Are Apple employees kept in the dark, or was this guy just a jerk?

[evisa]

I was at the Apple Store in Costa Mesa, CA the other day and asked an employee about whether I could put a MBP on hold "when and if," I emphasized, they come out with the new chips. The guy looked at me as if I had just made something up off the top of my head ("You know, the new chips? Core 2 Duos? Meroms?" I asked) and he replied with a few cocky-yet-laughed-off comments like, "I don't know what you're talking about; that sounds like a fantasy machine to me," "You wouldn't believe how many people come in asking about fantasy machines that don't exist and never come out!," "As long as Apple doesn't announce it themselves, they don't and won't exist" to me and some of his co-workers standing around the MBPs on display.

I was in total shock, but I didn't want to say anything further in case my anger made me slip and sound like an idiot. A guy that I went to high school with (I think) was standing right by me and sensed my aura of fury and tried to cool me down by saying, "You know, if anything, I don't think they're going to come out until next year because it would probably piss off a lot of people that just bought MBPs recently..."

As dumb as it may sound, that little incident put me in a bit of a funk, because I've always regarded the Apple store as like a safe haven of sorts - you always know you're going to be treated well or at least encounter friendly people, and the atmosphere is always nice (aesthetically or personally). I kept wondering exactly what the title of this thread states, and I just wanted to post this to see what you think. Could Apple employees really not know anything until they're notified? Do they really know even less "insider" information than any person on any of these Mac forums?

 

[ZoomZoomZoom]

Both.

He doesn't know when they're coming out. Apple store employees don't know.

But he's a jerk, and probably an idiot, for thinking that Apple isn't coming out with Core 2 Duo MBPs soon. Or, at least, eventually, since he said stuff like "fantasy machine".

 

[bousozoku]

From my experience, some people who work at Apple stores don't understand the technical side of things at all but it would be unlikely that any of them know when any machines will be equipped with different processors in more than a day or two.

 

[eRondeau]

He wanted to sell you a new machine TODAY, not in three months (or whenever...) But yeah, he was probably a jerk too.

 

[Applespider]

From my experience, some people who work at Apple stores don't understand the technical side of things at all but it would be unlikely that any of them know when any machines will be equipped with different processors in more than a day or two.

Exactly... most of them are sales assistants who happen to sell computers and iPods rather than computer afficianados who happen to also sell them. They're likely not interested in what chips in there aside from when they get the slide with the bullets of features that they can tell customers about.

None of them (even those who do know what they're talking about) are going to hold off and tell you not to buy a Mac now because x is coming because I'm sure that if x didn't come, someone would stomp into the store and say so thus getting the sales assistant into trouble for spreading rumours. That's precisely what he was saying with the 'until Apple announce it, I don't know about it'

 

[Abstract]

As dumb as it may sound, that little incident put me in a bit of a funk, because I've always regarded the Apple store as like a safe haven of sorts - you always know you're going to be treated well or at least encounter friendly people, and the atmosphere is always nice (aesthetically or personally).

Why, is it some magical place? People are jerks everywhere. Have you visited a lot of Apple resellers and got bad service? Some stores are gonna be better than the Apple store in terms of service (and have the same products), while some are gonna be worse. Same can be said about two different Apple stores.

Oh, and he may not be as hardcore as you and I are, and may not know about Merom. Some may only know the details of the products that are out, since they're not really supposed to be posting at rumour sites. There are probably lots of Apple fans that don't know about Intel's merom.

 

[caveman_uk]

In my experience Apple store staff don't know a whole lot about what they're selling and look blank when you mention rumoured products. If they have heard of anything (from MacRumors etc) they're probably told to deny all knowledge. They'd probably be in the **** if they say otherwise...

 

[eji]

I visited an Apple Store (the Regent Street, London branch) for the first time and was aware of a haughty, holier-than-thou attitude among some of the sales reps. One black-shirted guy did a little dance to physically block me from accessing the new Mac Pro until I asked, "Is that the new Mac Pro?" and threw in some geeky details about it to show that I wasn't going to pound on the screen or drool on the keyboard.

Granted, they deal with a lot of idiots, just like anyone in retail. (God, if I could sell every arrogant halfwit who came into Kinko's into forced labor, I'd be a rich man.) But there's also a skill in knowing who's an arrogant halwit and who's a loyal customer who just wants an answer to a valid hypothectical question, and very few folks working in retail possess it. Makes no difference whether they work for Apple or Radio Shack.

 

[howard]

no, apple store employees know nothing about future products. the most they know is if they read macrumors, but keep in mind I'm sure many of them don't.

he may have been a jerk, he may have not known the info, but in his defense apple store employees get so many people coming in asking when the next product is gonna come out. Imagine how annoying that would get. Leave rumors to macrumors, and go to the apple store for buying/getting help with current products.

 

[spicyapple]

I guess you'll have to shop like the rest of us. I've never heard of any store putting on reserve a product that has not been officially introduced, let alone if it even exists.

 

[Killyp]

The Apple store near me (called Farpoint Developments) is great. All the guys in there know what they're talking about and keep an eye on MacRumors...

 

[iGav]

In my experience Apple store staff don't know a whole lot about what they're selling and look blank when you mention rumoured products.

They look blank when you mention existing products... never mind rumoured ones.

 

[crazycat]

I was in the London store not to long ago and the sale rep i met was the best sales rep i ever had to deal with in any store. You get a few bad apples (pun intended) everywhere nothing much you can do except ask to speak with someone else.

 

[Queso]

I visited an Apple Store (the Regent Street, London branch) for the first time and was aware of a haughty, holier-than-thou attitude among some of the sales reps. One black-shirted guy did a little dance to physically block me from accessing the new Mac Pro until I asked, "Is that the new Mac Pro?" and threw in some geeky details about it to show that I wasn't going to pound on the screen or drool on the keyboard.

Just walk in like you own the place and they're always fine. The "little dance" can be effectively beaten with a putdown such as "Do you need to use the facilities?" whilst looking them up and down

 

[BornAgainMac]

Just come back next month and buy that "Fantasy Machine" from the same person. Or better yet, don't believe the specs that he tells you and walk away.

 

[risc]

The guy works in retail not IT, why would you expect him to have a clue?

 

[Stampyhead]

The Apple store near me (called Farpoint Developments) is great. All the guys in there know what they're talking about and keep an eye on MacRumors...

Careful, don't get them in trouble.

 

[Felldownthewell]

Exactly... most of them are sales assistants who happen to sell computers and iPods rather than computer afficianados who happen to also sell them. They're likely not interested in what chips in there aside from when they get the slide with the bullets of features that they can tell customers about.

Last fall I was shopping around for my first apple- a laptop (pre finding this site and the yonah-rumor) and so I went to the apple store to ask some questions. Since I had only ever used a PC, I went to the apple store to ask about macs. As I looked at the PBs I realized that the clock speeds were pretty low, but that the machines ran pretty fast. I asked what the different was between intel chips with higher clock speeds and mac chips (I didn't know they were IBM then) were. I got a blank stare and a bumbling tale in which the phrase "they run differently" was told to me several different ways, none of which actually educated me on FSBs and the like.

A few months later (december-ish) I walked in a started talking to a guy about the possibility of intel chips. He know what he was talking about and although he had no idea of whether it was going to happen or not, was able to teach me about macs and their internal workings.

The point of this long and rambling story is that many apple employees know very little about the actual computers themselves- they sell their product on visual appeal and software. Some employees are die hard macheads who know a ton, but they, in my experiance, are far a few between.

 

[clayj]

Careful, don't get them in trouble.

I think he's referring to a third-party Apple vendor, not an actual Apple Store... I don't think Bath is quite large enough to warrant their own Apple Store just yet.

 

[Zwhaler]

Maybe he's known around the store as being the "Apple Loser"

 

[evisa]

Just come back next month and buy that "Fantasy Machine" from the same person. Or better yet, don't believe the specs that he tells you and walk away.

That's EXACTLY what I was thinking of doing! "I need to buy one of those new fantasy machines - oh, sorry, I meant the new MBPs."

But I would hate for him to get commission, if they do. I kind of doubt it, but if they do, I'm going to go to another guy that practically gave me his number during a mini-speech involving winks and how I should buy the laptop from him when I'm ready.

 

[evisa]

Why, is it some magical place? People are jerks everywhere. Have you visited a lot of Apple resellers and got bad service? Some stores are gonna be better than the Apple store in terms of service (and have the same products), while some are gonna be worse. Same can be said about two different Apple stores.

It's weird, because in every single Apple store I've been to, I've encountered extremely helpful and friendly people; from people who voided service fees without me even asking to people who chat about Apple products we both own, the music we listen to, etc.

I don't mean that I literally feel safe when I go to one, I just mean there's a level of certainty that an experience at my "main" Apple store is going to be a positive one. I work retail, so I realize that there are always jerks and bad moods and other variables, but come on!

 

[Lau]

The Apple store near me (called Farpoint Developments) is great. All the guys in there know what they're talking about and keep an eye on MacRumors...

No way! I just moved away from Bath and that store was the worst everrr. I've found them all hugely arrogant and useless (a bad combination ) as well as overpriced. And my bloke's iBook died, and I diagnosed a logic board failure via MR, and he took it in and told them this. Five weeks later, after much buggering around, they said "Actually, we think it might be the logic board". <lau beats head off desk> Er, yes. Honestly, I had nothing but bad experiences with them, and many others at the art college had similar.

 

[evisa]

Both.

He doesn't know when they're coming out. Apple store employees don't know.

But he's a jerk, and probably an idiot, for thinking that Apple isn't coming out with Core 2 Duo MBPs soon. Or, at least, eventually, since he said stuff like "fantasy machine".

He actually said, "New chips? Why would Apple come out with new chips? They just got new chips!"

 

[iMacZealot]

Yeah, they will never tell you anything. I asked a guy when new iBooks were coming out last summer, and he told me that Apple never told them that stuff. Although I've been getting the more jerkier type in my nearest store, although they're usually the best and never "Well, I only sell refridgerators, so I can't help you. Sit here and we'll have my supervisor talk to you in fifteen minutes".