Again, Apple should be ashamed of itself for perpetrating these "Look How Hot We Are!" events in which real people can get hurt. HK is already notorious for professional queuers, who almost as a rule, use ruthless tactics to abuse the public. So anticipating foul play at such a debut is guaranteed to happen. Apple's loyal following is being taught a lesson that their love is not only unappreciated, but that they themselves are being taken for granted. I've stated this before, mainly that Apple needs to go to better initial distribution system that ensures both fairness and customer safety in all their stores. HK Police should also be put on notice, that in such entirely foreseeable events, they will also share a huge burden of responsibility if someone gets hurt. In the US, and especially New York City, the police have been known to force event holders to cancel if safety questions remain unsettled beforehand. Imagine how much of a public relations black eye it would be if the next Apple phone offering is shut down by police because of public safety concerns. Frankly, I fervently hope thats what happens, as Apple seriously needs to be taught a lesson about customer safety and corporate responsibility.
Nice find (video). Seizure "give way to provide fresh air"...Really? They are all Q'ing up, ya think they will give up their space? Apple marketing is amazing, get all these people 'whipped' lol
I think each person could buy up to 10 iphones, hence why they were bought out quick and people could jack the prices even more
What apple needs to do is to supply enough iphones for the demand and have people being able to order online to people would not be able to hoard and jack up the prices. Of course they do not want to do it and having Q1 sales a lot more than Q2 or Q3 sales but it is still smart. Just produce enough to meet demand and then release it.
They can easily anticipate the numbers either by on line or mail in sales only. Getting the phone in the post may seem anti-climatic to Apple fans, but it sure as hell beats getting roughed up by thugs. Frankly, as a matter of public order, the police could have just as easily made the line disappear. That said, it is exactly this "amazing" marketing that is getting people hurt, and in effect, have become a public nuisance. Eventually, city governments will begin to see such opening events as the resource drains that they are, and consider charging the holders of such thins. That is, if Apple (or anyone else) wants to use public space for a line outside its doors, they're going to have to apply for a permit. There in lies the rub, I suspect that govs would then ensure that Apple provides security, bathrooms, emergency procedures, and other "event" planning before a permit would be granted. Cities will grow tired of private business treating public spaces like their own personal trash dump to do with as it pleases. Or else, imagine if the HK gov told Apple that they can have a queue, but ONLY on Apple property, ie within the space of their store. That IMHO, would be a fitting end to these events.
Ralph, As someone who works closely with the fruit, I can tell you Apple tries very hard to manage the lines. There have been many different methods to try to manage the lines. Apple tried to count their inventory and hand out tickets so that the remaining people in line will disperse because there are no more tickets left. Guess what? They stay in line till the next day. It's public property, Apple can't ask them to leave. The police sure can. Apple hands out free water and food at most of these events. They have all hands on staff for the first week of a launch working hours before the store launches and hours after the store closes. There is currently a new system in place in the US right now with the reservation system. Customers reserve the iPhone at 9PM and this guarantees them one the next day. This cuts down on the line itself. But the biggest issue to keeping supply in demand. The demand is always going to be higher than what the factories can pump out. These iPhones are made months in advanced. If you want it any faster, then new factories have to be outsourced to third world countries to keep production fast and costs low. But this goes into a whole other argument that I don't want to dive into. The problem is resellers. Resellers are aggressively buying up as many iPhones as they can. As someone who has close access to these 'numbers' 30% to 45% of iPhones are sold to resellers. They line up, ask their family and friends to line up just to make a couple bucks. They are notorious in the iPad 2 launch for getting into fights with other customers. And now in Hong Kong they threaten people as gangsters. But Apple can't turn their backs on them and not sell them the phones. They are using legitimate ways to purchase their phones. They buy with cash and with gift cards so there is no paper trail and no way to track how many they've purchased. I agree, a better system needs to be in place. Apple works hard to create new systems, new policies, new manufacturing processes to address these issues and concerns. But the demand rates are faster then anything else. The gov can go ahead and tell people to only queue up on Apple property. But what makes you think that isn't happening already? What happens when there is no more Apple property for customers to queue up to? They will naturally line up on public property. And that is out of Apples control. Cities won't get tired of it. The government will. Many retailers BEG for an Apple store to open because of how much traffic and business an Apple store brings in. At the same time, nobody is asking these people to queue up. Apple doesn't need to create any systems. They don't need to hand out tickets. They don't need to create a reservation system. They don't need to hand out water and food or umbrellas on rainy days. You'd be surprised how much work and effort gets placed in a launch. It's just not a efficient system yet because there has been no other retailer in this century that has ever had the type of crowd. No one really has the answers to crowd control yet. There are too many variables to account for. Customer safety on public property should be managed by the Police where our taxes are going to. Apple is already going above and beyond in assisting in the safety of these launches.
Holy crap~ all over an iCrap? I mean it's an OK phone but srly fighting at the Apple Store just to get one??? These guys just take it and go straight to Sin Tat to sell them don't they?
MrCooperS, Thank you for taking the time and considerable effort to address the issues that I've put forth. Indeed, I do understand that Apple does try to do things to help mitigate problems, and I do agree that there are many forces beyond Apple's control. That said, the problem with these launches are namely the people themselves. It's long been considered great to have large crowds come into a store or place of business, because it signals an increase in business. However, when a crowd turns instead into something negative, like a bunch of rioters, then one can argue that having a crowd is exactly the wrong thing to hope for. This is how I think where it stands with these Apple new product debuts. Having a multitude of people there, in this case (at the beginning of a launch), is exactly the problem and Apple still hasn't realized that yet. Apple can eliminate the crowd and all that it engenders by simply launching these gray marketable products exclusively instead on line, and selling only one per customer address for the first 30 days. It would virtually negate any advantage that the gray market seller bring with them (namely criminal gangs) from being able to gain control of the venue and return to regular customers, the real chance to buy a product. Then, once this initial period has passed, there would be little remaining incentive then to hoard phones, because anyone that wanted one would have already gotten one in the mail. Apple should remember that they need to take care of their fan base, and not a money making middle man. While Apple should sell a phone to anyone who wants one, it should also ensure that their products are fairly distributed. Thus, while having a line outside your store seems like great advertising, insofar as for Apple, this phenomenon has morphed itself into a public relations nightmare. Is this then, really in Apple's best interests? I think not. While it used to be chic, trendy and socially acceptable to wait overnight on a long line for a launch of a hotly anticipated product, this process has become perverted by money hungry criminals who have injected themselves into the equation. Either Apple moves strategically to eliminate them, and regain their customers trust, or else we may as well tell Apple to use the Triads as their official distributor.
Sorry Ralph, but I'll have to respectfully disagree. I agree with all your other points but not with the one that Apple should initially sell their products online. Apple did launch the iPhone 4S online first. If anything they launched it a week before they were available at retail stores. You must realize, if Apple doesn't launch their products in their retail stores, other distributors will still launch it in their retail stores such as Walmart, Best Buy, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint...etc It's virtually impossible to sell only 1 iPhone per address in the first 30 days because you have to consider family plans as well. I have 2 other iPhone users under my family plan. 1 of them wanted the iPhone 4S on launch day just like I did. We both happened to be able to get our phones, but if your plan was put in place, one of us would have to wait 30 days. And if that was to happen, one of us still won't have the iPhone 4S till 3 days from today. This diminishes the value of the iPhone for some because a month later, I'm getting a 1 month old phone and there is only x more months before a iPhone 5 comes out. Also, these resellers are a lot more resourceful then you'd imagine. I've casually struck a conversation with them and here are some of their strategies to get around Apple's policies... 1. Limited to 2 iPhones per Credit Card. They purchase gift cards by the $xx,xxx amount so they can buy more than 2. 2. Limited to 2 iPhones per person. They get all their family and friends and carpool from one store to another. 3. Online reservations only. They get all their family and friends to reserve it together in one big room at 8:59 sharp. Then they all come in to pick it up the next day. 4. Limited to 10 iPhones per person per year. They give $5 to $20 at the food court to whoever (teens, shoppers, anyone) would line up to bring them a iPhone. They hit all the stores in a 50 mile radius. Again, as someone close to these numbers... the incentive to hoard phones or the point where iPhone (or launch product) sales begins to slow down takes I would say an average of 3 months from the launch date. If you place a limit per address, and online sale only, in order to fulfill the initial 3 months worth of demand, it would probably take a VERY long time to do so. And by then you'd have people who are disinterested in the purchase process and who's lost interest and etc... resulting in lost revenue. Especially with Android becoming a competitive contender, Apple does not want to show any signs of weakness from a PR's stand point. I agree, it could morph into a PR nightmare. But it honestly has not been at that stage yet. Most people realize it's usually the people's fault, not Apple when they see these horrid new stories.
Hmmm... you've given me much more to think about, and thank you for the continued dialogue. I certainly understand the drive for sales numbers from Apples perspective; they want to get as many pieces out the door before the debut fervor dies down. But, that in and of itself has been a part of the problem. In its rush to push as many of these things out the door, Apple has attracted an underground economy the likes of which are contrary to all that Apple stood for, at least from a social point of view. What you highlighted is interesting in that such reseller motivation (to be a middle man), is profiteering for the short duration that Apple's product is hot. This isn't very different from the motivations of say, a warlord in Somalia, who commandeers and hoards food aid by strong arm tactics, before it is distributed to the poor. History is replete with examples of how profit driven sycophants attach themselves to a process, subverting its original intent. Obviously, it is in Apple's own best interests to remove this onerous element from their distribution chain. Previously, when Apple moved a product, whether through a reseller or retail directly, there wasn't a problem because the reseller community wasn't that large. However, it is quite obvious at this juncture that the process has already grown to become one of reseller versus final consumer. In effect, like the poor starving Somali who doesn't get to eat unless it being at the trough of a warlord, Apple will no longer have customers; the reseller does, and he's doing it on Apple's dime. Alternatively, Apple could consider recognizing that aspect of the food chain, and allowing bulk sales but either on line exclusively, or from a distribution center only. That is, in store sales could be one per customer for the first 30 days. If someone wants two or more phones, then he will have to order on line or go to a distribution center. At least in that way, it removes the reseller from open competition with the final customer. Further Apple could then co-opt "authorized" resellers and thus create another distribution model, but one that Apple would strictly control instead of it being the other way round. In essence, Apple needs to get product out the door; I get that. But, it needs to do it in such a way that it doesn't alienate the consumer or create tons of bad press. BTW, as for the one phone only per location; that can easily be addressed with an exception for pre-existing multiphone family plans already in place. The reseller would be the phone company (which has long been a part of the phone food chain).
Hmm.. Thanks for your response Ralph. It's definitely been insightful. I'll definitely Take your thoughts into consideration and map out a plan for the next local launches
i can see for the people who were paid there to lineup ..shop owners who want to buy it and make fortune.. but for ones who buy it just to use? lol get a lifee.
Pardon me, but the people that you're laughing at, essentially are the heart and soul of Appledom. These are exactly the fans that have kept Apple products in the forefront of the market and IMHO, it would be a huge mistake to alienate them.
