Apple has begun blocking U.S. retail employee vacation time by politely denying vacation requests from October 9th through October 12th and from October 14th through 15th, reports AppleInsider. The timing of the vacation block suggests that Apple is preparing for a higher than normal of customers during those times, likely due to the releases of iOS 5 and the next-gen iPhone 4S/iPhone 5.
According to the report, the first segment of vacation block dates likely relates to the public release of iOS 5 for owners of existing iOS devices, as prior related rumors have suggested an increase in AppleCare support calls on October 9th. MacRumors points out that Apple Stores in the UK have also been told to block vacations for the first two weeks of October.
Apple is widely expected to hold a media event on October 4th, at which they are expected to officially unveil their next-gen iPhone, and specify their plans for rolling out iCloud and iOS 5.
