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Dell Following Apple's Retail Example?
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This is really lame of Dell. Can you imagine going to Walmart and not being able to buy anything. There is a big difference between consumers and businesses.
gateways part 2 but worse
with dell opening a store with no merchandise for pickup is a complete failure from the start. kinda of reminds of the gateway stores... all displays no pickup for nice computers.wait for it to ship in from hq.
dell stop while your in 2nd place
boncellis said:
with dell opening a store with no merchandise for pickup is a complete failure from the start. kinda of reminds of the gateway stores... all displays no pickup for nice computers.wait for it to ship in from hq.
dell stop while your in 2nd place
Seasought said:
Why not consider a 'computers built in under an hour' concept? You can go in, 'build' your computer on a high-end piece of hardware with a great big ol' monitor, see how it looks in a fabulous 3D rendition, enter your payment info, and hit submit.
Then, while the various components are plugged into the case in the back of the shop, you head over to the Panda Express at the food court, eat some Orange Chicken, come back in an hour, and pick up your...well, it would still be a piece of crap, but at least you'd be able to go home with it.
andiwm2003
macrumors 601
gauriemma said:
i won't work because you would have to keep a large number of workers around that wait for customers to come in. if not enough customers order the worker sit around doing nothing but they still get paid.
aside of that there would be no quality control possible. and workers working in downtown boston or los angeles cost about 3x as much as workers in the midwest and 20x as much as workers in china.
also, assmling a standard computer on a assembly line is certainly twice as fast as building a custom machine on a workbench from parts that you have to gather from the warehouse first.
nobody could afford these computers.
Brand identity starts young.
My 2 year old can identify the Apple logo and likes saying "Apple". He has no reaction to Dell, even though we have both in our house.
As an aside - he also loves the Photo-booth application, so on top of preventing a macbook from whining, it can also prevent a toddler from whining... 😀
thedude110 said:
My 2 year old can identify the Apple logo and likes saying "Apple". He has no reaction to Dell, even though we have both in our house.
As an aside - he also loves the Photo-booth application, so on top of preventing a macbook from whining, it can also prevent a toddler from whining... 😀
Use for Dell stores
One good use for Dell stores is this:
The other week I was tasked with getting a cheap computer for my wife's grandmother. I generally suggest Dull for people who don't want to go Apple because of price or they need windows... So anyway - research what you want online, go to the local kiosk in the mall, get the person on the brink of making a sale, then say "I've got to discuss this with my friend - can I order this online?"
Well, at this point they see the commission going bye-bye and will give you minor upgrades to beat the online price, just to keep the sale.
If you have to go dell, then this is a way to do it.
One good use for Dell stores is this:
The other week I was tasked with getting a cheap computer for my wife's grandmother. I generally suggest Dull for people who don't want to go Apple because of price or they need windows... So anyway - research what you want online, go to the local kiosk in the mall, get the person on the brink of making a sale, then say "I've got to discuss this with my friend - can I order this online?"
Well, at this point they see the commission going bye-bye and will give you minor upgrades to beat the online price, just to keep the sale.
If you have to go dell, then this is a way to do it.
Mac Fly (film)
macrumors 68040
Core Trio said:
I actually don't think they are such a bad idea. Obviosly, if you can post on an internet forum you are capable of selling something on eBay, but Grandma (even if she knows how to use a Mac), will have a hard time listing her entire attic of relics. You still have to take multiple pictures of each item, upload them to your computer, resize the pic, create an eBay listing, upload the pics to eBay (or a 3rd party host). At each step of the way, there's ways to enhance the process (HTML, automation), but Granny doesn't know how to do that. So she pays a little extra and it's all done for her.
Mac Fly (film)
macrumors 68040
Kind of sounds like the Gateway Country stores that were around a couple of years ago (pertaining to the mail-order bit...). Wow, that worked out great actually. 🙄
nws0291 said:
Right. 2 different types of customers. Dell's type aren't going to make the trip to a store to merely look at computers and not be able to buy. Apple's customers will make the pilgramage to an Apple Store, sometimes a long drive across state lines, to try, and buy Apple's latest offerings.
I don't care what Dell does! Why is this and other non relevant stuff (Xbox, Nintendo, etc.) on this website. Maybe it should be renamed: RUMORS
andiwm2003 said:
Not necessarily. I'm not talking about assembling computers from scratch. I'm talking about swapping out a few RAM chips or a bigger hard drive--stuff that you, I, and most other Apple users can do in a matter of minutes. There's no reason why that sort of 'customizing' couldn't be done on a 'while you wait' basis.
nws0291 said:
True, but businesses don't go to malls and stores to buy their hardware. The IT departments shop, negotiate, then buy.
On the other hand, mom, dad, and college students do.
On the next hand (?!), with such low price points will they be able to justify the brick and mortar (even supposing greater sales than say and Apple store)?
If they locate in ANY name mall, the seasonal premiums will suck them dry.
An Apple store brings shoppers. I think a Dell store would be just another store, ho hum.
Of course, they might try stand-alone stores, but those will not succeed. They cannot open on every corner, and people will not go out of their way to find a Dell store. Especially (as others have already posted) to buy something you cannot take home with you and can easily purchase over the phone or 'net.
Look at the angst filled posts about the new MacBook. People were chomping at the bit because they had to wait maybe two weeks to get one ordered therough the Apple Store. My experience is no BTO from Dell, Gateway or others EVER shows up in two weeks.
Well, just my opinions, but hey, are there really any others 😉
gkarris said:
Come on, drop your prejudice, please...usually Indian programmers and IT workers are MILES better and more creative than any Americans...sorry about that, but you are far from competitive now...that's why Bangalore rules for IT companies in general...
And no, I am not from India.
Mac Fly (film) said:Which store looks better??
...
...😉
I'm going to go with the one on the left....
😛