Apple Store, terrible experience......Any i-pod connections out there??

A

a.k.a. Patrick

New member
So my sons 17th birthday has passed, and due to generous relative contributions, (as well as his mothers and mine) he has decided to purchase a new i-view 8 gig i-pod. Suggested retail, $299.00 (I want one for Christmas for any of you recent lottery winners!).

So we went to the local mall today, which hold the areas only Apple Store. I asked an associate if we could purchase.........well, heres a quick transcript:

Me: We would like to purchase a i-touch/view 8 gig i-pod.

Apple: Im sorry, we are all out.

Me: Do you know when you will be getting any additional units?

Apple: No, Im sorry, I dont. They tend to trickle in, in small qtys.

Me: Ok, well, I would like to order one then.

Apple: Oh Im sorry, we dont accept or take orders for the i-touch/view.

Me: You dont accept orders!!?? (Thinking to myself "Im ready to plop down $300.00, and you wont take it?")

Apple: No we dont.

Me: And you have no idea when you will be getting any more units in?

Apple: No I dont, you will have to check back in a couple days for availability.



Moral of the story:

Do not, under any circumstances, conduct your business in this manner........



Comments?

And Im looking for someone who has a source for my son to purchase an i-touch i-Pod!!

Cananyone make any sense of this story? Are they sandbagging units to insure availability over the holiday season?
 
This doesn't sound too off base concering "reserving" one when it comes in. As for quanity and when they will be getting more in, it has only been on the retail market for 17 days..The store probably had limited quantities to start with. I would just order from the online store. Try the online store, you will get your order promptly with no worries.



IMO it doesn't sound like a "terrible" experience or bad customer service....By the store didn't yet have the 16gb model I would check back tomorrow because when they probably get the new model maybe they will recieve more 8gb as well
 
a.k.a. Patrick said:
Suggested retail, $299.00 (I want one for Christmas for any of you recent lottery winners!).
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patrick, if i hit the lottery you would have a nice new car to play that I-POD in as well!
party-smiley-003.gif
 
Considering their popularity, that doesn't surprise me that you were treated that way. Personally, if I were running a business, if I couldn't take a deposit, I'd get the customer's information and give them a call to let them know when they're in.



But the Apple store has tons of employees (for a small retail space) because they seem to be packed with customers a lot of times, despite nothing ever being a great deal (everything is pretty much full MSRP), so I just don't think they'd be able to handle callbacks for all customers wanting to put a deposit on a popular device.



I haven't kept up with all the latest iPod news, but have you tried looking into Costco, Sam's Club, Best Buy, or Circuit City? I know FOR SURE Sam's Club has the new Nano video (not sure if that's the right name?), but I'm not sure if they have the i-touch iPod. The prices don't change much from places to places for iPods, and it's hard to beat Costco or Sam's club return policy (6 months at Costco).



I'm not a big Apple fan, besides the iPod, but IMO I don't think they're sandbagging units to create demand or be able to meet holiday demand. Their iPods are just REALLY popular and it's the leader in the mp3 marketplace for a reason.
 
BlackElantraGT said:
=But the Apple store has tons of employees (for a small retail space) because they seem to be packed with customers a lot of times, despite nothing ever being a great deal (everything is pretty much full MSRP), so I just don't think they'd be able to handle callbacks for all customers wanting to put a deposit on a popular device.
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I'd have to disagree with the "great deal" remark as for students I purchased a laptop about 2 months ago, retail price was going to run me clost to $1,900. After my student rebates and selling the free iPod I recieved with my purchase, I made out with this deal for only $1,450. (Which includes my one year .Mac account)



But I do agree with youtr thoughts on callbacks, everyone would be going in to reserve one and then there would never be any in-stock and it would merely become a "reserve" item.
 
Joshua312 said:
I'd have to disagree with the "great deal" remark as for students I purchased a laptop about 2 months ago, retail price was going to run me clost to $1,900. After my student rebates and selling the free iPod I recieved with my purchase, I made out with this deal for only $1,450. (Which includes my one year .Mac account)



But I do agree with youtr thoughts on callbacks, everyone would be going in to reserve one and then there would never be any in-stock and it would merely become a "reserve" item.
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You're right, I should have mentioned that the Apple store does offer student discounts, but then again the Apple store isn't the only place for that either. Many educational institutions offers discounts (Apple included) at their student stores located on-campus. But for a majority of customers, they'll be paying MSRP. I guess when it comes to computer products I usually prefer shopping online since they can be had much cheaper. I haven't bought much from Best Buy or Circuit City lately for the same reason, so I shouldn't have faulted the Apple store for that. I do like though that you can try out lots of Apple products and peripherals before buying and they have the widest selection of products to pick from if you have any type of Apple product.
 
littlemissGTO said:
Just bypass the store and buy it online via the Apple website.
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+1.



My daughteer's birthday was last week and we ordered her a the 3rd gen Nano on-line, engraving and all. Within 12 hours of entering the order, I got the shipping detail from FEDX as the package moved from China to HK to Alaska to SF to Joisy to E Boston with delivery to my front door. Total trip was about 5 days and the order was perfect. gift warp and all. Their on-line system was flawless. The new iPod is pretty amazing..it's so small!
 
Has anyone ever had trouble using an Online Distributor and needing Customer Service for a problem with their product? Tax is the biggest killer, as with Gas. Then again it is kinda fun walking around with their packaging.
 
RCBuddha said:
Patrick, I just saw the IPod Touch for $299.99 at the Fry's Electronics in Burbank. In stock.
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Dangit! I knew we left one out!! We have one in Oxnard also.....It was funny, while in the Apple store, we were using there computers and internet connection trying to find a place that had them in stock....We checked Target, Sears, other Apple Stores, Best Buy, and Circuit City. Frys never occured to me!
 
a.k.a. Patrick said:
Dangit! I knew we left one out!! We have one in Oxnard also.....It was funny, while in the Apple store, we were using there computers and internet connection trying to find a place that had them in stock....We checked Target, Sears, other Apple Stores, Best Buy, and Circuit City. Frys never occured to me!
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Don't get me wrong, because I love Fry's vast product selections on computer products and the awesome deals they have some time. I always look forward to the Friday paper just because of Fry's.



But I wouldn't fret over not checking at Fry's if you're complaining about Apple's customer service. Good luck trying to find help there without a long wait, and then you'll be lucky if:



a) You and the employee can actually have a conversation and understand one another. What do they do, turn that place into an Indian call center at night when the store shuts down?



b) The product you came for is in stock, brand new and unopened. Fry's should implement a test to measure the competence of their customers. There are too many idiots that think they can build a computer. "Sir, I believe you have the ID10T error. Please return the product to the store, so you can return more stuff until you realize it's USER ERROR."



Once you make your purchase, let's hope you don't have to go back for returns. The same idiot that took forever with the employee asking dumb questions is back to return his product, and he's before you again.
 
Yup, this is exactly why I almost always buy just about everything, excluding groceries, online.



I ordered my iPhone via the online Apple store, unlocked and jailbreaked it, and am very happy with it on T-Mobile. It's not the perfect phone, and isn't as full-featured as my previous Nokia E50, but is still a wonderful piece of technology. This is also my first Apple product - so I am disappointed, but not devastated overall with my iPhone experience.



It is the 8 GB version.
 
160? Are you nuts??!! LMAO, what are you going to do with 40,000 songs! I thought 20k was way pleanty with the 80 gig...!! Personally, I have just the 4 gig and I have yet to even hear the over 400 I have on it..........lol
 
I have the 60 gb ipod video with a $hitload of mostly whole albums (not just a few songs here and there) plus some movies and music videos, and I still have some space left. My desktop computer only has 160 gb LOL
 
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