By this simpleminded "lol-gic", Apple should open only on holidays, not accept credit cards, and require customers to bark like a dog before entering ... just to be different from every other retailer.
Retailers use name badges because they're customer-friendly. Furthermore, the customers seem to like Apple's. They aren't broke, so trying to "fix" them by getting rid of them is the worst kind of different-for-its-own-sake executive dictate. "Let's force the Specialists to keep telling people their names. That couldn't possibly get annoying for either the Specialists or for the customers, could it?"
Yeah, it could. Employees with unusual or unfamiliar names will have to repeat themselves (not a problem for your Johns and Marys, but a hassle for those with invented or "foreign" names). Customers who prefer to keep their relationships with salespeople on an impersonal basis will feel pressured to give their names in return (which I'm sure is the executive logic behind it).
But one of the reasons the Apple Store has been so successful as a retail outlet is the no-pressure salesmanship: no commissions, letting people walk in and play with the computers, etc. The psychological trick of forcing sales staff and customers to introduce themselves by name undermines that, and trust me: it will push introverted and privacy-seeking customers away.
