Skip to main content

Apple Stores resort to pen and paper as point-of-sale outages continue

Photo: @chutch8582 Crystal Hutchinson

Photo: @chutch8582 Crystal Hutchinson

It’s not quite what you expect to see on those minimalist Apple Store tables: a stack of paper slips, a stapler and an old-school manual card-swipe machine – but that’s what some stores had to resort to after their Point Of Sale systems went down yesterday.

Store staff normally process sales with iPod Touches in cases which combine a cardreader with an external battery. Some customers were reporting that the system outage lasted several hours and affected their ability to collect their Retina iPad Minis, bought online with the Personal Pickup option.

The EasyPay self-service checkout app was reportedly still working, but Apple limits the value of transactions that can be paid for in that way.

Via TechCrunch

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

  1. Justin Ward - 10 years ago

    Man, would I have loved to have read this yesterday before I drove over an our to my closest store to return an iPad Air Smart Case and was told I was unable to do so because of their outage.

  2. john K. (@scaryslow) - 10 years ago

    Yup, got caught up in the outage, was there to pick up a Retina Mini I had paid for, wouldn’t give it to me.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


Ben Lovejoy's favorite gear