you would think with all that training, the employes will actually know something... at times i think a monkey could do a better job.
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Inside Apple's Retail Store Operation
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At the Genius bar the first 3 years at Apple I saw mostly computer users and switchers. My last 2 years at Apple I saw mostly iPod and iPhone users. The computer users couldn't get appointments so management usually would just fast track the machine. Not good service since fast track meant that the client wouldn't get the basic troubleshooting done.
If so, that's sad.People work 7 days a week, morning to late night? Maybe you live in a dystopia.
So you imagine they 'beam' the products to the Apple stores from China?
There are lots of reasons someone could be coming into an Apple Store, and yet not be interested in a computer running OS X.
They could be looking at iPads, iPhones, or iPods.
They could be buying accessories for the above.
They could be coming in just to see what all the hype is about.
They could be coming in simply to check their email on the free internet.
Of course a good salesman will probe to see if maybe they'll fall in love with a Mac and buy one (the good ol' halo effect), but if the customer is clearly not interested or if it's clearly not going to work for them ("I need games! And Microsoft Access! And I'm cheap to boot!") then they need to leave it at that.
Most of my experiences at the local Apple Store are negative.
I don't know if it's the people they pick or the way they train them, but they are some of the most smug 'salesman' I've ever been around.
If I wanted to be told how lucky I am to have you help me, I would go to a used car dealership.
I don't know if it's the people they pick or the way they train them, but they are some of the most smug 'salesman' I've ever been around.
If I wanted to be told how lucky I am to have you help me, I would go to a used car dealership.
All lovely but it makes absolutely no difference to the salesman, he wouldn't have cared less. He didn't stand to make a commission from the sale so whether you bought from him was neither here nor there - but if it makes you feel better, go ahead.
A lot of customers who come in and think they know exactly what they need actually don't and can be saved a lot of money on a lower spec model. That's what you're trained to do. The Specialist in question should have understood the situation with fewer questions, that's all.
No one expects to go into an Apple Store and essentially get sold a Dell. I don't know what reality you're living in. They are not independent stores - it's a very simple distinction.
That said, if a Mac genuinely wasn't the best choice for a customer, I would suggest to them that they look elsewhere. It rarely happened because it is genuinely rarely the case.
I think you need to go back and read the beginning of the conversation. I don't understand how these are advantages to a dell over a mac? The premise of my point was, aside from price, I personally wouldn't recommend a Dell if I was an Apple employee. I don't know what tangent you're going off on.
I wonder why your posts are terribly downrated and you're disrespected on this forum.
It's not that you don't make fan-boyish comments. It's that most of your comments are a sensible read and I don't know why people make a fuss about everything.
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Maybe I do. What reality do you live in where you can tell FedEx to deliver your package only during the evenings, or on the weekend?
I live alone, and I invariably end up driving to the FedEx/UPS/DHL depot to pick up any shipment I receive, since they always arrive at my doorstep between 11:00am to 3:00pm while I am at work. I wish there was an option to say "don't even bother loading it on the delivery truck, just leave it at the depot, phone me the morning it arrives, and I'll come get it".
Either that or I have it sent to my parent's house, where there's usually someone home during the day.
All new employees must climb the highest peak in the land, whereupon they engage in battle with the four ninjutsu masters. Those who survive eat the sacred lotus herb and are given a "spirit katana", a blade that holds the soul of an ancient, fallen warrior.
Only then, can they be called...Apple Geniuses.
Only then, can they be called...Apple Geniuses.
Which was my original point, no? If somebody needs a cheaper computer, recommend the Dell.
You need to talk to the car salesman that emailed me last week after bugging me with multiple emails and phone messages about when I was going to come into his dealership to see the car I inquired about. I sent him a curt reply saying "I will let you know when/if I continue to pursue this particular vehicle" thinking that he'd get the hint and back off.
His reply was so precious I've kept it in my archives. It was ALL CAPS, poorly written and punctuated, with a sarcastic tone ("WELL I WOULD HATE TO SELL YOU A CAR IF YOU WEREN'T SURE YOU WANTED TO BUY FROM ME SIR") and then went on to say "I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT, PERHAPS YOUR AFRAID TO COMMIT" [sic]
Apparently he learned from the Biff Tannen school of sales training. Insult your customers and maybe you can embarrass them into give you their money.
Looks like a car salesman gave you a negative vote. I canceled it
Same experience here. I stopped by to look at a car and told the salesman that I will buy whatever I will buy when I am ready.
May not be their brand.
E-mails kept on coming as reminders of sales, just checking in, prices may go up etc.
I have been in sales for many years, so of course one has to try.
With every e-mail the tone changed. You don't know what you are doing, my cars are the best etc. etc.
Same dealership wanted me to invest $ 8,000 in a car to "fix" everything that was only worth 4,000 and didn't want to give me the inspection sticker unless I fixed it.
SELLING IS AN ART, BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE THERE THAT SHOULDN'T BE IN THAT FIELD.
Caps lock as satire
1. many items are despatched within 24 hours and you'll most likely to get it the day after. that's not really a long wait. apple has got one of the best shipping out there -- compared to dell for example, they take at least a week for a fully stocked item to arrive.
2. you can ship items to your work place (see apple store help)
3. and visiting the store yourself does not incur any risks at all? shipped stuff CANNOT get lost because they need to be signed-for on delivery.
The problem is that some people have pretty weird expectations. It is like the Microsoft version of the switchers ads where one of them wanted a really portable, cheap laptop that is also powerful and she ended up with a 17 inch beast of a laptop with year old specs. You're essentially arguing that if someone comes in with impossible expectations you should err on the side of a cheap computer that on paper looks to fit their claimed needs (and most importantly price point) that will probably fall apart and maybe even fail to do what they want because they misunderstood their problem.
In other words, it is very easy to misjudge how much computer you need and people often err on the side of way too much computer at the expense of ability to actually do things they want (i.e. how many people could get by with just an iPad running iOS 5? I bet a whole lot of people).
At this point someone usually brings up the whole "well build your own and it is cheaper" argument failing to realize that these people would have no idea how to build a computer (which isn't a horrible thing, I have no clue how to build a car).
Not every place of work smiles upon you sending personal items to the mailroom.
Not at McDonald's, no, but a lot of professionals do. Where do you live where shipping services deliver on weekends and after business hours? Usually, you have to be home for the delivery, which is usually in the afternoon during work.
This report is BS....training is one or two days. Staff are assessed on their attachment rate, those with high AppleCare sales progress, the others sell headphones and cases. It's all about sales....
Behind the scenes it's as hectic as any other retail store with bad managers and the in-store favourites...customers are rude and always ask for new products based on rumours. Extensive my ass.
Behind the scenes it's as hectic as any other retail store with bad managers and the in-store favourites...customers are rude and always ask for new products based on rumours. Extensive my ass.
Remember when?
November 10th 2001. I spent the evening parked on the curb about 11th from the door of the first Apple Store to open in Colorado. (The 11th was the day the original iPod went on sale, I bought the first one sold )
Back when it was fun to go to the Apple store to check out new products, talk with other Apple fans that actually enjoyed talking about Apple and not just trying to push crap down your throat.
Fast forward to today and I cannot stand to step foot in this store. (and I have made my feeling well know in the surveys I get all the time) The people who work there are either rude or unhelpful, usually both. (And one perticular employee who has the worst teeth and breath ever and I somehow always end up with him ringing me up)
When I do go in just to pick something up it turns into a 15 minute ordeal just to find someone to give my money to.
I don't know if it’s gotten better, but heaven forbid you ask about an iPad 2. I about got my head bitten off telling me to come back and line up at 8am if I wanted a shot at buying one.
The place is always packed which isn't a bad problem to have if you're running a store but for the Mac enthusiast it's just not fun anymore. If it weren't for my lack of patience to wait for an item from Amazon I wouldn't ever go in there.
Oh well. They are making plenty of money without me so I guess I'm in the minority.
<end rant>
November 10th 2001. I spent the evening parked on the curb about 11th from the door of the first Apple Store to open in Colorado. (The 11th was the day the original iPod went on sale, I bought the first one sold
)Back when it was fun to go to the Apple store to check out new products, talk with other Apple fans that actually enjoyed talking about Apple and not just trying to push crap down your throat.
Fast forward to today and I cannot stand to step foot in this store. (and I have made my feeling well know in the surveys I get all the time) The people who work there are either rude or unhelpful, usually both. (And one perticular employee who has the worst teeth and breath ever and I somehow always end up with him ringing me up)
When I do go in just to pick something up it turns into a 15 minute ordeal just to find someone to give my money to.
I don't know if it’s gotten better, but heaven forbid you ask about an iPad 2. I about got my head bitten off telling me to come back and line up at 8am if I wanted a shot at buying one.
The place is always packed which isn't a bad problem to have if you're running a store but for the Mac enthusiast it's just not fun anymore. If it weren't for my lack of patience to wait for an item from Amazon I wouldn't ever go in there.
Oh well. They are making plenty of money without me so I guess I'm in the minority.
<end rant>
FedEx?? Why do you assume I'm American. Oh, I know...
My reality is Japan. Delivery until 9pm and if I'm not home they just take it to my nearby workplace. It's called service with a smile.
What kind of dystopia do you suffer?
U missed the part where prospective employees drink the apple Koolaid
But really it's amazing what a turn around they did with their retail stores
+1 for truth! (attachments)
As soon as I read that article, that's what immediately jumped out in my mind as my biggest problem with Apple retail stores. I think all in all, they're great and Apple has done a good job training their employees to be helpful, vs. trying to do a "hard sell". But it really bothers me that when the salesperson asks if they can interest me in Applecare with that new Mac, I'm hurting their performance metrics and potentially getting them in trouble when I say, "Sorry... but no. I can buy that later, on Amazon or something, for less money."
I mean, truthfully, there was no reason I had to even buy my new Mac system at their retail store in the first place. I've done it several times out of #1 convenience of the instant gratification of taking it home that evening, and #2 with the vague idea in my head that I was helping out some local residents by them getting my sale and money. But the way they've structured things, my salesperson gets no benefit, only hurt, when I buy a new machine from him or her and don't add on any "extras".
As soon as I read that article, that's what immediately jumped out in my mind as my biggest problem with Apple retail stores. I think all in all, they're great and Apple has done a good job training their employees to be helpful, vs. trying to do a "hard sell". But it really bothers me that when the salesperson asks if they can interest me in Applecare with that new Mac, I'm hurting their performance metrics and potentially getting them in trouble when I say, "Sorry... but no. I can buy that later, on Amazon or something, for less money."
I mean, truthfully, there was no reason I had to even buy my new Mac system at their retail store in the first place. I've done it several times out of #1 convenience of the instant gratification of taking it home that evening, and #2 with the vague idea in my head that I was helping out some local residents by them getting my sale and money. But the way they've structured things, my salesperson gets no benefit, only hurt, when I buy a new machine from him or her and don't add on any "extras".
Here is what you do with a pushy salesman at an Apple store:
Say: "As it turns out, I already found what I needed and I would like to pay for my purchase ASAP."
They are trained to say "as it turns out" instead of "unfortunately" when if they cannot fix your problem quickly at the genius bar so just use it against them when you want them to accept payment and bugger off.
Say: "As it turns out, I already found what I needed and I would like to pay for my purchase ASAP."
They are trained to say "as it turns out" instead of "unfortunately" when if they cannot fix your problem quickly at the genius bar so just use it against them when you want them to accept payment and bugger off.
We also have to put up with the good barbers closing at 5pm on weekdays and not being open on Sundays.
This is the last time I'm going to explain my position. All I was saying was, a Mac computer (iMac, MacPro, Macbook/Pro/Air) can do anything a Dell can, except be cheaper. So if somebody wants a 15" Laptop, that runs Windows, and has an i7, Apple has that. But, if they want it for less than a $1000, a Mac can't do that, and if I was the employee, I would recommend looking at a PC. If they want OSX, they need to save up some more. Aside from breaking the EULA.
Edit: I guess if they were looking for a specific hardware, Apple couldn't fulfill that either. Ex. AMD processor. Macs are not the most configureable devices, but all manufactures have hardware configuration limitations.