Comments on: What Apple stores and Apple is really doing wrong!

By: achucka123

achucka123 — Mon, 24 May 2004 22:01:48 +0000

I was at OakBrook this morning with an iDVD question.
A Genius couldn’t tell me how to burn my musical slide shows, as a batch, on a DVD.
I showed him 9 slideshows, with transitions, that iDVD refused to accept. He couldn’t explain it. There didn’t seem to be many other Geniuses around.
So it’s back to Woodfield for me, quite a distance.

By: A Blair

A Blair — Tue, 11 May 2004 08:06:39 +0000

Sounds like you had an axe to grind before you were ever ‘convinced’ to buy a Macintosh. Why did you bother shopping for one? Your disdain for the platform and it’s community is palpable and even if you had received excellent customer service I’m sure you would’ve been looking for flaws. Don’t try to prove anything; your computer is just a tool to get things done, not a symbol in a religious war. Use something that you won’t waste your time complaining about.

By: Tschotsch

Tschotsch — Tue, 11 May 2004 07:26:31 +0000

Hey Fischy, interesting that you mentionend “Pfennig”! I haven’t heard that in a long time. In my mind, you (the geek guy) just needed a reason to renew your hate for the mac. My cousin was the same type for the longest time, now he is a mac user himself and doesn’t like beeing reminded about the time when he was bad mouthing the mac. As for the video editing thing, it is widely known, that apple puts out the strongest software app’s in the video editing area, whether your a amature or a professional. Friends of mine, who do video editing on a semi professional level, would switch in a heartbeat if only they had your kinda cake, just to get their hands on app’s such as final cut pro and other first class editing software from apple. I don’t know about PC’s, I never owned one, but if you (the geek guy) are happy with XP or whatever, why bother!?

By: JellRose

JellRose — Tue, 11 May 2004 04:41:30 +0000

wow, lot of heat for so little. is this the new apple user experience? will it be mail order or prissy geeks? I guess apple has killed all the independents. I used to go to a local shop, each salesperson had a different opinion. I few years ago they were definitely apple bigots, but the times are changing. unix has taken over in mac land, in pc land too. just another gui. just another lousy user experience. customer oriented or geek oriented? it’s all monkey see monkey do. the real people have moved on…

By: Genii

Genii — Tue, 11 May 2004 04:00:05 +0000

YEAH, IT”S THE GUYS FROM THE STORE HERE….WE GET A HUNDRED WINDROID TIRE-KICKERS A DAY HERE, PRETENDING TO ASK QUESTIONS JUST TO SPOUT OFF ABOUT THE ASS-KICKIN VIDEO CARD IN THEIR GAME BOX, BLAH, BLAH. THE BMW DEALER NEXT DOOR KICKS THEM OUT OF HIS SHOWROOM, SO THEY COME HERE AND WASTE OUR TIME.
GEEKNEWS ISN’T GOING TO BUY A MAC, THERE’S NO CHEQUEBOOK IN HIS BACK POCKET, QUICKEN CRASHES ON HIS PC WITH A ‘DIVIDE BY ZERO’ ERROR, AND HE’S JUST PISSED THE OTHER CUSTOMERS VOTED TO NOT LET HIM HAVE THE USED eMAC HE WANTED.
NOW YOU ALL HAVE A NICE DAY.

By: Gman

Gman — Tue, 11 May 2004 01:18:27 +0000

It’s true! I tried to buy a G5 and I got kicked in the nuts!

By: Jim Harner

Jim Harner — Tue, 11 May 2004 01:04:25 +0000

My experiences at Apple stores have been very positive. However, my point is that you will save a lot if you buy from MacMall, MacZone, etc. No attitute

By: Adaman

Adaman — Tue, 11 May 2004 00:42:20 +0000

Actually, these “bad experiences” at Apple Stores, while many times being the customer’s own fault in some ways, are not very common at all. No store can be perfect, although to me the Apple Store does seem to be. Just two days ago an Apple Store opened in my area, and I went to the grand opening with some PC using friends (none of them were PC evangalists, and two of them emerged despereate for a Mac ). The staff was superb. I even got into a nice discussion with one of the staff members about….something I can’t quite remember. I wasn’t there to buy, just to show off Macs to my friends, to get a free t-shirt (it was the grand opening, remember), and to toy around with the computers. Therefore the staff weren’t much of a help to me, but I saw them being a GREAT help to other customers. I really doubt that these few “bad experiences” are keeping Apple’s market share down, if even affecting it. But I do feel sorry for those who get these experiences, because it’s their loss that it deters them from buying a Mac. Or at least in PO’d's case.

By: Hero

Hero — Mon, 10 May 2004 22:17:36 +0000

Do you think I would have allowed those assholes keep me from my G5…? They were probably just jealous that they couldn’t afford one and they work at the Apple store. Don’t be such a wimp, go back there, give crazy attitude and get yourself a G5/OSX… you know you want one. Maybe it was for the best, you do know the 3 Ghz are coming out in a few short months.

By: PO'd

PO'd — Mon, 10 May 2004 21:46:16 +0000

To john: Moron? So, just because something is done a certain way does that mean we are to simply accept it and move on? Come on. Think, Man.

If you were in charge in the 1700′s we’d still be part of UK right now. Give me break. If something isn’t right, you say so, isn’t that what being an American (pre-Bush anyway) is all about? I may be a moron but at least I’m not a pussy.

Besides, you’re wrong. Best Buy has no restocking fee nor do most other retailers, I’ve talked to — computer or otherwise. Restocking fees are stupid since you are basically telling the customer to ‘piss off’ if they’re not happy.

Great way to increase sales, huh? As I’ve said, Apple retains an iffy hold on a single digit percentage of the market for more than one reason.

By: PO'd

PO'd — Mon, 10 May 2004 21:46:16 +0000

By: PO'd

PO'd — Mon, 10 May 2004 21:46:16 +0000

By: PO'd

PO'd — Mon, 10 May 2004 21:46:16 +0000

By: john

john — Mon, 10 May 2004 21:21:10 +0000

The guy bitching about the restocking fee is a moron. That’s standard practice for any computer store. Apple would have fixed the computer on the spot if you had let them, or exchanged it for a new one. I know because I’ve done exactly that.

I don’t believe a word of the original article. If you get “attitude” at every Apple store you go to, you’re suffering from an I-D-10-T error.

By: Brad

Brad — Mon, 10 May 2004 20:19:57 +0000

Mac/PC – You’re joking right? PC users are smarter? You did a scientific study on that I assume. Let’s just agree that computer users are all over the map in skills, abilities, and desires, and leave it at that. I will agree that there are plenty of Mac snobs, since the brand is much less pervasive, it is more annoying to the users of the dominate OS. Have you spoken to an active Linux user? You’ll find they have a contempt for Windows that is as great or greater than that of Mac OS users.

I use Mac OSs 8, 9 and X; I use Windows 95, 98, 2000 and XP; I’m only a novice in Unix. I find Mac OS to be more intuitive, setups easier, and problem solving much less difficult.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 10 May 2004 20:05:34 +0000

I do a lot of purchasing of pc parts from a ton of different vendors, and agree to a point with the thrust of the article. I’d also point out that most of the tech salespersons I deal with are usually younger (definitely under 30, probably closer to 20) and most of us in that range – to put it nicely – tend to be a little more sure that our way is the right way. To put it in real terms – we think we know everything. When I go into buy a piece of hardware and know exactly what I want, nothing drives me more crazy than some kid trying to tell me that what I want isn’t what I should buy. If I don’t know what I want, I’d like a salesperson that just wants to give me the facts about their products and let me make up my mind. I’ve walked out of plenty of stores when the salesperson was more interested in telling me how smart he/she is than selling me the parts I needed.

For most people, one bad sales experience turns them off from a retailer/brand a lot easier than one good salesperson makes them a loyal customer.

By: DigitalC

DigitalC — Mon, 10 May 2004 20:02:53 +0000

Geek and PO'd, you guys seem to think Apple can be something in the retailing space that no one can be. What reatailer of technology has a "perfect" consumer experience? The short answer is none. I"ve run a retail store and guys like you, who come in with that chip on your shoulder can't really hide it. It's couched in your questions, designed to try and trip the store experts. And be there no mistake, it would be very hard for ANY RETAILER to have "geniuses" of the same ability level in all their stores. It's impossible. PO'd, you're the boob for taking the eMac back. EVERY OEM has production issues. You cost yourself the $140. Why didn't you unpack the eMac in the store and check it before you walked out? I surely would have. It's very suspect when folks with a chip on their shoulder complain. And it would not be much different for an overly biased Mac user to go into a PC store and do the same thing. Get over it. You have both created the situation.

By: mac/pc

mac/pc — Mon, 10 May 2004 20:00:26 +0000

Like me, who posts the same comment 3 times…

By: Joe Weingarten

Joe Weingarten — Mon, 10 May 2004 19:51:46 +0000

Instead of going to an Apple Store, go to one of many Apple Specialists, whcih are privately owned and care about long tern relationships with the customer. On the Apple web page do a search on “Where to Buy” and look for the specialist designation. They care about the customer.

By: Melangell

Melangell — Mon, 10 May 2004 19:47:46 +0000

“What Apple stores and Apple is really doing wrong!”

I hope that English is not your first language…

By: Fischy

Fischy — Mon, 10 May 2004 19:16:21 +0000

Apple, in general, doesn't hire 'Mac Zealots' and in particular the Apple Stores discriminate against the zealots for precisely the reasons you state. They don't know how to sell, only pontificate. I seriously doubt that you are being honest. Why would you travel all over the country to buy a computer that you could just order over the web? If you are telling the truth I'd be willing to wager that you got back what you put out. And were you asking questions or being difficult? How did you phrase your questions? I don't think the Apple Stores are perfect. In general, I find them understaffed and under-stocked. The knowledge of the employees is spotty, especially at the Genius Bar. Far too many times I know more about the problem than the 'Genius.' But overall the experience is better than I get at CompUSA or BestBuy. At those boxstores the sales folks push you to whatever box is providing the biggest spiff. They usually know nothing about the products inside the boxes. Just my 2 pfennig.

By: PO'd

PO'd — Mon, 10 May 2004 18:59:54 +0000

Okay, okay … I give. Mac probably is better. But I just get so sick of Mac users looking at me like I’ve got the pox AND smell bad when I tell them I like Windows XP. It’s easy to use and very reliable. Sorry but that’s more than I could say for the Apple I bought.

Maybe I’m the one guy who got a bad apple (get it?) but it was that much worse since Apple goes on TV and tells me I don’t have to know anything and my Apple with run flawlessly … well, it didn’t and I wasn’t in the mood to learn Unix when I already knew, understood and could deal with Windows flaws/quirks pretty well.

By: PO'd

PO'd — Mon, 10 May 2004 18:59:54 +0000

By: PO'd

PO'd — Mon, 10 May 2004 18:59:54 +0000

By: PO'd

PO'd — Mon, 10 May 2004 18:59:54 +0000

By: Brad

Brad — Mon, 10 May 2004 18:52:21 +0000

To PO’d: almost all computer users are “snobs” of one sort or another. (As you demonstrate.) If Mac OS had as much of the market (or more) as MS – there is no way to know about viruses. It has demonstrated much fewer security holes to date, that is known, we really won’t know more without seeing the circumstances change. By the way, to whomever commented about Mac share never being over 5% – wrong. It was in the teens in the mid 80s; and market leaders were in the 20s so it isn’t as bad as you make it. Compare hardware manufactures’ shares and you see that middle level Wintel makers aren’t that much better off than Apple.

Strength of Apple: integration between hardware and software. Weakness of Apple: same integration means less choices (and almost none low-budget, like eMac)

Lack of compatability, perception of closed system, and marketing muscle of MS changed the market share of Apple computers. The marketing might of MS has shut down many worthy competitors.

By: George

George — Mon, 10 May 2004 18:44:04 +0000

This “story” doesn’t pass the smell test. Why would someone who, presumably, lives in Honolulu buy a desktop computer, and Cinema display on top of it, in Minnesota? If the story was about a PowerBook, I might swallow this.

And if you think service will be better at CompUSA–Ha!

By: MM

MM — Mon, 10 May 2004 18:42:33 +0000

PO’d: You are using your “PC OS Install Mindset” to compare to a “Mac OS Install”… they are NOT the same thing, there is little effort on the Mac to install the OS, push a couple “okay’s” and you are done. You didn’t know that, so you paid $140 since your “MIND” was caught inside a Windows Head. How typical!!!

As for Viruses, Haaa Ha… The Mac OS has ZERO Viruses for the simple reason it’s a FAR better DESIGNED OS, if the tables were turned and Apple had 95% marketshare, 99% of Viruses STILL would ONLY be on Windows. There just won’t be Viruses on the Mac, there is NO way for them to move from machine to machine, Apple again, DESIGNS it that way, MS on the other hand doesn’t have the expertise to build OSes, they only buy “code” and assemble it… so the USER suffers day in, day out.

Someday you’ll move up to the Mac, I’m sure of it…

By: Brad Isaacs

Brad Isaacs — Mon, 10 May 2004 18:38:14 +0000

I find 3 or 4 notes of bad experiences at Apple stores and more numerous examples of good experiences. There is no Apple brand store in my locality. There are several resellers, including two Mac only stores. My experiences in the Mac only stores have always been good, and genuine. In CompUSA, it has been mixed. Now, I’ve only bought software and extras at these stores. I bought my hardware online; exception: I bought my iPod from my local reseller – good for his business and good for “local” business climate. I did research both in store and online – I love to go in-store, the drool factor, for a Mac anyway. I did research in a now defunct Gateway store and they weren’t bad either.

POINT is: I’m sure there is some attitude (I’ve seen it in both Mac and PC folks) but experience says it was more of an aberation. As far as pissed off eMac buyer, I’m stunned. I would have expected someone in the store to have offered to reinstall for you on the spot. Maybe they sensed you didn’t want that kind of help. Instead you were overwhelmed by the foreign feel of the OS and wanted out. They let you out – but that ain’t free. For the record, my wife gets very negative about my Mac when it acts unfamiliar to her; yet she never thinks about the fact that if it were a PC the cross-compatibility wouldn’t be there.

By: po'd

po'd — Mon, 10 May 2004 18:15:10 +0000

To nobody: You’ve obviously got more money than brains.

to MM: “never cut out to run with the Mac people from the start” What are you? An outlaw computer bandit? What are the “Mac people”? A new, and obviously supieror, race of computer user or something?