If you waited in line on launch day to get whatever phone they had in-stock, not on reserve, you would hope to walk out with a phone. And if not, you would hope to be able to reserve one. That is not the same thing as walking in the door and walking out with a phone. Once the stock in each store on LAUNCH DAY was sold then everyone was out of luck. We chose to be at home to order just after midnight PST for a phone we knew we would not be picking up the next day. So no one is walking out of the store with a phone.
When I went to the Apple store on Thursday I heard two different reps tell people that walked in the only way they could get a phone was to reserve it. Pre-orders are over, that was only before launch.