Just for the record, that queue system has been in place for a while. But before you only had the Apple Store app and the employees to get on the list. Now you can add yourself
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Details and Impressions on Apple's Retail Changes
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What exactly is so wrong about buying something and only wanting that something? If you're a fanboy do you really need One-to-One? That's absurd! A fanboy would know most Apple products like the back of their hands and love the opportunity to jump head first into something new.
I love how people constantly use the "Well, obviously you are a lesser being because you disagree" remark so much on this forum.
Not an issue. There's only the sign and paging software on the ipads and they disabled the home button. So you can't do anything else on them.
So you plant your your own trees to harvest the good fruit?I never bought anyin an
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And yes I don't need an iMac either. With a little effort a $500-$800 PC would do what I need. But not as elegantly and not as fun to use. Yes we are paying for all this through the Apple tax. But it's nice to treat yourself once in a while. And going to an Apple store is slowly becoming "The Experience" you want to have experienced. Just so you can say "I am so lucky I was able to be there".
Most stores only have people in them cause they sell the products people want to buy. But on the other hand people actually want to go to to the Apple stores. Just to see the store. Like walk in with zero intention to buy anything and work out with a purchases.
I know it's not right to compare it to a religious experience. But many people do refer to their Apple store outing as a pilgrimage. Just something they had to do. And wanted to so as well.
In my opinion sure all the ipads are over the top. But heck the Apple stores were always over the top. And people know it. I'm sure if there was a $2 admission fee to get in to an Apple store that most people would pay it. More stores should treat their stores as a place people want to be at and not just a point of sale for their goods. Then they'd get more business.
I have to say Apple is still top of the game with their stores. And most other retailers just don't get it.
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And some people are saying "only fanbois say most other retailers just don't get it". Actually it's the those neysayers that don't get it. Apple has always been over the top. The ipads don't change much they just add to it. And help at peak traffic times so no one is left out. Yes I agree it is a non-story for most of the general public. But it's pretty important for the Apple Store staff. Hence all the cloak and dagger stuff to protect it pre-launch.
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Ya but you still have to wait for them to bring you change. Why not just have a bank of registers.
Does Google sync your address book, calendar, and browser bookmarks across all of your computers and devices? Not in the cloud, but the actual apps on your hard drive?
What percentage of Apple customers use cash? The focus is on 3 or 4 digit price tags, amounts few people carry. If someone does, say, buy an iMac for cash in-store, they're probably not in a hurry to get the change. That balanced with most customers using plastic means balancing the services accordingly.
Most customers are "I want this, here's my credit card" <swipe> "thanks!". I don't want to be stuck waiting for a register making change when I can just wave a small sheet of plastic at the clerk.
Same here, if only they had kept one normal cash register for normal shoppers to queue up at rather than having to stand around at a random table only now with an imaginary queue that's sends a "specialist" to where you are standing.
Just my opinion however I feel the cable management on some of the displays could have been done a bit better. Everything looked a bit cluttered and tangled.
Otherwise it is really cool, and I like seeing companies use their technology to promote their own products.
Otherwise it is really cool, and I like seeing companies use their technology to promote their own products.
Checkout frustration
There's nothing that frustrates me more than having to wait in line to give someone my money. Be it a grocery or Apple store, it blows my mind that any supplier would make it difficult or inconvenient to take my cash. Like, isn't that the primary reason they're in business? You'd think it would always be the primary problem to rectify. It took me almost a half hour to buy/checkout a simple charger for my iPod Nano a few weeks ago. That's insane!
It looks like this new system may aleviate the number of clerks needed, but will it make it easier and faster to check out once I've decided what I want to buy? I'll have to visit a store and give it a try this week.
There's nothing that frustrates me more than having to wait in line to give someone my money. Be it a grocery or Apple store, it blows my mind that any supplier would make it difficult or inconvenient to take my cash. Like, isn't that the primary reason they're in business? You'd think it would always be the primary problem to rectify. It took me almost a half hour to buy/checkout a simple charger for my iPod Nano a few weeks ago. That's insane!
It looks like this new system may aleviate the number of clerks needed, but will it make it easier and faster to check out once I've decided what I want to buy? I'll have to visit a store and give it a try this week.
That was not my point.
The way the queue described it would apply to those simply looking for an education, an answer to a question and purchasing a product. If I am in a store, I can walk up to the check out to purchase. The way the queue was described that would not be the case in this situation.
I hear what you are saying about retention. Customer retention is important to every business, and an educated consumer is important from a product awareness and continued demand.
I am a business and personal user of the Apple products, and I converted from the Windows environment a few years back. Given my experience with the Apple products (this includes the physical product, the retail store as well as the online business store), I doubt seriously I will go back to a Windows computer. Apple's stuff just works. I don't know if that makes me a Fan Boy or not.
I am not trying to create any drama. My point is simply that it may reduce the number of customers that utilize the Apple Retail Store environment. If nothing else, it may reduce it by a factor of one; however, I doubt it will be just one.
Whoa. You're getting pretty worked up. My point was the Apple Stores are really there so that you can hear about the products. It's the specialists job to offer you solutions designed to make your life easier. That is the kind of stuff the store wants you to buy. The devices sell themselves, and if that is all you want, Best Buys are a lot more convenient most of the time.
I get where you (and others with similar opinions) are coming from, but I have a feeling Apple wants to have you in their store, even if you are just using an iPod and waiting for a Specialist. People wander in there because they want to see why everybody else is in there.
The stores aren't there to make it "easier" to buy a computer. They're designed to make you stay and come back as much as possible. So the new system makes it easier to be helped, while not "improving" on the amount of time you spend in the store.
While I agree with that in theory, waiting to find a person available to hand your card can be an issue. How is a dedicated register for shelf purchases not preferable to waiting for an associate to explain to a customer that yes, this Mac will work with your printer/router/ISP etc.?
Where I live we have a chain of auto parts stores called Advance Auto. I have one about 3 minutes from my house. I will not step foot in one again. Instead, I will drive 10 minutes to an AutoZone. Why? Because several years ago Advance changed the format of all their stores and made each help "desk" a register and removed the dedicated register.
So if they had 3 associates working and there were 3 people in line ahead of you buying parts from the back, you waited. Just to buy a set of wiper blades you picked out on your own. And if you chose the wrong line, the guy beside you who got in line after you, got checked out with his car wash kit and behind him was another guy needing help.
So I drive the extra distance to AutoZone where they have a dedicated register for those who know what they want, can get it themselves and just want to pay without having to wait while someone who has no business working on their own car is be told how to replace an O2 sensor.
If I want a trackpad, do I really need to see an associate? I just want to pay and be gone.
View of a recent switcher
I am a recent (2008) switcher living in NYC. Before buying my very first Mac (a MacBook), I visited the (Soho) store a few times, spoke to the Specialists, and tried the model I planned to buy to make sure the keyboard would not be a problem*. I also took advantage of the Leopard workshops to learn more about the OS.
While I don't go to Soho much anymore (prefer the West 14th street store), am anxious to see how this change has affected things. I walked out of Soho when I got my iPhone (3G) and bought it at West 14th street because the store was so busy that I couldn't hear myself think or get any attention from any of the Specialists.
* Back when I was still a PC user, had considered buying a laptop, but could not find one with a comfortable keyboard.
I am a recent (2008) switcher living in NYC. Before buying my very first Mac (a MacBook), I visited the (Soho) store a few times, spoke to the Specialists, and tried the model I planned to buy to make sure the keyboard would not be a problem*. I also took advantage of the Leopard workshops to learn more about the OS.
While I don't go to Soho much anymore (prefer the West 14th street store), am anxious to see how this change has affected things. I walked out of Soho when I got my iPhone (3G) and bought it at West 14th street because the store was so busy that I couldn't hear myself think or get any attention from any of the Specialists.
* Back when I was still a PC user, had considered buying a laptop, but could not find one with a comfortable keyboard.
Man you really are just a hater aren't you?
If anything, I've found apple stores to easily be the most diverse stores I'm in when going to malls.
Well that's your hang up. You can no more blame Apple because you feel you aren't hip enough than you can blame the local gym because you think your ass is too fat to be there with all the folks that don't have any flab
Yesterday a friend and I stopped in at the Apple store for a few moments and I saw the new setup. I like it, actually! For the customer who is not quite ready to buy but who just wants to look at the products, the iPad has a lot of information much more neatly laid out than it used to be on the cardboard thingies. One can get some questions answered without having to bother anyone. As an example, my friend was thinking about an iPhone. We looked at them for a moment, comparing the 3GS to the iPhone4, then she asked me, "but what about the plans? How much would I have to pay? Is this going to be a lot more expensive than my current plan?" I tapped on the iPad sitting there and sure enough, the plan information came up, easy to read and telling her what she wanted to know in order to compare with whatever her current plan is. It answered her questions very nicely. We didn't take time to look at anything else but I thought that was very cool. Since she was not ready to buy one yesterday, just was on a preliminary scouting expedition, she was able to see and handle the product and to see the information she needed to make her decision. IF she had been ready to buy right then, we could've tapped the button to summon a Specialist and she would have been good to go with a new iPhone......
