I find the apple store uninviting and uncomfortable. They're generally packed with people standing around... you have no idea where to go or who is available... more obscurely controlled chaos than clear and apparent order. I feel visiting the store is generally going to be bad experience for most people.
How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster
91–100 of 288 posts
Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
What B&M store lets you freely grab a $2000+ laptop and bring it to checkout on your own?
In the UK, John Lewis, Curry's, PC world. At the least you can ask someone to get one from the stock room for you and you can have it and be on your way within 10 minutes. I bought my last laptop from John Lewis in about 5 mins of entering the store.
This comparison is almost not fair. I've recently moved back to the UK and experienced John Lewis for the first time. Now I almost try to avoid buying from Amazon if I can help it, I can't believe how good the shopping experience is there. Also, they price match most online retailers if I remember/understood correctly which is insane.
Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster
#93Every Apple Store with a Genius Bar has a receptionist (a guy holding an iPad with the Genius Bar appointment schedule on it, running interference at the entrance to the store), and usually they try to get your attention if you look like you’re coming in for an appointment and/or a pickup rather than to browse; but I guess they can miss you if they’re busy. I think the Genius Bar “workflow” might depend on speaking t…
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Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
For others who see this and are willing to adjust the settings to use FaceID with sunglasses - just turn off Require Attention for FaceID [0]. Personally, I prefer FaceID (which surprised me!) to TouchID except in bed, when I desperately miss TouchID. [0] https://www.imore.com/how-make-iphone-x-face-id-work-sunglas...
FaceID works fine for me with my sunglasses and "require attention". I did also have trouble unlocking while laying in bed though. For awhile I thought it wasn't recognizing me without any glasses on, but then I realized that when I don't have any glasses on, I hold the phone much closer to my face, and it doesn't recognize me that way. It unlocks fine without glasses as long as I hold it at the same distance. Still…
Yes, it works with some sunglasses. My sunglasses are Ray-Bans that aren't very dark. They're a pretty ordinary pair of sunglasses, but they don't work with the default FaceID setting. I think it's a bit random whether you get ones that work or ones that don't, if you're looking for a practical pair of sunglasses and not paying attention to whether it works with FaceID.
Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster
#95The absolute worst thing about going to the Apple store is figuring out how to flag someone down if they're busy. For that reason alone, I've stopped recommending Apple products to my older relatives. Once upon a time, the dominant factor was that the walled garden allowed them to feel less intimidated by their technology, which left them feeling like their devices were vastly more capable, even when they technically…
Obviously it sounds like y'alls experience has been different, but at the store I frequent in Chicago they have 1-2 people on staff doing this triage with everyone who walks in (though they just stand around the entrance, not at a desk). I definitely have had issues with wait time (I've mostly chalked that up to it being a very busy flagship location, but sounds like it's a larger issue), but they always check me in right away when I arrive, so I assume they are at least aware of the wait time issue.
Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster
#96Every Apple Store with a Genius Bar has a receptionist (a guy holding an iPad with the Genius Bar appointment schedule on it, running interference at the entrance to the store), and usually they try to get your attention if you look like you’re coming in for an appointment and/or a pickup rather than to browse; but I guess they can miss you if they’re busy. I think the Genius Bar “workflow” might depend on speaking t…
It sounds like this situation can be remedied in multiple ways: * Email a customer a reminder email with explicit instructions on who to talk to in-store * Train the Genius Bar techs to point a customer to the receptionist when looking for an appt * Put up a sign in-store that points customers to the receptionist * Have the receptionist wear a differently-styled uniform than the techs (nametag, color, etc) This does…
Or, have the Genius bar receptionist near the Genius Bar. Only in furniture stores am I expecting an employee to grab me as soon as I walk in the door.
Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster
#97Nothing but stellar experiences for me so far in Holland. Everything fixed in a day, just got a new screen for free on my MacBook Pro 2011 in Haarlem.
But super hard to get appointments sometimes.
Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster
#98"Lost Its Luster" suggests we can point to a decline from peak. The basis for the article? According to the subhead, "In interviews, current and former employees..." Oh boy.
The article lays out the high: "As recently as 2017, the retail arm was generating an estimated $5,500 in sales per square foot, easily outpacing rivals. But that’s getting harder to pull off." And the low? Not specified. That number could be higher or lower in 2019, we are not told.
It turns out that a company employing hundreds of thousands of people has some disgruntled ex-employees who prefer the way things used to be. The writer suggests that this is the fault of the woman who ran the retail division until recently, not, say, monumental growth or a human propensity for empty nostalgia.
I don't see any factual basis for the headlines anywhere in the article. Am I missing it?
Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster
#99I went in a few months to get a hardware thing fixed with an appointment set and nobody helped me. I waited for like 10 minutes past by appointment time and everyone was booked up. I tried pestering people but everyone was helping someone else and asked me to wait for another associate. Eventually I gave up and left the store. I'm sure their analytics never even noticed me, their data says I just never showed up for…
> I sold the old half broken macbook and switched to a thinkpad
Di you switch to thinkpad just because of this service support issue? Because I don’t think thinkpad is better in service dept
Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster
#100The absolute worst thing about going to the Apple store is figuring out how to flag someone down if they're busy. For that reason alone, I've stopped recommending Apple products to my older relatives. Once upon a time, the dominant factor was that the walled garden allowed them to feel less intimidated by their technology, which left them feeling like their devices were vastly more capable, even when they technically…
Obviously it sounds like y'alls experience has been different, but at the store I frequent in Chicago they have 1-2 people on staff doing this triage with everyone who walks in (though they just stand around the entrance, not at a desk). I definitely have had issues with wait time (I've mostly chalked that up to it being a very busy flagship location, but sounds like it's a larger issue), but they always check me in…
The "Lincoln Park" store (sorry, but North and Clybourne was never Lincoln Park) is excellent for service. Michigan Avenue is an absolute disaster. A bit part of it is the relative traffic levels. LP has a fraction of the customer load that MA has and that makes all the difference.