Like so, so many other people all around the world, at 12:01am PDT I was sitting in front of my computer, and my iPhone, constantly refreshing the Apple Store. Unlike the majority of those people, though, I wasn’t actually waiting for the Apple Watch to populate and give me the ability to pre-order. No, I was actually waiting to buy the new Retina MacBook.
The really funny part is that, more than 12 hours later, the only device I bought in the wee hours of the morning was an Apple Watch.
But, that’s not what this is about. I’m not angry that shipping dates for the Apple Watch are already weeks after the launch of the wearable, because that’s seriously not an issue. (At least you’re able to get one, right?) What I am slightly upset about, or just flat-out annoyed about, is the fact that it’s April 10 and I’m not able to go into an Apple Store and buy a MacBook.
Yes, I know I can buy a MacBook and then I can wait for almost two weeks to get it in the mail, or go pick it up from an Apple Store. And yes, that’s probably good enough and I should just go ahead and do it, but I’m not going to. I’m not particularly fond of buying things online, and then waiting weeks to get it, and I’ve typically avoided it right up until now. And the MacBook is not going to be the product that makes me break that trend.
The reason I’m so annoyed about this isn’t so much that the MacBook is only available online, and that this is apparently because Apple has decided “lines” are bad, and want people to avoid them altogether by just not having products available at launch. I guess the reasoning would be that if Apple launches the MacBook on April 10 online, the people that really, really wanted it —and probably would have stood in line for it— will buy it online. Then, when they launch it in a store two weeks later, the craziness will have died down.
And you know what? Apple’s probably right. It’s a good idea, and I would actually be applauding them for it had I not suffered the brunt force of having to drive two hours out of my way only to find out I wouldn’t be walking away with what I drove to get in the first place.
The nearest Apple Store to me is about two hours away, and so I drove down there this morning, planning to get there at opening time, to pick up the MacBook. I was driving when all of the reports surfaced that said the MacBook wasn’t going to be in a store anytime soon, so I didn’t see it until I had finished the drive. Until I was standing in front of an Apple Store, excited to get something new and shiny.
Instead, I was told to order it online and that it would, by all accounts, probably arrive between April 20 and April 24. Oh, and if I didn’t want to order it online the MacBook would probably be in store on April 22. Or April 24. They weren’t really sure.
And here’s the other thing. Before I left, I called Apple’s Customer Support and talked with someone about picking up the MacBook in-store. They told me that stock should be present, but that they weren’t able to tell me right there on the phone (it was too early in the morning). So, I’m basically told that there should be stock, but basically, “Who knows?” and told to “give it a shot.”
Two hours later, I’m left disappointed.
What really bothers me is that Apple could have told people, right from the get-go, that this was going to be the case. No, the MacBook is not technically on “pre-order,” like the Apple Watch is, but let’s face it — it’s pretty much the same thing. I can buy the MacBook right now, and Apple says it will ship between one and three business days — but be delivered by April 22 or April 24. I can pre-order the Apple Watch right now, and it won’t be delivered until April 24 or later.
The difference? One instance charges my card immediately and the other doesn’t.
I know I’m ranting here, but I’m honestly annoyed with this, and not even because of the four hours I spent today driving for no reason. I’m annoyed because Apple could have handled this better, and I honestly expect better, too. Angela Ahrendts telling people to order online to skip lines is great, but that’s quite different than, “People have to order online because it’s not available in stores.”
In any event, I guess I would have liked to have known this when the MacBook was announced, or, you know, anywhere in between then and now. And, if I just missed it somehow, then that’s fine. But right now I’m just annoyed.
