I showed up for work at 5 am (Starbucks in a mall with the largest Apple store in the city) to find people sleeping in lawn chairs and tents as far as the eye can see and a scary ‘little’ line waiting for coffee as well. I guess I underestimated the dedication of apple fans. . . and they overestimated Apple and AT&T’s devotion to them.
Apple made some changes, requiring iPhone fanatics to sign up for a 2-year contract and activate their phone on the spot. AT&T made some changes as well. The mandatory contract is more expensive, an additional $30/month on what most iPhone users already pay. Because consumers weren’t just buying a phone, but setting up contracts, the line moved just below a snail’s pace, leaving that huge line in the hot sun for much longer than expected. You could expect the sleep deprived to be a bit peeved.
Upsettingly, the majority of people in the first half of the line (arguably the most devoted) were denied their AT&T cellphone upgrade, probably because their 2-year contract from last year’s big iPhone release wasn’t quite finished yet. Our espresso bar seemed much more like an alcohol bar with people telling their sob stories about iPhone experiences of the day.
If it wasn’t the extremely slow moving line, the unexpected expense of the contract, or the flat out rejection, Apple fans had plenty else to complain about it and Starbucks was all ears (and caffiene) for the the morning. The phone’s cool factor couldn’t keep them crabby all day, though.
Having recently partnered with AT&T, Starbucks is doing something generous and long overdue.
