Frustrating Apple Store Experience

[Rafterman]

Wait...are you using physical gift cards? or e-gift cards? If so they can be used in store. You cannot use apple account balance in stores. You can order online and do pick-up tho. Source: Me, I've done both.

You can use egift cards in store, Or at least you used to be able to. I would just bring a printout in the past.

 

[Rafterman]

Lenovo lost a laptop sale from me once because I could not get their checkout system to function for me for an online purchase, so I went with my other choice, the Dell XPS 15 in my signature. Luckily for Apple you were committed to buying that one device!

The XPS is a solid machine. I love the expandability, with two NVME bays.

 

[Rafterman]

I mean why even have the option then? Could OP have just put more $$$ on the Apple Balance, so it would fully cover the purchase? Maybe they got a gift and didn't have $2800 lying around to use for it.

Just an FYI, that $2800 was a return and a culmination of various actual gifts over the months.

 

[Rafterman]

From a business strategy perspective, the difference might be due to Amazon's historic hyper-focus on pleasing customers, even when it impacts profits or margins, or because Apple is such a big target for various types of fraud.

Fraud in always an issue for stores, but never should it be to the point of disrupting legitimate customers. I have been an Apple customer for 10 years and am known in that store. Nothing suspicious was going on, and there was never even a way to find out what was going on.

 

[KaliYoni]

Fraud in always an issue for stores, but never should it be to the point of disrupting legitimate customers.

I agree...but the sad reality is that retailers face so much stealing, shoplifting, and scams these days that legitimate customers can't escape the countermeasures.

For example, I live in an area where every major supermarket and drugstore near me has put even low priced, basic items such as soap, shampoo, and laundry detergent into locked cases. No, this isn't in a failing bankrupt city...my neighborhood is populated by well paid tech workers and even more well paid "traditional" professionals, while my city government has an annual budget that is larger than many state budgets. But the stores around here, large or small, high end or low end, all face so much crime and so little support from law enforcement and the criminal justice system, business owners have been forced to take drastic steps.

Apple faces both these localized problems and global organized crime problems. So while I don't like how shopping in person often is a lot less easy and convenient than it was in the past, I'm more saddened than angered.

 

[compwiz1202]

I agree...but the sad reality is that retailers face so much stealing, shoplifting, and scams these days that legitimate customers can't escape the countermeasures.

For example, I live in an area where every major supermarket and drugstore near me has put even low priced, basic items such as soap, shampoo, and laundry detergent into locked cases. No, this isn't in a failing bankrupt city...my neighborhood is populated by well paid tech workers and even more well paid "traditional" professionals, while my city government has an annual budget that is larger than many state budgets. But the stores around here, large or small, high end or low end, all face so much crime and so little support from law enforcement and the criminal justice system, business owners have been forced to take drastic steps.

Apple faces both these localized problems and global organized crime problems. So while I don't like how shopping in person often is a lot less easy and convenient than it was in the past, I'm more saddened than angered.

WM put the final nail in their coffin when they put Lightning cables behind glass. It wouldn't be so bad if you could find someone to unlock it. When video games were only physical, I remember always finding someone quickly.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Well, not all publicly-held companies make maximizing shareholder value their first or only priority. For example:

Our Credo

The values that guide our decision-making are spelled out in Our Credo. Put simply, Our Credo challenges us to put the needs and well-being of the people we serve first. Robert Wood Johnson, former chairman from 1932 to 1963 and a member of the Company’s founding family, crafted Our Credo himself…

www.jnj.com

and

Our Mission and Principles | BlackRock

As we pursue our mission, we’re guided by our culture and a set of principles that ensure we never forget what we stand for. Learn more.

www.blackrock.com

Further, a business' strategy should serve its mission and priorities. So loss prevention and anti-fraud measures are not necessarily opposed to shareholders' interests.

I agree, as somebody who makes their living in financial markets, that for-profit, publicly listed companies do have the obligation to provide an appropriate return to shareholders. But customers, employees, and communities need to be important as well to make a firm, to my mind, a good medium to long term investment.

Next, I'd say that Apple is one of the most attractive targets for fraud, especially for organized crime rings. The combination of high value products, mass luxury brand positioning, global presence, and ease of fencing stolen products and payment instruments make Apple a much, much more productive place to attack than most other retailers.

In reality no company can survive very long without profit, regardless if it has shareholders or not. All companies, not just Apple are targets of fraud and theft. I have no idea why you believe Apple is the only one.

By the way, since we are talking about Apple, do you believe that the Apple shareholders, just like in any other company, dislike or oppose profit? Profit is what remains after all business expanses are paid for, therefore a company cannot exist without profit.

Supposedly Amazon survives without a large profit margin, but it has a fast growth rate (lots of investors), and uses the profits to invest in new Amazon projects.

 

[KaliYoni]

In reality no company can survive very long without profit, regardless if it has shareholders or not. All companies, not just Apple are targets of fraud and theft. I have no idea why you believe Apple is the only one.

By the way, since we are talking about Apple, do you believe that the Apple shareholders, just like in any other company, dislike or oppose profit? Profit is what remains after all business expanses are paid for, therefore a company cannot exist without profit.

Supposedly Amazon survives without a large profit margin, but it has a fast growth rate (lots of investors), and uses the profits to invest in new Amazon projects.

I don't want to derail this thread too much with a discussion about capital markets and the various types of investing. But briefly:

• Unprofitable companies that are privately held or are backed by patient, deep pocketed investors or are able to issue debt, can survive a long time, even indefinitely if cash flow is positive, without going out of business. Apple, during the period between Sculley's exit and Jobs' return, is one example. There are many, many recent examples as well, including Amazon, Twitter, and Uber.
• I don't think Apple is the only retailer facing crime. I do think Apple is a unique target with a special set of characteristics that affect the scale and scope of the fraud and theft it must deal with.
• Since AAPL is widely held by both institutional investors and individual investors, there are a lot of different reasons for having it in a portfolio. Profits may or may not be a factor in the decision to be long (i.e. own shares of) AAPL. For example, an index fund that uses the S&P 500 as its benchmark is forced to own AAPL, regardless of its financial performance, as long as AAPL is a component of the benchmark.
• AMZN's retail side has low margins but its cloud computing side (AWS) is a significant driver of profits. Amazon is considered a "growth" stock by many analysts but I wouldn't say it has a turbocharged growth rate anymore due to its immense size, reach, and market capitalization. It takes a LOT, just like with Apple, to move the needle on anything Amazon does.