Picking up in store but earlier than your scheduled time possible?

[spinedoc77]

Due to having to you know work and all I could only pick an available time later in the evening. But I can be at the Apple store right when they open. Anyone have any experience if they will turn me away, or will they accommodate me and let me pickup my AW earlier than my scheduled pickup?

 

[wksj]

I saw someone get refused for early pickup on iPhone 13 launch day, but it probably depends on the store.

 

[Muero]

They want to keep lots of people from showing up at the same time. This partially to have enough Store employees to work with each customer (both for help with device setup/trade-ins, and to upsell accessories). The other reason to do this is to reduce possible SARS-CoV-2 exposure. So no, they will not accommodate you if you don't show up when you're supposed to.

 

[Shadowbech]

Depends how bad the traffic is of that particular store. During iPhone 13 launch day, at my the Apple Store I usually go to, they prefer you to come at your scheduled pick up window time. They do give a bit of a wiggle room, like when I picked up the 13 Pro max, I choose 1:15 pm but I got there at 12:45 pm, there weren't any lines and they let me go in. Since I live like 2 minute away from the apple store, I tried to walk over around 10:30 am that day but they told me that it would be better to come back.

However, other times I choose a pick up window, I always go earlier then I choose and they have no issues with this because I just go straight to the Pick up table.

 

[Apple_Robert]

It has been my experience, that Apple won't let you pick up early unless there is no waiting line.

 

[usagora]

If I were you, I'd just stick with the time slot you chose unless you're prepared to have wasted a trip (not sure how close you are to the store, though, so maybe it wouldn't be a big deal to you to have to come back). I wouldn't count on being given an exception.

 

[AJ44]

I wouldn’t recommend it, my one experience with it I got there a three hours early (wasn’t my intention, just how the day went), was told by an Apple employee I could wait through the line and would be ok picking up early once it was my turn, got to the front and then was denied by a different apple employee.

 

[usagora]

I wouldn’t recommend it, my one experience with it I got there a three hours early (wasn’t my intention, just how the day went), was told by an Apple employee I could wait through the line and would be ok picking up early once it was my turn, got to the front and then was denied by a different apple employee.

Wow, not cool. I hope you gave the store some feedback on that - sounds like one of those employees needs retraining.

 

[AJ44]

Wow, not cool. I hope you gave the store some feedback on that - sounds like one of those employees needs retraining.

Yup, wouldn’t have been irritated at all had the original employee told me that I couldn’t pick up that early so I didn’t wait in line 45 mins for nothing. Struck up a nice conversation in line with a few folks and a couple gave the employee that denied me an earful because they had heard what the original employee said to me.

 

[Shadowbech]

You can however go at a later time after your pick up window passed tho. LOL

 

[DotCom2]

When I went to pick up my mini at my scheduled time 12:00-12:15, there was a woman in front of me in the line. I was told to go in front of her because she was early. I am assuming they would let her in as soon as there were no others showing up or when he assigned time came.