“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.