Former Apple Retail Chief Ron Johnson Discusses 'Enjoy' Launch, Apple, Angela Ahrendts and More

[stanhope]

Amazing

I wonder how the Apple Watch rollout would've been had Johnson been in Angela's position..

If Ron had handled it, the would have been a real launch and customer satisfaction would have been high rather than the lowest of any launch to date.

 

[japanime]

Why is this on the front page?

I'd never use this service, but I still find the article interesting and worthy of the front page. It's one of those celebrity/athlete/public figure "Where are they now?" stories that so many of us like to read.

Plus, this article sure beats having another Apple Watch micro-story taking up front-page space.

 

[C DM]

If Ron had handled it, the would have been a real launch and customer satisfaction would have been high rather than the lowest of any launch to date.

Is that why so many are happy about the watch and the sales are through the roof? Ah, yes, reality.

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Why is this on the front page?

Because it's about a prominent Apple figure (even if an ex one)?

 

[KPOM]

Good.

I'd have been among the first in line, content to face a sold-out model I wanted and made a valiant attempt to get, and could return day after day if wanting it that bad.
Instead I'm looking at waiting over a month regardless.

It's OK to put some of the onus for early purchase on the customer. I'm much more satisfied with my own inability to beat a rush than leaving delivery entirely up to a supplier who in no way will deliver anywhere close to launch date.

I "overslept," woke up 2 hours after the launch, and in the span of about 2 minutes I clicked around the Apple Store App, saw my second choice was still in the initial window (38mm Classic Band), paid with Apple Pay, and got it shipped to my place on 4/24. It was far smoother than the iPhone 5s or 6 launches for me.

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If Ron had handled it, the would have been a real launch and customer satisfaction would have been high rather than the lowest of any launch to date.

Because Ron Johnson could magically make the supply chain issues go away?

 

[brewcitywi]

totally agree

I like Ron, class guy. Never understood why he thought he could make JC Penny a classy store or organization. Enjoy seems like the perfect service for my parents. They are more than willing to pay full price, but boy they need some hand-holding. Actually I would pay full price so that I dont have to hand-hold my parents every time they get a new toy.

I totally agree. My parents would have an Apple TV with Netflix, and several other products if someone would help them hook it up and show them which remotes to use!

 

[bluespark]

Go to hell, Ron...I'm still pissed at your free taco offer for busting our butts during the holidays!

Sounds like you didn't deserve your taco.

 

[AppleScruff1]

I think it is very nice of him to talk about his former employer and Angela in that way. I tend to disagree with his comment about Angela, but he knows much more about the subject than I do.

And since he started his own company he's not about to burn any bridges.

 

[ncollingridge]

It won't work for one or maybe all of three reasons:

1. There's not enough customers who will want to do this rather than buy at a discount price and work it out for themselves to make the venture a success. Not everyone is as wealthy as Ron Johnson and his mates.

2. There is just not enough margin between the discounted and full retail price to pay for someone to travel to a customer's house, spend an hour setting up a device, and then travel back to base. Not accounting for employee downtime when there is no setup scheduled.

3. One hour is going to be very tight to do all the setup that someone needs. I could understand it more if they said "the first hour is included but further time is chargeable at $xx per hour or part of an hour". Otherwise, either the customer is going to be left frustrated because their expectation of the device being "set up" is not entirely fulfilled, or margin is going to suffer further because employees take longer to do the job than expected.

I will be surprised if I do not see news reports in six to nine months time saying that the venture has been closed down. And the stakes for Ron are quite high with this - one failure (at JC Penny) is survivable, but two might irreparably damage his employment prospects. This is not the type of venture I would pursue if I were him.

 

[SusanK]

It won't work for one or maybe all of three reasons:

1. There's not enough customers who will want to do this rather than buy at a discount price and work it out for themselves to make the venture a success.

One to One
Apple Care's worthless phone support

 

[C DM]

It won't work for one or maybe all of three reasons:

1. There's not enough customers who will want to do this rather than buy at a discount price and work it out for themselves to make the venture a success. Not everyone is as wealthy as Ron Johnson and his mates.

2. There is just not enough margin between the discounted and full retail price to pay for someone to travel to a customer's house, spend an hour setting up a device, and then travel back to base. Not accounting for employee downtime when there is no setup scheduled.

3. One hour is going to be very tight to do all the setup that someone needs. I could understand it more if they said "the first hour is included but further time is chargeable at $xx per hour or part of an hour". Otherwise, either the customer is going to be left frustrated because their expectation of the device being "set up" is not entirely fulfilled, or margin is going to suffer further because employees take longer to do the job than expected.

I will be surprised if I do not see news reports in six to nine months time saying that the venture has been closed down. And the stakes for Ron are quite high with this - one failure (at JC Penny) is survivable, but two might irreparably damage his employment prospects. This is not the type of venture I would pursue if I were him.

You might be really underestimating number 1, especially in various areas throughout the country.

 

[nikaru]

Thats sounds great. I always wanted to invite a complete stranger in my home to show me how muy GoPro that has just two buttons, works. I prefer to open the manual or google and quickly check for the information that I need instead of scheduling a meeting with some guy, waiting him in my home, then inviting him, offering him a cup of tea while he explain me how dump I am to not understands the basics of the modern consumer electronics.

And if ou dont think that your granny deservs 30 minutes of your time to explain to her how her new toy works (which is basically the only group of people that actually need this), then you are bad grandson.

 

[ctdonath]

if ou dont think that your granny deservs 30 minutes of your time to explain to her how her new toy works (which is basically the only group of people that actually need this), then you are bad grandson.

Apparently you haven't had a relative with a propensity to buy random electronic gadgets ("It's good, no?") without consulting you, then ask you to install & explain them and expecting you'll do it happily within 30 minutes and they'll be able to use it with zero effort. Over, and over, and over again.

Comes a point where you find reason to respond to the request with "did you consult with me about this BEFORE buying this thing? No? Then my recommendation is TAKE IT BACK AND GET A REFUND, _then_ tell me what need you're trying to fill and ask my advice about what to get."

If the job is showing the ignorant how to configure & use something they bought without knowing what or why, then YES it's worth getting compensated for.

 

[C DM]

Thats sounds great. I always wanted to invite a complete stranger in my home to show me how muy GoPro that has just two buttons, works. I prefer to open the manual or google and quickly check for the information that I need instead of scheduling a meeting with some guy, waiting him in my home, then inviting him, offering him a cup of tea while he explain me how dump I am to not understands the basics of the modern consumer electronics.

And if ou dont think that your granny deservs 30 minutes of your time to explain to her how her new toy works (which is basically the only group of people that actually need this), then you are bad grandson.

Apparently everyone lives the same. Who knew?!

 

[TWSS37]

Thats sounds great. I always wanted to invite a complete stranger in my home to show me how muy GoPro that has just two buttons, works. I prefer to open the manual or google and quickly check for the information that I need instead of scheduling a meeting with some guy, waiting him in my home, then inviting him, offering him a cup of tea while he explain me how dump I am to not understands the basics of the modern consumer electronics.

And if ou dont think that your granny deservs 30 minutes of your time to explain to her how her new toy works (which is basically the only group of people that actually need this), then you are bad grandson.

You might not need to spend $99 on tech setup, but it sounds like you could spend that money on other services that may benefit you.

 

[nikaru]

Apparently you haven't had a relative with a propensity to buy random electronic gadgets ("It's good, no?") without consulting you, then ask you to install & explain them and expecting you'll do it happily within 30 minutes and they'll be able to use it with zero effort. Over, and over, and over again.

Comes a point where you find reason to respond to the request with "did you consult with me about this BEFORE buying this thing? No? Then my recommendation is TAKE IT BACK AND GET A REFUND, _then_ tell me what need you're trying to fill and ask my advice about what to get."

If the job is showing the ignorant how to configure & use something they bought without knowing what or why, then YES it's worth getting compensated for.

People who actually buy junk they dont know how to use, probably dont deserve to receive any support from you.

Like i said, its not rocket science we are talking about but basic consumer electronics, like tablets, phones, cameras or computers. And every single one of those comes with a manual on how to set it up. Even the Apple Watch package contains an explanation (with photos) on how to put your watch on you hand.

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Apparently everyone lives the same. Who knew?!

I see your point but this new service is based on the assumption that moder consumers electronics are complicated and the people, that is, the customers, are uninformed, dump or worst - ignorant.

This service is also made basically for two group of people: 1) The rich who dont care how to setup their new 100 inch TV and just want it installed a the remote in their hand; and 2) the eldery who somehow were sleeping during the last 20 years and ignored the technology advancments we had in our lifes. In both cases we are talking about a hair slim margin of people which convirts this service in something more exotic than common.

 

[quickcalibre]

That is one hideous bio picture.

 

[stanhope]

I "overslept," woke up 2 hours after the launch, and in the span of about 2 minutes I clicked around the Apple Store App, saw my second choice was still in the initial window (38mm Classic Band), paid with Apple Pay, and got it shipped to my place on 4/24. It was far smoother than the iPhone 5s or 6 launches for me.

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Because Ron Johnson could magically make the supply chain issues go away?

Is it possible that you really said this? The point is not supply issues but the handling of the launch itself. Surely even Stevie Wonder could see that?

 

[KPOM]

Is it possible that you really said this? The point is not supply issues but the handling of the launch itself. Surely even Stevie Wonder could see that?

Given the supply constraints, the launch has been handled about as well as possible. If they tried to supply the stores, they'd have sold out in minutes, tons of people would have lined up and gone home empty-handed and been pounding these boards complaining. As it stands, watches are starting to ship in greater numbers and the replacement bands are shipping, too.

 

[bawbac]

Welcome to Magnolia HiFi

 

[C DM]

People who actually buy junk they dont know how to use, probably dont deserve to receive any support from you.

Like i said, its not rocket science we are talking about but basic consumer electronics, like tablets, phones, cameras or computers. And every single one of those comes with a manual on how to set it up. Even the Apple Watch package contains an explanation (with photos) on how to put your watch on you hand.

----------



I see your point but this new service is based on the assumption that moder consumers electronics are complicated and the people, that is, the customers, are uninformed, dump or worst - ignorant.

This service is also made basically for two group of people: 1) The rich who dont care how to setup their new 100 inch TV and just want it installed a the remote in their hand; and 2) the eldery who somehow were sleeping during the last 20 years and ignored the technology advancments we had in our lifes. In both cases we are talking about a hair slim margin of people which convirts this service in something more exotic than common.

Those assumptions you mentioned are true to one degree or another in many cases, and go beyond the simple groups you mentioned and represent a bigger market than you imply (surely not to say it's everyone or even most, but more than you would think, especially in various areas). That's the reality.

 

[myCloudbusters]

Premise is spot on!

Ron is a technology head. He gets the market space and onenjoy is a great concept. There is a huge chasm out there as I too have developed a business to help those grow more connected.

I have studied this for almost a decade and it is amazing the huge void that continues to grow day in and day out with the assumption that someone is there to fill the gap with a cheap product that has DIY capability. As these people spend weeks on set-up, a month or two to learn basic app's, and climbing to an ability of amateur on one device we are spending minutes getting people connected, an a hour making them very comfortable with their new technology and aiding them to the growth of functionality that is only seen in James Bond movies or the Lifestyles of the rich and famous at blue collar incomes.

Like Ron discovered. People are hungering for the technology they don't want to know or even care how its connected. Like my trademarked phrase, they just want it safe, simple and secure.

 

[Nightmarchers]

OK, wasn't there 60 products offered at the start of this untested pipe dream?

So let's check in again.
Now down to 20 products?

Yet another dumb idea, gee he lost JCPenny a billion dollars in 17 months reducing their stock value into the single digit value.

This guy is no genius. Just a guy in a job at the right time that Steve Jobs decided he wanted stores and was given marching orders. But a myth with smoke and mirrors is always more entertaining.

Here is the deal.
Apple stores would have been a success if
1. The products had been sold out of used out houses.
2. The products had been sold out of functionality Spivey Rental Toilets.
3. If sold out of the trunks of cars.
4. If Johnson had nothing to do with Apple Stores.

As a long term Apple computer buyer, I can tell you before Apple stores your experience of walking into the few brick and mortar stores that sold their products, to ask about an Apple computer, was like having leprosy. The so call blue shirts experts at Best Buy were the worst, at best these are minimum payed people who can use a Microsoft computer, at its basic level, period. They would back away, clearly wanting to drop the subject as you were out of their conform zone, the only thing they knew about Apple products was, they came in a box.

Every question was a deer in the head lights response, they either tried to switch you over to Microsoft or walked off from the oddball Mac users.

I purchased all my Macs back then online with free ship, $100 university discount. It wasn't that Apple stores were so great, it was just their employees were going to sell you an Apple product, if you lived near one, that's a big plus, instant gratification of taking it home too.

And yes, they, Apple sales staff labeled geniuses, are trained just like the new and used car industry salesmen to work on your "weakness", they are not your best friend. Get a copy of their training manual.

As for Ron Johnson, please let him fade away, no more updates on this guy, he will be written up and study for years in MBA programs on how not to run a business with other people's money.