Would you intervene at the Apple Store if an employee is giving bad advice?

[maflynn]

I'll try not to intervene unless if the customer is being grossly misled. I'll ask a few questions, as if I was a prospective customer interested in it as well. That usually steers the conversation onto a better solution.

Generally though I mind my own business.

 

[S.B.G]

I generally mind my own business unless I hear something completely wrong that will have a bad experience for the customer.

I was in Sprint store and listening to the manager no less, bash the iPhone to another customer and sold them a Galaxy or something. He didn't say anything specific, but just said it had problems and that they wouldn't like it. I didn't say anything as it wasn't my place to do so and there wasn't anything overly concerning about the "advice."

My secretary was in the same store recently looking for a new phone, any phone really. She said the employee showed her nearly every phone in the store except the iPhone and later she asked me why they were like that.

I had no idea, but I do happen to know the owner of the store and I emailed these two experiences to him this last Friday. He thanked me for alerting him to the issue, said there was no reason for it and that he'll be addressing it with the employees and getting them re-trained on iOS and the iPhone.

 

[Radiating]

Just got back from my local Apple Store. I was there checking out the 15" rMBP. A lady, who was looking for something light to replace her old 13" MBP, was talking to an Apple salesman next to me.

Based on her needs, a 13" MBA would have been perfect for her. However, he successfully upsold her on a 13" rMBP (she couldn't tell the different in displays, even after he tried comparing them a few times). The guy explained to her that having a discreet GPU was like two processors working at the same time, but then directed her to a 13" rMBP without a discrete GPU. She was very confused. The guy just kept throwing out nonsense that was technically incorrect. He never once mentioned the battery life advantage of the new MBA.

I decided not to step in because it wasn't any of my business, however, I almost did! I wanted to tell her that new Haswell rMBPs are right around the corner, and a 13" rMBP would benefit greatly from an increase in graphics performance. I also wanted to mention the battery life advantage of the MBA, since that's something she would notice before the retina display. But, at the end of the day, she was leaving with a perfectly fine machine and probably felt good about it.

What would you have done?

Just an FYI Apple employees don't receive commission and aren't told to upsell consumers but give them exactly what they need.

Apple hires employees to be well intentioned, the problem here stemmed from the fact that the person didn't understand how the performance of the 13" retina compared to the MBA 13" and they thought it was more powerful in an area where it was actually much weaker from having to push more pixels and having a weaker graphics core.

 

[CausticPuppy]

The most I would have done is talked to the lady after the sales rep had left. I don't think mentioning the new haswell macbook pros would have been a good idea in front of the worker. They would probably just discredit and say it's all speculation and rumors.

It would have confused the lady even more.

The next thing she would have asked: "What is a 'has well'?"

 

[Mr Rabbit]

It would depend on the Apple Genius.

If they were selling something other than a repair then it's a 99% chance that it was a Specialist, not a Genius. Genius team members really only provide service & repair help at the rear of the store, very very rarely will you catch them actively selling anything any day other than a major launch day.

In regards to the OP, I would have said something. By no means would I have been rude but I would have casually mentioned something along the lines of "I actually have the Mac Book Air and absolutely love it, meets my needs which sound a little more involved than yours. I know the in store folks aren't privy to new product info until it's officially revealed to the public but there are strong rumors that new MacBook Pros will be released in the next few weeks, sometime in September. More than likely won't be a game changer for your needs but if you're like me you might wait a couple weeks to see..." And leave it at that, being more "helpful" with your opinions and observations rather than trying to cut the sale. After all, they will almost certainly buy the Mac now that a stranger enjoyed theirs enough to share their enthusiasm about the Mac. Maybe even mention how you bought AppleCare with it, if anything that would help the Specialist much more than selling a more expensive model, since the "attachment" metrics carry much more emphasis.

I've done similar in the past and the employees usually seem happy to have someone help them with a sale, even if it's to a different model.

 

[musika]

Yesterday, I overheard two Apple Store employees speculating with each other over what the Airport Extreme and Express actually do.

Those stores are full of bad employees.

 

[Count Blah]

I have stepped in on numerous occasions.

I can't stand a person being lied to and coerced. I always imagine that it's my mother/father being lied to by the salesperson.

 

[ob81]

No. Anything that may disturb someone's life state in any way, I avoid. People have been killed for less.

A lot of deaths could have been prevented if individuals had simply minded their own business.
This may be on the extreme end of the spectrum, but the point is that you have no control of the reaction.

 

[DisMyMac]

Your description didn't sound like lying, but giving bad analogies to someone who will never understand anyway. He was profiling.

 

[aristobrat]

Yesterday, I overheard two Apple Store employees speculating with each other over what the Airport Extreme and Express actually do.

Those stores are full of bad employees.

I worked at my local Apple Store part-time, for a few years. I had some friends that worked there, the discount was great, and it was just something more productive to do after my 9-to-5 job than go home and goof around.

I'm a technical person. I loved when we had a customer asking about something weird in Terminal, a detailed VMWare/Parallels question, or the best way to re-do WiFi in their house. Non-technical employees would frequently grab me to help out with a technical customer.

I absolutely SUCKED with creative questions, though. Couldn't give you the first clue as to why one of your inputs into Logic is coming across too hot, or offer you any advice on what would help you improve your workflow in Final Cut. Need advice on Aperture Plugins? Uh, what? I'd always have to go find a creative employee to help me out with these customers. I'm quite sure I looked just as bad as an employee to those customers as the employees you saw talking about the Airports.

There were very few cross-over employees that were just as good with the technical stuff as they were with the creative stuff. And honestly, IMO, those employees with both skill sets rarely last long in retail, once they figure out what a regular job will pay for those skills.

So what you wind up with, at least in the Apple Store I worked at, were employees with different specialities. Some were cringe-worthy when it came to hardware, but were essential when it came to customers asking about the creative stuff. And vice-versa. But it worked. We all knew who the strong people were in areas we lacked in, and there was no stigma regarding getting help.

As for the employee in the OP up-selling, ... weird. When I worked there, we didn't get anything based up the value of the Mac that we sold. No commission, no spiffs, etc. There was no incentive to push a customer needlessly towards a more expensive Mac.

 

[S.B.G]

Yesterday, I overheard two Apple Store employees speculating with each other over what the Airport Extreme and Express actually do.

Those stores are full of bad employees.

Its not so much that they're bad employees, but, rather, that they haven't been trained properly or the training they received wasn't applied to their knowledge.

 

[Krazy Bill]

Its not so much that they're bad employees, but, rather, that they haven't been trained properly or the training they received wasn't applied to their knowledge.

I can agree with this. They do get it right at times:

On a recent Apple Store excursion (packed house like usual), some geezer about 100 years old wandered in to get help with his iPhone 3G (I think). The Apple "kid" listened to the guy's totally non-technical and long-winded description of his problem mixed with a irrelevant facts involving his grandkids, an old Dodge and some livestock. After a full 5 minutes Grandpa seriously thought he needed a new phone but the kid politely walked him through some settings and sent him happily on his way. An easy "sell" if I ever saw one.

 

[SusanK]

I can agree with this. They do get it right at times:

On a recent Apple Store excursion (packed house like usual), some geezer about 100 years old wandered in to get help with his iPhone 3G (I think). The Apple "kid" listened to the guy's totally non-technical and long-winded description of his problem mixed with a irrelevant facts involving his grandkids, an old Dodge and some livestock. After a full 5 minutes Grandpa seriously thought he needed a new phone but the kid politely walked him through some settings and sent him happily on his way. An easy "sell" if I ever saw one.

I've seen may similar instance in my local Apple store. Very good people who try to give the customer good ethical service. There is only one employee I know of who makes verbal misrepresentations. I avoid her.

Last week I was killing some time at Best Buy. Needed some info so I went to a Mac to use the Internet. A rep stopped by to offer his assistance. He went on to inform me of all the problems "they are having with Macs".

He went on for several minutes about the viruses and other cooties the Mac suffers. I just let him keep lying until I finished my research. Thanked him and went to another area of the store.

 

[Mr. Dee]

And how is this different from

a lady being mugged in broad daylight and you don't do anything but walk by?

You could call the police.
You could seek help.

We need to be good Samaritan's, even in technology. What he did was wrong, but I am sure you would not like to be misled either, right.

You could at least say to her after the purchase when she is outside. That store employee duped you. Give her the right info and let her the return what she bought and make the right purchase.

We need to act better, geez. I am glad I am a geek, no one I can mess with me. When I am done Bill Gatesing up that store with my obnoxious knowledge, they wouldn't know what hit them.

 

[Shrink]

I can agree with this. They do get it right at times:

On a recent Apple Store excursion (packed house like usual), some geezer about 100 years old wandered in to get help with his iPhone 3G (I think). The Apple "kid" listened to the guy's totally non-technical and long-winded description of his problem mixed with a irrelevant facts involving his grandkids, an old Dodge and some livestock. After a full 5 minutes Grandpa seriously thought he needed a new phone but the kid politely walked him through some settings and sent him happily on his way. An easy "sell" if I ever saw one.

Those 100 year old geezers...such a pain in the neck. None of those old coots know anything about their electronics...I really don't know why they are allowed to buy anything but dumb phones. They just waste the tech's time, with their rambling, non-technical blabbering about their trucks, livestock and grandkids.

On topic...you might have stepped in and told the old 100 year old geezer to take a walk. Nice that the tech was able to help the doddering, senile, old goat.

 

[twingo]

He gave her bad advice, but she left the store with a good machine. Better than to get annoyed afterwards by a low resolution air.

 

[Millionaire2K]

I do help the customer when they look like they want the help. Meaning the sales person is just confusing them more or they keep looking around like they have no clue with the worker right next to them. Also sometimes I'll be asked a question directly. "Which would you buy?"

Oh and as another poster said, Best Buy this happens a LOT! They are always trying to toss in extra BS with the sale.

 

[ZipZap]

What if you were the customer and fed a bunch of BS that caused you to spend more than needed. Or worse, get something not matched to your needs?

To those who would speak up, I applaud you.

To those who say "None of my business", "do your own homework", or are afraid of making the sales person look bad....BOOOOOOOOO

Most customers are uninformed when they enter the store. If you hear something that you know to be UNTRUE. You need to speak up. I do.

And...yes I would come you your place of business and tell you you dont know how to do you job, if it impacts me or if you are harming those around me.

 

[Astroboy907]

I'm not sure. I would definitely be mad at the employee and want to stop them from sharing further mistakes, but I'm not sure I would have interjected. I have found apple employees to be mixed. I've seen some spout some weird stuff (can't remember what, but it was wrong), and seen others actually downsale others because of their needs. I've talked with some employees about new releases (they didn't know/tell me more about it than what the current rumors already said), while I have seen others say quickly that they don't know/can't talk about it. I do feel that some of it is the buyers fault for not doing research, but lots of people just need a computer and don't care if one or the other is better as long as it works. If he/she was talking to me I would have said something.

I probably would have ended up saying something, either to the salesperson, or to the person involved (less likely). Maybe take it up with the manager if I know 100% its wrong info.

 

[UBS28]

I truly hate people working in computer stores ( not only Apple employees ) because they spit alot of nonsense all the time, they don't know what they are talking about. How do these people have a job?

 

[robvas]

How do these people have a job?

They're good at selling stuff?

 

[sofianito]

Don't forget to take your baseball bat next time... It is worth a thousand words...

 

[Doublea6]

I generally mind my own business unless I hear something completely wrong that will have a bad experience for the customer.

I was in Sprint store and listening to the manager no less, bash the iPhone to another customer and sold them a Galaxy or something. He didn't say anything specific, but just said it had problems and that they wouldn't like it. I didn't say anything as it wasn't my place to do so and there wasn't anything overly concerning about the "advice."

My secretary was in the same store recently looking for a new phone, any phone really. She said the employee showed her nearly every phone in the store except the iPhone and later she asked me why they were like that.

I had no idea, but I do happen to know the owner of the store and I emailed these two experiences to him this last Friday. He thanked me for alerting him to the issue, said there was no reason for it and that he'll be addressing it with the employees and getting them re-trained on iOS and the iPhone.

I noticed that when shopping at Verizon stores and the employee even told me they get more money when the sell android phones vs. the iphone.