Sour Apples -- my experience at the local Apple Store, and my new iBook

[7on]

lol, if I had been the employee I'd let you order it right from Amazon there on the in store computers. However, the salesmen practically know nothing about Macs. It's the Apple certified Genius there that has all the training. Hell, sometimes I even know more than the people on the AppleCare phone support. But hey, at least the employee tried to sell you a discount. And he probably wasn't an "Apple fanatic." He was probably walking next by and say a "Help Wanted" sign and applied. I wouldn't expect him to get on the net after work and stay current with all things Apple. If I worked at Apple I probably wouldn't visit macrumors.com hardly at all, just because I'd get burned out on it. Thus I wouldn't know about new things from Apple unless the store told me. Then again he probably just forgot which models had the airport standard.

Anyway, 1.0Ghz is a good machine. Though I'd still have boughten from Amazon.com with that rebate because that L2 and 200 extra Mhz would have made a difference.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

The only Apple Store in PA is in King of Prussia, outside of Pennsylvania. About 15 hours from Ohio. Say hi to Drew Carrey for me.

Hi Jim,

can you tell us the specs of the new iMac ? G5 ?

Anyhow, congrats to your new iBook !

About that sales person, I guess he is not a real Mac Fan like a lot people here. For him its probably just a job. Like selling chewing gum or anything else. Don't blame him. Good that you are informed and that you made a good decision.

 

[jimsowden]

lol, if I had been the employee I'd let you order it right from Amazon there on the in store computers. However, the salesmen practically know nothing about Macs. It's the Apple certified Genius there that has all the training. Hell, sometimes I even know more than the people on the AppleCare phone support. But hey, at least the employee tried to sell you a discount. And he probably wasn't an "Apple fanatic." He was probably walking next by and say a "Help Wanted" sign and applied. I wouldn't expect him to get on the net after work and stay current with all things Apple. If I worked at Apple I probably wouldn't visit macrumors.com hardly at all, just because I'd get burned out on it. Thus I wouldn't know about new things from Apple unless the store told me. Then again he probably just forgot which models had the airport standard.

Anyway, 1.0Ghz is a good machine. Though I'd still have boughten from Amazon.com with that rebate because that L2 and 200 extra Mhz would have made a difference.

The hiring process at an apple store is extreamly selective. They hire based on knowledge and skill in retail, and they never would kust hire off the street. They get about 20 applicants for every apple retail position, and then they interview the cream of the crop and hire only the apple superstars. I know, i have gone through this whole process.

 

[slipper]

They hire based on knowledge and skill in retail

you started my morning with a laugh, thanks

 

[Apple since '79]

Clarification

The Micro Center in question is located in Saint David's, Pa (aka Radnor) in the western suburbs (Main Line) of Philadelphia; about 5 miles away from King of Prussia and about 2 miles from Villanova University. The Mac Department there is extremely well staffed. They are all young guys who enjoy experimenting with Mac apps and have set up the department to show newbies how great the platform is. Heck, they've even set up an old Performa as the terminal machine for the network.

I used to work there part-time a few years ago and am happy to see the department back in good hands.

 

[annk]

The original poster wrote a calm account of his experience in a particular store; the only sour apples I can read into it are in his post´s title. Others can agree or not agree with the way he and the person helping him handled the discount discussion, but the fact remains that this is the way he experienced it, and that store lost a sale.

The salesperson maybe being a newbie in the job isn´t relevant, in my opinion; if I go into a store to make a major purchase like a computer, which I expect to use for hours a day for the next few years, then I expect that a newbie behind the desk is being helped/observed by someone more experienced until he´s able to give EVERYONE good service. And good service means knowing basic stuff ahead of time, like what you can and can´t offer in the way of discounts, because anything else creates disappointment and looks amateurish. Even small details like that can send a potential customer right out the door, as it did in this case. I sympathize with the poster - I would´ve done the same thing - but I sympathize with the employee, too - if indeed he was a newbie. Bet it didn´t make HIS day, either. Not following up new hires casts a bad light on management, not the newbie, and both the store and customer lose out.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

The original poster wrote a calm account of his experience in a particular store; the only sour apples I can read into it are in his post´s title. Others can agree or not agree with the way he and the person helping him handled the discount discussion, but the fact remains that this is the way he experienced it, and that store lost a sale.

The salesperson maybe being a newbie in the job isn´t relevant, in my opinion; if I go into a store to make a major purchase like a computer, which I expect to use for hours a day for the next few years, then I expect that a newbie behind the desk is being helped/observed by someone more experienced until he´s able to give EVERYONE good service. And good service means knowing basic stuff ahead of time, like what you can and can´t offer in the way of discounts, because anything else creates disappointment and looks amateurish. Even small details like that can send a potential customer right out the door, as it did in this case. I sympathize with the poster - I would´ve done the same thing - but I sympathize with the employee, too - if indeed he was a newbie. Bet it didn´t make HIS day, either. Not following up new hires casts a bad light on management, not the newbie, and both the store and customer lose out.

Hope that you were perfect on the first few days or weeks at what ever job you have.

 

[annk]

Hope that you were perfect on the first few days or weeks at what ever job you have.

Of course I wasn´t, and that was the whole point of my post, which you answered sarcastically. On the first SEVERAL weeks of my job, I was lucky enough to have people around me who cared about both the service level we were giving customers, AND my comfort level in relation to that. I was backed up until both I and they were certain I could give the customers good service. That´s what I pointed out the store in question perhaps could improve on.

In the department I now run, this is a golden rule. We make sure all newbies get the training they need to give good service, and encourage them to let us know when and if they feel they need more training in any areas. We emphasize over and over that we will NOT think less of newbies or get exasperated because of questions - we WANT to be peppered with questions, to ensure the service level. And our experience with this attitude is good; new hires learn fast and feel good in the job - they develop a lot of trust for their colleagues right away, as well as a feeling of pride in the service they´re giving.

Pretty basic, really.

Read my post again, you´ll see I have just as much sympathy for the "newbie" in question as I have for the poster. It was a situation that could´ve been win-win.

 

[jemeinc]

The original poster wrote a calm account of his experience in a particular store; the only sour apples I can read into it are in his post´s title.

The title, & the fact that he refuses to accept the fact that Apple wouldn't give him a discount he wasn't entitled to...

I see nothing wrong with asking for a discount- I do it all the time- when I'm told no because I legitimately don't qualify I accept it & pay the price... Writing a 63,000 word post about how bad the Apple store is because they wouldn't give you something for no reason at all is equal to "taking your ball & going home", imho... After he was told he didn't qualify he then wanted something off of Applecare, or more ram, or some type of upgrade because he felt lead on by the salesman... lol... By checking for him to see if he could get him the discount he asked about ?... That's leading someone to believe they could get something for nothing?...

This Apple store may have lost this sale, but imho, they did the right thing...

 

[annk]

True, I see your point. I agree, it´s not fair to blame a store that won´t give you a discount you´re not entitled to. But it isn´t good for a store to appear to be willing to give something only to say no. I DO sympathize with a newbie who feels unsure and ends up in that situation, and I sympathize with the customer who feels he was lead to believe something.

I guess some of the responses to his post - the ones that were indignant - got me thinking, and were the reason I wrote an answer. I thought his post was pretty calm, he didn´t deserve the tone in some of the answers he got. When I started working with customer service, one of my colleagues told me that the customer´s experience IS his/her experience, and we can usually learn something from it if we are willing to look at it as such - even if we ultimately decide we don´t agree with him/her. I don´t have any way of knowing if the original poster was right about the Apple store, but he left with the feeling he did, and the store lost the sale.

 

[supersixth]

The poster could live in Houston. There is an Apple Store in the Galleria, and a MicroCenter located about one mile north. There's also a CompUSA nearby which makes price shopping easier (or rather, rebate shopping).

I recently purchased a PowerBook from Amazon and got the rebate. Although it's not hard to get the educational discount. I still have my student ID from college which does not have any sort of expiration date printed on it. They don't ask many questions or risk losing an easy sale.

 

[paulypants]

Apple stores are not car dealerships, they won't negotiate. Whatever MacMall/Amazon/MicroCenter/CompUSA/etc do to knock down the price is their own doing.

You aren't a student or a teacher, so you don't get the discount. Sounds like a lame argument to bash an Apple Store.

As for the people who "abuse" the discounts, I doubt they buy from a physical store, as they usually require proof of enrollment or employment (for teachers/profs). Instead, these people buy online, and at anytime could be asked for such proof after the purchase - failure to provide it will only lead Apple to bill them for the difference.

Agree. No one is required to give you a discount just because you feel you deserver it. If you can find a better deal somewhere than go ahead and do it--don't expect it from someplace else just to play copycat. You can order a mac from the online store as a student with no proof, because it would be a hassle the way it's set up to require proof, however the Applestores are required to have you show proof--I wouldn't risk my job so Joe Blow could get 150$ discount.

 

[Vertu]

Phoenix Apple Store

I have had the pleasure of visiting many of the Apple Stores around the Country, especually the ones in major cities like NYC SOHO, California store, etc. I live in Phoenix...and by far the very worst store that I have been to is Phoenix. Among the group of MAC Geeks and goofs, there is one guy that has worked with Apple for some time I believe and is the manager or one of them. His name starts with a D. As for everyone else...they dont understand their bunsiness, they dont understand their product(s). It hurts to go in there and buy stuff, and I have spent large amounts of money in there for our business and they still treat me and my associates rudely. there is history to the whole issue...but in my opinion and I think the majority of the us based consumers we have been babied into believing we are always right, "the customer is always right". Nope not at the Apple Phoenix Store. Its to bad that such a great product cant be better represented by a wonderful idea in the Apple Stores. Apple should come up with a better way to try to find people that relate to their core customer and not those that are there for nothing more than to be manacan (sp?) drones like 90% of PHX Apple store.

Just my rant on Apples Stores...that said...all the others I have never had a problem, but I havent thrown them thousands of dollars in business like the one here in PHX. Best place to buy an Apple product here in PHX is Fry's Electronics, no hassle returns...no questions...there is a hint to where my issues lies with Apple PHX. I want to highlight that this D. Manager dude...is extremely cool...even if he couldnt do what he wanted he was still a very cool and helpful as well as Apple knowledgable guy. I hope he is still there but I dont think I will find out anytime soon. JUST MY OPINION...

 

[rt_brained]

...I just wish they went that extra mile to get the business.

Looking at the BIG PICTURE they (Apple) went the extra mile when they designed and built your new iBook. Like any manufacturer, you're rarely going to find "great" prices through their own channel, so you're better off saving your time in the future and doing your wheeling and dealing through other retailers, like you did this time.