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We are giving out water

economist.com

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Re: We are giving out water

#31

Post by timwiseman »

ajscherer wrote: post #15
epochwolf wrote: post #4

How is this any different from any other high demand product?

In many similar situations people don't have reservations. Guaranteeing they receive a product requires them to be one of the first people through the door when the store opens. Taking reservations may have created the false impression that one could show up later in the day without the need to wait in a long line. The other difference I can think of is that in similar situations the manufacturer and the retailer are…

Taking reservations may have created the false impression that one could show up later in the day without the need to wait in a long line.

I concur with you in everything you said, but I think it is important to remember that that impression was false only because Apple arranged it that way deliberately.

As others have stated, they knew the maximum number they could serve in a day and could have refused to reserve more than that, or made reservations for specific times of day and then ensured they had enough staff to cover those reservations.

If they truly got overwhelmed by surprise (say some employees got sick), they could have started handing out numbers so people could be free to walk away for a bit and return closer to time based on their number. Etc.

Re: We are giving out water

#32

Post by chc »

Tichy wrote: post #7
Groxx wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You see the same sort of thing and worse in new game console launches and (big) movie release dates. People camp out for days sometimes. A few hours is nothing , these Apple fans are either line-n00bs or flat out moderates compared to those. Also remember that some of these may be developers, so getting it before their customers could be very important to their bank account.

Apart from the developers, does it hint at a certain emptiness in those people's lives?

Does driving or flying for hours to go on a holiday hint at emptiness? It's basically the same thing — putting up with a mostly unpleasant wait for an enjoyable experience — just the details of the fun time at the end are different.

(Incidentally: I have never waited in line for an iPhone. But I do wait in line for hours every year to see Joss Whedon at Comic-Con, so I understand why somebody would put up with an extended wait for something.)

Re: We are giving out water

#34

Post by phreanix »

People who reserved this item know from previous experience they were most likely going to wait in line for it.

They knew.

I'm not saying that Apple couldn't have handled this differently, but there is a value that was attached to this item by the people in line. The cost of time lost/waiting in line for hours was something factored in to the value they were expecting for their iphone.

Some of the more pragmatic and practical types scoff and write articles about how much all horrible lines are going to affect Apple's reputation (and bottom line), yet history has and will prove them wrong. Did the horrible lines for the iPhone 2G affect the sales of the 3G? The 3Gs, the iPad? It did, positively.

Re: We are giving out water

#35

Post by zackattack »

chokma wrote: post #28
zackattack wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whatever man. That's an unfair and negative value judgment. Everyone's identity comes from somewhere. For some people it's from being part of the elite Geek crowd. For other people it's their sports team winning. For other people it's their business making millions of dollars.

And it's a sad thing when someone's identity hinges upon his being part of the elite, his sports team winning or making lots of money. Those are things to enjoy, surely - but if they get to be cornerstones of your personality, it's time for a reality check. Sure, that is the way life is for many people, but ... to think that Apple intentionally makes thousands of humans waste hours of their life doing something they…

OK, this discussion is way too big for HN, and I'm writing up a massive blog post explaining it, but you really can't blame Apple because the problem is way bigger than that.

Re: We are giving out water

#36

Post by zackattack »

Tichy wrote: post #25
zackattack wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whatever man. That's an unfair and negative value judgment. Everyone's identity comes from somewhere. For some people it's from being part of the elite Geek crowd. For other people it's their sports team winning. For other people it's their business making millions of dollars.

Just trying to understand. I could understand if the queuing was fun, but as that doesn't seem to be the case? Yes, for 10 hours queuing, you get to be cooler than everybody else for 10 minutes, until the rest of the world has received their iPhones in the mail?

It has nothing to do with enjoyment in the moment. It has everything to do with validating their self-image/social identity.

Re: We are giving out water

#37

Post by ahlatimer »

jolie wrote: post #2

Is it really, really so bad to wait a couple days or weeks longer to get your precious fucking iPhone? I hate queuing in general, but this is the kind of line-waiting that literally makes no sense at all to me.

Did the UK not have pre-order for delivery? I had my iPhone 4 a day earlier than they were released in the store, and I never had to wait in any line or even leave the house.

Re: We are giving out water

#38

Post by sheldonwt »

jolie wrote: post #2

Is it really, really so bad to wait a couple days or weeks longer to get your precious fucking iPhone? I hate queuing in general, but this is the kind of line-waiting that literally makes no sense at all to me.

Your logic is spot-on. It seems like so many young intelligent people would question the opportunity cost of all that time lost versus the gain of having the iPhone a few days early?

Re: We are giving out water

#39

Post by makmanalp »

eplanit wrote: post #12
ergo98 wrote: post #6

It is pretty surprising that Apple hasn't been called on this cheap PR. Every person standing in line is being used as a stooge by Apple to get press, and the media always abides. This is the first article I've seen yet that points out this obvious exploitation of the Apple faithful. It's positively archaic. Just to be clear, as the article notes the people standing in line RESERVED a phone. They already have their s…

Makes one miss the truly passionate product fans of days gone by: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajlTIMBbdTg&feature=PlayL...

Anyone know any studies on what makes people do this? How come a product (especially a particularly stupid one that's not much different than its analogues) gets so demanded before it comes out?

Re: We are giving out water

#40

Post by makmanalp »

sheldonwt wrote: post #38
jolie wrote: post #2

Is it really, really so bad to wait a couple days or weeks longer to get your precious fucking iPhone? I hate queuing in general, but this is the kind of line-waiting that literally makes no sense at all to me.

Your logic is spot-on. It seems like so many young intelligent people would question the opportunity cost of all that time lost versus the gain of having the iPhone a few days early?

The situation seems to point to the lack of the "intelligent" component.
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