I'm thinking that the whole point of showing up early to get an iPad 2 is to show up early to get an iPad 2...not to get a ticket that says "good until 11am". This in some ways defeats the point of showing up early.
Think of it this way. 50 or more people are in line...and Apple has say 30 tickets to hand out. It's 8am (1 hour before Apple is supposed to open early). The Apple person (at 8am)...hands out the 30 tickets...then all 30 people (with tickets) walk away from the store (since they have at least another 60 minutes to wait till the store opens)...so they go get breakfast or coffee. The rest of the people in line are thinking (or saying)..."What the heck's going on here?"!!!
The ticket idea at 8am is fine. Then the folks that have a ticket know that they're going to get an iPad 2...and the folks that don't get a ticket...know that they're not going to get one...and can head back home or to work...and not have to wait in line another hour. But the folks with tickets should still have to wait in line till 9am...then get their iPad 2...then head to work or home.
What happens if someone shows up at the store at 10am (normal opening time)...and wants an iPad 2. They ask the first employee they see...
"Hey...I'd like to purchase an iPad 2." And the employee responds...
"Well...we gave out 30 tickets this morning at 8am...but not everyone has claimed their's yet. Come back at 11am (when the tickets expire)...and we'll see what we have left."
Hmmm...somehow this doesn't seem right.
- Nick
p.s. Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong...you're just working within Apple's procedure.
