This is absolutely not true. Good lord. That is the only way I shop at the Apple Store. Seem to like swiping my card just fine.
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Inside Apple's Retail Store Operation
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That person at the door that everyone complains about or ignores? They could have solved all your problems if you just asked them where the imacs were or if there was a salesman (specialist) available.
There was no-one at the door that I remember... the Covent Garden store is a bit unusual, with multiple doors, and very old architecture. I would have obviously looked like a noobie in the store, gazing around, and it's odd to heat other store experiences of over-intrusive staff.. where I found no-one!
I've never had any of the sales staff be pushy about Apple care, they mention it and when I say no thanks, that's it.
By that way, if I was managing an Apple store and one of my employees suggested a Dell PC, he would be shot on site.
Wow. So, how big is this Apple Store that you couldn't find the damn iMacs? Like, Walmart sized? You need signs? I mean, seriously? Yeah, please carry on with your Windows 7. I'm not sure whats more pathetic, the fact that you make your hardware/software/computing decisions on a single retail experience that has absolutely nothing to do with the product itself, or that you can't find the damn iMacs in an Apple Store and request signs on the ceilings.
So far, we've had equal bitching in this thread about employees either greeting you @ the door/not leaving you alone, or the opposite, that they're too busy or nowhere to be found, and many people actual seem to be personally offended. Maybe Apple should supply them with mind-reading powers, so that they can be sure to abide by your every whim, and be sure not to talk to you when you don't want them to, and maybe cloning ability also, so they can dynamically duplicate when the store is busy?
How do some of you people deal with life on a day to day basis and actual challenging situations? Your complaints seem incredibly thin-skinned and absurdly petty/entitled. Apple employees are human beings like you and I, not some homogenous borg like presence that can be defined and generalized upon. Amazing that only on message board can I find such anally retentive people.
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They don't have Windows licenses in the store, right? I think they can only sell you virtualization software but not the OS itself.
Got to agree
If I really need to see a new product I go to the store. Won't buy from them though.
My wife and I went in to buy an iPad 2. Went to one employee who asked me what I need help with. I asked if they had iPad 2's. He said they did and if I went to the iPad 2's and clicked on "I need assistance" a salesman would be right with me. Well that wasn't a big deal so we went and clicked on the button (using the iPad they now have next to every item). We waited a few minutes, playing games on the iPad's. The icon changed to say so-and-so was on his way to help us. We waited a bit longer and the icon cleared. No one showed up. We pressed it again, waited, eventually it said so-and-so was going come and help us. It cleared after a few minutes. Still no one showed up. At this point we just left.
Seems like the retail stores have lot's of good ideas but not all of them are implemented well.
If I really need to see a new product I go to the store. Won't buy from them though.
My wife and I went in to buy an iPad 2. Went to one employee who asked me what I need help with. I asked if they had iPad 2's. He said they did and if I went to the iPad 2's and clicked on "I need assistance" a salesman would be right with me. Well that wasn't a big deal so we went and clicked on the button (using the iPad they now have next to every item). We waited a few minutes, playing games on the iPad's. The icon changed to say so-and-so was on his way to help us. We waited a bit longer and the icon cleared. No one showed up. We pressed it again, waited, eventually it said so-and-so was going come and help us. It cleared after a few minutes. Still no one showed up. At this point we just left.
Seems like the retail stores have lot's of good ideas but not all of them are implemented well.
Those are low traffic stores. Try Manhattan Village. 30ft doing the business of a Flagship.
I have never felt or experienced the stink eye, cold shoulder, or anything but helpfulness; and when I go into an Apple store I always know exactly what I want and generally it is a single item.
I worked in retail for nearly nine years, from entry level to store management, and can assure you that "accessorizing the sell" is SOP in the sector, but never have I felt like someone was "building a sale" while in an Apple store.
And that is a perfect example of indoctrination. You know all well that there is a huge difference between Apple and any other tech company when it comes to advertising yet you pretend that you do not. And the difference is not in the type of advertising but in the amount. Apple's advertising to R&D budget ration is order of magnitude higher than that of other tech companies. Take Microsoft as an example. Their R&D budget is 8 times that of Apple yet we see at least 10 times more Apple commercials on TV than the ones from Microsoft. Apple invents a little but advertises a lot.
They should completely do away with people inside the Apple store. I'd much rather have a robot sell me a computer than an actual person. Here's an example: I walk in. Walk to the counter. Tell the robot I want xyz computer. Robot says one second I'll be right back. He comes back with xyz computer then I walk out.
Only ever been to one mac store
I'm from the north east of England, I think my nearest Mac Store is in Manchester but that is still over two hours away by car.
About a year ago I was in Sydney and decided to visit the Mac Store there to buy Bioshock for the mac. I couldn't find it on the shelves and when I asked the guy working there he told me that it is not available for the Mac. I found this hard to believe because it was available on the online store and I had just downloaded a demo of the game a few days earlier! He found a copy for me in the back room and seemed genuinely shocked that it was available.
Top notch training.
I'm from the north east of England, I think my nearest Mac Store is in Manchester but that is still over two hours away by car.
About a year ago I was in Sydney and decided to visit the Mac Store there to buy Bioshock for the mac. I couldn't find it on the shelves and when I asked the guy working there he told me that it is not available for the Mac. I found this hard to believe because it was available on the online store and I had just downloaded a demo of the game a few days earlier! He found a copy for me in the back room and seemed genuinely shocked that it was available.
Top notch training.
Sounds like working for a freakin cult. soon they'll all be wearing black turtlenecks and old ass bluejeans.
Sounds like working for a freakin cult. soon they'll all be wearing black turtlenecks and old ass bluejeans.
Oh that's nasty (and more-or-less the truth)!
It was the same way when I worked for THE GAP seems like anything that's really hot has some kind of a following, cult like type of vibe. It's just the people who over do it.
Here is how to get around the WSJ paywall. It works.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20070714-1/chrome-extension-allows-users-to-hop-wsjs-paywall/
Probably because most of the middle to upper level management was recruited from THE GAP!
That would never work. They would just program the robot to explain the benefits of AppleCare, One to One, etc. If attachment rates dropped, they would lengthen the amount of crap the robot would make you sit through before you could get your computer.
I have many experiences similar to BMcCoy. The Apple store in SLC is typically so busy that if you walk in, there is no one to help you. You have to wait several minutes to even get an employee to acknowledge you are there, and the lack of a line means I may attract an employee before someone else who was there before me or it could be the other way around.
Granted, I typically go to the store during my lunch hour or right after work, but I have to say the word "chaotic" best describes my experience with Apple stores.
Granted, I typically go to the store during my lunch hour or right after work, but I have to say the word "chaotic" best describes my experience with Apple stores.
Apple Stores
Don't get me wrong. I love Apple, I love Apple products and I love Apple employees. I just don't love Apple retail management. The employees in every store I've ever been in are friendly and love to help. The stores are great. My only 2 major complaints about Apple were:
1. They too secretive and untrusting of their employees. I know there are reasons, but unless you've worked there, you haven't seen the half of it. The worst is when they introduce a new product the day it shows up in stores and the employees know nothing about it. No training, no exposure, nothing. It's crazy how stupid it makes you feel when people come in asking about the new features of the just-released iPod and you know absolutely nothing about it!
2. Attachments / Add-ons. They preach that every computer sale should have a computer case, AppleCare, MobileMe, One on One, the "free" printer, and anything else you can think of. They show you reports at the end of your shift and point out how many computers you sold without those additional items. MobileMe sucked, and I refused to push it. I believe in AppleCare so I sold it with most every computer. One on One is great if you need it, but not everyone does.
All this being said...I still buy my products at an Apple Store. I still go there when I need support. The Apple store is still one of my favorite places to go.
Don't get me wrong. I love Apple, I love Apple products and I love Apple employees. I just don't love Apple retail management. The employees in every store I've ever been in are friendly and love to help. The stores are great. My only 2 major complaints about Apple were:
1. They too secretive and untrusting of their employees. I know there are reasons, but unless you've worked there, you haven't seen the half of it. The worst is when they introduce a new product the day it shows up in stores and the employees know nothing about it. No training, no exposure, nothing. It's crazy how stupid it makes you feel when people come in asking about the new features of the just-released iPod and you know absolutely nothing about it!
2. Attachments / Add-ons. They preach that every computer sale should have a computer case, AppleCare, MobileMe, One on One, the "free" printer, and anything else you can think of. They show you reports at the end of your shift and point out how many computers you sold without those additional items. MobileMe sucked, and I refused to push it. I believe in AppleCare so I sold it with most every computer. One on One is great if you need it, but not everyone does.
All this being said...I still buy my products at an Apple Store. I still go there when I need support. The Apple store is still one of my favorite places to go.
Yep. Sounds like Boulder to me.
All jokes aside, I'm hard pressed to suggest a better retail shopping experience than what Apple offers. And while not perfect, it does set the bar.
Absolutely.
We all know how it works within Apple's world, but we all love going to an Apple Store to buy products. I rather do 20km in car to get my newest Apple gear than ordering online. The experience is much better.
When I bought my iMac, I brought my GF to the Apple Store and she was surprised with the whole experience. There's ton of people learning to use Apple products, some are only looking at the products, others buying (you see all the boxes coming out of the store). It's sure a nice experience.
And this is coming from someone with a marketing degree.
From the story:
Apple store staffers are paid about $9 to $15 per hour at the sales level, and up to about $30 per hour as Geniuses, comparable to other retailers
You're taking the whole "indoctrination" theme a little too far.
That Apple's ads are actually effective? So? Good ads don't equate to indoctrination and mass brainwashing. LOL
I've been the first acknowledge that Apple puts out effective ads. I've done this at every turn.
http://www.techflash.com/seattle/20...ending_The_real_numbers_to_watch34958459.html
And what do you see rolling out of Microsoft on a yearly basis compared to Apple? A whole lotta nothing. More Office retreads, another version of Windows, and a game console. And they STILL have no tablet on the market. And by the time they released their own phone it was already pointless. Then they figured Nokia might make it relevant. Of all companies. Let's not even mention the Zune. LOL
The Duke Nukem Forever of tech companies.
Where's all their R&D money going? Coffee runs? New chairs to replace the ones Ballmer throws around during quarterly reports?
Apple, with a much smaller R&D budget, churns out game-changing products on a regular basis. Talk about making the most of their dollar. And the industry and Wall Street especially have come to expect it every year. Check out the estimates. Check out the Street's expectations annually. Insane. That is just how conspicuous this sort of activity at Apple really is.
No, there's no indoctrination going on here. Only the clear light of reality. You give a damn about your products, focus on the User Experience, refine the hell out of your interfaces, and consumers will buy. Because people like to buy good stuff. Even if it costs a little more. Because they are capable of perceiving value.
Do you get it?
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