“The all-new MacBook was to be available for purchase – not just pre-order – on April 10th,” Mark Reschke writes for T-GAAP. “Friday morning, I gathered in line at Portland, Oregon’s downtown Apple store. Upon entering it appeared that roughly a 1/3rd of the people in line were waiting to get their hands on the new MacBook. Unfortunately those hoping to make a purchase and walk away with the new laptop were sorely disappointed, because there were no MacBooks in stock to buy from the Apple. Two customers I spoke with had flown in from Utah, and another had taken the day off to drive several hours in order to purchase the MacBook. Needless to say, customers were not happy about the news — No MacBooks available in store for purchase.”
“By Apple’s own [press release], the MacBook was supposed to be available at their own retail stores, and at least some select authorized resellers,” Reschke writes. “As clear as Apple was with the Apple Watch pre-order and shipping schedule, they were equally vague as to MacBook availability, and it didn’t sit well with customers. One guy I overheard made sure an Apple employee understood he would be telling everyone he knew about the horrible Apple retail experience he had just gone through.”
“Setting high expectations for consumers and then not meeting them is a huge mistake, and Apple’s misstep on Friday was a glaring example of how not to launch a product,” Reschke writes. “We can only hope Apple is internally taking a big look at how this launch was handled (which in case you haven’t noticed, was Apple’s amateur hour). In addition we hope Apple makes internal corrections that will please and delight their customers going forward, rather than creating frustrated would-be buyers who wasted their valuable time.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s press release clearly states: “The all-new MacBook will begin shipping Friday, April 10 through the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers.”
That did not happen. Apple dropped this ball completely. Was the company distracted by the Apple Watch? It would seem so.
Apple’s ultimate goal is to delight customers. In this case, Apple failed miserably. Those who showed up at Apple Retail Stores on April 10th expecting to buy new MacBooks, as instructed by Apple, ended up not even becoming customers, much less being delighted. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Apple should apologize publicly to those prospective MacBook customers who invested their time and energy, but got nothing but disappointment.
Order item online,,,,,,then wait for notice to pick up in store….Or…….have it shipped free to your home or designee in your absence.,………………
Dear Apple Apologist,
Apple instructed customers to go to their stores on a certain date. Customers did so. Apple did not have the product they promised.
Either Apple’s goal is to delight customers or it’s just a bunch of marketing bullshit. Can’t have it both ways. If Apple is serious about delighting their customers, then an apology is clearly in order.
SIncerely,
People Who Can Read
LOL we better all get really angry after all the “love” for the bloody watch.
Dear Apple – Never – and I repeat NEVER – insult your Mac customers – the loyal ones who stuck with you through thick and thin – over a bloody gold watch – EVER AGAIN!
They seem to be quite obsessed lately with angering long time loyal customers. I’ve been a customer for almost 29 years, and this bullshit with the new MacBook, and the fact that they didn’t make enough Apple Watches to at least last a few hours is very disappointing. It makes me believe that they’re more focused on the PR rather than delivering on their promises.
Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out. The rest of us won’t miss you at all.
Did I say I was going anywhere? Do you have any more constructive and useful things to say?
Your comment was anything but constructive or useful, but somehow you think you can demand that from other people. Noted.
Well, as another very loyal Apple customer for many years, I would like to echo Howie. The fact is, I hear increasing dismay at some of Apple’s approaches lately from my Mac friends. Especially on the software side. When, for example, is the beta of Pages shared documents, where we edit simultaneously, going to become full fledged? Or is it going to end up another iWeb?
Piss off!
And I’m another Apple user, less than enthused with several recent decisions: Yosemite, Apple Watch, and iOS 6-7. I think Apple is taking its long-time supporters for granted, and I think that they are doing so because they have lowered their standards from “insanely great” to “nifty”.
This pro photographer and long-time Aperture user is not amused.
31 years here, and don’t forget what they did to the Mac mini.
Right. Only the top model really fits with what I would want if I were going to buy one. I tricked out my late 2012 model with a solid state drive an 16GB of RAM. It works great. What a shame we can’t upgrade anymore. I will likely not buy another Mac mini when it comes time to replace the one I have now. Maybe I’m not Apple’s target customer for the Mac mini. I have a late 2013 MacBook Pro with retina display as well. That’s what I take with me when I’m out working with customers.
Hear, hear. I wouldn’t mind replacing my aging iMac with a Mini, but they haven’t had a discrete graphic card since when? So that puts me out of the market, as a casual gamer.
Would it have been better if Apple delayed the launch a month so that they could build the units needed and then deliver? What makes you think that Apple should satisfy your desire to eat marshmallows the moment the researchers leave the room?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment
Dear People Who Can’t Comprehend Basic English,
Apparently, you can’t understand what you read. Apple didn’t instruct anyone to go to their stores on April 10, but instead said the new MacBook would start *shipping* on April 10.
Next time, try harder to understand what you have read, please.
Sincerely,
People with Brains
First world problems.
“i bemoaned the tardiness of my new macbook pro, until I met a man with a windows pc.” —e.e.cummings or something
Annnnnd Sum Jung Gai won the internet for today.
… “and a family with intermittent electricity.”
The Apple Watch launch is a bit of a fiasco. There won’t be any stock in stores for customers to buy on launch day. Pre-orders online only! So, it’s hardly surprising the new MacBook launch was a less than stellar experience.
Angela A is not really doing a good job IMHO. Too used to customers having to make appointments for fittings at her old company. Doesn’t really work for the masses.
The Apple Watch and the MacBook are totally different. For the Apple Watch, shipping quantities were unknown to consumers. The lack of information made it frustrating for those who traveled to try to get a MacBook on launch day.
For some people this may not seem like a big deal, just wait 4-6 weeks, right? But for others, they may have been planning a trip or whatever and may have waiting in line a long time just to be turned away due to lack of information from Apple
The Apple Watch, I think is being handled perfectly. Instead of having a chaotic situation where we could show up only to find that the Apple Store we went to never received any units of the one we wanted (similar to the Gold iPhone 5s situation), we’re able to go online and order.
The fact is that there is a limited quantity of Apple Watch to ship on April 24. Had they promised them to stores, people would’ve camped out (for days) only to find their store may have received zero units of what they wanted.
What Ahrendts did was allow people to go in and see the Apple Watch, and then order online. Those of us who are the die-hard fans were able to pre-order and will likely get our watches on April 24, or at least know when we will get them.
Other than pushing back the launch date until more watches could be produced (which isn’t really Ahrendts’ call), I don’t know what they could’ve done differently to make things better for consumers.
TL;DR: MacBook was frustrating for people due to lack of information from Apple. The Apple Watch launch was much better because there was information from Apple. The big difference between the two was that nobody waited in line for the Apple Watch only to be turned away (like what happened with the MacBook and the iPhone 5s).
Angela A had nothing to do with the supply chain issues. That’s Tim Cook’s department.
And Apple was extremely clear that April 10 was pre-orders ONLY, with in-store pickups starting April 24. Try some facts before you bash someone.
I was in the Arrowhead Apple Store with my son on April 11 so he could decide between a 13″ MacBook Pro and MacBook for his new computer for college this fall. He chose the MacBook in slate gray, but had to order it because there were none in stock. I was a little surprised at that, but not a big deal, so it’s on order. BTW, if you haven’t seen a MacBook in person, they’re pretty freaking cool! Much smaller, thinner, and lighter than I expected.
At the same visit, my son was buying a Beats Pill (which is really nice, BTW) and some of the Apple Store clerks asked me if I wanted to make an appointment to try out the Watch. I told them we were leaving pretty quickly, and they said no problem, that they had an appointment available right now. So I tried on the 42mm Sport with sport band and the Watch with milanese band.
The sport band is FAR better than I thought it would be – extremely comfortable, soft, and you barely notice it or the Watch are on your wrist. The Watch is smaller on your wrist than I expected. The milanese band is very cool, although I actually liked the sport band better, and of course, everything was extremely well made. The Watch is a monster hit waiting to happen once it is widely available.
Wow first world problems….not. I agree the launch wasn’t ideal but a public apology? For something that nobody absolutely has to have day one? Sorry no dice.
Apple utterly failing their customers and then ignoring their concerns marks the beginning of the end. Tim Cook’s legacy?
Please, nothing new here…
That’s the en vogue thing to do now – someone does something you don’t like, and you therefore demand a public apology. Like that makes it all better or something.
I will say this in MDN’s defense — at least they are asking for an apology from the people who did the wrong. It’s pretty hilarious to watch politicians, for instance, apologize for events of the distant past that they weren’t there for, like slavery, etc.
No wrong was done to anyone.
Oh look! A stupid idiot who thinks he’s making an intelligent comment. Your parents need to apologize for staining the world with your existence.
“The reports of my ability to buy a new MacBook were greatly exaggerated.” Mark Twain
Whaddya want from an ex-raincoat saleswoman anyway?
Nonetheless, the new MacBook appears to be selling briskly.
The new “paradigm” for Apple retail is to come to an Apple Store to see the product in person. Then, order it online for pickup or home delivery. This certainly makes Apple more efficient; the Apple Store will not need to maintain as large an onsite inventory of merchandise, allowing redesign of stores to use more of the retail space for “retailing” (not storage).
The experience store idea has been done and failed. When Gateway first started their stores you could only order there. The computer would be built for you, and keep down cost. People hated it and soon they started selling prebuilt computers. People want to walk out with a product. Especially one that has almost no customization.
Yeah, but Gateway PCs sucked.
No, they didn’t. Back in the day when Gateway was still run out of SD instead of CA, they were one of the better PC assemblers around. Good tech support, low prices, reasonable warranties — this is taxing my memory a bit, but you get the idea.
Because the main product was a PC. When you’ve seen one PC, you’ve seen them all. Gateway did not provide a good reason for customers to visit. Apple does, especially when new products and new models of existing products are released. So comparing Apple Stores to the Gateway failure is ridiculous… 🙂 Plus Gateway picked locations like “strip malls,” that no one wanted to visit.
I go the local Apple Stores often, but I almost always buy online. The most expensive thing I’ve purchased at an Apple Store was an AirPort Extreme Base Station (the first square 802.11n model that I still use). So the way Apple Watch is being presented and sold seems perfectly natural to me.
“Four score and no MacBooks….”
Some bearded guy.
Waiting to see how Hitler reacts.
I’ve been a Mac user since 1987, but I can see the possibility of a day when Apple is no longer my kind of company.
There will always be another who will take your place.
Yes Apple is on a different standard from the rest and they will always to held to the highest one by people who don’t use their products and use their products.
Microsoft beckons to you now with cheaper everything. Why wait?
Fuck you. I bought into the self-empowerment, change-the-universe promise, not the rap/fashion/we’ll-put-a-computer-out-when-it’s-convenient (if we feel like it at all) trend of today. Used to be an Apple user was a fighter for the greater good; today it’s more big fat pussy braggarts.
That’s your opinion and might I add, self-delusion. None of that promise has changed for most of us here. I find this attitude has everything to do with recent issues you might be having or some bad life experience lately.
Well, whaddyah say? You seem to think the grass is greener elsewhere, Microsoft is calling for you. I caution you though, you’ll be taking YOURSELF along for the ride. That’s always the problem for those who want to leave their problems behind as the problem is still them. Been there, seen that and wiser for it. Good luck to you.
So your answer to a disagreement with a girlfriend is to go suck dick.
That’s a very astute mature observation isn’t it? You can suck all the dick you want, but that’s not what I meant. Forget it, you still have too much anger in you to see straight.
Between you and me, plus the wall.
How hard can this be? Apple is a big boy company, with big boy pants, and well, should be able to launch numerous products all at once.
My thought is, it’s something else, we don’t know about. Why? because Apple is so non-transparent.
Come on Apple, you make great products, let’s make great schedules too…
Poor customers, what? flying in from Utah? Isn’t there an Apple Store in Salt Lake City? Anyway, appalling effect on one side does not mean you can cry about unusual circumstances on the other.
Just because you flew in on golden wings, does not mean you are more important than the guy who lives next door to the Apple Store. Keep the rhetoric to the subject, Apple did not deliver as promised, shame on them, oh well.
“OMFG, Apple said I could buy this today and I can’t! How DARE they?! Do you know who I am?! What is the meaning of this?!! I DEMAND an apology!!!”
Two words: entitlement generation
Three more words: first world problem
And three final words: get a life!
Timber needs to spend more time minding the farm as less time babbling about gay rights.
I agree. However, I don’t think he will be successful in minding the farm. Anyone who is as emotionally confused to send out some of the tweets he has doesn’t have the focus required for the job. Earth to Timmy: go read the first amendment. The US was founded on freedom from government meddling in moral matters. Oh, and stop doing business in countries that execute homosexuals, you hypocrite.
As if a single statement about treating each other with respect made by a CEO somehow magically translates into an entire company missing a supposed release deadline – despite the FACT that Apple actually stated that the MacBook would start *shipping* on April 10, as opposed to being *physically* available for purchase in retail stores. Nice try, but your comment is an obvious bigoted troll. You are the very definition of “hater”. Lame.
“flew in from Utah”!!! “drove several hours”!!! I wouldn’t drive half an hour to my local store without KNOWING there was one sitting there with my name on it, waiting for pickup.
Yes, Apple blew this one… if this news is to be trusted. But even if “fully stocked” at the beginning of the day, the store could easily run out a particular item. Flying from another state or driving for hours is just dumb.
Indeed, if you are booking flights and taking days off work to fly or drive to some far-away store without first making damned sure the item you want is in stock, you are a jackass. Such people deserve absolutely no apologies for acting foolish. This is the entitlement generation in action, folks. What a bunch of morons.
BTW, if you take the time to actually read Apple’s press release, you may notice they stated the MacBook would begin *shipping* on April 10. Apparently a lot of people have such ADD they couldn’t parse that simple word, and assumed MacBooks would be physically present in retail stores. That turned out to be a bad assumption.
“The all-new MacBook will begin *shipping* Friday, April 10”
Seems to me if anyone should apologize, it’s the complete morons who don’t know the meaning of the word: shipping
Ah, well spotted. I withdraw my “Yes, Apple blew this one… if this news is to be trusted”.
From my many years in business, I know that no matter how simply and clearly you spell it out, SOMEONE will screw it up. E.g. three months after a meeting — “Oh… so when you said I must make that critical change immediately, you meant – uh – IMMEDIATELY?”
I was going to make the same comment, but would not have thought of that unless I went to the Apple Store on Friday to try on a WATCH.
At that time, the employee who was helping me out said if I liked the Milanese band, they had a “kiosk” setup to order bands while in store and have them delivered to my house. When I said I wanted to order the band, he walked me to another employee / “specialist” who was standing at the iMac table to “help” me order my band …
I asked the 2nd employee why this was different than me just going home and ordering the band, and he said with a serious look on his face … “because we’re here to answer any questions you might have during the process.”
When I read MDN’s take on this – that exchange flashed through my mind again when reading this. The Apple Press Release does not say you can buy one of the new MacBooks in store on Friday 4/10 – just that they start shipping through online, retail and select resellers … meaning come in the store, play with one, order it on our iMacs, and “we’ll be here to answer any questions” – then have it shipped to your house.
That kind of word play sends a chill up my spine, if that’s what they actually meant!
They used somewhat ambiguous wording, but I don’t see any reason to deduce that you will not be able to walk into a retail store and walk out with one.
Agreed, since the retail stores don’t ship anything, they sell stuff. So where does AAs “the era of our customer waiting and not knowing” play in regular retail products? Are we making appointments to buy everything now?
The suggestion that all Apple products are appointment-only seems like pure hyperbole to me.
Maybe there was a parade?
Look, it’s pretty simple for retail. Usually, you go in expecting to come out with something. This is the way Malls work. Ok, so I go into the Apple Store,I’m get to see the watch through a case. If I want to try one on to feel the weight, I need to make an appt. which is now about 2 weeks out. So I say, to hell with this and walk out, pretty pissed off about the whole experience. And don’t come back. That is not a good retail strategy. Retail is all about impulse buying.
Get real. Nobody promised you would walk out with one. While unrealistic expectations are the norm for the entitlement generation, to the rest of us, they are simply pathetic. So go ahead and walk out to never return – you definitely won’t be missed.
The release does say that the MacBook “will begin shipping on April 10.” It does not say it will be available in stores on that date. I agree that the phrasing was unfortunate as the implication was that it would be available for sale in stores. Apple does need to apologize for the confusion, IMHO.
I hate it when Apple blow it. BAD show Apple marketing!
Maybe if Cook had focused more on His company’s product agenda instead of His political agenda the last few months, more product would have been available or the marketing more honest?
This is what happens….
Flame me brothers, it’s a littl cool today. Feed Satan with some hate -bring it.
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