Would never have hired Bowet in the first place. Apple is getting taken over by the bean counters...
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Apple Retail's Emphasis on Profits Continues, Tied to Operational Perspective of Cook and Browett
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My last major interaction at an Apple store was when my father passed away and we needed to create a slideshow for his funeral. The thing was that the funeral home could not play PowerPoint presentations eek, but only digital videos. So we simply needed a way of creating a slide show in a video format. We went to the Apple Store in Tyson's Corner VA and the first person we talked to couldn't answer the question, but immediately bumped us up to a genius. He answered our question in 10 minutes and even directed us to a store where we could get DVD-R's that were sure to be compatible with the funeral home's system. Sure enough, everything worked like a charm and I was really happy with the resulting DVD.
What did Apple get from this 10-minute investment in customer satisfaction?
Honestly I buy most of my Apple equipment form their online store, but I look to the Apple Store for backup and advice and it is definitely part of the equation. An additional part of the equation is that the staff in the Apple store are there because they enjoy doing things right (or at least until now).
Only a completely clueless idiot would hire anybody involved in the management of Dixon's/Curry's/PC World. What on earth was Cook thinking? If story is correct and if the Apple stores become more like the typical UK consumer nightmare, I'll be looking elsewhere for my computing and mobile phone needs. Looking to British managers for retail and customer service is like looking to British cooks for fine cuisine [edit: and British bankers for financial advice.].
eek, but only digital videos. So we simply needed a way of creating a slide show in a video format. We went to the Apple Store in Tyson's Corner VA and the first person we talked to couldn't answer the question, but immediately bumped us up to a genius. He answered our question in 10 minutes and even directed us to a store where we could get DVD-R's that were sure to be compatible with the funeral home's system. Sure enough, everything worked like a charm and I was really happy with the resulting DVD.What did Apple get from this 10-minute investment in customer satisfaction?
- At work I convinced my employer that we should buy MacBook's and iMac's because of Apple's commitment to excellent customer service. We can't afford to lose time floundering about with technical problems with computers....
- I bought two iPhones (first a 3GS, and then a 4S)
- My ex bought an iPad in part on the basis of my recommendation about the Apple customer experience.
- All of my sister's family bought iPhones because they were impressed with the service.
Honestly I buy most of my Apple equipment form their online store, but I look to the Apple Store for backup and advice and it is definitely part of the equation. An additional part of the equation is that the staff in the Apple store are there because they enjoy doing things right (or at least until now).
Only a completely clueless idiot would hire anybody involved in the management of Dixon's/Curry's/PC World. What on earth was Cook thinking? If story is correct and if the Apple stores become more like the typical UK consumer nightmare, I'll be looking elsewhere for my computing and mobile phone needs. Looking to British managers for retail and customer service is like looking to British cooks for fine cuisine [edit: and British bankers for financial advice.].
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If true, sad.
It paints the CEO as someone who is after to please stockholders.
A sign of weakness.
It paints the CEO as someone who is after to please stockholders.
A sign of weakness.
Why would any existing Apple customer shop at these retail stores anyway? Everything's cheaper on the net.
Boy I miss Steve right now. I have tears running down my face as I post this. Tim sucks. He is a loser and he will single handedly distroy Apple. I swear I will rock a windows machine in a heart beat if I start to see cracks in new apple products. The death blow is if Ives leaves.OMFG!
Apple has been always profit oriented, however nowadays this approach is just becoming more shameless.
Despite their recent win against Samsung and their record breaking earnings, Apple are reaching a point when they won't be able to grow anymore both creatively and financially. The iPhone 4S proved that Apple is running out of ideas, despite what their ads want you to think, and the iPhone 5 rumours are not really helping (I hope we'll get more than a taller iPhone, with NFC, which no doubt will be marketed as revolutionary etc. etc.).
We can already see that Apple is trying to "catch up" with its competitors. They need to try harder if they want to sustain their position. Unfortunately it might be hard due to some decisions they've made in the past.
I want to be proven wrong by the release of iPhone "5".
Despite their recent win against Samsung and their record breaking earnings, Apple are reaching a point when they won't be able to grow anymore both creatively and financially. The iPhone 4S proved that Apple is running out of ideas, despite what their ads want you to think, and the iPhone 5 rumours are not really helping (I hope we'll get more than a taller iPhone, with NFC, which no doubt will be marketed as revolutionary etc. etc.).
We can already see that Apple is trying to "catch up" with its competitors. They need to try harder if they want to sustain their position. Unfortunately it might be hard due to some decisions they've made in the past.
I want to be proven wrong by the release of iPhone "5".
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.
Indeed.
That was expectable.
But i think, as he said, make your own mistake and learn from it.
Making mistakes IS not BAD, if you are able of learning from it. so Apple making mistakes ( S. Jobs did make them, and he accepted that he was wrong Many many many times ) does NOT bother me.
I love them, not because of what they make per-se. But because apple is brave enough to stand on its own shoulders, naked and hungry for innovation ( which it‘s sole advantage ).
Steve Job's was laser beam focused on the "end user experience" whether it was Mac's, iPhones, retail - everything.
Not a lot of people, rather most people in business, do not 'get' that's really what it's all about, first comes happy customers, then comes profit.
The Apple Retail Store's success came from Steve's focus and wise moves. It's sad to see Tim Cook unravel those efforts with the goal of making more pure profit.
If Tim and his Team are changing focus, letting end user experience slip from their primary objective then Apple is losing some of what made them famous in the first place. That would be alarming.
Not a lot of people, rather most people in business, do not 'get' that's really what it's all about, first comes happy customers, then comes profit.
The Apple Retail Store's success came from Steve's focus and wise moves. It's sad to see Tim Cook unravel those efforts with the goal of making more pure profit.
If Tim and his Team are changing focus, letting end user experience slip from their primary objective then Apple is losing some of what made them famous in the first place. That would be alarming.
indeed, i was shocked to see how long the new iPad takes to charge and its heating issues and yep "steve was way too OCD to let something like this happen" and dont even get me started on their new Smart Case. something seems def. off
People need to get a grip. The stores will have more of a profit focus than before, but they will still be customer service oriented.
For all of their corniness, the "Genius" ads that ran during the Olympics emphasized the customer service aspect of the Apple Store.
This is what I disagree with. When they released Apple II, they were innovative. When the iPod got released, they were innovative. When the iPhone got released, they were quite innovative. But during the last 2-3 years, particularly after the release of the iPhone 4, I don't really see any innovation, just progressive enhancement.
It's a function of finding balance. Apple is weak in emerging markets and China, where price is important. Offering the iPhone 3GS hasn't proven to be particularly effective. Hopefully Apple won't go too far, but the next 10 years will necessarily be a lot different from the last 10.
I've never been one to doom-say (despite having this nickname, heh) and state that Apple is dead without Steve... Steve was a genius, and also a monster, and far from perfect. Yet when I heard about the moves Apple is now making in their retail space... I couldn't help but think yes, perhaps Apple has stumbled.
With Apple, the retail presence is the olive branch to the consumers. It's the "face" of the corporation for many people. You shouldn't mess with that, not when the formula has been working for you as well as it has. The minute you shift focus from customer satisfaction with decent revenues to higher and higher demand for pure revenues, it becomes tarnished.
With Apple, the retail presence is the olive branch to the consumers. It's the "face" of the corporation for many people. You shouldn't mess with that, not when the formula has been working for you as well as it has. The minute you shift focus from customer satisfaction with decent revenues to higher and higher demand for pure revenues, it becomes tarnished.
So what you are saying is that Apple has come out with an innovative product every 7-8 years yet you complain that they haven't been innovative the last 2-3? Why the change of pacing? You don't expect a new iPod caliber device every 2 years do you?
Apple stores may not bring in as much cash as the bean counters might want but they should spend a few days in the malls and take note of a very interesting act, Apple stores out perform any other retailer hands down. They are Always busy and people are always buying. Compare that to the other stores who would kill for the same level of actual buyers vers browsers. My current boss when in to buy a Mac book pro last week and he was amazed by the level of buyers and how many systems were being sold none stop he spent $4000 in 20 minutes with all his questions answered. He now wants to invest in an apple store
Apple has a winning retail operation I really hope they don't screw it up and go the way of the other retailers who are now on the verge of shutting down. App,e customers are loyal and pay a premium for the level of service they are currently receiving remove the service and watch your profits fall.
Apples service and support are main draw for business owners who need 100% uptime name one other company who has instant replacement at store level of defective products (ie iPhones and IPads)
Apple has a winning retail operation I really hope they don't screw it up and go the way of the other retailers who are now on the verge of shutting down. App,e customers are loyal and pay a premium for the level of service they are currently receiving remove the service and watch your profits fall.
Apples service and support are main draw for business owners who need 100% uptime name one other company who has instant replacement at store level of defective products (ie iPhones and IPads)
If Apple is truly focusing more on profit than on customers and their products then Apple has gone away from what they were all about. While Apple obviously needs to make profit to survive, the focus on profit rather than amazing customer service has Apple retail headed the way of lesser experiences you find at just about any retail operation. Hopefully this is just speculation and not truth.
And these issues didn't occur with Steve Jobs? please, lets not try to make out that Steve Jobs was Jesus H Christ who turned a lump of sand into a functioning device through the use of his tears. As long as the percentage of defects don't increase then it is clear that the over all quality is staying the same. End of the day a computer is a complex device and there are problems but the litmus test is now Apple handles those issues.
awaiting Apple fanboys with their anti british comments
The people who have most harsh on the guy have been the British members themselves. The cold hard reality is that almost every organisation has a formula for labour vs. revenue; where I work the formula is 29% for food, 28.6% for labour and 29% fixed and variable (gas, electricity) with around 0.30% for waste/shrinkage. The average GP sits at around 67.5% on an ideal day and from that those three other variables have to be taken from what is left. The question isn't about making more money for the sake of it but ensuring that the return is reasonable given the amount of capital tied up in the retailing operation. Labour is one but part of the equation but equally Apple would be better off examining its procedures and whether there are more efficient ways things can be done so then the same amount of labour can be retained and can scale up without having to employ significantly more staff to cover that additional customer flow thus negating any possible benefit that comes from an increase in patronage.
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Innovation like that isn't a 2-3 year thing. After the Apple II was released, it was several years before the Mac. What did we get in between? Apple IIc, Apple IIe. After the iPod was released, what did we get for the next 2-3 years? progressive enhancement of the iPod. It was more than 5 years after the iPod that the iPhone came. It was another 3 before the iPad (which was in development before the iPhone).
Tim Cook isn't a product guy. That's pretty clear. However, hopefully he realizes that and has someone on the team who is. The next big thing might be the TV, or it might be something that's in development now that we won't see for a while.
Customer experience
Do you think Tim Cook reads this blog? I hope he doesn't mess up a great company by treating his employees badly.
Do you think Tim Cook reads this blog? I hope he doesn't mess up a great company by treating his employees badly.
I think this article is just bs rumor mongering. However, I do believe Browett needs to go and high profile Apple bloggers like Gruber seem to agree.
Then again, Tim Cook and the new iPad SVP both came from Compaq. So, maybe we shouldn't hold their previous employer against them.
Then again, Tim Cook and the new iPad SVP both came from Compaq. So, maybe we shouldn't hold their previous employer against them.