Agree with Slug-head
[Sorry for the long exposition below.] I agree with slug head on this matter. Some of you know I have been waiting for my 17" PB (which has been out for 3 months now) for 19 days. I find out today that it has AGAIN been delayed for yet another week.
It is very true that Apple does not guarantee delivery or shipment times. However, to state that is is "irresponsible" to do business based on estimated values is incorrect. Most things in the world work on the premise that things or processes will occur when expected or promised: you have to plan as well as you can and allow for SOME leeway. You expect the pizza to be delivered at a certain time (great example by a previous poster), you expect the bus to show up, you expect your coworkers to show up, etc. In slug head's case, it looks like he exercised due diligence: he knew that the item would not be delivered right away but figured with the estimate that it should be acceptable. Although Apple has legal clauses limiting its liability, there is the legal and ethical concept of "reasonable" behaviour and performance.
The argument of "you should have known that in the first place" that Apple is always late in delivery is invalid. Perpetual poor performance in a professional setting gets you terminated, disciplined, legal action, or drastic losses. In construction, for example, a builder on a major project is held to its bid completion date and within the contract is a clause that fines the contractor for every day it is late in completion: this can range from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars PER DAY if not more.
Futhermore, there is no standardized lateness: how can one possibly predict exactly how late a product will be and then build that into estimations, especially if you are bidding on contracts or proposals?
And lastly, on a reputational side, what does that say about a company if the so called reason is, "Oh, they're always late." How many times have we in our personal or professional lives commented on somebody and stated that he/she is the way they are - do we really accept that as an excuse? No. We either live with it or walk away - the behaviour is never justified however.
Of course, life happens and there are problems and sometimes that's just the way it is. And maybe we could live with this inevitability, but what is not acceptable is the consistent pushing back of delivery times. Like slughead, if I had known that my order would have been delayed by 3 weeks, I would not have placed the order. Apple exacerbates the problem by its time lagged notices. If Apple knows it is going to be late by X days, and we are notified ahead of time, well then fine: we take the risk if we still go ahead. But to be notified of a FURTHER delay JUST AS the expected date comes up robs us of the ability for us to take corrective action for whatever we have to do (as in slug head's case). We no longer have the option of planning that extra contingency. People get mad when things are late, but they get even more mad when they have no more choice.
I am not surprised at the teacher's post in which the contract with Apple was cancelled, and Apple is not doing itself any favours in this regard. I am in a position to influence the purchasing patterns of several people and have made recommendations to others about computer purchases: as a result of what I have demonstrated, others have made bulk purchases. My future recommendations about Apple purchases will not be positive.
And for me, well, I have to decide whether I still want my PB order...
Not only risky, but also unprofessional.
