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Apple Retail's Emphasis on Profits Continues, Tied to Operational Perspective of Cook and Browett

Dance With Who Brung Ya

You would think that guys as sharp as Tim and John would understand the concept that, in Texas, we call "dance with who brung ya".

Look at how Apple got where it is today. Clearly, it didn't get here by "being like everyone else" and simply focusing on revenue and profit.

And with Apple having "$500 gazillion" in cash reserves, focusing on marginal / delta revenue and profits from the stores is "penny-wise and pound-foolish".

If nothing else, throw the cost of running the stores (in the way that they have been run up until recently) into the advertising / marketing bucket ... they are part of the Apple mystique, charisma, and vibe / karma that has the whole world eating out of Apple's hand like the proverbial puppy dog at it's master's knee.

I think the guy said, "Think Different", or something like that ... :apple:

BMA57
 
This doesn't surprise me at all. Have you tried calling Applecare recently? I am a huge fan of Apple. I've had an iPhone since they were first introduced. Before that I used an Apple laptop since 1997. Before that I had my first Mac in 1988. Before that my father owned the first Apple II (back in 1980?). I even bought my first iPod in 2002. I now own an iPhone 4 (plan to buy the next one in a month or so), a MacBook Pro, an iPad2, an iPod nano and classic, an Apple TV. Suffice it to say, I am an Apple supporter. In the past year, my experience calling Applecare and visiting the Apple store has deteriorated drastically. It used to be fun to visit the Apple store, now it's hard to find someone to help you and the staff no longer seems prepared to solve problems. Now I no longer drag my wife into the store to see things. I just walk by.

My worst experience by far, however, has been with Applecare. I find that when I call now I'm confronted with a "genius" who knows less about the products than I do. They don't seem to want to solve my problems and I have to wait to speak with a senior advisor on a regular basis. This past year, after having a string of bad experiences with Applecare, that I actually considered buying something other than an Apple product. I'm still a fanboy for now, but if this sort of thing continues, it could ultimately be the one thing that pushes me away from Apple. I hope the company learns from all the bad PR.
 
It's Customer Service, stupid!

I am from the UK and am not a medal-winner at the Olympics.

I have for years not stepped inside a Dixons or PC World store other than to peer at something I might buy elsewhere. This is for one reason only... absolute crap customer service. Browett ran these stores. In all his years in charge I didn't discern any movement to improve customer services so I don't know why he was hired by Apple unless he has some magical touch with... dollars?

My experience of good customer services made me buy from Orange (phones) the customer service collapsed so I don't buy from Orange. I bought from Quark until their customer service became so poor that I bought from Adobe because they had great customer services. They don't now so I want to look elsewhere (though it's not easy to move from InDesign to QXPress). I am currently with O2 because they have good customer services... watch this space.

My point is that it is customer services that keep me with a company, NOT necessarily their products. There's a lesson there for Apple.
 
KPOM said:
On the other hand, look at how JC Penney has been performing since Ron Johnson arrived.

I think the challenge is to find balance. The first decade of the Apple Stores was about promoting the brand and Apple's rise to the top. Now that Apple is at the top, maintaining that position sometimes requires different tactics. Apple Stores shouldn't become like Best Buy (that would be a mistake), but they probably do need to evolve.
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Marketers will tell you that the Brand is the most valuable asset a company has. Being the worlds most valuable company, obviously resources are not an issue for Apple so I can't for the life of me understand why on earth they would hire a Dixon's guy who ran that operation into the ground to nickel and dime their own retail operation. To me, the goal of Apple's retail stores has always been about creating loyalty through service and experience you can't find anywhere else, not about trying to make a buck...they make enough bucks overall. I'd like to think that breaking even with the retail stores would be the goal! Would mean they're NOT evolving into Best Buy!

EDIT: Big Mac you beat me to it!
 
dontwalkhand said:
As I said in another post before, the Cook-occolypse begins. This is the beginning of the end for Apple...Thank you Mr. Cook, Cook is No Jobs.
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It is surprising Apple would bring in Mr. Browett with such a low bar. I hear there is an awesome person working at JCP that is well qualified.

If Apple continues down this path the next step is to close under-performing stores.
 
MJD Dawg said:
Marketers will tell you that the Brand is the most valuable asset a company has. Being the worlds most valuable company, obviously resources are not an issue for Apple so I can't for the life of me understand why on earth they would hire a Dixon's guy who ran that operation into the ground to nickel and dime their own retail operation. To me, the goal of Apple's retail stores has always been about creating loyalty through service and experience you can't find anywhere else, not about trying to make a buck...they make enough bucks overall. I'd like to think that breaking even with the retail stores would be the goal! Would mean they're NOT evolving into Best Buy!

EDIT: Big Mac you beat me to it!
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Dixon's was a disaster before Browett got there. I'm sure if JC Penney didn't come calling Ron Johnson would still be there (and if Johnson knew how poorly the Apple strategy would translate at JC Penney, he might not have left, either).

My guess is that Browett was brought in because after 11 years, the company stores need a bit of a change in focus. Whether the Olympic ads were good or not, they still emphasized the customer service aspect, so it will still be there. However, in some respects the stores do need to get "back to basics." While the stores are a great place to go and try out the devices, they can be less than ideal to people who just want to go in and buy something. With all the commotion, it isn't always easy. I've noticed that particularly in the smaller stores.

While the stores are an important part of the brand, they aren't the only one.
Cleaning up the Foxconn factories is just as important, IMO.
 
appleguy123 said:
Browett will destroy the retail store experience for customers. You'd figure that Tim would be smart enough to see this.
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I think he is but I'm not sure he really cares. Steve wanted to deliver the best customer experience which is what made him unique and why so many people are so passionate about Apple. It seems to me that Tim Cook is just about the numbers. Minimise costs and maximise revenue at all costs, regardless of the customer experience. Browett is probably the perfect hatchet man to achieve that vision given his background. I wonder how long before the AppleStore becomes just another retail store with under trained, under motivated staff going through the motions.

I'm really not convinced Tim Cook is the right leader for Apple post Steve Jobs. We need someone with vision, with heart, with a soul.

Why cut the workshops? I've been to quite a few and they're great. It gets people into the store who then buy stuff. It gets people to know and love their Apple products more. It builds a sense of community, a sense that you belong to something if you have an Apple device. I've seen groups of pensioners in there learning about the iPad - it's wonderful to watch. Nobody else in retail does this. It sets the AppleStore apart from the pack. It's such a short sighted decision to cut back on the workshops.
 
Sign of the End: When a rack of candy bars, snacks and energy drinks show up in the Apple Stores, then you'll know SJ's vision is lost.

The FACT that the operational management types need to acknowledge is Apple became the success that it is because of the focus on customer experience from start to finish.
 
G51989 said:
Ever notice that all the great companies were founded by visionaries and not bean Counters? Apple and Microsoft are just two examples of this.
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That's the point:

Great companies are founded by visionaries who put their heart and soul into their work....

Then these companies grow, and the tendency is to hire bean counters right at the top....

Once these companies implode after trying to squeeze the maximum amount of profit out of the business and therefore forgetting to innovate, it's back to the visionaries to run the company and hopefully make it grow again....

....until the company gets big and bloated again, the bean-counters take over.... don't innovate, just make it "lean and mean" etc....

The cycle starts again.
 
I see a whole lot of Chicken Littles running around this rumor under the impression the Apple Stores are going to roll up the carpets and lock the doors tomorrow morning.

This whole subject is based in speculation about claims from unconfirmed sources.

The bottom line is that nothing in your life will change tomorrow with the way you use your Apple products.

Take a deep breath and sit on your panic for a while. It's likely to be unfounded and unnecessary anyways and you'll only managed to get yourselves worked up over nothing.
 
My closest Apple store has always been overcrowded and slightly understaffed, but the couple most recent visits have been pretty disappointing.

If it weren't for the EasyPay feature in the Apple Retail app, I probably would've gone elsewhere to buy my Apple merch, knowing it would've taken forever to check out.
 
MacsRgr8 said:
That's the point:

Great companies are founded by visionaries who put their heart and soul into their work....

Then these companies grow, and the tendency is to hire bean counters right at the top....

Once these companies implode after trying to squeeze the maximum amount of profit out of the business and therefore forgetting to innovate, it's back to the visionaries to run the company and hopefully make it grow again....

....until the company gets big and bloated again, the bean-counters take over.... don't innovate, just make it "lean and mean" etc....

The cycle starts again.
Click to expand...

You only have to look at Microsoft, HP, Sony, Dell, etc to see what can happen when the product visionaries go and the bean counters take over.

----------
SpyderBite said:
This whole subject is based in speculation about claims from unconfirmed sources.
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Everything on this website is based on speculation and rumour. Funny how they're more often than not proved to be correct though.
 
Blame Steve Jobs. He was the one who recommended Tim lead Apple once he was gone.
 
Winni said:
I'm afraid that nobody wants to hear something positive about Microsoft or any other competitor to Apple here... You know, Apple, by definition of this audience, is the mother of all invention and superior even to ancient gods. Apple can't fail nor can Apple do any wrong. And even if you find evidence for failure, then you're just holding it wrong...
Click to expand...

Heh...it's funny, I take serious pride in being a fair Apple Fanboy, by which I mean to say that when Apple does something stupid, I'll admit it, and when a competitor does something better, I'll admit it. This nonsense of "Apple can do no evil" is exactly that, nonsense. I like to tell people that the Unibody design found in the current non-Retina MacBook Pros and on those that have been since October 2008 makes for the best engineered laptop out there period. But I'll also freely admit that the Retina design that replaces it is one of the worst designs out there; though the design that precedes it is probably a hair worse in some ways. Still, I don't blindly love Apple nor do I blindly hate the competition; I give credit and praise where it is due and I give criticism and scorn where it is due; I am a fair fanboy. It's a shame that I'm of the minority here.
 
I think they realized there products are good enough to not need support... they don't need to out-gun windows computers at every single level.
 
levitynyc said:
Best Buy values profit over customer satisfaction and look how great they are doing.
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Unbelievable, I just don't know how clueless these guys can be! The Apple store is a huge profit center already, why can't corporations ever just be happy with their success? The stores do fantastic because the product sells itself and the amazing customer service. So, what does corp. do? They start hiring retail dweebs from Gap who know nothing about the Apple Culture but they know how to beat the crap out of employees to increase sales. Why? They were already hugely successful! Then they start abusing employees to the point of near revolt, demanding higher metrics. Now they hire the biggest retail turd and he's using Bestbuy methods! Why can't they be happy with the highest $/square foot in the country? Why can't they be happy with the amazing Apple Culture and crazy loyal customers? What happened to the Apple Creedo; Our soul, is our people?

Apple originally came into Retail by thinking different. They started by coming in and breaking all the retail rules just like they came into the phone business. They put their employees first because they knew that would lead to happy customers. And what happened? They blew the doors off the dump! Now they want to become a standard crappy retail establishment just to maximize profit. LISTEN up corporate, you're blowing it!

Jobs was once asked why he thought Microsoft lost its momentum. He said MS was a great company while the engineers ran it and then the bean counters took over and it went to hell. Apple devoted, let me introduce you to the Apple Bean Counters....
 
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striker33 said:
With all the quality control issues with the retina iPad and Macbook Pros, it was already blatantly obvious that Apple are all about the $$$ now.

The production of their products has been ramped up so much by Cook that the quality of the products is suffering. No doubt the next iPhone will be met by various build issues.
Click to expand...

Which is why I always buy refurbished! Not only cheaper (+ 4% off via quidco - http://www.quidco.com/user/382726/ ) but. You know it's been checked oveR for errors! Less likely you have a dud
 
Write to tim

Every one, write to Tim with your objections.
Bowett has to go.
Apple stores are not supposed to be car dealerships.

Tcook at apple dot com.

Write
 
Where in the world.... Apple World....

U wanna take out AppleCare. No. Go on. No. Do it. No. Do it NOW . No Ok look into my eyes don't look around the eyes... YOUR UNDER... You will take out your credit card and take out AppleCare 3,2,1 your back in the room

The futures bright... The futures iGeneric iHighstreet.
 
Drunken Master said:
Don't these stores make a ton of money already? They're the most profitable chain retail store per square foot in the U.S.:

http://m.gizmodo.com/5903437/foot-for-foot-apple-stores-rake-in-17x-more-cash-than-other-retail-outlets

This is a big mistake that they're making, but it looks like maybe they'll back off a bit after "screwing up".
Click to expand...

That's what I'm thinking too, if they were already more profitable per square foot than even Tiffany, I don't understand why they were not satisfied with the numbers. So this story doesn't make sense.
 
Dixons has a ***** reputation in the UK (even after a name change)

Dixons (now Currys Digital) has had a crap reputation in the UK for the past decade. Crap service, pushy sales people who know little about the products, pushing of expensive pointless extended warranties. Arrogant business techniques so they can dominate the space. And poor support/service if the product goes wrong

In short, aiming for the lowest common denominator!

If that is where apple wants to move retail towards, then I say this guy is absolutely the right person for the job!

Apple stores used to feel friendly places to discover the products and fun accessories.. The new store in Amsterdam is quite clinical and all the staff staring at you make you feel like they want you to buy something or ****** off.. *sigh*
 
Higuera Street Apple Store

I used to LOVE going to the Higuera Street Apple Store in San Luis Obispo. They had THE happiest staff I had ever seen! Their customer service was unparalleled. The store went for years with barely any employee turnover. Then they hired a bunch of crappy retail manager types and it went to hell. The entire staff turned over in less than a year. The senior manager is a bitch on wheels and she attacks anyone that tries to put employees first (like the Creedo says). She knows absolutely nothing about Apple products or the Apple culture. All she knows is retail clothing and her immense insecurities. So sad to see a store ruined by just a few idiots...
 
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