Does Apple offer shopping appointments?

My friend went to an Apple Store today to buy an iPhone. It was a madhouse, with far too little staffing. They were told to stand at a table, wait some indeterminate amount of time, at least a half hour, until a salesperson appears. They departed, *sans* iPhone. I heard Apple used to offer appointments for shopping to avoid that mess. I found this page , but is only for appointments to experience the Apple Vision product. Is there some way like appointments to make the buying experience more pleasant and productive?