Let me start off by saying I have never waited in line for a new release of anything — Jordans, Black Friday, phones, video games… nah.
After waiting almost 6 months after my upgrade became available for the new iPhone, I was determined to have all my ducks in a row to buy it as soon as it became available. Of course, when they made the announcement and began taking pre-orders I wasn’t ready, and once I was finally ready they said the phone wouldn’t be available until the end of October. #fail
After calling 5 Verizon stores (you have to be thorough with entail), I decided to give it a shot. I would wait on my first line. There were rules:
- I would not wait more than an hour.
- I would not battle the elements (i.e. rain, sleet, hail, snow, or freezing temperatures).
- I would not be trampled.
So on Friday, I got up a little earlier than usual and headed to my local Verizon store. I got there a few minutes after 7; there were only around 25 people in line. I came prepared, I had my lawn chair, sweater, phone, iPad, and 2 magazines.
For expecting the worse, it couldn’t have been a more uneventful/ideal experience. After answering a few emails on my phone and chatting with the other folks in line (very nice people), the staff came out at 7:30 to hand out pre-enrollment forms and answers any questions we had. At 2 minutes to 8, they started letting people in 10 at a time. By 8:40 I was in the store buying my phone. By 9:35 I was at work (I work 40 minutes away).
My takeaways that I share with you:
- Don’t always go the pre-order route;
- Do your research;
- Set your boundaries; and most importantly
- Don’t always believe the hype — the first people in line had waited since 7 p.m. the night before (they got their iPhone no more than 30 minutes before me).