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Mac Mini and Shuffle at Best Buy
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If not training...
Common Questions:
o Will software_title run on Mac?
o Can I open my old files?
o Can I network it with my existing Windows computers?
o Will my existing inkjet|laser printer work with it?
o Will the iTunes songs I bought on Windows work?
o I have 1,234,246 3.5" floppies...
o Can I use my existing PS/2 mouse/keyboard?
o Is the Airport card compatable with my existing 802.11x network?
o Can I play my existing .avi, .wmv, and Realmedia files?
o etc., etc.
Few is any of these are show-stoppers for any given buyer, but if the sales staff just answers "I don't know" it's a potential lost Mac mini sale.
---
Even things that potentially seem like negatives can be spun... if it's done preemptively. For example, floppies:
Or at least require that the display models have a supply of slickly printed brochures (done in Pages, and note the fact in the brochure) answering all these FAQs that potential "switchers" so often have. Include URLs at apple.com to provide more info for those who are "just looking" today; they can go home with the brochure (note: embed RDF generator in each) and research it for themselves easily.SiliconAddict said:
Common Questions:
o Will software_title run on Mac?
o Can I open my old files?
o Can I network it with my existing Windows computers?
o Will my existing inkjet|laser printer work with it?
o Will the iTunes songs I bought on Windows work?
o I have 1,234,246 3.5" floppies...
o Can I use my existing PS/2 mouse/keyboard?
o Is the Airport card compatable with my existing 802.11x network?
o Can I play my existing .avi, .wmv, and Realmedia files?
o etc., etc.
Few is any of these are show-stoppers for any given buyer, but if the sales staff just answers "I don't know" it's a potential lost Mac mini sale.
---
Even things that potentially seem like negatives can be spun... if it's done preemptively. For example, floppies:
Questions like that use to be the problem but now since Apple has been on the front pages people know more about their products take this for an example. They are coming to learn!
http://internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=13978
Think of the Mini as a peripheral FOR PC users and it might be an OK fit for Best Buy.
Add this little box on top of your tower, and your old computer becomes a new one! Not just new, but virus-free, easier to use, and loaded with great software so you can actually DO something with your machine!
Want to use your computer "the old way" too? Add a KVM switch.
Paying $499 for $600 worth (if I had to compare to what's out for Windows) of games, producivity, home finance, and digital lifestyle software--and getting a compact, stylish DVD player/CD-RW burner thrown in for free, AND getting a speed upgrade from your older PC too... that's not bad! Oh, and you also get a modern, friendly UNIX computer, compatible with the files and networks you are used to using...
If Best Buy people know little more than "this is meant to work with PC stuff" then that may be enough. It will be interesting to see how it goes.
Add this little box on top of your tower, and your old computer becomes a new one! Not just new, but virus-free, easier to use, and loaded with great software so you can actually DO something with your machine!
Want to use your computer "the old way" too? Add a KVM switch.
Paying $499 for $600 worth (if I had to compare to what's out for Windows) of games, producivity, home finance, and digital lifestyle software--and getting a compact, stylish DVD player/CD-RW burner thrown in for free, AND getting a speed upgrade from your older PC too... that's not bad! Oh, and you also get a modern, friendly UNIX computer, compatible with the files and networks you are used to using...
If Best Buy people know little more than "this is meant to work with PC stuff" then that may be enough. It will be interesting to see how it goes.
Am I the only one that thinks that Apple should ensure that orders placed at it's OWN online stores etc are fulfilled promptly before it starts selling it's gear in bargain basement megastores?
billystlyes said:
Thats all well and fine but by and large lately when someone says Apple people think oh that cool company that makes music players and oh didnt they use to make computers too?
Face it Apples latest rep is in music. Most potential switchers last experience with Apple was with OS 9 or earlier. What Apple needs to do is show what has happened since they last used a Mac and show that a system as cheap as even a mini can give the same experience, other then gaming, as a PC can. I think its going to come down to two things. Documentation and sales staff training and this bull about some massive Best Buy conspiracy to trash Apple is just that. If Best Buy can make a sale and make someone purchase an extended warrantee they arent going to give a crap if its PC, Mac, Amiga, or Altair.
caveman_uk said:
Nope.
I think Apple needs a kick in the shorts to get them to learn how to meet demand. ALL DEMAND. Lets not kid around here. Apple has a history of never meeting demand. Why this is I don't know but its a fact. Both in iPod, iPod minis, iMacs, PowerMacs (At least in those cases it was because of G5 yields.)
Somehow Apple needs to get it in gear and meet demands for both online purchases and retail chains. Now if that means finding more sources to get parts and produce units so be it but this almost play it safe vibe I get from them has to stop. Apple has a bombshell on its hands. Wild guess but I would say they have maybe 6 months before a cheap knockoff shows up beside them on the shelves.
jared_kipe said:
Problem is that people want low prices and smart sales people. You can't really have both if you don't pay people well.
SiliconAddict said:
I know what you mean, but that perception (widely shared, I know) seems overstated to me.
* iPod shortage - I don't recall an extended shortage of them, but you may be right. There have been so many versions!
* iPod mini shortage - worldwide supply of compact HDs was insufficient. No other sources existed. Apple made a LOT, and it still wasn't enough. A success.
* iMac shortage - supply of G5s was insufficient. No other sources existed.
* PowerMac shortage - supply of G5s again--as you say.
* iPod Photo shortage - brief shortage during Thanksgiving shopping, then caught up. LACK of shortage afterward cited on Mac web as a sign of a failed product
* Various short-term (week or two) shortages on things - happens with any company. You CAN'T predict demand exactly, and it IS bad to guess too high. Bad because excess inventory costs money, and bad because the press will jump on it. Making too few (for a short time) can actually spark more interest than making "just enough"--but making too many has no benefit.
* Any product Apple pre-announces - results in flood of complaints on forums that Apple should wait until it has a supply (as though that would make it happen faster?)
* Any product that Apple waits until it has a supply of - results in flood of complaints on forums that Apple should pre-announce, to help people make buying decisions.
* Apple products that are widely expected by the media to have low demand - sometimes take off, like the much-criticized (at first) iPod Mini.
* Apple products that are expected by the media to sell like crazy - may not! It's just hard to know until it happens. The Mini could fall into that category, and then Apple will not want to have made thousands too many.
* All the MANY times Apple has shipped a product on time or early, and kept up with demand - overlooked because it's not news. Squeaky wheels get the grease, problems get the attention... but ordering something and then simply getting it? Nothing memorable about that. Just human nature--I do the same thing.
* Products from Dell or whatever companies we might compare to that DON'T have shortages gaining attention - not surprising... who cares if yet-another-nearly-identical-tower is a little late, and the previous model has to make do for a few weeks? Most companies just don't generate the excitement Apple does among their customers. That makes waiting harder, and complaints louder, but it's basically a great thing for Apple. It also makes demand more unpredictable. When Dell upgrades their desktops, they have a much more predictable demand situation on their hands than when Apple comes out with a radical change like the iMac G5--or even enters a whole new realm for Apple, like music players or cheap PCs.
Conclusion: "never meeting demand" is not a fact, just a perception caused by a couple of very bad instances (G5s mainly). Those special cases don't apply to the Mini.
And if Apple temporarily can't meet demand for the Mini because demand is SO unbelievably high, that's just reality. No company can afford to gamble on over-producing on that scale. Better to react and catch up. What a great problem to have!
If on the other hand, Apple can't even meet MODERATE demand, because they're not making very MANY Minis, that's another story. Suppliers' fault or not, that would be bad. And it could be true--we don't have figures yet to know.
We won't know for a while whether Apple has real long-term problems making Minis or not. But I don't see a true pattern of Apple being late, only some unavoidable--and temporary--bad luck in certain cases. And the fact that judging demand precisely is just not that easy.
The failure here isn't just on the part of the salesperson, it's on the part of Best Buy management. As a business selling systems and components, it would be in their best interest to train staff on compatibility/applicability of what they sell. Every time a Mac owner is misinformed by ignorant staff and walks away thinking a component (for example, a hard drive) is not compatible with their Macs, that's revenue walking out the door.SiliconAddict said:
That said, I have had "sales/clerk" positions before and I made a point of learning about whatever I sold. A capable/confident salesperson will sell more than an uninformed nitwit. Does a salesperson have to know every little detail about every product? Of course not, but whatever happened to taking the time and giving the customer the courtesy of an answer like: I'm not sure, but if you have a minute, I can try to find out for you.
I said that many times to customers and found they appreciate it, mostly because they don't feel like you are completely blowing them off or possibly feeding them a load of crap as a response to their query. There was an up side for me whether I sold the item or not: I learned something new I can use to sell the next time around.
YSiliconAddict said:
You make a good point. But I still think people are going to the Aplpe site and Apple stores to find out what's going on and learn. No new user/switcher is going to Best Buy making his buy because of a sales rep maiking 6 bucks an hour doesn't uderstand the OS.
one more very important question
Don't forget:
o I already have software_title for the PC. Can I install that on the Mac or do I need to buy a completely new copy?
Since the answer is often "buy a new copy", your potential switcher may head back for the PC aisle....
AndreMA said:
Don't forget:
o I already have software_title for the PC. Can I install that on the Mac or do I need to buy a completely new copy?
Since the answer is often "buy a new copy", your potential switcher may head back for the PC aisle....
The first day that Steve Jobs announced the new products at Macworld, I saw these items already posted at the Best Buy Canada websites. Not sure why this is big news down in the US. Even London Drugs, a local store that sells pretty much everything, is selling these items as well as other macs.
Apple is smart, putting their entry level products in every place imaginable is the best way to get these shoppers talking and buying. I have a list of friends and family just waiting for stock of the iPod Shuffle and Mac Mini. They have been waiting for a long time to buy an Apple product that wasn't too expensive. There's alot of people like this out there.
Apple is smart, putting their entry level products in every place imaginable is the best way to get these shoppers talking and buying. I have a list of friends and family just waiting for stock of the iPod Shuffle and Mac Mini. They have been waiting for a long time to buy an Apple product that wasn't too expensive. There's alot of people like this out there.
Where will the put it (the iPod Shuffle)?
So imagine this:
The best buy manager pulls the iPod shuffles out of the box they were
shipped in and looks at it. He thinks to himself, now is this an "Mp3
Player" or a flash drive. Where would it go on the shelf? Then he gets
frustrated and says, "Man those Apple people make my job hard!!!"
But we are still left with the dilemma of where on the shelf we will see the ipod shuffle, with the flash drives or with the Mp3 players. Just a funny thought and random contemplation.
kornyboy
p.s. I do think that it is good for these products to be in best buy and wal-mart if anyone would like to hear my two cents.
So imagine this:
The best buy manager pulls the iPod shuffles out of the box they were
shipped in and looks at it. He thinks to himself, now is this an "Mp3
Player" or a flash drive. Where would it go on the shelf? Then he gets
frustrated and says, "Man those Apple people make my job hard!!!"
But we are still left with the dilemma of where on the shelf we will see the ipod shuffle, with the flash drives or with the Mp3 players. Just a funny thought and random contemplation.
kornyboy
p.s. I do think that it is good for these products to be in best buy and wal-mart if anyone would like to hear my two cents.
iPegboy said:
I did the same thing yesterday. I don't want an iPod Shuffle, but I'd like to look at them. And the more Best Buy employees hear folks asking for Apple products, the more they'll be motivated to offer them.
Box-box stores are not about sales help
Look, you're not going to go to ANY big-box store and get knowledgable sale help on ANYTHING... PC's, Macs, TVs, Cameras, Toasters... you name it, the kids working there know nothing about it. Big box stores are called "category killers" because their model is to have massive chain stores that sell everything and sell it cheap. They are the McDonalds of consumer goods. To keep their costs down, they hire kids who know nothing, have no benefits to speak of and get paid next to nothing. You go there for price and selection, not for sales help. I've heard such ridiculous things from sales people in these stores that it's not even funny. The Mac mini will be sold by branding, hype, TV commercials, friends, etc., not by sales people in big box stores. The sad thing of course is that people DO go to these stores expecting to get help because, well, that just where everyone (saddly) shops these days. I wish people would realize that it's so much better for everyone involved to just go to local store. You get a pleasant atmosphere (there aren't half a dozen subwoffers blasting away, phones ringing off the hook, teenage sales drones swarming all over the place etc.), you get great sales help and you support your local economy.
As for good or bad, of COURSE it's a good thing to have your products in these stores. DUH?! Everyone shops at these places and in a lot of towns, they are the ONLY places to shop. So this is a great move. What's the point of having a $500 computer if you're not going to sell it in big box stores?! The trade off is that the sales help will be non-existant. You can't have everything But people are buying iPods like crazy (which most big box stores carry) due to hype and marketing, etc. and they are buying them despite the pathetic staff at these stores. I'm sure the same will happen with the Mac mini.
Look, you're not going to go to ANY big-box store and get knowledgable sale help on ANYTHING... PC's, Macs, TVs, Cameras, Toasters... you name it, the kids working there know nothing about it. Big box stores are called "category killers" because their model is to have massive chain stores that sell everything and sell it cheap. They are the McDonalds of consumer goods. To keep their costs down, they hire kids who know nothing, have no benefits to speak of and get paid next to nothing. You go there for price and selection, not for sales help. I've heard such ridiculous things from sales people in these stores that it's not even funny. The Mac mini will be sold by branding, hype, TV commercials, friends, etc., not by sales people in big box stores. The sad thing of course is that people DO go to these stores expecting to get help because, well, that just where everyone (saddly) shops these days. I wish people would realize that it's so much better for everyone involved to just go to local store. You get a pleasant atmosphere (there aren't half a dozen subwoffers blasting away, phones ringing off the hook, teenage sales drones swarming all over the place etc.), you get great sales help and you support your local economy.
As for good or bad, of COURSE it's a good thing to have your products in these stores. DUH?! Everyone shops at these places and in a lot of towns, they are the ONLY places to shop. So this is a great move. What's the point of having a $500 computer if you're not going to sell it in big box stores?! The trade off is that the sales help will be non-existant. You can't have everything
But people are buying iPods like crazy (which most big box stores carry) due to hype and marketing, etc. and they are buying them despite the pathetic staff at these stores. I'm sure the same will happen with the Mac mini.SiliconAddict said:
No, a screen saver won't do it.
The dominant customer of electronics superstores don't shop there because they're savvy and capable of making a decision on their own. They shop there because they can talk to a human who will listen to their needs and concerns and make an allegedly informed decision.
The problem is that the salespeople aren't geeks either. Sure, they have, as a group, a higher than national average ownership of computers and broadband, but most are on the internet for AIM, pr0n and some MMORPG.
Oh, and they do all that on Windows.
The only thing I can think of is putting the Mac on the desk of the people that sell machines in these stores. Put it at their house, with Warcraft, Battlefield 1942, Halo, all of it, right there on their Mac. Let them use it for a few weeks. If there is no fear in the salesperson, things will be fine, and Macs will sell much better.
kornyboy said:
Not sure how Best Buy will take and place the product. IMO if there is a single place, it would be in the MP3 area, though if they were smart (now that would be a change) they will also put in the keychain area. I have already spoken to my buyer (at a camera shop about our getting them).
VicMacs said:
All the dirt you want is at bestbuysux.com
I think this is a just as good as the wal-mart partnership.
True, both stores sales associates will no relatively nothing about the products. But what can you expect from high school aged employees at discount stores. Average Joe consumer makes his purchasing decisions from the sales flyer in the Sunday newspaper and only looks to the salespeople to prop-up his uninformed decision.
Takeo said:
I agree totally with this- however, the type of person who aplies for/works at the comp dept. in Best Buy is the same type of person you're likely to see in forums screaming 'macs suck'. They are teenagers who don't know Macs and have indoctrinated eachother with that stereotype. I have personally seen this a few times in Best Buy, because whenever I find myself there I find myself noodling the staff with 'where's the Apple stuff?'.
The point about having a Mac specialist on hand is not far-fetched- I have been drilled by the Microsoft rep in the handheld dept. who was telling everyone fifty reasons not to buy a Palm.
One peave of mine is the way Apple ships or stocks the floor with the dock at full magnification. If they don't want it to look like a child's OS, why set it up that way?
serpico said:
I sure hope this is a wise move: I've just seen the downfall of Apple... It came to me in a dream!
I've got a 20GB 3G iPod and a 12" Powerbook. I don't see any reason to upgrade either of these items. Especially the iPod! It's full up, sure... but I can still move things on and off it as I need them...! Apple needs to keep me interested in these things to keep the core support, as well as reaching out to new customers... Otherwise, their iPod product line could stagnate as we get a 5G iPod that does nothing better than give 30 minutes more battery power and has a colour screen... Which could lead to rapidly dropping sales... less of an iTMS market share.... domino effect...
Hob (glass is half empty)
I think an educated staff about the Apple products should do fine at Best Buy, and some cool banners too.
No Viruses.
No Spyware.
No Windows.
The Mac Mini $499
No Viruses.
No Spyware.
No Windows.
The Mac Mini $499
