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Details and Impressions on Apple's Retail Changes
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People aren't intelligent enough to chose a good product without being lured with eye candy?
It is a bit on the extreme side.
Let's sell more of a product we don't have in stock.
What's amazing is that there always has to be something to "get" where Apple is concerned and only the fanboys ever "get" it. Why is that?
I'm thinking you don't go to malls or car dealers much
Oh wait it just hit me
All these sour posters are from the May 21 group. Yeah I would be sour too
vefr
Working in retail here, I would love nothing more for the store I work in to be more like the Apple Store in experience....
Sony has tried; and save for the SF store I saw a few years ago - they failed....
My experience at the Apple Store is one of a place to just stop by and have fun in... they don't care that you are just checking in on emails or FB...
The missing point IMO is that they don't have units on display that show even the mid point of what one can order - Forget just showing base units! Add to that at least at the 1st Apple Store you have over privileged kids that have nothing better to do when those of us are looking to buy....
Working in retail here, I would love nothing more for the store I work in to be more like the Apple Store in experience....
Sony has tried; and save for the SF store I saw a few years ago - they failed....
My experience at the Apple Store is one of a place to just stop by and have fun in... they don't care that you are just checking in on emails or FB...
The missing point IMO is that they don't have units on display that show even the mid point of what one can order - Forget just showing base units! Add to that at least at the 1st Apple Store you have over privileged kids that have nothing better to do when those of us are looking to buy....
I'm thinking you don't go to malls or car dealers much
Oh wait it just hit me
All these sour posters are from the May 21 group. Yeah I would be sour too
I don't need an iPad connected to a MBP to woo me into buying one. The product stand on its own. I don't need a store with floors of gold and crystal chandeliers to make me feel special and loved. Same thing with a car dealer. The consumer is paying for the extraveganza and needs to have their ego stroked by the glitter and glitz.
I just wish I could be bold enough to ask for a friends discount discount that has been talked about.... that might have gotten me my new iMac last weekend with my partners dead iPhone 3gs
Addresses My BIGGEST GRIPE With Apple Stores!!!!
"Now, instead of having to wait around to find a free Specialist, all you have to do is request a Specialist from an iPad at the table you are at and they will be over as soon as they can be. It even tells you what place in the queue you are."
I am not hip, I am not young, and I am male. Most of the "help" are young, hip, and male.....guess who they prefer to help?
I don't know how many times I have had to put the product I intended to buy back on the shelf and walk out after seeing how I get shuffled over and over to the bottom of the "line". Finally just stopped going to Apple Stores altogether....
Having a queue is a GREAT idea! And I will be going back to see if it actually works.
"Now, instead of having to wait around to find a free Specialist, all you have to do is request a Specialist from an iPad at the table you are at and they will be over as soon as they can be. It even tells you what place in the queue you are."
I am not hip, I am not young, and I am male. Most of the "help" are young, hip, and male.....guess who they prefer to help?
I don't know how many times I have had to put the product I intended to buy back on the shelf and walk out after seeing how I get shuffled over and over to the bottom of the "line". Finally just stopped going to Apple Stores altogether....
Having a queue is a GREAT idea! And I will be going back to see if it actually works.
I absolutely love impatience. It is probably my 2nd favorite trait in people, after stupidity. It always gets people into trouble, and it is fun to watch! What the hell is so damn important that you need an iPad right this second and cannot wait 1-2 weeks for one?
They had the top spec 15" MBP with Anti-Glare screen in my local store (which I purchased from them). I didn't look and see whether they had similar for the 17" model. I agree, I'd prefer to see some of the common BTO options stocked (mainly more options with the hi-res screens).
Nonsense! Thera are many of us who think MobileMe is great and only going to get better.
By the way, welcome to my ignore list.
Interesting about the Queue/Specialists. At my store I have a hard time finding a specialist as they are always hanging out and chatting with each other... I wonder if this will change that behavior.
Waiting in queue ...???
I am on the fence with this change ...
If I am undecided and need questions answered, I won't mind waiting in queue for assistance. Trust me I would much rather buy Apple products at the Apple Store; however, most times I know what I want, and I want to get in and get out. If I have to wait in queue to spend my money, I am not sure it is valuable experience. In fact, I may have second thoughts if I have wait too long.
This may push more people like myself to Best Buy or the Apple Online Store.
(The only product I waited in line for was the iPad2, and I doubt I do that ever again.)
I am on the fence with this change ...
If I am undecided and need questions answered, I won't mind waiting in queue for assistance. Trust me I would much rather buy Apple products at the Apple Store; however, most times I know what I want, and I want to get in and get out. If I have to wait in queue to spend my money, I am not sure it is valuable experience. In fact, I may have second thoughts if I have wait too long.
This may push more people like myself to Best Buy or the Apple Online Store.
(The only product I waited in line for was the iPad2, and I doubt I do that ever again.)
Hey look, we're back in 1990 with a time machine, where only 'fanboys' buy Apple's niche products, and not the mainstream, and where Apple doesn't have some of the best selling products in the industry and on the planet. Awesome!
I mean, really? You're using the 'fanboy' argument? How successful does Apple need to get to people like you, so that one is allowed to like their ****ing products and approve of their wildly successful strategy without being labelled a fanboy? Maybe it's everyone that gets it, except hateful people like you.
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good old cash register would do ... so annoying playing where is waldo with those "geniuses" and i doubt that button will change a bit. but whatever i dont rly buy just look in apple stores anyway
also, if a customer cant even figure out for themself how a iPod works, how do they expect them to figure out how to work the iPad to call in a genius for help? - my mom for example wouldnt have a clue lol
good old cash register would do ... so annoying playing where is waldo with those "geniuses" and i doubt that button will change a bit. but whatever i dont rly buy just look in apple stores anyway
also, if a customer cant even figure out for themself how a iPod works, how do they expect them to figure out how to work the iPad to call in a genius for help? - my mom for example wouldnt have a clue lol
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why are people so weird...
Really? People need to have their ego's stroked and that's why they go to retail stores? Sure, some stores are rather fancy (and to an extent, apple falls into this group), but come on, has it ever occurred to you that maybe people want to go into a retail store because they want to see and examine and try out a product? Is that such an alien concept? You say the product should "stand on it's own", well sure, but you can't have a product stand on it's own unless you can actually examine it! It has little to do with wooing people into buying things (although that IS the underlying principle behind advertising, retail stores, and sales-people). People need retail stores. They need to see a mac display in real life to gauge it's quality. They need to test out the weight of a laptop, and compare sizes in real life. Many people like to test out the keyboards and see how the buttons respond.
And your car dealer is an even worse example! Buying a car (an expensive and usually long term purchase) practically demands that you examine that car physically, in real life. You should look at it inside and out, and you should probably drive it. You have a strange outlook on things, and bizarre misunderstanding of how consumers and their products relate to one another. I mean you no disrespect when I say that. (no really, I don't).
And no, you don't need an ipad connected to a MBP to buy one. But having a ipad that displays relevant information about the MBP (and other related laptops) is very useful to a potential buyer, especially if they are new to macs.
And finally, as a general comment on this change in retail Apple stores: for all the people complaining about the queue, do you not realize that this is something that complements the existing store setup? The queue does not replace that normal way you can approach a specialist (or how they can approach you), it only offers an additional, more organized way to ask for help, with less effort, especially when the store is crowded.
Oh, and one more thing: I can't speak for all stores, but all the Apple stores I've been to DO have a real cash register, in addition to all the staff having mobile credit card processing devices. So, although Apple stores can really get very busy and chaotic, if you can't find the register then you need to improve your brain functions. Yes, Apple is one of the busiest retail stores, but there are ways you can deal with that (go at non-peak times, etc.).
/rant off
Really? People need to have their ego's stroked and that's why they go to retail stores? Sure, some stores are rather fancy (and to an extent, apple falls into this group), but come on, has it ever occurred to you that maybe people want to go into a retail store because they want to see and examine and try out a product? Is that such an alien concept? You say the product should "stand on it's own", well sure, but you can't have a product stand on it's own unless you can actually examine it! It has little to do with wooing people into buying things (although that IS the underlying principle behind advertising, retail stores, and sales-people). People need retail stores. They need to see a mac display in real life to gauge it's quality. They need to test out the weight of a laptop, and compare sizes in real life. Many people like to test out the keyboards and see how the buttons respond.
And your car dealer is an even worse example! Buying a car (an expensive and usually long term purchase) practically demands that you examine that car physically, in real life. You should look at it inside and out, and you should probably drive it. You have a strange outlook on things, and bizarre misunderstanding of how consumers and their products relate to one another. I mean you no disrespect when I say that. (no really, I don't).
And no, you don't need an ipad connected to a MBP to buy one. But having a ipad that displays relevant information about the MBP (and other related laptops) is very useful to a potential buyer, especially if they are new to macs.
And finally, as a general comment on this change in retail Apple stores: for all the people complaining about the queue, do you not realize that this is something that complements the existing store setup? The queue does not replace that normal way you can approach a specialist (or how they can approach you), it only offers an additional, more organized way to ask for help, with less effort, especially when the store is crowded.
Oh, and one more thing: I can't speak for all stores, but all the Apple stores I've been to DO have a real cash register, in addition to all the staff having mobile credit card processing devices. So, although Apple stores can really get very busy and chaotic, if you can't find the register then you need to improve your brain functions. Yes, Apple is one of the busiest retail stores, but there are ways you can deal with that (go at non-peak times, etc.).
/rant off
There's a big ****ing button labelled 'CALL A SPECIALIST'. Nothing to 'figure out'. I'm sure tapping the button is slightly easier than 'figuring out how an iPod works'. Some of you people are really reaching with the bitching in this thread. Apparently most of you already despise Apple stores, so this shouldn't affect you, just don't go there. For the majority of normal people, this should be an improvement.
