Today I went through and Apple right of passage – I stood in line for 9.5 hours to get my wife her iPhone 4. I was in the non-reserved line at the Bellevue, WA Apple store from 5:30a to 3:00p. A lot of people wondered why I did this for my Wife, given that I already had mine.
The bottom line is that a lot of screw ups led to me getting an iPhone a day before it launched and my wife not getting hers at all. I decided that since I had never stood in line for one of these launches, and that I am a diehard Apple fanboy, and I love my wife – that I would go stand in line for her.
I honestly thought that I would be done by 10-10:30a at the latest. When noon came and went I was really hungry, but at no point was I on the verge of leaving. I think I set a record for the number of tweets I have ever made in any 9-hour period, so if you follow me I am sorry.
The Experience
What an experience this was, interestingly there were quite a few people in line next to me that were first time iPhone buyers. Nobody that I was next to really knew a lot about the iPhone – all they knew is that it was the best phone you could get. There were a couple of people that I talked who were finally getting one because they were tired of waiting for a Verizon model.
Starbucks and Specialty’s Bakery were handing out drinks and snacks to everyone the entire time I was there – courtesy of Apple. This was absolutely great, had they not been there I probably would not have made it past hour 5. Apple employees also came around with water (Smart Water) and there were two employees just circulating to answer questions. The most common question I heard was: “Will there be enough?”, to which the response was a very cheery “We think we are doing really well and you are looking really good where you are in line!”. Yep.
In the end I would gladly do it again – only this time I would bring a chair and wear tennis shoes. 9.5 hours in dress shoes, and standing was not all that great.
Thanks to all those around me in line for being awesome.
Here is a shot of the line just before the Mall opened (sales had started about 2.5 hours before I snapped this).