

Minding The (Apple) Store - donmcc
http://www.mondaynote.com/2012/11/11/minding-the-applestore/

======
mistercow
>the no-pressure sales people (who aren’t on commission)

I'd like to talk about that for a second. Apple Store employees will be happy
to brag to you that they aren't on commission to put you at ease, and it is
technically true. However, there are a number of "metrics" that they are
expected to live up to, which are basically percentages of attachments to
sales, like extended warranties (whoops, I mean "AppleCare" which is
definitely not an extended warranty and is something totally different), etc.
The corporate doublespeak is that these are "goals" and certainly not quotas.
Of course, they can call them whatever they like; employees who don't meet
them get just as sacked either way.

At least that's how it was a few years ago. I don't know about more recently.

The point is, when one of these employees tells you that they're "not on
commission", they're trying to give you the impression that they aren't under
pressure to get you to buy stuff you don't want or need, and that's simply not
true. The pressure is just a stick rather than a carrot.

~~~
alwaysinshade
> attachments to sales, like extended warranties (whoops, I mean "AppleCare"

This isn't exactly objective feedback (personal anecdote) but I've never been
pressured to buy extended warranties, aka Apple Care, from an Apple store.
They explain what Apple Care does and without sounding like my new purchase
will explode before its utility expires.

Regarding the article - would installing anechoic panels underneath the tables
result in a meaningful reduction of noise? If they want to preserve the look
of the store, it would be the simplest solution.

~~~
mistercow
>This isn't exactly objective feedback (personal anecdote) but I've never been
pressured to buy extended warranties,

Well, there are two possible reasons for that. One is that a lot of Apple
Store employees just aren't very good at keeping their attachment metrics up,
or don't care enough about keeping the job to trade their soul for a paycheck.

The other is that a good salesperson can apply psychological pressure to you
without your being able to tell that that's what they're doing. I may have
used up my quota for mentioning Robert Cialdini's _Influence: Science and
Practice_ in HN comments, but seriously, everybody needs to read that book.

------
doctorpangloss
Acoustic simulation is a deficit in first-class CAD packages. By comparison,
rendering has advanced to unbiased, real-time photorealism.[0][1][2]

[0] <http://render.otoy.com/gallery.html>

[1]
[http://www.chaosgroup.com/en/2/galleries.html?catID=8&pr...](http://www.chaosgroup.com/en/2/galleries.html?catID=8&productID=0)

[2]
[http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/rsaomx/cryengine-2-cryeng...](http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/rsaomx/cryengine-2-cryengine2-vs-
reality-comparison)

~~~
Anechoic
_Acoustic simulation is a deficit in first-class CAD packages._

That's probably more of a feature than a bug since they have different
purposes and different. That said, there are a variety of acoustics simulation
(including auralization) software designed to be used with CAD packages,
included EASE/EASERA, CATT Acousics, Bose Modeler, BASTIAN, SONarchitect and
so on.

These packages aren't at a point where they can be used by non-acoustics
experts which is probably why they aren't integrated directly into CAD
software (although I remember reading once about an auralization package for
AutoCAD, but I can't find it right now) due to limitations in the algorithms
that might be ignored by folks that don't know acoustics.

------
chmars
Many Apple Stores are too crowded, noisy and smelly for me to feel
comfortable. If I go to an Apple Store, for example for a Genius Bar
appointment, I usually try to go during off-peaks hours, for example in the
morning on a weekday. In most locations, Apple's options for improvement are
probably limited, most Apple Stores are simply to successful and in spite of
noise, smell etc., they are still more appealing than other stores where Apple
products are sold.

~~~
ben1040
I use a local authorized Apple repair shop for warranty work rather than use
the Genius Bar, if it's at all possible (i.e. if it's for a Mac). I can show
up at the shop at 9am with no "appointment" necessary. A friendly receptionist
offers me a cup of coffee while they write up the repair ticket, and then I go
on my way. I can then come back later and pick up the computer at my leisure.

Way easier for me than the mall store, and I support a local business. Good
for everyone.

~~~
SyneRyder
I wish all the authorized repair shops were like that - the last time I used
one, it took them 2 weeks (literally) to repair my machine. I had a similar
repair later when we got our first Apple Store - and Apple fixed it for free
and completed the repair within an hour. That one experience sold me on the
Apple Store.

I'm glad to hear there's still some life in the authorized Apple repair
network, though.

------
xxbondsxx
Architecture is not like software or consumer hardware -- you can't remove big
ugly "things" (like a roof) and simply design and engineer around them. You
can only take minimalism so far.

Visually displeasing roofs serve a core purpose -- sound absorption,
ventilation, heating, air conditioning, security, smoke detection, and fire
prevention. With an all glass roof and glass walls, that store must be like a
giant echo chamber, not to mention really smelly and stuffy after a full day
of foot traffic. Really surprising oversight by everyone involved, or a
classic case of "launchpad chicken" like mentioned in the article.

I think Apple's "design-first" philosophy works great in some circumstances.
They spend millions of dollars [1] on lasers to poke holes in aluminum so
light will shine through, all for the beauty of a seamless surface.
Unfortunately their building design needs some check and balances

[1] - [http://gizmodo.com/5856402/how-apples-supply-chain-
dominance...](http://gizmodo.com/5856402/how-apples-supply-chain-dominance-
let-it-shoot-lasers-through-your-computer)

~~~
philip1209
Fortunately, most of the research I have read says that consumers don't look
up, so acoustic foam on the ceiling might be a good option.

~~~
GuiA
Really? I picked up a Macbook Air from that store today, and while I was
waiting for the Apple employee to come with my computer, I just stared at the
ceiling. It really is gorgeous. The natural sunlight flooding the place is
also lovely (lights are one thing that universally suck, and I'm surprised I
don't meet more designers ranting about it. 99% of buildings have shitty
indoor lighting)

But yes, the sound level was very unpleasant.

~~~
philip1209
Specifically, I read an internal eye-tracking study for a major retailer that
found that consumers don't look up when searching for something specific, so
all the over-head signage the retailer had just purchased was essentially
useless.

------
olgeni
It should be duly noted that the "Italian stone hand-picked by Jobs himself"
is not your ordinary Italian stone; not to be outclassed by the Geniuses at
the bar, it can even recite the Divine Comedy backwards or sing an aria from
the Rigoletto if circumstances demand.

(back to Xcode...)

~~~
bitcartel
Reference:

[http://www.ifoapplestore.com/2009/10/28/impressive-stone-
flo...](http://www.ifoapplestore.com/2009/10/28/impressive-stone-floors-start-
as-a-mountain/)

------
troymc
I'm reminded of the cover of that book, The Design of Everyday Things:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Design_of_Everyday_Things>

Looking at the photo of the store, the top halves of the two side walls seem
to be flat and empty. Maybe they could put some nice-looking sound-absorbing
materials on those walls?

~~~
Samuel_Michon
_"maybe they could put some nice-looking sound-absorbing materials on those
walls?"_

Perhaps they have some leftover material now that the iPod socks are EOL :)

[http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/09/26/apple-removes-
ipod...](http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/09/26/apple-removes-ipod-socks-
from-online-store)

------
jpxxx
Tiny datapoint as a former Apple retail employee: you quickly learn to adapt
to the din and can filter out most of the chaos.

Customers walking in experience a punishing wall of noise and flesh, but most
employees can socially read the room and communicate without trouble.

~~~
ajtaylor
It's good that there are workarounds for employees, but that doesn't affect
the long-term effects of prolonged loud noise exposure on the person's
hearing. If I was an employee in that store I would think very hard about
trying to transfer to another one.

------
likeclockwork
This is a trend lately. The hip new restaurants are all echo chambers. They
don't have any sound absorbing features at all.

------
damian2000
Carpeting the floor will likely solve their noise problem.

------
Evbn
"Launchpad Chicken". Is it really considered shameful to save a spaceship from
disaster?

~~~
objclxt
I don't actually think it's a NASA phrase - I think it's coined by Jean-Louis
Gassée (ex-Apple, of BeOS fame).

Gassée's hypothetical NASA example (he talks about a moon launch) is actually
pretty bad. What you really need is a scenario where the potential problems
are not catastrophic, but incredibly inconvenient.

~~~
jarek
> I think it's coined by Jean-Louis Gassée (ex-Apple, of BeOS fame).

(and author of the article being commented upon)

------
grogenaut
Apple Wank Wank Wank Wank... Story, no.

