I’d been meaning for some time to stop in at the Apple Store downtown, and have a leisurely chat with a sales rep about the iPad, so I could determine whether or not it was worthwhile to buy one. So yesterday I finally got around to it: walked in the door, took one look, and walked out again. Jesus, what a madhouse that place was; and the noise was overwhelming. It seemed to be primarily 18-30 year olds, with all of them pawing at the display phones and computer equipment in a frenzy. Sales people sort of stood around with sickly smiles plastered on their faces.
Is this what all Apple stores are like? These couldn’t have all been paying customers, so WTF?
Apple bases their entire business model on their products being fun to look at and handle. Yes, all Apple stores are pretty much a mob scene. I’d wager, however, that the majority of paying customers generally went into the store already knowing they were going to buy.
But they have some really neat gimmicks! I just bought a new iPod. So, you go over to the display, and right there is a little display computer. You click “need assistance”. It says you are X number in line. The numbers count down, and when they are done, an associate magically appears next to you. He helps you with what he needs. He fetches your item, and then he takes your credit card right there! You don’t even need to go up to the counter to pay. I liked it, and I am not even that fond of Apple.
Damn, I guess I need to reinvest in their stock. It’s likely I won’t go back, though, as I really don’t deal well with frenzied crowds. Maybe after school starts up again. Then again, this particular store is located very close to Portland State University, so there may be no relief. From what I’m reading, the Samsung Galaxy is serious competition for the iPad, without all the proprietary stuff to deal with.
I’ve walked by the Apple store in the Eaton Centre (Toronto) a number of times, and I’ve never particularly thought it was a “mob scene” (except maybe during the Christmas/Boxing Day season where everything is a mob scene). Maybe I’m not paying close enough attention, or maybe I’m walking by at the wrong times.
I’ve been in the one in Ottawa a number of times. I had to book an appointment days in advance to have a rep. look at my son’s iPod.
My wife warned me ahead of time to book the appointment, as a colleague of hers tried wandering in off the street for help, and was asked whether she had an appointment or not.
I live in a medium sized town, so it’s never that busy that you need an appointment, but it certainly is trendy. But I don’t really need to shop around; I know what I want before I walk in, so it was super convenient for me.
I go into the local Apple store from time to time to goof off and play with the display hardware and I’ll bet that a good number of those already there are doing the same thing, with no intention of buying anything.
Best Buy stores also sell Apple products so you might visit one of them to look at the iPad. (Generally the Apple display isn’t as busy.) And Best Buy stores also have the Samsung Galaxy tablet, so you can compare them.
If you can go first thing in the morning, right after they open, you might have a better experience. (Or, if you’re a night owl and they’re open 24 hours, you can go at 3 am…)
As my friends in the UK would say, they’re usually a bit of a scrum.
One thing that contributes to the madness is having 24 or so computers available with open internet access, so people tend to camp out at one of the displays to catch up on email or whatever. I don’t think the store staff will bother them unless they happen to be abusive or downloading porn.
The upstairs level with the Genius Bar tends to be slightly less manic.
Actually, an acquaintance of mine said she had to book an appointment in advance as well. But I didn’t take that to mean that the store was physically packed with customers, just that they have a limited number of customer support people.
Maybe I’ll stroll by this afternoon and take a gander.
Actually, I think there is an Apple-shirted employee in my local Best Buy store. I don’t know if that’s an actual Apple employee, but I suspect that he or she is reasonably familiar with Apple hardware.
Is there a not-downtown store that’s not too hard to get to? The downtown Chicago store is nuts, but there’s another one a couple miles north that’s fine. Just not around new release days.
