

Apple Store: A Lesson on Self-Service And How To Take People’s Money - iamvictorious
http://iamvictorio.us/post/8342103448/apple-store-self-service-lessons

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iqster
I've had different experiences. My Apple store retail experience has _usually_
impressed me. That said, I have felt that some stores provide consistently
better experiences than others. (e.g. IMHO the Apple Store in Palo Alto is
usually decent. The one at the mall near Stanford (Stanford mall?) sucks.)

Apple's purchase experience is an incredibly personal one. I grab a blue-
shirted employee and tell him/her what I want. They either bring it.
Alternatively, they hand you off to someone. The fact that they can charge you
using a handheld (without a checkout line or counter) startled me the first
time I experienced it. I was also surprised that they could email receipts.
This contrasts with my experience in Duane Reade or Sears where buying gum
forces you to deal with 3 feet of paper. These are the positives.

Sometimes their experience sucks. It is still better than other places. 1)
Employees are chatty even when there are other people waiting. 2) When
employees "go up" to get your stuff, it takes a long time. A couple of times,
I've wondered if they ran out of the Kool-Aid that makes them smile so much
and are getting their refill :-p

Your post said you liked gas stations and Ikea. I agree that gas stations give
you a quick self-service experience. Ikea, on the other hand, is on my hate-
list. It is damn near impossible to find an employee in the stores I've
visited. Self-service in retail is an interesting idea. It works great for
simple transactions. I've seen it fail miserably at airports and grocery
stores.

~~~
wretched
Yeah, IKEA hasn't been great at answering questions while you are shopping but
I actually like the checkout process. They do self-serve well there. IKEA also
epitomizes DIY in general.

I'd say my experiences at Apple Retail Stores have generally been positive but
have been inconsistent and certainly has room for improvement. I don't like
how the checkout location sometimes varies (back, front, handheld) but I admit
overall, Apple does it better still than most retailers.

------
glhaynes
I've heard quite a few similar complaints about Apple Stores. "I've got the
product in my hands and I want to give you my money so I can leave." Confusion
about where to go and long waits once that's figured out. I've seen a person
put items back on the shelf and leave.

Obviously it's not killing them (!), but I do think they need to clean up this
part of what's an otherwise really good experience.

