Yesterday’s demand for the iPad 2 was extreme. Across the US, people waited in lines filled with hundreds of people, waiting for hours on end to get a hold of the new device. Unfortunately, it seems like Apple (and the exercise of poor retail planning) was not able to keep up with the launch.
What’s worse? They failed to inform customers when they ran out of popular iPad 2 models, only adding to the frustration of not being able to purchase one after spending an entire day waiting.
Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac noted that some Apple Retail Stores did not exercise proper launch practices, allowing the first few people in line to buy up to 6 of the popular iPad 2 models, leaving him (the 9th person in line) unable to buy his model of choice.
For all of the infinite hype that Apple created with their numerous newsletters, videos, emails, and so forth, it seems they’ve done a fairly poor job executing the launch. Many Apple Stores completely ran out of iPads, for instance – something that was completely unseen for the iPhone 4 launch.
It’s a very poor practice to wait until people (who have been waiting for hours) are within a stone’s throw of the doors to tell them that, for instance, all 3G models are sold out. They should have been sending employees down the line, so that people could go home without wasting more of their precious time.
So for those of your that were able to purchase an iPad 2 – congrats! You were the lucky ones. Apparently Apple’s retail department can’t manage to hold their own without Steve hovering over them and calling every single shot. Hopefully he finds time to get back to the office and fire a few people despite his medical leave.
via 9to5Mac
