I woke up early this morning and made my way down to the Cherry Creek Mall to get in line at the Apple store so I could by a new iPhone 3G. I arrived at 6a and was the 24th person in line. Not a bad deal to be there two hours early, especially when you consider that, if I showed up later a little later, I would have spent 6 hours at the mall rather than 3.5.
Anyway, the news was there to cover the release and I ended up being interviewed and having my picture taken a few times. While my video bit which focused on the whole Mac community and experience didn't make it onto www.denverpost.com, my picture did a few times. Here's my few minutes of iPhone driven fame (I wonder if I'll be in the paper tomorrow):
The front page of the paper's website:
The lead picture on the iPhone article:
An "in article" picture:
A larger version of the "in article" picture:
You look like you were having a fun time. Way to go. I was the fifth person in line at my ATT store. :)
We had a great group of people there. From the folks who worked in the store to the people in line. That was really the purpose for waiting ... that whole experience. It was great having the whole store erupt into cheers when someone completed the purchase, the Mac folks giving us all high-fives, and doing the wave while waiting in line.
Your 15 minutes of worshiping at the alter of mac in the paper.....ooooh.
That's pretty cool.
I like how, if you wanted to, people could look at all the tabs and see what else you've been looking at! Twitter, Friend Feed, etc! I love me some geek!
In the right palce at the right time :) You are good PR man!!!!!
Mike
A special ed kid waiting in line for ice cream. And I can only say that because you are my brother.
That is one of the funniest things I've read in a while! Love ya bro!
Mission: Highly Improbable
I was a Day One v1 iPhone buyer, walking in to the Apple Store day of launch last year (Salt Lake City) and buying one of their last 8GB units. No wait, no fuss. Drove home and activated through iTunes (was an existing AT&T customer) without any issues at all.
This year I suspected it would be different. The new, non-crazy price point and hype had reached sky-high levels. But my plan was to at least show up before opening to snag a unit, being prepared to spend a few hours in line. There is an AT&T store close to my home – somewhat out of the way – so the idea was to check it out quick and at any signs of a (meaningful) line, scoot the additional 20 minutes to the Downtown Apple Store where I knew they would have stock, but longer lines.
The AT&T store, at 7am, did have a line…of about 100 people. That was just nuts. I knew there was no way the store had that kind of inventory so I headed to the Apple Store. Rounding the corner there was (unsurprisingly) a line out front, then going around the side. People with sleeping bags, chairs, coolers, etc. So yes, line campers. That didn’t bode well.
Said line turned around the back of the building and that’s when my heart sank: it went on as far as the eye could see. Being 7:30am and not quite awake, I get to the end of the line, with very few stragglers joining me. As 8am approaches Apple Drones can be seen, handing out flyers as to what you’ll need to get your iPhone and answering the usual questions. (“How many do you have? How long will we have to wait?”)
As luck has it, the guys right in front of me have an inside contact: buddy works inside said store. Drone Buddy ™ comes out and chats with us (I immediately attach myself to this group) and shares the inside scoop, having worked last year’s launch. They have about 10x the supply as last year. Looking at the line of 300 or so people the Done proclaims they’ll have “no problem” meeting demand. Unfortunately it’s going to take awhile because of mandatory in-store activation.
At 8am the store opens (we think; we’re actually *behind* the store at this point) and the line moves quite a bit. In the span of 30 minutes we make about 100’, feeling good about our progress. Drones are out supplying bottled water (it’s already 80 degrees) and coffee to folks in line. A second set of Drones – and two FedEx trucks – come to the line and share info on what you’ll need to activate.
Problem #1: If you are on a Family Plan the primary account holder (Foundation account member) must be present to sign the contract. My wife is the Foundation account holder. She isn’t present. Ooops.
Problem #2: If you have *any* kind of corporate discount on your iPhone plan you may run into problems. I had activated my corporate discount the day prior. While in line I call AT&T, cursing the name of a coworker. ;)
Progress – and time – from this point slows to a crawl. The line barely moves and there’s little progress. Drone comes by and does a count and tells us we’re number #230 (or so). A pretty good number of people are now behind us, making me feel better about showing up at “only” 7:30am. Spot #30 at the front of the line sells for $200.
It’s now 9am. Guy walks past the line with his new iPhone and we recognize him as being one of the first in line. Yes, first in line is *just now* leaving with his activated phone. Inside Drone comes buy. “Servers are down. It’s taking us 20 to 40 minutes, per customer, to activate.” Even with every employee in the store (over 20) we do the math: it’ll take the better part of 12 hours to get through the first 100 or so people in line. Armed with iPhones, we start scouring the Internet and sure enough, activation is down at most stores. Some stores are selling phones unactivated, apparently from orders from the Mother Ship. Still little progress on our line.
Two hours later and the line has barely moved. Bottled water is still being handed out, now with sun screen and snow cones. About this time we get word that activation is back up and our hearts sink: this is bad news. Now the line will go *even slower*.
Apple Drones are more scarce now; the line is a little testy in the 90 degree weather and half of the line is standing in the hot sun. At this point I seriously consider leaving. But, honestly, all I was going to do was mow the lawn today, so why not hang out? My concern isn’t about Apple having the phone, my concern is about being able to leave the store with one. Call the Wife Unit and place her on standby to come join me at the store.
Five hours have now passed. Bonded through the misery of the situation and caked in sweat, my Band of Brothers has formed. It’s no problem hopping out for a bathroom break or grabbing your laptop from your car. One guy hits his truck and grabs some chairs. Now we’re lounging and working on our tan. The line does make better progress; we’re told that activation has sped up considerably. Store is processing about 50 customers an hour.
Hour six. Bought 6 cheeseburgers and shared with line-mates. At this point we’ve all admitted that we’re not leaving. We’ve crossed the threshold of absurd about two hours ago. Drones appear more frequently towards the front of the line. They have both phones, teasing us to stay and brave through the ordeal. I want to stab The Steve in the eye with a sharpened iPhone right now. In-store activation is EVIL. Called Wife Unit. Send help.
Hour seven. We’re at the front of the store! In the early morning when customers left you got an applause and a cheer. Now no one cares. The attitude is more like “hurry up and get out so we can get in.” Even so, it’s still a well-behaved crowd. We’re so tired and sweaty – and bonded through our dislike of this entire process – that jokes fly left and right. Even the Drones look beaten down at this point. We’re also being reminded more frequently at this point about potential activation issues. Turns out that Apple can’t process your iPhone sale at all if you have *any* discount on your plan. I actually observe people who have stood in line for seven hours leave and go to the AT&T store in the mall to process their order. They leave, dejected, that they will not have a phone this day.
I, however, brave it out. At this point – seven hours later – one more is a drop in the bucket. I want the Apple Drone to look me in the eye – an Apple faithful, owner of a v1 iPhone with an account in good standing – and turn me away. I want to see that happen. Then I plan on having security haul me out, kicking and screaming. Wife Unit arrives, not particularly happy with her role in this drama. In the intervening time I’ve called AT&T support three more times (from my iPhone) to remove the corporate discount and confirm that it has been removed. My hope is that in the intervening hours whatever system Apple peeks at, the discount is cleared and I can be “processed.”
Hour 7 and 30 minutes, we enter the store…to stand in line.
It’s like the promised land. It’s cool. There’s music. Outside is Hell. This is Heaven. The mood lightens. Now we stand in line for our own personalized Service Drone to help us. I plug in my dying iPhone to get it a charge. The Wife Unit covets it, knowing that it shall soon be hers.
At last we are assigned to Tony the Sales Drone. I’ll never forget Tony. I waited 7.5 hours to meet Tony. At this point I want to marry Tony. Tony takes us to our own private sales section in the middle of the store, between the iPod Touch cases and headphones, where we will consummate this relationship. Although tempted by the allure of the white 16GB iPhone, I stick to my gut and choose the black. At this point the phone could be bright pink and I wouldn’t care.
Tony happily takes our information and skips back to get the phone. Considering he’s been doing this for 8 hours too, he’s surprisingly peppy. But then, he’s had air conditioning and all the lattes he can drink all day. I’ve been sitting on the pavement and sweating my body weight down to fighting form.
Tony has the object of my affection and proceeds to take my information. The moment of truth arrives. He scans with his device, types in numbers, and hits submit. Will AT&T deny me? Will the corporate plan cripple my attempts. Will I have to get on a plane and do bodily harm to one of my coworkers? Thankfully, no. I am processed! The AT&T Gods smile upon us! Tony is happy! Wife Unit is happy! I cheer! Please, take my money!
Actual activation takes, literally, 5 seconds. It’s a click. Scanning my credit card takes longer. We unbox the iPhone, activate through iTunes while in the store and Tony proclaims that we are done! iPhone in hand we exit the store. The Drones standing guard don’t notice us and the people in the line don’t care. No applause. No cheers. No medals.
Turns out it’s just a phone.