Terrible Launch for Tiger...
I'm bummed about the launch of Tiger's operating system which was my first Apple event.
Well I thought it would be cool to line up early and see what these Apple releases were all about. I went to one of the two Atlanta retail stores and about 40-50 people showed up around 5:00 for a 6:00PM opening of the store.
I figured if you stood in line you would at least get a crack at the better promo items-they were giving away an iPod, PowerBook, iPod mini, iSight so the hardware was pretty decent and the odds were good being a smaller store. We probably has 60 people around the time the opened the store. I bet that at least we could buy Tiger for below retail given that Amazon is offering $30 off rebates.
Well they let us in and the sales staff was really friendly and clapped for everyone standing in line and they started passing out the cards which you scratched off to see what you won...and they passed out Tiger. Well bummer #1 was Tiger was given out at FULL MSRP. Then the 60 or so who had waited in line for an hour started scratching off the cards and no one won anything but a $0.99 iTunes song. Bummer #2. This is a way to reward customer loyalty. They give away MULTIPLE iTunes songs in soda promos now????
Not a great showing of loyalty by Apple. No T-shirts, nothing...
The Tiger demos were fairly impressive but I decided to order mine from Amazon and save some money. I guess I order my free $0.99 song now. Big Whoop.
I would have least stacked some of the "prize" cards in the first 50 or so cards so the most loyal users would have a chance. And I would have created a big discount on Tiger to help build word of mouth loyalty from the Mac faithful. It really seems like we should have just waited until later in the evening when the crowds had died down. Likely the PowerBook winner will walk into the store at 11PM when all excitement and crowds are no more...
Well I thought it would be cool to line up early and see what these Apple releases were all about. I went to one of the two Atlanta retail stores and about 40-50 people showed up around 5:00 for a 6:00PM opening of the store.
I figured if you stood in line you would at least get a crack at the better promo items-they were giving away an iPod, PowerBook, iPod mini, iSight so the hardware was pretty decent and the odds were good being a smaller store. We probably has 60 people around the time the opened the store. I bet that at least we could buy Tiger for below retail given that Amazon is offering $30 off rebates.
Well they let us in and the sales staff was really friendly and clapped for everyone standing in line and they started passing out the cards which you scratched off to see what you won...and they passed out Tiger. Well bummer #1 was Tiger was given out at FULL MSRP. Then the 60 or so who had waited in line for an hour started scratching off the cards and no one won anything but a $0.99 iTunes song. Bummer #2. This is a way to reward customer loyalty. They give away MULTIPLE iTunes songs in soda promos now????
Not a great showing of loyalty by Apple. No T-shirts, nothing...
The Tiger demos were fairly impressive but I decided to order mine from Amazon and save some money. I guess I order my free $0.99 song now. Big Whoop.
I would have least stacked some of the "prize" cards in the first 50 or so cards so the most loyal users would have a chance. And I would have created a big discount on Tiger to help build word of mouth loyalty from the Mac faithful. It really seems like we should have just waited until later in the evening when the crowds had died down. Likely the PowerBook winner will walk into the store at 11PM when all excitement and crowds are no more...
Comments
go install it and enjoy!1
Don't you think people standing in line for an hour deserve something more than a $0.99 song?
Don't you think Apple should offer a discount on Tiger fans if Amazon is offering a rebate?
Originally posted by DifferentLee
Don't you think people standing in line for an hour deserve something more than a $0.99 song?
Don't you think Apple should offer a discount on Tiger fans if Amazon is offering a rebate?
No and no. Sorry, but just because you took it upon yourself to stand in line for an hour doesn't mean that Apple owes you anything. It's not like they sent you an ivitation to stand in line with the promise of really cool prizes, if you do.
What Amazon does has absolutely nothing to do with Apple. Apple rarely ever sells below their MSRP. Trust me when I say this - they are not too happy about Amazon's mail-in rebate.
Originally posted by DifferentLee
Ted,
Don't you think people standing in line for an hour deserve something more than a $0.99 song?
Don't you think Apple should offer a discount on Tiger fans if Amazon is offering a rebate?
Trust me, the idiots...err...I mean "fans" who are still sitting in line right now to see 'Revenge of the Sith' won't get a free DVD for waiting MONTHS in line, nor will they get a free or discounted ticket.
All they will get is the chance to say they were the first to see this....well, they'll also probably get various eviction and collection notices, and maybe even a bad case of pneumonia...but hey, they were FIRST!
It was a pretty cool party.
I've dealt with Apple for years and their company culture has never changed. They are beyond a doubt the cheapest company I've ever seen that has had any modicum of success. It doesn't surprise me at all that you guys didn't get crapola for waiting in line.
You want freebies and stuff you gotta roll with Microsoft.
I did get a free "spotlight" key chain, but I would have preferred the free song. But I wasn't expecting anything, so I appreciated it.
You guys are some jaded folks judging from your answers.
Why should we go to Apple's launch party if we can get the software cheaper from Amazon?
Where's the value proposition?
and I went to the strip joint 3 blocks a way, had a beer and lap dance to kill off the time.
DrifferentLee- Hey I feel you sometimes the effort to wait in line isn't worth it. T-Shirts would have been cool for everyone. It's adverstising.
But you just have to understand that Apple has some company pathologies that need treatment. Seriously. Forgive them because they know not what they do.
The Apple retail stores are very cool in my opinion. They are well-lit, minimalist in design in a convenient way, and are very contemporary. I have always found the sales staff to be superb. I've yet to meet one that is not also a sharp photographer, videographer, musician, programmer, designer, or recording engineer on the side.
I agree that the goodies (if any...) are probably going to go to the four or five "main" market areas.
Originally posted by hmurchison
Loyalty Smoyalty
I've dealt with Apple for years and their company culture has never changed. They are beyond a doubt the cheapest company I've ever seen that has had any modicum of success. It doesn't surprise me at all that you guys didn't get crapola for waiting in line.
You want freebies and stuff you gotta roll with Microsoft.
Clearly you've never been to an Apple beer bash
I was a squid stationed in San Diego for 4 years, lived on a 40-foot sailboat in Mission Bay next to Sea World. Oh yeah life sucked back then.