[mk]

I was one of many who showed up early to get in line, waiting for the iPhone. The location my friend and I chose was Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta, Ga. I showed up at ~10:30 AM and ended up being about 80th in line. All in all, the pre-launch waiting was actually very enjoyable. Apple had two free, open wireless access points, so everyone waiting in line had WiFi. Most people in line thought ahead and brought chairs with them… I guess I wasn’t one of them.

Throughout the day we were provided with different perks–once, Red Bull girls walking around and giving out free Red Bulls, another time, Luna bars. Towards 4 o’clock, after the Apple store had closed down for its 2pm - 6pm gear-up, Apple employees roamed the lines giving out free waters and answering any questions people had. Let me rephrase and say, they were answering any questions they were allowed to answer…which wasn’t much.

Then comes the brilliance: at 6pm rather than have everyone push and shove their way into the store, they had Apple employees walking down the lines informing line-goers that they would be taking in small groups of people at a time into the store, and would constantly keep us up-to-date with the quantities on hand.

What did all of this end up meaning? Apple was able to put an enormous amount of people through our line in a very short amount of time. Even being 80th in line, I was fully checked out, iPhone/accessories in hand within 45 minutes of the launch. But, this wasn’t just a streamlined assembly line–Apple employees were stationed at the entrance of the store, cheering for groups as they entered. Employees and copious amounts of iPhones were on-hand for demos.

Perhaps one of the most amazing aspects of the entire process was the amount of people Apple was able to check out. For those who’ve been to the Apple stores, they’ve seen the PDA/scanner/mobile checkout stations which employees use to process people’s items. Upon checking out with my new iPhone, I proceeded over to the accessories area to check out what they had to offer. There ended up being an employee standing there who was able to quickly answer and identify the accessory I was requesting. Then, as I started to turn away, he asked if I wanted to check out…proceeding to pull out a checkout PDA. With a bag holder on his waist, he was able to process my credit card, bag my accessories, all in the matter of 2 minutes. Brilliant!

So, as I close, I must once again compliment the thought that went behind putting together such a smooth, efficient and thoroughly enjoyable experience. Also, kudos to the employees for their enthusiasm and knowlegable help/advice.

Now on to activation!