July 15th, 2008Stupid Corporate Policies: The Apple Store
I want an iPhone 3g.
I haven’t purchased one yet because the waiting time on “the iPhone line” at Apple retail stores is just more than I can invest on any given day.
But the iPhone 3g doesn’t represent the only bit of coin I intend to drop at The Apple Store: I’m also planning to get a new MacBook as my first generation machine is showing its age after nearly 3 years.
My “CFO” (A.K.A. “My Management“; A.K.A. My Wife) suggested that I wait until after our summer vacation to get my new MacBook. OK. Fine.
Then I had an idea: if I bought a new BlackBook now (a top-of-the-line black MacBook), couldn’t I also purchase and activate an iPhone 3g (a top-of-the-line, 16 GB white iPhone 3g) at the same time? What self-respecting, capitalist, cash-motivated store manager wouldn’t want that, right?
An Apple Store Manager.
A “Genius” at the Apple Store in Soho told me, “that’s the official policy.”
Now, I understand managers at Apple retail stores need to keep the line-sitting iPhone fanboys/girls happy and motivated - these customers don’t want to watch someone walking out of the store with a new iPhone 3g after only a few minutes while they’ve waited for hours to get their hands on their precious iPhone.
That said, I’m offering to accelerate my purchase of a new piece of Apple hardware just so that I can purchase still more Apple hardware.
WTF!?
Put another way: I’m offering to spend more money at an Apple Store, so that I can have the privilege of spending money at an Apple Store.
Is it just me or is that a freakin’ crazy policy? Can anyone else confirm this is the “official” policy?
UPDATE: I’ve received a few comments/questions from some folks on my little rant. (Thanks. Why not just post them in the comments next time?) 
1) Where do you draw the line in terms of price point?
Sure, this makes sense. Someone buying a $20 iPod case can make an argument that they’re also spending additional money at the store and they’d like to check out at all at once.
Answer: turn it into a new Mac promotion! You then have two lines outside the Apple store: the iPhone line and the iPhone + Mac line. “This line is for customers purchasing a new Macintosh with their iPhone 3g.” I’d bet that you’d sell a lot of Macs that way!
2) What about returns? What’s to stop someone from buying a Mac + iPhone on a credit card, then returning the computer the next day?
This is a tough one. Maybe a restocking fee? (I despise restocking fees, but it could be one of the Terms & Conditions of the above “promotion.”)
Technorati Tags: Apple, The Apple Store, iPhone, iPhone 3g, Retail, MacBook, Computers, Notebooks, Hardware, Laptops, Corporate Policy
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