Angela Ahrendts: 'The Days of Waiting in Line' at Apple Stores Are Over

[freediverx]

Isn't it worse if they show up, stand in line and then are told the product they want is out of stock? Obviously this was happening often enough and that's a crappy experience too.

I haven't stood in line for an Apple product in years. I agree that ordering online is far more efficient. But this company memo is truly tone deaf to the sensibilities of Apple's passionately loyal customer base.

While Apple appears to be firing on all cylinders under Time Cook's watch, one thing is strikingly missing: the messaging.

Apple appears to have lost their ability to tell the story of why a new product is a must have, what is the reason for its existence, what gnawing everyday frustration it's eliminating... Their product announcements, while serviceable, seem more and more like canned collections of the same marketing buzzwords without the rich storytelling we'd all grown accustomed to.

There are many perfectly good reasons why Apple would want to encourage customers to order products online and reduce the phenomenon of overcrowded stores and long lines, but without a warm, catchy, heartwarming story around it, this sounds less like Apple and more like something you'd expect from Best Buy.

 

[jclardy]

There are no headlines and worldwide pictures for online orders.

Bad move by someone who doesn't understand tech.

Except the latest launches weren't pictures of lines - it was articles about the scalpers paying people to stand in line to buy iPhones with cash to be sold again overseas for a huge profit.

 

[Juicy Box]

There's no doubt a very good reason behind her thought process but to me this seems odd.

Isn't the hype surrounding a new Apple product and loads of people waiting in line great exposure for Apple?!

I agree with you, something is strange about this. I think the usual long lines being reported over all the various media outlets excites more people to go out and get the latest iDevice.

Maybe Apple is anticipating a low turn out for the watch and not the usual lines for the iPhones and iPads.

And if this happens, they can say that the new reservation system is working.

 

[freediverx]

So this is why Apple paid her multi-millions of dollars in Apple Stock options?

Really?

To make this executive decision to have Apple customers purchase the watch on-line instead of waiting in line for it?

LOL!!!

A $73.3 million sign-on package, to be exact.

 

[linkgx1]

I think this is smart. Scalpers are bad news. When Apple creates more supply, many scalpers end up returning products which becomes a big problem in the long run.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Maybe they know the lines won't be long so they're trying to mask it with this?

That's definitely a possibility. I remember with the Leopard release, they handed out free T-shirts and bottled water for everyone in line. At one time, they certainly wanted the attention.

 

[SHNXX]

this seems misguided at best.

although apple usually makes the right decisions, this would not be the first time Apple or some new outsider executive made a bad decision, so I hope she has some good reasons.

 

[freediverx]

That's exactly the point I was going to make. And Samsung's ads, while not exactly successful for Samsung, helped turn it into something to be mocked.

Also, from Apple's point of view, it costs them a lot less to sell you something online than in retail.

The day Apple starts putting the bottom line above user experience will mark the beginning of their decline.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I drove 2 hours to attend my first major Apple product launch, and was amazed at what an awesome feeling it was.

The employees of the store were outside getting people to cheer and it was just like a line waiting for a Dead concert I'd imagine.

I learned more that day, and met more amazing people than I'd ever expected. (I actually went for the t-shirt)

It made me feel like the time (before lotteries ruined it) waiting overnight for concert tickets.

The camaraderie, the celebration, the almost religious tone... The revery...

Now all gone? It's blasphemy. Heresy. Mistaken. Tragic!

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Make her stop!!!!!! Make the nasty woman stop!!!!!!

 

[cdm283813]

You can buy a $5 t-shirt at Target or a $75 one a Hugo Boss. Each has its market. Clearly you are a Target buyer but that doesn't negate the fact there are Boss fans.

Please don't tell me that you're one of those people that just buys product because of someone's name? So if Hugo Boss came out with a $10,000 themed Apple Watch you would be the first person in line?
And please don't tell me that you only buy Apple products because of the logo? Doesn't it make sense to buy product based on function and quality at a good value? Even if Tim Cook himself signed the back of a $17,000 Apple Watch does it really make it worth $17,000?
There has to be a common sense line that you don't cross or else your chasing empty dreams. And If I meet Hugo Boss on the streets I would treat him no different then any one of you. I don't even know this guy but he has a good con game running if people are buying $75 shirts from him.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

The day Apple starts putting the bottom line above user experience will mark the beginning of their decline.

Seems like it's coming...

 

[RichFromNY]

You can pre-order all you want but nothing will stop you from still having to wait behind someone who is clueless to technology that will take up a store reps time with some of the most ridiculous question imaginable.

"my nephew has a Samsung, will I be able to still call him if I get this watch?"

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Please don't tell me that you're one of those people that just buys product because of someone's name? So if Hugo Boss came out with a $10,000 themed Apple Watch you would be the first person in line?
And please don't tell me that you only buy Apple products because of the logo? Doesn't it make sense to buy product based on function and quality at a good value? Even if Tim Cook himself signed the back of a $17,000 Apple Watch does it really make it worth $17,000?
There has to be a common sense line that you don't cross or else your chasing empty dreams. And If I meet Hugo Boss on the streets I would treat him no different then any one of you. I don't even know this guy but he has a good con game running if people are buying $75 shirts from him.

You are speaking morality to a capitalistic society.

Everything has a price, and everything is meaningless.

I knew of a family that had a different car for every day of the week. Really. The kids turned out just like you would expect them to. Libertarian dirt bags convinced that the world owes them something more than the massive trust fund their parents gave them.

Every computer I own is more than three years old, yet there are people that buy new computers every couple of months.

Hero Worship and the urge to no be 'them' will drive a lot of people to buy the most expensive Apple Watch they can't afford. Just to look cool. Until next year, when the New Apple Watch comes out, making their expensive dinosaur an embarrassment to be seen in public.

Capitalism...

 

[freediverx]

It's a miserable experience becaus they handle it poorly. AT&T stores do it better.

What a ridiculous statement. When the first iPhone went on sale, I lined up for hours outside an AT&T store, in drizzling rain, only to discover that they'd only had a handful in stock and allowed everyone to wait in line just to ask them to make a pre-purchase for when they had more in stock at some undetermined time. Angry customers wanted to burn the store to the ground.

The next morning I showed up at a local Apple store one hour before they opened. They had friendly personnel walking up and down the line greeting customers, offering them free bottled water, and asking them questions to ensure they were eligible to purchase so as not to needlessly waste their time.

This was 2007, and I have not walked into an AT&T store since then.

 

[Costino1]

Actually, this practice isn't anything new.

I worked at Sears from 2004-2010 and always experienced low stock for many, many items due to Sears' inventory reduction to control costs and expenses.

We had awful thin client computers scattered around the store and were often instructed by Sears' Brass to escort the customer to a terminal and walk them thru ordering it online to ship-to-store or their home.

As most of you are replying, that was never a fun experience for the customer.

"Sorry Mr Customer the weed wacker you want is out of stock. I know its mid-May and you need it today but I can have it shipped to the store for free in 3 weeks. Sound good!!!??"

"No. Bye" --Off to Home Depot he/she goes.

 

[SHNXX]

lol are we really talking about hugo boss as an example of luxury?
hugo boss? seriously?

 

[TonyC28]

If this is the plan then it seems to me they should have had a preview period before pre-orders go live. How can they expect us to pre-order or reserve something we have never seen or touched?

 

[CJM]

Good on Ahrendts for applying common sense and deciding that idiotic long lines are a waste of time and energy.

There's a better way to acquire an Apple product and people here still bemoan being able to do so.

this seems misguided at best.

although apple usually makes the right decisions, this would not be the first time Apple or some new outsider executive made a bad decision, so I hope she has some good reasons.

How about, waiting in line is counter-intuitive and silly.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

You can pre-order all you want but nothing will stop you from still having to wait behind someone who is clueless to technology that will take up a store reps time with some of the most ridiculous question imaginable.

"my nephew has a Samsung, will I be able to still call him if I get this watch?"

I heard they were going to limit the number of questions and time that a 'rube' could take at these appointments.

Disaster is what pops in my mind... This is a major corporate identity change, and many people aren't going to like it.

Apple has always been about brand religion, and impulse, and someone stomping in and bringing 'Adulthood' to it is going to trash that.

I don't see her staying long at Apple. If this was Tim Cook's choice to fill the spot, he should really sit and think about his future plans for Apple, and possibly think of resigning...

Making appointments, and being shooed out for taking too much time isn't 'Apple'. It's Sacrilege!

 

[blystlund]

Tim Cook emphasizes the importance of the brick and mortar stores during every keynote, and now the new retail chief is wanting to drive customers to the online store??
I have the utmost respect for her based on her previous success, but this is Apple! As a company they continue to defy all principles of retail sales due to the cult-like following. Go to a mall and see which store has more customers (or browsers) in it per square foot...they win hands down in every place I have ever been, and I'm sure all of us could attest to this fact!
I am also one of those who gladly stood in line on release day, and the experience was fantastic! We were there talking our individual Apple experiences and not just about the product being released.
I'm sure there is always some tweaking to be done, but I truly hope that she does plan to change the experience which all of us have grown to love!

 

[ggbrown]

Am I the only one who is underwhelmed by this?

Given the huge success that Apple's retail stores have given the company, given that Apple products must be experienced in person to fully appreciate their quality and user experience, and given the astronomical compensation package Ahrendts received, for me this message has landed with a loud and off-putting thud.

This is something I'd have expected from John Browett.

This approach overlooks the consumer need for instant gratification. I've actually talked myself out of buying a new car because they didn't have it on the lot at the time.

Apple has done a pretty good job of having pre-orders arrive on the day products go on sale in store, however, it leaves to chance not being there to sign for the product, or worse, buying something as a gift and the intended person being the one to sign for it.

I ordered a USB keyboard for my daughter at Christmas one year. It showed up via courier but unlike every other Apple product I'd ordered online, this wasn't in a plain brown box. The shipping label was right on the product box...and she was the one who answered the door for the courier.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

lol are we really talking about hugo boss as an example of luxury?
hugo boss? seriously?

Well, he did make all the Nazi uniforms.

Oh, wait...

 

[5105973]

What a ridiculous statement. When the first iPhone went on sale, I lined up for hours outside an AT&T store, in drizzling rain, only to discover that they'd only had a handful in stock and allowed everyone to wait in line just to ask them to make a pre-purchase for when they had more in stock at some undetermined time. Angry customers wanted to burn the store to the ground.

The next morning I showed up at a local Apple store one hour before they opened. They had friendly personnel walking up and down the line greeting customers, offering them free bottled water, and asking them questions to ensure they were eligible to purchase so as not to needlessly waste their time.

This was 2007, and I have not walked into an AT&T store since then.

My 2013 experience buying the 5s was entirely different so AT&T must have learned something since then or there are very surprising differences in how individual stores are run in different geographic areas.

Note that last year's IPhone 6 Plus release at our local Apple mall store sounds like your 2007 experience at the AT&T store and that is what I based my statement on. The experience our friends had there was like yours at AT&T.

 

[Arran]

this seems misguided at best.

although apple usually makes the right decisions, this would not be the first time Apple or some new outsider executive made a bad decision, so I hope she has some good reasons.

I'm sure Ron Johnson (the genius who built Apple Retail in the first place) had some good reasons too when he moved to JCPenney and then almost killed it.

Johnson arrived with a world-class retail vision for "the new JCPenney" and an invincible track record built at at Apple and (prior to that) Target. Pundits applauded it.

But it wasn't what Penney's customers wanted. And they walked. Johnson was fired.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Good on Ahrendts for applying common sense and deciding that idiotic long lines are a waste of time and energy.

There's a better way to acquire an Apple product and people here still bemoan being able to do so.



How about, waiting in line is counter-intuitive and silly.

How about waiting in line and walking out with the coveted item in your hands!

NOTHING beats that feeling of accomplishment...

Waiting in lines like that that I did years ago made me feel 'young' again. Like a rebel, like a person with a purpose. I enjoyed it. The four hours in the car weren't a treat, but the 2 hour drive back home passed like it was a half hour.

Killing the lines is a mistake. I knew people that refused to order their iPhone 6 so that they *could* go and stand in the lines. I pre-ordered for pickup the 6+ I have because it was available in the place I was visiting, and I didn't have the time to wait in line.

Apple has offered the alternative to waiting in the lines. Now removing that entirely kinda feels sad...

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My 2013 experience buying the 5s was entirely different so AT&T must have learned something since then or there are very surprising differences in how individual stores are run in different geographic areas.

Note that last year's IPhone 6 Plus release at our local Apple mall store sounds like your 2007 experience at the AT&T store and that is what I based my statement on. The experience our friends had there was like yours at AT&T.

Yeah, I heard from a friend that they only had 6 of the iPhone 6 model, all low capacity models, and no 6+'s. Most people wanted the 6+. There were 'a lot of people' waiting, and every damn one of them walked away disappointed. I heard that the Verizon store didn't have any. The Target store supposedly had over a dozen, but I have nothing to corroborate that.