http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2011/08/18 ... fferently/

Would that be the typical experience, or...

EDIT - This is not a trolling attempt! I'd be much more subtle

Ha, that's such a British reaction isn't it? I suspect if there was a bloody big queue down the middle of the store he'd have been as happy as a pig in sh!t!

Bleedin 'mericans, comin over 'ere, taking away our queues.

It's not an unreasonable critique actually. Apple shops don't have the usual goods - queues - tills structure and I suspect it can be very off-putting if that's what you're expecting. Plus they sometimes try a bit too hard on the techie stuff.. I mean, sometimes you just want to pick something off a shelf, pay for it and [lifted] off, not get involved in a next generation retail experience prototyping session.

I would make a couple of points though - first of all it's fairly obvious who the staff are; they're the ones in colourful t-shirts with apple logos on them and the 'Apple Staff' ID cards big enough to use as a tea tray on lanyards round their necks. Secondly, I'm not sure what the deal with the pay terminal was; I've been in several Apple stores and in all of them pretty much any staff member can take payment - they used to do via wifi handheld data terminals and now they do it with swipe card readers plugged into the iPads. That's why they don't have tills - or at least they have very well hidden ones just in case you're archaic enough to want to pay in cash. Seriously, one I was in I was admiring this really nice coffee table they had and then a cash drawer slid out the side of it so someone could pay for something. It was like one of those Japanese puzzle boxes. If they're using a wired credit card terminal that probably means something is up the spout. Which isn't the usual case but probably goes back to the 'trying too hard to be high tech' criticism above. And they will always email you your receipt as a signed PDF, in fact that's been the default position for all the time I've shopped there. If he had to wait for a paper receipt, it's because he specifically asked for one. In fact they probably just went in the back and printed the same PDF out on the shop printer.

So, he's highlighted some of the points I've seen too but I have a feeling he's writing to make it a good story rather than just telling you what happened. That's journalism of course.

Jon

How easy would that be on a busy weekend though?

Even if all the t-shirts are the same colour spotting that in a shop without knowing what they are can be difficult, especially given the whole informal nature of the shop, for a quick in and out process it is difficult (to me having to wait for some sales peon to finish his spiel with a customer while I have already found what I want and want to give them my money is some way between rude and very inconvenient)

If it's anything like the one in Newcastle it's hard to spot a sales person as they are massively outnumbered, and to have to book an appointment to buy something will mean I'd just go online and buy it

If they implemented some sort of system on the macs/macbooks (given they all have cameras) to allow you to select/buy in store and let them snap a mug shot to identify you to give you your purchase would be a very clever idea, save the assistants for actually assisting customers that need help, not just a manned terminal

I figured the whole point of them is to go in and play and chat and figure out which one you want, so you have to wait for a sales assistant, a bit like a mobile phone shop. If I wanted a mac, and knew which one I wanted, I'd just order it online or go to John Lewis. I don't really think of an apple store as somewhere I'd go to pick up a mac, more of a place to go and get steeped in appleness. Not really an experience I want or need.

Oh noes!
He had to deal with a person who was enthusiastic!

I guess things have changed since the last time I was in an Apple Store (about a year ago) where there was quite clearly a queue, and y'know, tills to pay for stuff. I guess they've changed this...
Imagine, shop staff who shake your hand and express a desire to see you again.
Despicable.
I'd much rather have some surly acne ridden youth in PC World who knows a whole lot about fridge sell me a PC, and then convince me I need the 'Tech Guys' support package, before taking my cash, tossing a laptop and asking me to [LIFTED] off out of the store because he's busy texting his mate to see if he's got an eighth.

I know it is completely underhanded. Offering good service, it makes people want to return, How despicable is that?

How easy to get served is it in any shop on a busy weekend? Try going to.. I dunno... a fashion shop (which, arguably, Apple shops resemble more than tech shops anyway) and getting the attention of a staff member when the shop is rammed. In fact try figuring out then who the staff are, they don't generally wear an obvious uniform. How many times have you been in shop and asked someone and they say 'no, sorry, I don't actually work here' or somebody has asked you? You're going to get worse service when the shop is busier. That's not in the least bit anything to do with Apple per se. The only time I've been in an Apple shop and they've had genuine problems in on the launch of a new product, then things do tend to get a little crazy.


The T-shirts are less the give away than the enormous signs saying 'Apple Staff' that they all have hung round their necks. If you can't spot those I'm going to assume you should actually have gone to the opticians next door and just wandered into the wrong shop by mistake.


That's never happened to me. I've either had the stuff in my hand in which case it's been 'ok, do you need anything else or do you want to pay?' or I've asked for something and they've pointed it out and told me I can pay with that guy over there. It's not exceptional service but It's never been rubbish it's just been... ok. I've occasionally had to wait to speak to someone because all the staff were busy, but that's for seconds and..well, it's no worse than having to stand in a queue at a till in your favourite avaricious hypermarket on a Saturday afternoon. You go into a shop on a saturday afternoon, you're not going to get optimal service, that's the way of the world. The only time I have had to wait excessively was the one time I had to take something back (I had a time capsule the internal PSU had blown up in, but of a known problem at the time). I wasn't happy about that but I wasn't exactly surprised either. I've been on the other end - sometimes things take longer to fix that you think. Plus I didn't bother making an appointment.


Never been in that one. I'm sure there are variations due to management, well, competence to be honest and there are issues with the.. unconventional way they places work, but the linked post comes across as a whine to be honest. As has been said, look at the alternatives.


Yep, that would be interesting, although you'd end up with staff wandering round the shop holding computers looking for people, which would look a bit.. odd. I like the idea of the staff finding you though, that's very clever. Maybe this.. you order stuff on a specific web page all the machines in the shop run and the system records the IP or MAC address of the machine you're on. All the machines are tied down anyway, so you can tie to the IP address to a specific spot (say 'Macbook 3 on table 5'). The web site says "OK, your stuff is on it's way" and you just stay there until they bring the thing to you.

Jon

This. Seriously, I hate going to shops more than I hate going outside. If I can do something without leaving my nice big comfy chair, then I will. Click-click-done.

+1, just walked into town in that humidity Ulster specialises in for comics, saw a lot of overpriced sh1t and a LOT of idiots

Best thing is that you can bargain hunt from your big comfy chair and play lower prices than you could get if you walked around the stores all day.

If I'm in a hurry, our local MediaMarkt is fine. There are people standing around in each department, which have a reasonable amount of knowledge about their area. But generally, I walk in, grab the item I want and get back out in a few minutes. There are 10 tills at the front of the store and generally not more than 2 - 3 people at any given till. If it is a big or expensive item, they will print out a collection note for it, which you take to the till and the goods are either delivered to the front of the store, or you drive to the back door to pick it up (they also do free delivery on white goods and large TVs etc.).

No hunting around, no wondering where to pay. Just go towards the door and stop when you get to the paying area. Simple.

If I needed to wander around looking for someone to give 20€ to, I'd probably stuff the item on the nearest shelf and leave.

Having people around to help with the buying decision is one thing (and good), having to hunt around to find somebody to give money to is something totally different. I don't like queues, but whether it is an "official" queue, where I queue up at the exit to the store to hand over my money, or an "unofficial" queue, where I have to mill around with 20 other people, before I get to talk to somebody doesn't make any difference - the amount of time wasted is the same, either way.

The whole experience is geared up to the buyer who needs help. The same assistant can sort out the payment for you as well. That said I prefer to get hands on experience at the local Apple store but buy from one of the Premium resellers in the town.

Which is a problem for the buyer who knows exactly what they want and just wants to hand over their cash.

Quite easy when you don't have the concept of waiting at a bar and might not be served in the order you are waiting. Picking off a member of staff who is restocking or is manning a changing room is a lot easier IMO (and I hate clothes shopping)


How can you see what is round somebody's neck when it is busy? I wasn't blessed with xray vision and I don't think an opticians can help me



The only thing I have had to make an appointment for was buying my car and that was to arrange a time to pay, the service then (they stayed open late and even picked me up) was above and beyond what most places offer


Both Newcastle and Metro Centre have the same sort of staff/customer ratio, might be all the "shiny" products. It probably is a bit of a whine but that is what most customers do, focus on the negatives and ignore the mundane, standard points.


Extension on my idea but the location based on machine address works well too. I like the way they can then be treated like small children or animals being told to stay

For a customer without much knowledge the shop is fine, for a quick walk in & buy it's pretty damn terrible. I can mark an item for collection in Comet, go into the store, have a go if one is on display then go get my nice sealed one that is waiting for me, 30 minutes from point of order online to payment inc travelling to the store, even less if I go in and they have what I want.