Apple Store: computer outlet or car dealership?
Tom Yager compares his
recent experience at the Apple Store to visiting a car dealership: “pleasant, if a bit sterile.” He notes the
oddness of the *lack* of sales pressure and how, in the end, that atmosphere is more effective at generating sales than
the hard sell method.
What’s your Apple Store experience like? Is it like Yager’s “spooky quiet… pristine white surroundings,” or do you
find more warmth at Apple’s retail outlets than evidenced by this article? Is it a “mixture of a museum, a church, and
the waiting room at the Mercedes-Benz dealership” or… give us your best metaphor or descriptor.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eric said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
I was a ripe customer for the picking at the local Houston Apple store. I made an appointment with their genious bar. I wanted to get the pitch on switching from XP to OS/X.
Well, the genious they assigned me too was unshaven, admitted that he knew nothing about image editing or the advantages between the mac mini & the imac. The only thing he wanted to know about what I do is what kind of keyboard and mouse I had.
Sigh. I guess I'm stuck with XP until I get the impression my local Apple store cleans up it's act.
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dave said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
All my experiences have been the same way.. I stay up on the industry and new Apple products so I'm not a new switcher or anything, and I certainly appreciate the light, fun atmosphere and lack of pressure no matter what I'm looking for.
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PXLated said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
Never any pressure. I've sent several potential "switchers" there this past year and they are all now Mac users. So, whatever the experience, it has been working.
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Neil said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
Over here in the UK we've been starved of decent Mac retail for a looooooong time. The resellers that I've visited haven't been the positive force and encouragement that Mac users expect and that switchers should get. The 90's were a wasteland of disappointment.
Last time I was in London the Regent Street store was a couple of weeks away from being open, but I'm heading back to the capitol on Tuesday for my first real Apple Store experience!
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Rob said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
Overall, I think the non-pressure atmosphre is a good thing. But there have been a few times when I have gone into an Apple Store with a few things I was definitely going to buy, and I had the hardest time getting anyone to actually try and sell them to me. If you're buying something that is kept in the back stock-room, you have to always get a salesperson's attention, which is not always an easy thing to do. What should take 5 minutes can turn into 20. That's been my experience anyway. I'm sure a lot of people who are maybe more timid just walk out the door without making the purchase.
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David said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
Im lucky to have two stores within driving distance and Ive seen two distinct personalities.
When busy the stores are understaffed and dont adjust well. This past Christmas I went in to pick up an iPod mini for a colleague. No one was at the genius bar except for three apple shirted young men - the genius and two people who were unable to help me because that wasnt their job. I stood in line for 45 minutes to pick up an item I completely knew about and was purchasing with cash. Were the staff better organized one of the three drones at the bar could have grabbed the iPod for me, taken my cash, and rung it up in less than 5 minutes.
When the store isnt busy it is a different matter altogether - but a little confusing. My big compaint is that Apple is too low-key. I appreciate that the employee lets me play around with the computers without getting in my face. But the hands off approach is too hands off. What Id rather see is for a salesperson to sidle up beside me and quitely ask if s/he can answer any questions or help in any way. If the answer is no go away otherwise start helping.
Every salesperson Ive met at the store has either had the answer I needed or was able to get it quickly. Ive never caught them out - and I would. Im not just an Apple customer, Im also a trainer and a former employee at an Apple Authorized reseller. (Yep, I sometimes visit the Apple store to check up on the enemy!)
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David said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
I went into an Apple Store, and they left me alone for 20 minutes, which was great. Then I had a couple questions, and two things happened. The first is that I started to get the Best Buy treatment. That is, there was a lot of upselling and an ernest attempt to get me to walk out the door with merchandise. After mentioning some mildly technical features, the salesperson got the deatils wrong. The second is that there weren't enough knowledgeable people on the floor, so the salesperson was trying to help too many people.
Months later, I wanted to get an iPod mini for my girlfriend, and I didn't want to order online. It was tough to flag someone down to go get the player out of the backroom for me. The Apple Store is a nice place to go play with all the stuff, but I recommend buying online if you can wait for shipping times.
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Vincent Oberle said 9:45AM on 8-20-2005
A few months ago I compared actually the Nespresso store (expresso coffee machines) to the Apple store:
http://www.oberle.org/blog/2004/11/20/the-nespresso-approach-and-apple
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Jon said 6:06PM on 7-22-2005
I've been to the Apple Store in Austin a few times, but I've never purchased anything (not for lack of desire). My experience has been the same each time.
Lots of people, but not too crowded. Everyone moving from one device to another, exploring the products. Store employees engaged in conversation with patrons, usually about the product but sometimes about non-Apple things. A few people actually buying stuff.
On my last visit I wanted to purchase an iPod Shuffle, but they were sold out. My wife wasn't completely sold on the idea of the Shuffle. I noticed an employee with one around his neck. He unplugged it from the lanyard, plugged in some Bose headphones, and handed it to us. My wife was sold in about 15 seconds. I bought one online (still not here).
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Aaron said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
I just bought my new mac mini at the Houston store.
I've been there before, buying my 40G ipod and related accesories for a previous ipod.
I like the stock and inventory as it's really close to what Apple offers online, minus the 2-3 weeks ship time for ipod cases.
But the personel there are really ambivalent to helping out or being in a hurry about things. I know it's meant to be laid back, but when I asked to get a mac mini, they flat out told me they didn't have them in stock. This is despite the fact that I had been told the opposite 2 hours ago on the phone. I had to ask the clerk twice to go look in the back. Once she got it out, it was about as average as shopping with a cashier at walmart. Bored and talking to coworkers while "helping" me out.
I blame the fact that they staff the store with Galleria-type kids. If this was near Rice or in the Woodlands, I could imagine this store being staffed better and it's customer service department being a whole different experience.
Aside from snotty clerks, the experience at the Apple store works out best for me. If I can walk from the front of a store to the back, not looking at merch, and not be hassled by a clerk then I'm happy.
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