The red "hotline" phone is hilarious. I can't tell for sure because the video is really compressed, but it looks like rotary dial too.
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From Risky Bet to Retail Giant: Apple Store Turns 24 Today
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Used to absolutely love going in Apple Retail stores. So much so I didn't mind mall shopping with my wife so I could visit just this haha.
I worked for Apple for years and had the chance to help out in a few stores in the area but turned it down entirely because I liked going in them too much and didn't want to ruin the experience.
I worked for Apple for years and had the chance to help out in a few stores in the area but turned it down entirely because I liked going in them too much and didn't want to ruin the experience.
Technically that was the previous strategy before the Apple Store. I remember they made a big deal about doing a "Store Within a Store" at big box stores like CompUSA, Circuit City, etc. I think the main reason they started doing that was that the experience of shopping for a Mac at other stores wasn't great - especially because so many salespeople would typically try and talk people out of buying a Mac and buying a PC. So having a dedicated "area" and an Apple-specific salesperson was a step in the right direction. But the natural evolution of that concept was to have your own retail store entirely.
But yeah, the concept starts to make more sense when you have more products, so the addition if iPods, then iPhones, iPads, AirPods, etc. really broadened the utility of having your own store. This sort of worked for the Microsoft Store since they could feature PC's, Xboxes and other related hardware and accessories.
So wild there are boxed copies of Mac OS 9 on the shelves next to OS X 10.2 🤯
i'll never forget my first encounter with an Apple Store in 2003, when i returned to CONUS as a fed. i assumed it would be gone in 5 years, that Apple hadnt yet gained enough market share to support retail outlets.
boy, was i wrong.
i bought my first iPod in 2004, my first Mac in 2008, and iPhone 4 in 2009. they may have let procedure supercede customer satisfaction, nowadays, but their increased profile and rep as an aspirational brand makes them a target. their retail can no longer afford to be as naive as they once were.
their consumer support still far outclasses anyone operating in the Wintel space.
boy, was i wrong.
i bought my first iPod in 2004, my first Mac in 2008, and iPhone 4 in 2009. they may have let procedure supercede customer satisfaction, nowadays, but their increased profile and rep as an aspirational brand makes them a target. their retail can no longer afford to be as naive as they once were.
their consumer support still far outclasses anyone operating in the Wintel space.
nail on head.
however, when they opened in 2001, they were also selling Canon cameras and printers, 3rd party peripherals and anything mid-shelf and higher in audio to support iPod.
and software, aka "apps," that came on CD, in boxes.
Good point - yeah, it actually made a lot of sense, especially third party hardware and accessories that an Apple customer could be guaranteed to work well with their Apple products.
Apple Store in Tyson's corner…
"Hey Mike, I wanna buy an iPhone. What's the price?"
"Two punches in your face for the 16e, and a full KO for the 16 Pro Max!"
"Hey Mike, I wanna buy an iPhone. What's the price?"
"Two punches in your face for the 16e, and a full KO for the 16 Pro Max!"
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I have two Apple stores located close to me. I love going inside them and they are always packed.
Don't feel too put out. For me in Washington State it's 125 miles to the nearest Apple Store. Needless to say I never go there. Mail Order is my friend.
As you said, the Microsoft stores were probably the closest to gaining *some* traction, but that reminded me of a trip I took to Minnesota in 2019. I went to the Mall of America which had an Apple Store and a Microsoft store directly across the hallway from each other back then. From that hallway, I took a picture of the Apple Store and then just a few seconds later took a picture of the Microsoft store. Look at the difference in the number of people inside each store! I think the majority of the people in the Microsoft store were employees. BTW, it was just an ordinary Saturday...not like there was some big product release or anything at the Apple Store.
It was a BIG deal at the time.
Of course now, every customer is connected to the internet. Some doubly-connected (iPhone and watch). Changed times.
I hear you - I was only working in a store for a year in 2015-16, and dealing with customers for retail pay was enough for me! I never had to deal with anything on the same level as you either!
I haven’t been inside an Apple Store in years, personally, so I can’t really speak to the experience these days, but I’ve gotta say that video linked in the article is gold!
I think that is 10.1 . 10.2 was released august 2002 and retail store was in 2001 according to the article. OS 10.1 was nearly beta and pro needed OS 9 for their apps.
idk how old you are but at the time nothing was connected to the internet. You need a desk with a computer on it and a wire to the wall. If you wanted internet, there used to be places called internet cafes where you pay per hour to use a computer connected to the internet. A lot of people were not online. In fact i would say all the way up to 2010 most people were disconnected from the internet.
actually its a very smart marketing tactic.
The point of that phone is to symbolise, they can call "Cupertino" to finally get a competent answer to any question.
Another great theory of how the phone is wired up in the Genius Bar in the past…
It was also used for the Apple geniuses to phone headquarters for anything they have to ask to the repair center or depots or to other stores
Perhaps stores or sensibilities differ - I have never found the ones here to feel too sterile, just clean and... eh, "elegant" would be overstating it, but something leaning in that direction.
The who what why??..
ROTFLMAO
Ahhh windows…fond memories indeed. Glad I jumped ship to all Apple everything ages ago and these pics are, “case in point”.
My Apple story is simple..only at & t had iPhone and the ads or rare sightings out in the wild was all I needed to See to know I NEEDED an iPhone. That UI, it just spoke to me…far more than any Motorola, or blackberry or Nokia had in the years before….love at first sight, for real…
But it wasn’t meant to be as I had always been with Verizon…until…that fateful day…
Is that microsoft still there? In the same location?? Lol
Not me. Airplane mode in your friend, my friend…tis a great and true friend, as well.
BRO! They need to bring those Internet cafes BACK! And make it so no personal phones or watches are allowed in, make it like a Time Machine but not so far no one would want to visit lol
I’ll NEVA forget Nintendo 64 had just launched in Japan but this dope cafe in Cambridge MA (name eludes me) had it and we got to play it (Mario, of course) and I joked “anyone here know Japanese?”..that game is hands down in the top 10 all time.
“modern”?
I think “elegant” works…”sparse”, “spacious” (not all of em of course).
