Apple Staffers Have Just Two Hours to Experience iPad Before Launch

As if anyone expected Apple to behave any different, retail-store employees are reportedly going to have two hours of hands-on training with the iPad, ahead of its official debut this Saturday.

Staffers will need to be quick in their learning, as customers will be barging in at 9 AM that morning, eager to know as much as they can about the device. An Apple genius, the person who is supposed to know everything about the device, including how to repair it, will surely have a hard time answering all questions after just two hours of playing with the iPad.

ifoAppleStore, the main source of information on all things Apple-retail-store, reveals that, “None of the 14,000 or so U.S. store employees have yet touched an iPad.” “In fact, their first exposure will occur at 7 a.m. on Saturday, when all-hands training sessions begin at the U.S. stores,” the report continues to inform. “The company’s trainers have devised a multi-station approach to make sure that everyone learns all the features of the iPad, and gets time to try out the included and optional software applications,” the report states.

Besides teaching procedures for setting up two waiting lines, and selling to walk-in clients and reserved buyers, the training sessions will reportedly also include details on the two-per-person purchase limit (as if there was more to learn than the simple fact that one person can only acquire two iPads on the same day). In addition to these aspects, “There will also be an emphasis on creating a superior buying experience, and educating customers about how the iPad will enrich their lives,” ifo continues to outline, and then goes to reveal the employees’ schedule, based on their status within a retail establishment.

The piece also talks of previously emerged reports saying that Apple has shipped two separate bulks of iPads, one of which contains a specified number of units to fulfill walk-in orders, based on the store’s sales history. With Apple’s own stores receiving limited shipments of iPads, it’s no surprise Best Buy stores will (reportedly) stock just 15 units each – five of each storage configuration (16GB, 32GB, and 64GB).