A Hidden Genius at the Apple Store

#1

Post by glhaynes » Thu, Oct 28, 2010, 7:02 PM UTC

A Hidden Genius at the Apple Store
duncandavidson.com

Re: A Hidden Genius at the Apple Store

#2

Post by andylei » Thu, Oct 28, 2010, 8:39 PM UTC

is this really that different from, say, Dell? I imagine their tech support also has a database or two.

Re: A Hidden Genius at the Apple Store

#3

Post by grhino » Thu, Oct 28, 2010, 8:45 PM UTC

andylei wrote: post #2

is this really that different from, say, Dell? I imagine their tech support also has a database or two.

Does Dell do face-to-face tech support?

Re: A Hidden Genius at the Apple Store

#4

Post by metamemetics » Thu, Oct 28, 2010, 8:48 PM UTC

Can't replace adequate product testing.

For example I think the biggest problem with the iPhone4 was not attenagate but the material chosen for the camera lens.

After 3 weeks the phone camera is completely unusable due to blurriness from the act of setting it down on a table due to the lens being made of a non scratch resistant material and being flush with the casing that is.

Re: A Hidden Genius at the Apple Store

#5

Post by AngeloAnolin » Thu, Oct 28, 2010, 8:49 PM UTC

This is probably one reason why Apple is able to belt out products that customers wants. They put a lot of thoughts to the concerns of real customers who come to their store to report or have something fixed. They are relying on these data/information to make their next product, stand out far better than their last one.

I think they are living by the mantra - "it ain't cheap but it's worth it."

Re: A Hidden Genius at the Apple Store

#6

Post by gojomo » Thu, Oct 28, 2010, 8:57 PM UTC

metamemetics wrote: post #4

Can't replace adequate product testing. For example I think the biggest problem with the iPhone4 was not attenagate but the material chosen for the camera lens. After 3 weeks the phone camera is completely unusable due to blurriness from the act of setting it down on a table due to the lens being made of a non scratch resistant material and being flush with the casing that is.

It's interesting that both this lens concern, and the antenna problems, may have been under-appreciated by Apple because much of their practical-use testing was with cases -- either in-house or for camouflage field-testing. Then, the iPhone4 ultimately launched without a broad variety of available cases, so most people used it without a case.

Re: A Hidden Genius at the Apple Store

#7

Post by guelo » Thu, Oct 28, 2010, 8:57 PM UTC

This reminds me of Craigslist Craig's job in customer service. Absolutely no better way to understand your customer's pain points. As an engineer I'm a fan of spending time in customer support once in a while, especially as a company grows and more layers are added between engineering and the customer.

Re: A Hidden Genius at the Apple Store

#8

Post by varjag » Thu, Oct 28, 2010, 9:01 PM UTC

grhino wrote: post #3

andylei wrote: post #2

is this really that different from, say, Dell? I imagine their tech support also has a database or two.

Does Dell do face-to-face tech support?

They do for corporate customers.

Re: A Hidden Genius at the Apple Store

#9

Post by random42 » Thu, Oct 28, 2010, 9:13 PM UTC

I work for a small shop, so I know very little about how big players work, but I was under the impression, that every company takes data in account, while making product decisions.

Re: A Hidden Genius at the Apple Store

#10

Post by bsandbox » Thu, Oct 28, 2010, 9:25 PM UTC

Another hidden benefit that they may or may not make use of - Apple can directly observe their users interfacing with their products. With websites and to a certain extent with software, usability data collection is a given. But for consumer products like iPods, iPhones and Macs, it's a little harder to come by. By having thousands of end users in dozens of stores around the world playing with their gear, it seems like a great opportunity for Apple to get direct feedback on user pain points.