After returning from the Regent Street (London) grand opening, I asked for stories and accounts from others who attended the store. I received several responses, some focusing on the line-cutting problems, but others revealing other perspectives of the event. I have slightly edited some of the accounts:

When we arrived at 11.55 P.M. we were 250. Consistently throughout the night we were counted around the 250 - 260 mark. By 9.30 A.M. we had dropped to 300 and by the time we made the door we were actually 325 and up.

[This person says that once inside the store, another person in his group raised a very pointed objection to an Apple staffer about being pushed back in the waiting line by line cutters. The staffer called over a State-side Apple executive who, after some discussion, allowed an accommodation for being pushed back in the waiting line by line-cutters: a free iPod photo for two persons in the group, and one iPod mini each for five other persons in the group.]

Our 2 iPod photos were £840, add 5 minis at £180 each = £1,740 in total or $3,252 at today's exchange rate which Apple gave away that I know of.

I would also like to add that the Police were brilliant with dealing with queue jumpers when reported. The American security guys didn't know what had hit them it seemed and their attitude towards our complaints was appalling. Had it not been for them, we may have not felt the need to take our complaint further.

We were resigned to the fact that people had jumped the queue and accepted there was nothing we could do. The straw that broke the camels back was the old lady that had come in with the press, a couple of blokes in suits, who had obviously not queued and someone who we actually had removed from the queue because he pushed in right by us, all had Lucky Bags.

I think the main reason we had stuff was not because people had jumped the queue but because members of the press had been buying the Lucky Bags. The [Apple] lady that dealt with us and who, I must say did everything right from my own customer service background, said there wouldn't be an issue with bags again as they wouldn't be doing them anymore.

I believe we deserved a lucky bag for the loyalty and effort we devoted to Apple: what we ended up with far exceeded anything we expected and turned a disgruntled fan into an even bigger believer.

I must also add that thanks to the whole experience, Apple's generosity and Customer Service, my [relative] has started down the road of switching. He is absolutely over the moon with his iPod and can't put it down. It truly is a switching vehicle. Previously, he had merely seen Apple as a computer manufacturer. I think now he understands more what the company and its fan's are about.

We'll see you at a future opening, maybe somewhere a bit warmer like Spain :-)

Whilst I was in the store, I [learned that] the Crown Estates (who own most of Regent Street)…approached Apple to come to this location.

- They hope to bring down the age demographics on the Street

- Although building work had already started, they changed their plans to match Apple's precise needs

- The store is bigger than the SoHo store

- The staircase is the widest staircase (without a centre rail) in the whole of the UK

- In fact the staircase is larger than the legal limit, and special dispensation had to sought

And finally, [I learned that while] Apple were very focused on getting exactly what they wanted, they were a pleasure to work with.

Spot on about the line cutting and lucky bags at the London opening. Between 6 and 8 a.m. on the my place in queue dropped considerably as more and more people "appeared" in front of me.

I also saw lots of people reselling their Lucky Bags as they didn't have an iPod in them. As the bags cost the same as an iPod, why they didn't just by a iPod straight off is a mystery. I also saw a rather well-to-do couple causing a scene out side the store as the two bags they had bought contained the same items. When they threaten to start throwing them on the floor in front of the media, the manager relented and allowed them to return a bag.

So thanks to the greed and stupidity of some, I guess Apple have decided the bags just aren't worth the hassle.

I wanted to tell you how it went--I've read your account and it's interesting to read about some place that I've just been!

Anyway, unfortunately none of my friends were so keen to camp out overnight at the apple store. I was a bit miffed, but finally one of my old professors who was visiting London offered to stay and wait with me, but she refused to camp out overnight due to the cold temperatures. SO I didn't get there nearly as early as I wanted, and we ended up arriving at about 6:30 a.m. this morning. Initially we were back across Hanover Street (I think ) but after about 45 minutes we were behind the store in front of the Japan Airlines offices (next to the Barclay's ATM's).

It's interesting how you mention the problem of queue jumpers. I was totally NOT prepared by how sneaky some people were being. One person was behind us the whole time and then when he thought we weren't looking just walked right in front of us! We tried to be nice but he wouldn't really move and then told us what did it matter because it was just one person etc., etc., blah! Also a couple of Germans called their friends and let about 5 or 6 additional people in line with them! But the WORST was this one girl who had this story about how her masters thesis was on her iBook and how it had crashed and she needed the guys at the Genius Bar to look at it, and the security guy told her she could jump the queue. She did sound believable, but this was at about 9:25 a.m. when she tried to get in the queue, and we were all getting a bit sick of people trying to be sneaky, so I told her that the people behind her aren't going to like that she jumped and she might be denied entry. I didn't see her after I went in, but she better not have taken a T-shirt or anything! grr....

Anyway, one of the coolest moments (you didn't mention this in your diary) was when all the staffers ran up and down the entire queue and gave us all high-fives. They were running and screaming and asking us to give them cheers and stuff. They even went down to Hanover Square, much further down in the queue! It was really cool and exciting and it really got us psyched I think that was at like 9:50 or something.

We finally made it into the store at around 10:45 or 11 a.m. I think. It was REALLY cool. I've only been to the NYC apple store in SoHo, and I think this one is a lot bigger, at least on the ground floor. I was so tempted to spend loads of money, but unfortunately I don't need anymore Apple stuff! I thought if the iPod socks were out I'd buy them, but I guess they weren't available yet as I couldn't find them anywhere. The staff were super cool and so friendly and I didn't want to leave! Unfortunately they were out of Lucky Bags by the time I got in, but I probably wouldn't have bought one anyway. I did get a T-shirt though! Which was exciting..... this is my first grand opening so of course I have lower standards!

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for the inside info about the store. I hope you are enjoying London--it's a shame how cold it was. It usually isn't this cold here, I promise! It's also a shame that I couldn't stay overnight because maybe I could have found your group and shared my own Mac stories!!! Sounded like loads of fun!

Happy traveling!

P.S.--When's the next Apple store grand opening?!

Hi Gary,

Thanks for your reply.

The head security guard dude had one of those 'clickers' that counted the amount of people he let in. I had quite a chat with him as I was first in the queue which they held up for 15 minutes while the queues inside died down.

I asked him how many and he showed me, it read 322 - this must have been around 10.50. He also sent someone in for me to find out if there were any bags left - they came back with a big fat NO!

The whole thing was quite cool though, the store is pretty amazing!

I do know the assistant manager of the store but are reluctant to get him involved as he is a friend.

Let me know how you get on.

Cheers

Well, I did think very early on that Apple should try and regulate the queue, because I heard the same thing about wholesale jumping. We had a discussion in our group about the system used in New York City for some of the big music events-- they issue cards that are punched every hour, and if you miss a punch time, you're out of the queue. That seems fair to me. We were definitely nervous about queue jumpers and reported two at 7 a.m. that the police then moved on. And I suppose you saw those two posh tossers at 4 a.m. or so who tried to get in near the front? I was so glad to see them go, although the police came over to my group and told us to stop inciting them! We weren't anything other than a few whoops and hollers. Take care.

Just wanted to let you know of my experiences at the Regents Street opening. Well it was the first ever apple store I've ever been to and so my first ever opening. I thought it was great I came with a friend who is also a big Mac fan like me, he gave me company- not that I needed any there were loads of friendly people around to talk to. I arrived at 6:30 a.m. (I wanted to camp overnight but my parents didn't allow me as I am 15) nonetheless I had a great time and the hours of waiting was well worth it. I came a couple of times to the front to have a chat with Stormy but I couldn't spot you, but I did spot you when you came out of the store. We finally got into the store at 11:30-ish and I was soooo excited--lol. We went straight to the studio and Genius Bar (I knew Lucky Bags were sold out so I didn't bother staying downstairs) the staff were so great and friendly. I especially like David at the Studio as he was cool--I even asked the deputy manager about the work experience their, and he said yes and that I'll have to write a letter to the store manager John O'Grady. We stayed there for a couple of hours and they were soo fun. Definitely worth the wait! Can't wait for Bluewater!!!!! So how was your experiences, the camping out and everything? Hopefully see you next time when you're in town.

Happy Thanksgiving!,