[isitnyu]

Ive been wanting to stop by an apple store lately and just ask an employee with good knowledge of the iphone and simply ask... So is the 3g iphone coming out on June 9th? Are those sealed boxes the iphones? I want to see what i get from an answer. Has anyone attempteD?

[IrishJK09]

Ive been wanting to stop by an apple store lately and just ask an employee with good knowledge of the iphone and simply ask... So is the 3g iphone coming out on June 9th? Are those sealed boxes the iphones? I want to see what i get from an answer. Has anyone attempteD?

Complete waste of time. The store employees are merely the ticket sellers for the 3G iPhone play. They know nothing, and even if they did, they can't tell you.

[Reaktor5]

I'm going to my local mall tomorrow, so I'm going to try and play dumb to see when they expect to get more iPhones in stock.

[speced]

the Mac geniuses are the ones that start playing dumb when you ask about it.

[Reaktor5]

I was thinking just the Mac Assistants. And if they don't know I'd ask them to ask the manager or someone higher up. The people that work around here (New Hampshire, go figure) aren't up to date on all the rumors.

[Pyro]

I doubt any of the store employees or managers get to hear any inside information... they are practically middle-men. They just receive the products and sell them... it is the CEOs of the companies involved with the iPhone that will know anything right now.

[xintelinsanex]

I'm going to my local mall tomorrow, so I'm going to try and play dumb to see when they expect to get more iPhones in stock.

If you asked them when they expect to have more in stock, they will just say I don't know (but they probably know). This goes with all retailers. Its really stupid and I don't believe it for a second. How can you run your store and not know when stuff is coming in?

[Nick9283]

yah same here. i walked into a apple store and started talking to a guy about adobe and final cut pro . then i thew the iphone 2 in and he clammed up turned pale and i was suddenly talking to a stop sign. guess everythings under tight lips

[Ahambone]

yah same here. i walked into a apple store and started talking to a guy about adobe and final cut pro . then i thew the iphone 2 in and he clammed up turned pale and i was suddenly talking to a stop sign. guess everythings under tight lips

It wouldn't make sense that they wouldn't know A THING regarding one of their most popular products- they probably were given a nugget or two, but I doubt they have ALL the details on the new product.

[caseychan]

It's more likely there are some unmarked boxes in the back that the workers would assume are the iPhone 3G. Apple is notoriously tight-lipped as a company, even those in corporate might not even know all of the iPhone 3G's workings yet. I would be very surprised if Apple retail workers were 'in the know'

[IrishJK09]

It wouldn't make sense that they wouldn't know A THING regarding one of their most popular products- they probably were given a nugget or two, but I doubt they have ALL the details on the new product.

Are you new to the way Apple runs things?

[Ahambone]

Are you new to the way Apple runs things?

Actually- yes, yes I am.

[IrishJK09]

Actually- yes, yes I am.

The reason we know next to nothing (nothing real anyway) about the 3G iPhone is because Apple is the epitome of a secure company. The only people that know anything about their upcoming devices are the ones that absolutely need to know. The store level personnel don't receive any sort of real information until the very last minute, which is when they need to know. This practice helps Apple keep things a secret, and helps drive the hype machine that has had us on the edge of our seat for weeks.

Giving any sort of reliable information to a retail employee that makes $7.00 an hour is probably the quickest way to get it leaked.

[Ahambone]

The reason we know next to nothing (nothing real anyway) about the 3G iPhone is because Apple is the epitome of a secure company. The only people that know anything about their upcoming devices are the ones that absolutely need to know. The store level personnel don't receive any sort of real information until the very last minute, which is when they need to know. This practice helps Apple keep things a secret, and helps drive the hype machine that has had us on the edge of our seat for weeks.

Giving any sort of reliable information to a retail employee that makes $7.00 an hour is probably the quickest way to get it leaked.

Oh I definitely agree with you there, but one has to wonder if Apple Stores haven't already received any store displays labeled in boxes that say things like "Do not open until June 10th (like that one box that's floating around the internet)" or something like that. I feel like there would be something that would give Apple Store employees "hints" at the 3G iPhone coming, which would lead to them turning to stone and getting suddenly tight-lipped when asked about future inventory.

[NPR_Aficionado]

I do believe all this comes down to the extremely efficient distribution network that exist in this country, thanks to FedEx and UPS. All these boxes, store displays, or anything else are probably not sitting in Apple/AT&T stores. They are in a couple of very select distribution warehouses next to/near to, FedEx or UPS, shipping centers and will be delivered either on or the day before they are out for public consumption. Just-in-time distribution takes away all the need to "stock-up" in stores ahead of time. Apple, the king of secret distribution, would not let boxes sit where low level employees would be seeing them day in and day out. So much easier to secure a few warehouses, and monitor who comes and goes, than every retail outlet in the country.

[nsquared]

And the few Apple employees that know anything are usually bound by a confidentiality agreement in which they cannot speak to anyone about what they know without the risk of being sued. Apple and their legal team: they don't mess around.