PST all the items were ready for in store pick up except the iPad Air 128GB WiFi + Cellular (AT&T) Space Grey. I picked up the available items at 11:17 AM and asked the associate if the second iPad Air was in stock and available for in store pick up as indicated on the website. The associate confirmed stock and availability of the iPad Air 128GB WiFi + Cellular (AT&T). She state I could purchase the iPad Air with AppleCare+ immediately, but I would be charged again. The remaining portion of my online order would then have to be cancelled and credited back to my account in 5-10 business days. Unfortunately, I was not comfortable charging another thousand dollars for Apple (just purchased a BTO late 2013 MacBook Pro 13" with Retina Display earlier this week). I spoke with a customer service representative at 1-800-MY-APPLE at 4:21 PM PST and he stated the system has not transferred payment confirmation to the store on orders of multiple products all day long. He had to submit a form (assume electronic) to the store. At this point, it should be one more hour before my order is complete.:mad:
Click to expand...

So your mad because it wasn't ready with everything else...?
 
Picked mine up here in Boston in under 5 minutes. No issues. Sounds like you have some though.
 
I'm mad because Apple can't fulfill my order. The website said pick up today. It will not be today and there is no estimate. Shipping would be more reliable.
 
Apple still has not fulfilled the iPad Air. However, the Apple Store App shows two items ready for pick up. However, according to the store the items are all AppleCare+. Oddly, I went back to my ready for pick email from earlier in the day and the first iPad Air (128GB Silver) has 3 AppleCare+ as picked up. Although, I received and the receipt shows one iPad Air, one AppleCare+ and two SmartCase(s).

Eitherway, one very excellent sales associate stayed with me throughout this entire day. I really appreciate his ownership of the transaction. He told me management approved a free iPad Air SmartCase for my patience. I declined saying I already have two SmartCase(s) and one SmartCover and it was not necessary. He insisted and gave me a light blue SmartCase for my wife.

To be clear, my gripe is why an order was processed piece meal if all the items are actually available. Then not being able to refund or cancel or change the item not able to be picked up. Followed by no estimate on correcting the problem. All this with $2400 withdrawn from my account. I would have been a little disappointed if someone said tomorrow morning, but one more hour, then after 12 noon, then go back to the store, then one more hour, then 10 minutes, etc. is frustrating and made me angry. Excellent recovery by Apple offering the SmartCase. The gesture counts a lot.
 
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