Signal v. Noise:
I was captivated when Apple opened its first set of physical retail stores in 2001. But in the last few years, the stores have really turned me off. I don’t like stepping into them. They don’t make me feel welcome — rather they make me feel like I need a good reason to be there. Of course I have a reason to be there, but I don’t like the fact that I have to declare it upon entry.
The irony of this web site’s name is not lost on me. This is a lot of noise that brings to mind Yogi Berra: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
Entirely subjective. I don’t go to Apple Stores very often, but I’ve never been made to feel “unwelcome” in any. Other chains handle their crowded locations far less efficiently.
I’ve felt welcome all the time, too. I can use any of the devices, and the employees come by and ask if I need help, and if not they don’t hover around me. Seems just fine to me.
If you’re buying something, Apple is great. Walk in, grab what you want, scan it and walk out. If it’s not on shelves, tell them what you want and wait a couple minutes at most, pay and walk out.
If you need service and don’t have an appointment, err reservation, it can take a lot longer.
And if you’re lonely and want someone to talk to, Best Buy often has an Apple employee in store on weekends now. Go talk to him. He’ll enjoy it.
That said, sarcasm aside, there’s nothing wrong with picking up new hardware at Best Buy (or anywhere else, really, that isn’t someone’s trunk). You can get it serviced at Apple anyway.
And – like with my Mini and Watch and iMac, you can sometimes get it for less at BestBuy, as a loss leader.
Unrelated FYI to Jim and Shawn – did you know that Loop’s comment system seems to not work at all for iOS?
At very least on my phone the comments are entirely missing in both Safari and Firefox.
(Which is why I haven’t been commenting – new work policy means I’m mobile-only for my surfing during the day.)
I see them on my iPad, but not on the phone.
This for Shawn and other Yogi Berra quotation fans. The “back story” on this famous quote had to do with a reporter asking Yogi if he and the other players were going to a famous New York restaurant that was popular with with the players. The fans got wind of the popularity and would go to the restaurant in droves waiting for the players to arrive. So the “no one goes there anymore…” was in reference to his teammates because the restaurant was so crowded.
I don’t wish to ruin the myth of the phrase as it really fits with Yogi’s inherent grasp of irony and paradox but the history of the phrase is kind of cool, too, IMHO.
Best wishes to all.
If someone really wants the “empty store with more employees than customers” experience like the one at that Best Buy mentioned on the blog, I hear that that’s the normal state inside a Microsoft store, even during the holiday shopping season. 😉
Perceptions differ and YMMV. Personally I find the Apple Store offputting, and the most recent change to eliminate the accessories rack both ridiculous and insulting (bringing the “we won’t show you our system – we’re here to sell you a /solution/ thinking that has infected enterprise software sellers to consumer retail). Then again, I far preferred the 1980s Burberry to the current glossy empty store concept.
Absolutely. Though in those cases I’ll sometimes bring the ad to a store that’ll price match so I don’t need to deal with Best Buy. I don’t think they have Apple employees in Canadian Best Buy, yet, and I have too many memories of Best Buy employees steering me to other brands or flogging warranties at me.
Pretty sure it’s intentional on iPhone. I’ve run into that, too. Pity, because sometimes the comments on The Loop are interesting. Only site I can say that about, really.
I get what this guy is saying 100%. Whatever happened to walkin and just browse?
Nothing. I do it all the time. No idea why this guy thinks he can’t.
The last time I bought an iPad at Best Buy was a terrible experience. I had to argue with the guy about not getting any accessories with it for about 5 minutes before he’d even go get it for me. Same with the one iPhone I bought at Best Buy. The guy tried over and over to force me to buy a case for it. I don’t use a case of any kind, but he would not shut up about it.
Awful.