I hate Apple stores. They’re so cringeworthy. I avoid them at all cost. It Really is like a car dealership. Just a hassle.
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Angela Ahrendts Officially Leaving Apple Today
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I think you make a good point, but I'd like to add its a nice thing when the staff are well-dressed. That hasn't been my experience these past few years. The store is usually full of kids shrink-wrapped in jeans designed to distort their bodies into weird shapes, a lot of them wear chain-wallets, Their hairstyles usually involve either bleaching white or dyeing it black - even if their natural color is black - and they all do this weird fish-mouth thing where their upper lips arch up even when their mouths are "closed". The whole store gets to see their incisors, food and saliva drying on them...
*shrug*
[doublepost=1555354948][/doublepost]Who is next to come in and redesign 400+ stores to THEIR liking now?
[doublepost=1555354948][/doublepost]Who is next to come in and redesign 400+ stores to THEIR liking now?
Never understood what the problem of the haters here was. The Apple Stores in Germany became better. Surely I don't need artists performing at the stores but nobody forces me to go watch someone I don't want to.
I don't really know what she brought to the table. As someone who worked for apple retail under Johnson, Bower (for all of what 6 weeks or so) and Ahrendts (maybe a year before I left), I didn't the the stores change more significantly than under Johnson. I would call Ahrendts changes a variation on a theme more than changing the stores.
I wish her luck.
I wish her luck.
Because the stores in Germany are gorgeous and the ones in the USA, with the exception of a few flagships, look like medical labs from the year 2215.
endcli
I hate how the apple stores are now. She got rid of the genius bar. The concept of a store where you can walk in and actually buy stuff got completely lost. It takes now longer with more people to talk to just to but something. And it's not a shop where you can get everything you need because as the article said, third party accesories are not available anymore or not displayed.
I hope whoever follows her changes the Apple store back to actual real stores to buy stuff.
Because the stores in Germany are gorgeous and the ones in the USA, with the exception of a few flagships, look like medical labs from the year 2215.
endcli
Better change that into Europe.
Good riddance. Now she can go back to selling $820 unicorn hoodies.
https://us.burberry.com/unicorn-print-cotton-hoodie-p80136021
https://us.burberry.com/unicorn-print-cotton-hoodie-p80136021
She is an Amazing retail person, but could never understand why Apple hired Angela. I would imagine there are Apple has one or two Amazing managers in their stores who could bring apple to a new level.
Rumors started by journalists and internet forum posters are about as likely to come true as snow in Jamaica.
Non-snarky question: Are any of her changes quantifiable? She was paid an enormous amount of money when she arrived and when she left... was this an overall plus for Apple Inc.?
No she wasn't, which is why she's gone, but maybe you're being sarcastic.
RSUs for most Apple employees vest today which is probably why she is leaving.
Being told to sit on an uncomfortable leather cube while waiting for my delayed appointment with a Genius was the highlight of my Friday. Thanks, Angela.
Limiting third party accessories also ranks as a negative in my opinion. The only cases they have in store for non-pro iPads are first party Smart Covers that only protect the screen, or an overkill Otterbox case. But hey, we have 84 colors of Apple silicone and leather cases for your phones.
Good riddance. Ahrendts made the Apple Store experience worse in almost every way.
- No more name tags. Forget have a personal connection to your Apple Store team.
- No more business cards for every employee unless they're in the business team.
- Less obvious shirt Apples. How dumb.
- Keeping the established roles, but making everyone wear the same shirt (IIRC this started with Johnson, but got kinda sorta rolled back a bit). "Oh I can't check you out, but they can" redirects for DAYS.
- No more quickdrops for repairs, but ESPECIALLY for business clients. I know what's wrong with my Mac, I know you're going to have to ship it off, don't make me wait several days for an available appointment, then make me wait 45 minutes past my allotted time for someone to check it in over the course of 30 seconds."
- No more central POS. Having the OPTION to check out with "anyone" (see above) is nice, but so is having somewhere to GO if needed.
- Huge reduction in third-party accessories.
- No more Genius Bar. It still exists. It's just not a bar. Terrible experience all around.
- No more One to One. At all. Now instead of personal attention, your parents get yelled at by a speaker about how to use an iPhone because the store is so damn loud.
To be honest, I know she was really successful with Burberry as the CEO. I think she made some nice changes with Apple, at least in the Apple stores in my area, there is definitely some changes made with the structure of the store, re-design and it seems like it was for the better in some areas. No matter where she goes, she’ll be successful, especially at her rank that she was with Apple. Good luck.
To be fair to the women, I believe she was involved in work on the Apple Watch and in that regard, she’s made it an astounding success. I’m sure she’ll be happy with her golden handshake and huge shares payout.
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I think she left for personal reasons. Wanted to cut down on the traveling and time away from home and I believe she mentioned something about it's her turn to make the sacrifice to the UK for her husband's career advancement. She's done great work and she was very well liked at Apple, kind of sucks
Because the stores in Germany are gorgeous and the ones in the USA, with the exception of a few flagships, look like medical labs from the year 2215.
endcli
Have you seen the stores in London or Paris? Man...
edit s/startup-sequence
"Deirdre O'Brien was formerly Apple's vice president of people"
Love this! Technically, aren't all VPs vice presidents of people? How do I get that title?
Love this! Technically, aren't all VPs vice presidents of people? How do I get that title?
Thank god...
She was a good person, lovely, kind, she made employees felt connected, to HER, that's kinda it.
I was very impressed with the combination within online and retail store process, that was UNREAL, WELL DONE.
But then she focused way too much on sales, numbers, forgot that she was also running a tech company.
Running the Genius bar like a customer service driven center was the probably the biggest mistake, not sure if that was her or someone else.
But oh well, you can't find a perfect lead now a days.
She was a good person, lovely, kind, she made employees felt connected, to HER, that's kinda it.
I was very impressed with the combination within online and retail store process, that was UNREAL, WELL DONE.
But then she focused way too much on sales, numbers, forgot that she was also running a tech company.
Running the Genius bar like a customer service driven center was the probably the biggest mistake, not sure if that was her or someone else.
But oh well, you can't find a perfect lead now a days.
She didn't do ****.
The in store experience is just as crappy as it ever was, and any 'remodels' in stores didn't really change anything - same wood tables from 2002, same ugly 99 cent gray floor tile.
Oh, but it's harder to check out now.
The in store experience is just as crappy as it ever was, and any 'remodels' in stores didn't really change anything - same wood tables from 2002, same ugly 99 cent gray floor tile.
Oh, but it's harder to check out now.
This may sound crazy but I'd rather walk into an empty Microsoft store, get service right away and walk out than deal with an overcrowded Apple store. With that being said, why in the heck does Microsoft have retail stores anyway? Nobody buys direct from Microsoft, they'd do better with a station inside Best Buy.