MY SUCCESS --- a personal rant on Apple and their customer nasty behavior

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

It was poined our that in some places -- Michigan , they accepted reservations in the Personal Shopping times. I tried 
it in Pittsburgh. When I got to the store at 0900 they said they don't do that BUT they were about to open up for 
selling so I was first on the line anyway.

Dave

________________________________________
From: Jim Huggins [jhuggins () kettering edu]
Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 11:42 AM
To: David Farber
Subject: Re: a personal rant on Apple and their customer nasty behavior

I wonder if part of what's happening here is a combination of hazing
and an attempt to artifically create demand.

Hazing: "wow ... I had to stand in line for 3 hours to get my phone ...
it must be really worth it ..."

Demand: of course, basic economics here ... if you restrict the supply,
then prices can be artificially raised.

Sure, museums know how to handle crowd control ... but the motivation of
most museums is to get as many people into the museum as possible.
Apple's motivation (IMHO) isn't mass distribution: it's revenue
maximization ... and it's sometimes easier to do that by selling *fewer*
items than by selling *more* items.

Your mileage may vary, of course ...

> I went to my local apple store to see about getting a new iPhone (and
> giving my old one to my son). Last week was a zoo and so today the line
> was short-- maybe 15 people. So I asked about coming back latter. They
> said that even now the line would talke 2 hrs !!! and that even if I was
> on the line they could not assure me that there would be a unit
> available at the end of 2 hours.
>
> Maybe that leads to good PR with newspapers and photos but I am pissed .
> They make computers and online systems don't they. Even the museums know
> how to handle crowd -- assigned times and "inventory control or just
> handing out tickets for "seats".



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