Apple's Ron Johnson on the Retail Store Experience

[rageguy]

Yeah, like all the others here, buying at the Apple store was a pain. I wanted to buy an iMac. I stood beside the displayed models, looking around the different models, but no one approached me. All the other specialists were doing nothing, just talking to each other. It took forever to get someone to come. They also had to ask lots of questions promoting AppleCare and MobileMe.

I wanted a buy and go experience that lasts 3-5 minutes. It became 15 minutes.

 

[Sean4123]

That's what happens when your products sell themselves. Call me a fanboy all you want, but apple knows their products speak for themselves.

 

[pika2000]

the retail store becomes more about customers coming in to try out products, learning from sales staff, and then ultimately transitioning to sales in many cases.

I don't know. That might be the case back when, but now everytime I go to a local Apple store, all I see are crowds of people using the products for free internet access, and people using the iPhones to make free calls, etc. Forget about stopping by the Apple store to test out the new iMac or whatnot, as there will always be somebody at every station, and you can tell they have been there for quite some time, busy doing their emails, facebook, chatting with their friends on the iPhone, etc. It's so bad that I can practically go to any of the iPhones and check the previous person's email, contacts, etc. The Apple employees said they have to pretty much do a restore on each phone every so often. Now the only time I go to an Apple store is either for a genius appointment, or to get something that is not available on the website quickly (eg. when the iPad was way backordered).

If I want to test an Apple product, now I go to Bestbuy (or an AT&T kioks/store for an iPhone) as they are usually less crowd.

 

[ps45]

I hate buying at the Apple store. Perhaps it's due to the regent street branch being such a busy one, but that place really grinds my gears. The 'fluid' staffing is actually just infuriating - particularly if you know what you want and it's a high value item, and you spend the whole time trying to find an available a staffmember. As everyone says - great place to check your email, awful place to try and spend a few grand. I would rather have a queue, or even a 'take a number' than the free-for-all of that place. (And no, booking an appointment is not an option, as the slots are always unavailable.)

 

[twoodcc]

i really like what they are doing with their stores. i haven't been to any huge stores yet, but hopefully someday i will get to visit

 

[iKrl]

What I really wish was that there was an Apple Store which I could visit, the nearest store is like 800 miles away and it isn't in my country

 

[trip1ex]

The Apple store is great for checking out Apple products. And really is the only reason I would ever go to a Mall.

But the people are the too cheery faux-hipster mall types. And prices are much higher than you can get online so I don't believe I have every purchased anything directly from the retail store.

...ok I bought an Ipad at launch but sold it a few weeks later.

The genius bar etc are all bs as if you have a real problem they can't help much, and anything other than a real problem I can Google on the internet.

 

[Gata]

In my experience, the Apple Geniuses where pretty helpful. Answered all of my questions relatively quickly, and were very helpful.

BTW, does apple normally have Mac Pros in some of the smaller Apple stores, or only in the bigger ones?

 

[Potus]

Slightly OT

BTW, how are the Microsoft stores doing? Are they still in business?

 

[Scottycam]

I visited the Covent Garden store yesterday and tried to purchase one of the new Apple Battery Chargers. I was told they did not stock the item and I could only buy online!

Thats an outright lie, I went there yesterday and picked one up. Its right at the top of the stairs on the top floor.

Having been in the Covent Garden store, I have to say its an absolute jungle. Theres just hundreds of kids and foreigners looking at facebook and the place looks like a giant free internet cafe. Finding something simple as an apple charger took 20 minutes because they hide everything thats not a MacBook or iPad on the top floor and theres no signs telling you whats where. You can hardly tell whos an employee and no clear indication of where to pay. Also the stores so new that staff were having trouble working out how to use the till and what to do with a receipt. When I finally got served they then asked me if I wanted my receipt emailed to me. Why would I want that when I'm standing in front of them with an apple bag and my product?

Its great as a tourist attraction but if you actually know what you want, stay away. Store looked very nice though at least. The only reason I went was because I had to meet a friend at Tate Modern and refused to pay £4.50 postage for a £25 product from Apples online store.

Apples products may sell themselves but it still takes someone to take your money. Style over substance unfortunately.

 

[butnugtt]

HAH!

You apparently haven't worked there very recently. Things have changed.

I concur. I worked there YEARS ago and we got hammered on about our AppleCare and .Mac (MobileMe) attach rates daily.

 

[nighttrain2008]

How incredibly judgmental and close-minded. Never, ever underestimate people based on their appearance. Because of his/her appearance they suddenly become ignorant about the product they are selling? That is one of the most insipid remarks I have ever read on this forum.

Go cry me a river will you? I went into the store today to get a magic mouse. Simple purchase yeah? Well after walking through the store for 15 minutes trying to grab the attention of an employee, being told by two employees they couldn't help me because they were 'running a workshop' (watching kids play on the macs) I finally found one person who was willing to ring up the purchase for me. Product works great, didn't get a bag, didn't get the receipt emailed to me as I REQUESTED, and when I brought it up to another individual in the store, he told me to go stand in the Genius line (halfway through the store) and maybe they could help me.

I'm not that old but I was taught to dress for the job you want not the job you have and act accordingly. That will be the LAST time I ever step foot into an Apple store

 

[aristobrat]

The managers receive bonuses based on the workers METRICS. This is the reason why the mangers are always UP the workers butt.

A big part of managers annual reviews is their stores internal and external NetPromoter scores. Apple regularly uses a 3rd-party company to survey each stores customers and employees in regards to their experience in the store. If managers start riding employees, and employees start pushing crap on customers (vs explaining and asking), the store gets rated lower and lower, and so does the mgmt team.

The store I worked at had a mgr that focused on the experience, and not metrics. They got promoted to a regional position.

Next manager focused on metrics, and the store went from the top 5 in NetPromoter scores in the region to the bottom of the list. Employee satisfaction tanked. That manager is no longer with the company.

Current manager focuses on the customer experience and metrics. If you have a low area on your metrics, they'll shadow you. As long as you're properly positioning the service, you're fine. And if they hear you being pushy, you get spoken to.

So basically, it's just like any other mutli-location business. Some managers run theirs better than others, and focus on diff things.

With the focus Cupertino has been putting on retail employee satisfaction in the past few months, I'd be surprised if stores where the managers are pushing metrics to where the employees are bitter, like some of the ex-employees in this thread, continue for much longer.

One of the more fun things about working for Apple Retail is that theyre always changing and redoing things, trying to make it better for the customers and the employees.

 

[phpmaven]

It was so innovative that Microsoft decided to copy it (of course) for their retail stores full of fail.

You know, I just went into one of their retail stores for the first time the other day and, yes, it's obviously a copy of the Apple experience, but I must say that I was quite impressed. They did a nice job. They even had an Xbox kiosk out front with a couple of big screens.

 

[Redi]

While Apples stores LOOK nice, they are terrible for pedestrian traffic. Squeezing between people and trying to find an open computer that isn't being used by a twerp on Facebook or the pedos watching them.

My experiences have been mixed in Florida stores. When the stores are not busy, the sales people descend like a hawk and watch your every move. They aren't pushy about products if I say no but their attitudes change and aren't all smiley anymore. When the store is busy, forget about find a cashier.

Plus, twerps change the settings on the iPods and computers to read Chinese and set the volume to max.

Ordering on the phone was not problem. The associate did ask if I wanted Apple Care and iWork but did not push it when I said no.

This is pretty much the exact same experience that I have in the stores here in Saint Louis. The amount of space in the stores compared to the amount of traffic within the stores is trifling. I can appreciate what Apple is trying to do when it comes to giving a more casual, "playful" experience, but the audience that such a sales angle can attract is abysmal for anyone who is in the store to make a serious purchase.

I'm an introvert, and I don't like spending much time in any type of store anyway. As a consequence, the store's general atmosphere makes me feel insignificant and somewhat overwhelmed, which definitely isn't a good sales vibe. I like to get in and get out of any store, but it seems like catching the attention of an Apple sales associate takes much longer because of the not-so-serious patrons in the store who are there to do nothing more than play with the devices and knowingly waste a representative's time.

Don't get me wrong - once I get the attention of an associate, the service is swift and enjoyable. However, the process to get a representative's attention takes as much time, if not more, than that of a transaction.

The receipts printing out of the desk are pretty cool though.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

I don't think that if they added one more square foot they'd make that much more money or lose that much if they removed one square foot. Their first square foot (having a store at all) gives them a huge income, and the incremental benefit is less and less as the store gets bigger. What if they arrange the Mac software boxes like books on a bookshelf, so you see the edges, instead of spreading them out with their fronts outward, then use the space they save for an artist who customizes your iOS device while you wait? Or a sound engineer from a speaker company? Or an Adobe rep there to help you with any of their software? If it gives you one more reason to go to the Apple store, I think they might come out ahead compared with their marginal increase in income from the same space.

The best way to find out is to try it, so I'll set up a lemonade stand in the corner of an Apple store and see what happens!

I was going to say Apple stores are incredibly small for how many people are inside. If the stores got larger then the sales per square foot or whatever would drop because the number wouldn't be so inflated by the small space.

 

[ranReloaded]

The Apple store is great... unless you actually want to just walk in and buy something.

Then you search for 15 minutes trying to find an employee who is not busy helping someone else so you can check out.

I miss the dedicated checkout counter.

Last time I went to the Shibuya (Tokyo) store to buy a copy of iWork. I picked up a box and headed to the cashier counter. Quick.

Can't talk about other stores...

 

[Nothlit]

I've never really liked the Apple retail experience ever since they got rid of the dedicated checkout counters. I bought an iPad and an iPhone 4 in the store recently. With the iPad, I had reserved it and waited about two weeks before they got any in stock. When I went in to pick it up, I had to wait around for about 10 minutes while they apparently found someone who was able to actually go get it for me from the back room. But before he did that, he spent another 10 minutes with me at a demo iPad showing me how cool it was and what it could do. Did it never occur to him that I was already there to buy it? He didn't need to sell it to me! Then after he went back and got it, he spent another 5 minutes trying to upsell me on AppleCare and MobileMe, neither of which I wanted. And when I told him "If I decide I want AppleCare, I can just buy it 11 months from now and get the same coverage as if I bought it now" he said "Well, that's true, but what I like to tell people is if you need phone support after the first 90 days it's $50 per call." Of course, I have never needed phone support for any product I've ever owned, so I don't think that will be an issue for me. Funnily enough, basically the same thing happened when I went in to buy my iPhone 4 on launch day, including that line about phone support, even though it was a different sales person. They need to realize that if I tell them I'm there to buy something, then I just want to buy it and leave -- they don't need to convince me to buy something I've already said I want to buy, and when I say no to the upsell, they need to just leave it at that.

 

[rdlink]

Really?

HAH!

You apparently haven't worked there very recently. Things have changed.

How was/is your experience working at an Apple store different?

 

[Blorzoga]

The Apple store is designed so you'll "stay a little while", browsing around. Great, but they need to have the capability of handling the "grab and go" customers who know exactly what they want to buy, and just need to buy it and get out quickly.

Getting rid of the dedicated checkout counter was a bad idea, IMO. That and all the color-coded shirts the staff wears these days. Unless you're an Apple store "regular", you have no idea that a yellow shirt means one thing while a blue shirt means another, etc. etc. Only staff with certain t-shirt colors on can actually ring you out on a sale.....

That's a bunch of baloney. Every time I've wanted to buy something at an Apple store, I've simply gone in, found an available rep (within minutes) and made my purchase. Certainly easier than waiting in line at a counter.

 

[Blorzoga]

I've never really liked the Apple retail experience ever since they got rid of the dedicated checkout counters. I bought an iPad and an iPhone 4 in the store recently. With the iPad, I had reserved it and waited about two weeks before they got any in stock. When I went in to pick it up, I had to wait around for about 10 minutes while they apparently found someone who was able to actually go get it for me from the back room. But before he did that, he spent another 10 minutes with me at a demo iPad showing me how cool it was and what it could do. Did it never occur to him that I was already there to buy it? He didn't need to sell it to me! Then after he went back and got it, he spent another 5 minutes trying to upsell me on AppleCare and MobileMe, neither of which I wanted. And when I told him "If I decide I want AppleCare, I can just buy it 11 months from now and get the same coverage as if I bought it now" he said "Well, that's true, but what I like to tell people is if you need phone support after the first 90 days it's $50 per call." Of course, I have never needed phone support for any product I've ever owned, so I don't think that will be an issue for me. Funnily enough, basically the same thing happened when I went in to buy my iPhone 4 on launch day, including that line about phone support, even though it was a different sales person. They need to realize that if I tell them I'm there to buy something, then I just want to buy it and leave -- they don't need to convince me to buy something I've already said I want to buy, and when I say no to the upsell, they need to just leave it at that.

You obviously have a hard time dealing with salesmen. Of course they're going to try to upsell some services to you, that's their job. All you have to do is politely say you're not interested.

 

[Redi]

That's a bunch of baloney. Every time I've wanted to buy something at an Apple store, I've simply gone in, found an available rep (within minutes) and made my purchase. Certainly easier than waiting in line at a counter.

Your anecdote doesn't really prove anything about his point... It might just be more convenient for you because the stores are always full of blue shirts compared to anything else. His statement about the color code isn't affected by your objections at all.

 

[Lone Deranger]

Take the crowds from the Shibuya crossing, cram them all in an Apple store, and you've got the Apple store on Regent St. in London on any given day. (Minus all the cute Shibuya 101 girls unfortunately ).

Last time I went to the Shibuya (Tokyo) store to buy a copy of iWork. I picked up a box and headed to the cashier counter. Quick.

Can't talk about other stores...

 

[res1233]

This is the biggest bunch of bs I've heard from Ron Johnson. I just left a retail store that I worked at for over a year and I can tell you that daily, the only thing you'll be talked to is how your AppleCare, MobileMe and One to One levels need to constantly be increased. You're never good enough and they harp on this daily. This is part of the reason I left. In training it's all about 'Enriching Lives' but once you're in the store... it's all a numbers game plain and simple. Nothing is done there without the customers wallet in mind. Period.

I'll probably get myself yelled at, but i just wanted to point out that those services all enhance the user's experience in some way. AppleCare for warranty and getting your products serviced, One to One is great for education and a little assistance in various areas with new apple products you buy. MobileMe makes synchronization between apple products and PCs pretty seamless, although i've never had it and have heard about some problems with it, it also has e-mail as well as online storage.
Apple tends to try to figure out what the consumer wants, even if they don't know it themselves, i mean, why do they offer such a limited choice of design in their products? They try to figure out what you truly want, not what you think you want, then sell it to you, and it has worked out pretty well over the years.
Some people would be offended by the mere thought that they don't know what they want, but it is often true. You come into a store to buy a macbook pro, and they suggest a macbook, or maybe they say a 13'' would be better than a 15'' MBP. Whatever the situation, it's all what the consumer would be happy with in the long run. Sure, they may push applecare/MobileMe/One to One, but like i said, i think it's good for us.

 

[scgf]

As a Brit I find it incredibly frustrating not being able to queue for a salesperson! You hover around an Apple employee dealing with a customer and several other customers also approach, but because you are surrounding the salesperson you have to do battle to get served without others pushing in. Some customers demand a huge amount of time to discuss their screen protector purchase while I want to buy a MacBook Air!

I much preferred it when you could queue in an orderly manner at a designated sales desk.