iPhone X So, a man walks into an Apple store.....

[JoeTomasone]

You know, as I've gotten older, I've learned that if there's a feeding frenzy on launch day/week that I can actually live with my current phone for a few weeks until it's not even a question about being able to walk in and buy what I want without lines or frustrations. I actually made an exception this time - the local Best Buy had the models my wife and daughter wanted, but mine was at a Best Buy 30 minutes away. They treated me so well and offered to have that store hold it for me that I made the drive. Got two Max's the day after launch day (daughter got a red 8) with essentially zero fuss - walk in, walk out. If I couldn't have gotten them then, I would have waited a week.

Now, go back 10 years ago and I stood in line.. ONCE. Never again.

5 years ago I drove from store to store... Never again.

Now? I get it when I get it. I know that won't work for some of you that have to have the new shiny thing NOWNOWNOW - trust me, I'm a gadget whore too and know the feeling well - but I guess age has imparted a degree of patience that I wish I had way back when.
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Or walk into the Apple store and do the same.

Well, that's the thing - most people flock to the Apple Store and forget the Best Buys, carrier stores, WalMarts and Targets... Much easier to find it there if you don't want to wait - either for stock or in line.

 

[geoff5093]

What did you want to happen, OP? How could Apple have handled this to your satisfaction? Letting you skip the line?

Bye Felicia?

Not sure what you want. They were clearly busy and gave you a time only 30 min out to be ready.

They likely dont want to be, or have been having problems with, giving out times and people going to wander the mall and forget showing up late or not at all

Or you know, they could have been allowed to leave and come back during their given time slot, rather than forced to wait in the store or lose their slot...

 

[Hieveryone]

Wait why can’t you just get a ticket then go out for a bit then return before your time slot.

Obviously if you return after your time slot then all bets are off meaning they may not be able to see you.

But it sounds reasonable to me. Why do you have to stay IN the store?

 

[Starship67]

Why is everybody here so snide?

Probably because of the entitled attitudes of many of the people on here.

 

[Steve686]

That’s the thing

Or you know, they could have been allowed to leave and come back during their given time slot, rather than forced to wait in the store or lose their slot...

That’s the thing. Did the one Apple employee who gave them their 30 minute window put an rfid tag on them to sense if they left the store? Were they being closely watched to see if they crossed the threshold of the store’s front doors?

Also, they were told that their specialist reservation expires 30 minutes AFTER their original 30 minute window.

They absolutely could have left and come back as their name was in the reservation system and the only way their name is being taken off that list is manually by an employee or maybe 60 minutes after they were greeted.

 

[Clix Pix]

Well I thought my “rant” would cause a stir. But hey, lighten up. It’s my money and my time. All I was doing was getting it off of my chest. I am not having a go at anyone here. Of course I wouldn’t sell all my Apple stuff, but I also will not now be buying an XS. My beef was the “if you leave the store thing”. It just came across as Apple arrogance.

Well, isn't this just a classic example of someone "cutting off their nose to spite their face"?!! What is the correlation between having to wait a bit at the Apple store and the decision to leave and to not purchase an iPhone XS? Are you sure you even really wanted an iPhone XS in the first place?

 

[tl01]

Lucky that you are well enough to be there to wait a few minutes! Lots of people aren’t so lucky to get to complain about every little thing. I had to wait 20 mins to return something at the apple store the other day...and I didn’t even think to complain. I just browsed around the store and enjoyed my time. Ever gone to Verizon or att and had a huge line of people? I have...and I even didn’t complain there either.

 

[Phillyphil0302]

Why is everybody here so snide?

I was at my local Apple Store a couple of weeks ago to pick up my watch and I heard them giving people the option of receiving a text when their appointment time was approaching. They had no problem with people walking out and returning later.

This is not typical and the OP has every right to be miffed.

How dare you say anything bad about rotten Apple to these Apple panty sniffers!!! You should be ashamed of yourself for implying that Apple did anything wrong here! The nerve! I think you should be banned from the forum for at least...20 minutes

 

[Janeilfen]

I believed you until I hit "iSheep". You were doing so well until then.

Ooh. I don’t know who I am conversing with here but I innocently thought that my tongue in cheek heading may have given people a clue that this is not a dig at anyone except the Apple store in question. I guess I should be more careful when I am writing stuff that

How dare you say anything bad about rotten Apple to these Apple panty sniffers!!! You should be ashamed of yourself for implying that Apple did anything wrong here! The nerve! I think you should be banned from the forum for at least...20 minutes

Yeah. But what if you don’t come back after the 20 minutes?

 

[Nhwhazup]

Why is everybody here so snide?

I was at my local Apple Store a couple of weeks ago to pick up my watch and I heard them giving people the option of receiving a text when their appointment time was approaching. They had no problem with people walking out and returning later.

This is not typical and the OP has every right to be miffed.

Our store does this.

 

[pika2000]

egged on by his wife, who insists she buy him a new iPhone XS for his significant birthday. They look at the phones and play with them. They notice there are very few staff about, but lots of people just standing around as if waiting for a bus. They decide to approach the member of staff who is manning (womaning in this case) the front door. She explains to them that to buy the XS, they have to be given a time slot. They are given a time slot of half an hour from now, and it will expire half an hour after that. Fair enough, so we say we will go and do some more shopping and return at the allotted time. She says if we leave the store we will not be seen when we return. WTF! So now they realise why all the people are standing around, apparently not waiting for a bus, but waiting to give Apple heaps of cash. We are not happy with this Apple attitude and told the staff member to cancel the appointment and left the store.
Now I must tell you that I am an Apple person. All our tech is Apple, if at all possible. We like Apple products and are (usually) prepared to pay some of the extortionate costs involved in having those products. But you know what, that experience has left a bitter taste in my mouth. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I would sell all our Apple kit and go over to the other side. Or would I?
I wonder if all those iSheep are all still herded together in the store? And yes, I am probably an iSheep as well.

Check out the phone at the store, then just buy it online and be done with it if you don’t want to queue. I don’t see why the need to be bitter about queuing.

 

[adammull]

So you are saying you never visit physical stores of any kind?

Never said that at all actually. But the Apple store is an unmitigated disaster for buying a new iPhone around launch time. Scratch that, the Apple store is an unmitigated disaster to buy iPhones period.

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

Check out the phone at the store, then just buy it online and be done with it if you don’t want to queue. I don’t see why the need to be bitter about queuing.

You clearly didn't read the whole post. What his store was doing is atypical and makes no sense.

 

[csurfr]

Yes petty, its a freakin phone. A toy. God forbid you have to wait a few minutes; and if they got done with the people ahead sooner, say in 15 min, they wouldve taken him. EXACT same as a restaurant.

Maybe they said 30 min to be safe but knew itd be much sooner by who was ahead so suggested not leaving.

Could've made an appointment ahead of time online too and shown up at that time and not waited at all.

You mean to tell me they would have had to wait an entire 30 minutes?! The horror of it. A lot of us had to wait all day UPS / FedEx to arrive, and I don’t see any threads complaining about that.

Some people truly amaze me with their sense of entitlement.

 

[Azzin]

I had a reservation to pick up my phone on Sunday and had to wait in a queue outside the store (which was in a shopping centre).

It was a poor experience if I’m honest and Apple should have simply had more people working on that day.

It’s not like the new iPhone is ever unpopular is it?

To my mind, that’s a simple failure of store management.

Either they underestimated how many people might be coming (unlikely), or they chose to have enough people working, to cause a queue outside (likely IMO).

Either way, a poor experience.

 

[1144557]

You mean to tell me they would have had to wait an entire 30 minutes?! The horror of it. A lot of us had to wait all day UPS / FedEx to arrive, and I don’t see any threads complaining about that.

Some people truly amaze me with their sense of entitlement.

Agreed. I had to wait at home until 2:30pm for UPS. I should boycott UPS now and show them!

It's an entitlement issue.

 

[DarkKnight1968]

I had a reservation to pick up my phone on Sunday and had to wait in a queue outside the store (which was in a shopping centre).

It was a poor experience if I’m honest and Apple should have simply had more people working on that day.

It’s not like the new iPhone is ever unpopular is it?

To my mind, that’s a simple failure of store management.

Either they underestimated how many people might be coming (unlikely), or they chose to have enough people working, to cause a queue outside (likely IMO).

Either way, a poor experience.

For the last 3 years I’ve preordered and picked up a new phone on launch day. Every year the store I frequent has an organized line outside the store (also in a shopping mall) and lines people up by their reservation time. According to your reservation, they have a half hour window allotted during which you can pick up your phone. In 3 years on launch day I have never had to wait outside that half hour window to receive my phone. Two out of the three times it was at the start of the appointment time and once it was closer to the end time. In no way would I describe that as a bad customer experience.

In regard to people saying that the store referenced by the OP isn’t doing what is typical, I wonder how many Apple stores those people frequent or if they are comparing it to a single store they have visited. Also, I can see why a store may have a policy that requires people to wait in store. For example, If the store gives you a 12:30 appointment time and tells you they’ll text you to come back, what happens if they text you and you arrive 5 or 10 minutes late. If they tell you as a customer you missed your window and you’ll have to start over, you’ll say out was a bad experience. If, on the other hand, they still serve you, it will make someone else potentially have to wait longer and/or outside the time they were given. I don’t really see an issue with being asked to wait a half hour in the store for a walk in appointment.

 

[jona2125]

For the last 3 years I’ve preordered and picked up a new phone on launch day. Every year the store I frequent has an organized line outside the store (also in a shopping mall) and lines people up by their reservation time. According to your reservation, they have a half hour window allotted during which you can pick up your phone. In 3 years on launch day I have never had to wait outside that half hour window to receive my phone. Two out of the three times it was at the start of the appointment time and once it was closer to the end time. In no way would I describe that as a bad customer experience.

In regard to people saying that the store referenced by the OP isn’t doing what is typical, I wonder how many Apple stores those people frequent or if they are comparing it to a single store they have visited. Also, I can see why a store may have a policy that requires people to wait in store. For example, If the store gives you a 12:30 appointment time and tells you they’ll text you to come back, what happens if they text you and you arrive 5 or 10 minutes late. If they tell you as a customer you missed your window and you’ll have to start over, you’ll say out was a bad experience. If, on the other hand, they still serve you, it will make someone else potentially have to wait longer and/or outside the time they were given. I don’t really see an issue with being asked to wait a half hour in the store for a walk in appointment.

True it could be misinterpreted by people differently. In my personal experience over the last year visiting different stores in different states for various purchases and issues, being told to stay in the store to uphold a reservation is totally abnormal to me. I bought an 8 Plus as a walk in on launch weekend and I was not required to hold my physical presence in the store when I decided to purchase a device from just casual browsing, nor was anyone else and it was encouraged to free up space in the store. My time was my time to them and I was allowed to use it to the fullest of my intent. If I was late for my reservation, I was defaulted back to the starting line and would have had to start waiting all over and that was my responsibility. I just don't agree that this practice is acceptable and regardless of individual store policy, people will take it how they take it and I don't think it's petty to take a subjective experience as reason for deciding to not purchase a product. It doesn't directly mean the decision was wrong either, though it does fit the bill of Apple's 'take it or leave it' product philosophy.

 

[bambooshots]

egged on by his wife, who insists she buy him a new iPhone XS for his significant birthday. They look at the phones and play with them. They notice there are very few staff about, but lots of people just standing around as if waiting for a bus. They decide to approach the member of staff who is manning (womaning in this case) the front door. She explains to them that to buy the XS, they have to be given a time slot. They are given a time slot of half an hour from now, and it will expire half an hour after that. Fair enough, so we say we will go and do some more shopping and return at the allotted time. She says if we leave the store we will not be seen when we return. WTF! So now they realise why all the people are standing around, apparently not waiting for a bus, but waiting to give Apple heaps of cash. We are not happy with this Apple attitude and told the staff member to cancel the appointment and left the store.
Now I must tell you that I am an Apple person. All our tech is Apple, if at all possible. We like Apple products and are (usually) prepared to pay some of the extortionate costs involved in having those products. But you know what, that experience has left a bitter taste in my mouth. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I would sell all our Apple kit and go over to the other side. Or would I?
I wonder if all those iSheep are all still herded together in the store? And yes, I am probably an iSheep as well.

Honestly, it sounded like she was trying to say that so many people were wanting to buy a phone that there is a line, without saying that there is a line.

You may have been too sensitive on this one.

Not a lot of staff, a lot of people waiting to buy and checkout usually means there will be a wait involved.

 

[Fireproof!]

egged on by his wife, who insists she buy him a new iPhone XS for his significant birthday. They look at the phones and play with them. They notice there are very few staff about, but lots of people just standing around as if waiting for a bus. They decide to approach the member of staff who is manning (womaning in this case) the front door. She explains to them that to buy the XS, they have to be given a time slot. They are given a time slot of half an hour from now, and it will expire half an hour after that. Fair enough, so we say we will go and do some more shopping and return at the allotted time. She says if we leave the store we will not be seen when we return. WTF! So now they realise why all the people are standing around, apparently not waiting for a bus, but waiting to give Apple heaps of cash. We are not happy with this Apple attitude and told the staff member to cancel the appointment and left the store.
Now I must tell you that I am an Apple person. All our tech is Apple, if at all possible. We like Apple products and are (usually) prepared to pay some of the extortionate costs involved in having those products. But you know what, that experience has left a bitter taste in my mouth. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I would sell all our Apple kit and go over to the other side. Or would I?
I wonder if all those iSheep are all still herded together in the store? And yes, I am probably an iSheep as well.

First - you have to expect a "not so efficient" buying experience if you are buying AT or NEAR launch of a new iPhone like this. If you don't like crowds or waiting in line or potentially not seeing the exact configuration you are wanting - then WAIT a few weeks. That's on you, not Apple.

Second - I have not experienced the Apple reply of "you can't walk around." Every time I've made an appointment, I've been able to do other shopping and they send me a text when my time is near ready. (Admittedly, this has been for several Genius Bar appointments, and not a purchase of a newly released iPhone.)

 

[SnyG]

Why is everybody here so snide?

I was at my local Apple Store a couple of weeks ago to pick up my watch and I heard them giving people the option of receiving a text when their appointment time was approaching. They had no problem with people walking out and returning later.

This is not typical and the OP has every right to be miffed.

Maybe the staff picked up on OP’s godawful attitude and decided to make his life a little bit awkward for a giggle. I used to work in retail and I would’ve.

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

Maybe the staff picked up on OP’s godawful attitude and decided to make his life a little bit awkward for a giggle. I used to work in retail and I would’ve.

Possible!

Could also be that the staff was in a godawful mood. Apple may have the some of the best customer service out there but they still employ people that have bad days just like the rest of us.

 

[joeblow7777]

Until you come back 25 minutes after your slot, and throw a ****-fit because ‘I’M A PAYING CUSTOMER!’, demanding to be seen before the people who have been patiently waiting because ‘I WAS HERE FIRST!’.

Not you per se, but people like that are why we can’t have nice things.

Appointments aren't a new concept to most people. You show up late for yours and you wait until after the people who are on time have been served. It happens all the time. I've never heard of a scenario where people book an appointment or even just take a number and aren't allowed to leave the site. That's not an appointment, that's just a line.

 

[Gathomblipoob]

I'm sure other phone manufacturers would love to have this problem.