Apple + Best Buy Update: Just A Pilot?

[MacRumors]

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An in-depth report by AppleInsider is shedding more light onto the recent appearance of Apple's full line of Macs at select southern California Best Buy stores. Contrary to the initial report by ZDNet which was based off of statements by analyst Samir Bhavnani, the current program is only a seven-store pilot.

However, Best Buy has indicated that it is prepared to scale the Mac pilot program "rapidly" if it proves to be a hit, according to Steve Lidberg and David Niederman, two analysts with Pacific Crest Securities. They say a fortified relationship with the electronics retailer will present Apple with the opportunity to bulk up on its domestic retail presence.

Best Buy is North America's #1 consumer electronics retailer and sells home and car audio products, CD/DVDs, and home appliances (washers/dryers/microwaves/etc) in addition to computer-related products.

[yankeefan24]

I knew it wouldn't all start at once. 7 stores sounds right. In a few months, it may go nation wide, or they may drop it. Let's wait and see.

[Shadow]

It'd be a great way to increase Apple's market share-not many people (including me) have "easy" (ie not having to travel several hours) to get to an Apple store

[runninmac]

Im glad because Im not to sure how smart BB's team is around the nation. Around here they tried selling me an iPod calling the click wheel the "fly wheel." Im sorry but you should call the main features of the product by the right name.

And like the sale's clerk new more that me *rolls eyes*

[Kingsly]

As long as the Best Buy employees actually take five minutes to learn the main features of the machine before trying to sell me one... i'll be happy.

[Rocketman]

Originally Posted by Kingsly

As long as the Best Buy employees actually take five minutes to learn the main features of the machine before trying to sell me one... i'll be happy.

Is that even realistic considering the sheer volume of SKU's BB sells? My guess is BB is for people already familiar with a product via TV, word-of-mouth, or online research, and a direct sale approach with qualified sales reps is limited to Apple Stores and (remember them?) the faithful long-term Apple authorized retailers.

Rocketman

Free advise. Buy from someone willing to give service AFTER the sale.

[Seasought]

At least you'll be able to buy a Mac at one of these seven stores, unlike another big computer company I know...

[bobber205]

Personal and typical mac consumer opinion:
I would look and see a mac in a best buy, but I would never buy one in a best buy.

[rt_brained]

Originally Posted by Rocketman

Free advise. Buy from someone willing to give service AFTER the sale.

That's what Best Buy's "Geek Squad" is for. However...the negative light painted upon Apple by the salespeople at Best Buy, pales in comparison to the opinions held by the Gamer, er, Geek Squad.

[yg17]

I'm not so sure it's a good idea unless there will be full time Apple reps at the store.

BB employees aren't the brightest crayons in the box, I can just imagine a potental switcher who knows nothing about Macs walking into the store:

Customer: "So, I can check my email, chat with friends, and surf the web with this thing, right?"
BB Employee: "Uhhhhhhh......I'm not sure if Macs can do any of that. I think you need Windows for that sort of thing."
Customer: "OK, I'll take this HP then"

----------

Customer: "So, if I buy this digital camera, and this Mac, they'll work, right?"
BB Employee: "Uh......the box for the camera says Windows is required, so I guess it won't work."
Customer: "You don't know if it will work with that iPhoto thing I've read about?"
BB Employee: "Ummm....guess not. The box says Windows"

---------

Customer: "What's the difference between this Mac and that eMachines computer?"
BB Employee: "The eMachines has 2 buttons on its mouse, and with computers, more is better so you want that one"


You get the idea. I just don't see it being good for Apple's sales.

[aprilfools]

Originally Posted by yg17

I'm not so sure it's a good idea unless there will be full time Apple reps at the store.

BB employees aren't the brightest crayons in the box, I can just imagine a potental switcher who knows nothing about Macs walking into the store:

Customer: "So, I can check my email, chat with friends, and surf the web with this thing, right?"
BB Employee: "Uhhhhhhh......I'm not sure if Macs can do any of that. I think you need Windows for that sort of thing."
Customer: "OK, I'll take this HP then"

----------

Customer: "So, if I buy this digital camera, and this Mac, they'll work, right?"
BB Employee: "Uh......the box for the camera says Windows is required, so I guess it won't work."
Customer: "You don't know if it will work with that iPhoto thing I've read about?"
BB Employee: "Ummm....guess not. The box says Windows"

---------

Customer: "What's the difference between this Mac and that eMachines computer?"
BB Employee: "The eMachines has 2 buttons on its mouse, and with computers, more is better so you want that one"


You get the idea. I just don't see it being good for Apple's sales.

yg17 totally nailed it!!!!!!!!!! 100% true. NO...... I changed my mind yg17 is, 1000000000000000000% true. for the most part, best buy computer employees are STUPID!!!!!!!!!

[ejb190]

Here we go again... I have never been impressed by the staff at Best Drive on By. Almost every time I have bought something, I have had to haggle with a manager over getting the advertised sale price or the prices on the shelves being wrong. And the knowledge base of the staff? I usually have to leave the computer section when I hear some punk trying to sell an older couple a computer far beyond what they need. Last Christmas I ended up helping a couple trying to buy their first SLR and teaching the employee at the same time.

Apple works hard to be an upscale brand. Biased staff and un-maintained demo units lead to poor sales and another failed attempt to put Apple Computers in Bust Buy stores.

[lord patton]

Originally Posted by ejb190

Apple works hard to be an upscale brand. Biased staff and un-maintained demo units lead to poor sales and another failed attempt to put Apple Computers in Bust Buy stores.

That's a definite possibility. Most peoples complaints center around the fact that the employees don't know anything, the product is poorly displayed, and the computers aren't well maintained.

That certainly has been my impression. However, if they are doing a slow roll out, perhaps they're trying to get it right. Having a large display will help, and Apple should make sure the computers have lots of software installed, a locked desktop (?) and good demo materials.

Then it could be a big win. Interesting, as well, that Best Buy wants to make sure the inventory pipe flows well.

[quigleybc]

Originally Posted by Kingsly

As long as the Best Buy employees actually take five minutes to learn the main features of the machine before trying to sell me one... i'll be happy.

I've seen iMacs and other Macs at the Best Buy here before....and ya, the employees were no help....

[marchcapital]

Originally Posted by quigleybc

I've seen iMacs and other Macs at the Best Buy here before....and ya, the employees were no help....

MacRumors is the best help anyway when buying an apple computer...

[technicolor]

Originally Posted by Kingsly

As long as the Best Buy employees actually take five minutes to learn the main features of the machine before trying to sell me one... i'll be happy.

The apple employee store people cant even do this.

Ive sold several apple products in the store, helping their sales people.

[accelman]

I was just in a Best Buy in Kansas City two days ago and one of the salespeople said that they were going to be getting some inventory of iMacs come August. He also strongly implied that I wouldn't really need one unless I needed to do "Mac coding". What??? Also he said they're a lot like a Lotus -- same quality as a Mercedes or a BMW, but the parts are more expensive. What????????

[aprilfools]

Pilot program? It absolutely won't last. I can guarantee it will not. For 10 years I have always shopped at the Best Buy in Pasadena (Southern California). Every two or three years that Best Buy puts in a small Mac section and than a few months later the Mac section is completely gone. This has happened several times over the last ten years. I have come to believe that Best Buy management at both the Corporate and local store level in the computer department will ever take the proper accountability to maintain the Mac section and promote Mac sales. Kind of like the Mac section at CompUSA. Same thing. The Mac section is way back in the far dark corner of the store. Why? Because, they do not believe in the Mac, don’t want to give up shelf space for the Mac and don’t want shelf space for miscellaneous Mac software either. The CompUSA in Monrovia still has a huge cardboard sign that promotes Panther 10.3 that is how “out of touch” they are. Panther 10.3!! Tiger has been out for over a year now. CompUSA and Best Buy are so out of touch with Mac stuff and so clueless that they don’t even realize there is a clue.

Pilot Program? What a joke!!! Not gonna happen. Mark my words!!!!

Ben

[marchcapital]

This would be awesome fo me! I dont have an "Apple Store" near by.

[dubnluvn]

I have absolutely no confidence in Best Buy. Their staff is horrible. I remember way back in 98 when i got my first iMac they kept trying to tell me NOT to buy it. I can guarantee that they will provide nothing less than a horrible buying experience for anyone when it comes to buying a Mac. If I need to go to a big chain store for apple stuff I'll go to CompUSA whose apple staff has always impressed me by their knowledge and passion for Apple.

[jaydub]

I visited a Best Buy here in Vegas that has the Apple area set up. IMO it's not a good way to highlight Apple products. They have the machines set out for people to use, but when it comes to accessories they're all crammed in one small kiosk area and none are visibly labelled. Some even look like they're in OEM boxes. The other one is that they have the machines bolted down in a way that you can't straighten the monitor on a portable.

I've always preferred the setup at the Apple store here in Las Vegas because I can go use the machines, and even though the machines are anchored down, the security isn't so intrusive that I can't try the machine out and get a feel for it. The other part I didn't like was that the Apple section was thrown in right among the external hard drives and burners... right past all the PC computing section.

[spacehog371]

apple should just open up more apple stores... i can't believe ther was only one in nyc until a couple weeks ago.

[djerati]

Just why does Best Buy matter? Meh! It doesnt! There are so many other (better) ways to buy Apple computer products, and that's no "rumor".

[Spaceboy464]

I don't have time to read up on all the comments but I work at one of the Best Buy stores (I thought all of them were getting macs but I guess not) that have the macs. We actually have a position that is called Apple Specialist (or something like that) and the one guy who was doing it for a while knows his stuff. The girl schedualed for this week knows her stuff too. They also know that I know a bit and call me over to help out. I actually sold my first mac today and it was sweet. I'll try to read up on this thread after work tomorrow. Oh and I work at store 116 in Woodland Hills (Ask for Josh).

I just read some more and alot of you guys are right. There are alot of people in the store who don't know **** about what they are selling (I was never given a formal training luckly I know my computer ****) but then there are a few people who know alot and others who are willing to learn from us. There are the three mac people in my computer department and the rest of the people know that if someone needs help they should see us. Also about the PSPs, well we really push them because they tell us too. On the laptops they are actually a good idea since anything accidental is covered, I use that as my selling point.

Oh and how do I try to sell macs? Well for one they just work: try to drag somthing on to somthing else and it usually does what you want. Also I mention the no virus/spyware thing so you can just buy the mac and don't have to buy 118 bucks worth of other ****. I happen to notice we now have little signs around the macs saying the same ****. If you happen to live by my store come in and talk to me if you'd like. The people to see for macs are Dave Paul, me or Heather.

Lastly, who ever mentioned that he was never shown a mac...the reason for that is alot of our customers are cheap and they come in to buy our POS $550 notebooks. I try to mention the Macs but alot of the customers can't justify spending the moeny when they can get a same (Spec wise) computer for less. I'm open to ideas on how to sell macs if any one want's to give me some.

Any way i'm exhausted from work and probably not making sence. L8.

[JoeB4ever]

Nice to see fellow best buy employees take part on this discussion

I agree that there are BB employees that won't know squat on mac. And how can you expect all of them to without having the correct training, plus all of the other worthless crap they have to know. Luckily when we actually carry them in the stores, they will have the correct training to sell them efficiently.

In most best buy stores, we can order macs, but we're not supposed to carry them in the store. Well One of the macs we ordered for a customer was returned(he thought apple was gonna teach him how to use his imac), so this imac he had returned we put on display, then set it up with bootcamp. It is probably now our most popular computer. And we LOVE IT. My next computer will probably be a mac with the great experience I've had with just B.S.ing with it when I'm bored at work.

Plus I'm all for switching PC users over to Mac... It just makes sence