Interesting conversation while at Apple Store

[iWags]

So, I went into my local Apple store on Sunday. Had to pick up a World Travel Kit for iPad.

An associate came up to me and we chatted for a while. I asked her how crazy it was on Launch day. She said the first "Camper" was there at 8PM the night before. Throughout the night several hundred more arrived. By 6AM she said the line for Pre-Order was about 500 and the line for non-preorders was 1,000+. She could have been exaggerating a little. This is a mall store.

Anyways, she said the mall opened its doors for Apple around 6AM and it was a "Organized Mad Rush". She said the Apple employees were feeding the customers in line.

Another customer who was standing by me, jumped into our conversation and said she had a friend who got there at 3AM and was there 14 hours, but got a new iPhone4. (she could have been exaggerating on the time too)

I asked the Apple associate how many unhappy customers did she have when they ran out. Her response was "We took care of everyone"...I said you mean everyone in line got an iPhone4 and she said yes. I found that a little hard to believe. If it was true, it is amazing that Apple had 1,500+ iPhone4's at this one store...and I hear that Radio Shack only received 10 iPhones for the entire state of Georgia market! But then again, with the 1.7M already sold, people have to be getting them from somewhere I guess. (doing the math, if each store received 1,500 and there are approx. 175 stores available to sell on launch day that is only 262K.) So perhaps each store got at least that many and the bigger stores like NYC, Chicago, LA, London etc, etc, got more.

Sorry for the babbling...just thought it was interesting...

CRAZY!

Anyways, Question here...if you were in a long line at an Apple Store on Launch Day, did you leave happy with a new phone? How long did you have to wait? Just curious.

 

[$tylez]

I waited @ apple in a mall outside since 3am and doors opened at 7am. I did not get an iPhone so I was pretty darn mad. I guess I kind of deserved it after store-hopping back and forth plus living in Chicago makes it a bit harder.

 

[iWags]

I waited @ apple in a mall outside since 3am and doors opened at 7am. I did not get an iPhone so I was pretty darn mad. I guess I kind of deserved it after store-hopping back and forth plus living in Chicago makes it a bit harder.

I hear ya...I am in Atlanta, and luckly there are a few Apple Stores very close to each other. Perimeter Mall and Lenox Mall are less than 10 miles from each other...perhaps what the Apple associate told me was not typical of what happened across the country.

Were you at the store on Michigan Ave or in the burbs? When did they tell you that you were "out of luck"? Like what time?

 

[STEVEMS2305]

Had a reservation and showed up at 6:15 AM for a 7:00 AM opening. Perhaps 300 in line. At 6:45 they spolit the line in 2 - reservation and not. I moved up to about 50th in line.

Free water, donuts, breakfast sandwiches, juice - a cool "event". Doors opened on time, very organized and I was in my car at 8:25 AM!

 

[1badsup]

I pre-ordered my phone and showed up at the store at 7:15 and I had to wait over 6 hours outside the mall. When I finally got to the store I asked the manager how many phones they sold. I was told that they had 1300 pre-orders and a few hundred phones for walk-ins. So that's about right, 1500 per store and this was in Sherman Oaks. 20 miles north of Los Angeles.

In the morning they were giving out donuts and water. Later on they had power bars and then pizza around lunch time. It kinda made the wait no seem to long and kept people from getting frustrated/mad.

 

[CPMS]

I pre-ordered/reserved the wife's iP4. Walked in to the Apple Store at around 6:00 PM the evening of launch day and walked out in 15 minutes with her new phone. I had my iP4 pre-ordered via ATT and had it delivered to my office at around 3:00 PM launch day as well. By that evening, we both had our new phones ... no drama ... no lines ...

 

[1badsup]

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=115194971860451&ref=ts

Well this is annoying now. I hope this guy gets banned and let's boycott iflashlight.

 

[Gregoris]

thats insane lol so many hours waiting in line,. i dont think i would of got it on the 24th if i had to go and camp out or wait more then 4 people in line..

on a seperate not dude whats with you posting that flash app every where in random topics :S

 

[Alude904]

Jacksonville fl has one apple store and its the only one for miles. I got "in line" at 1:30 am and the doors opened at 7. I had a pre order though. But even the pre order line was long. I was the 11th person in the store. The only thing we got in line was a bottle of sunny d five minutes before open. I guess it depends on the manager of the store but still. I was starving.