[deleted]
I'm going to have to assume you meant to post this under a different article.
That is sooo weird, I would have sworn it was under this article: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4556088
I'll move it.
Inside the lonely, cranky Microsoft Store on iPhone 5 launch day
21–28 of 28 posts
Re: Inside the lonely, cranky Microsoft Store on iPhone 5 launch day
#22So the Microsoft store culture is not like the Apple store culture. Well that's surprising. Considering their margins are less I'm thinking they don't spend as much money employing customer facing people.
There are only two types of store culture in retail: the right one and the wrong one. Apple obviously totally nails the approach, which when you think about it is actually very suprising, because ragrdless of the company culture, consumer electronics stores of any kind are manned by bored and/or clueless staff. Good examples are the Dell mini stores, Best Buys. Not a consumer electronics example but a great example o…
There are only two types of store culture in retail: the right one and the wrong one
I see where you're coming from, but I love having diverse retail opportunities. Sometimes I want to go to Nordstrom and have a nearly omniscient person guide me to something stylish and expensive. Sometimes I want to go to the indie coffee shop where the staff is competent but aloof. Sometimes I want to scrounge around in thrift stores, usually finding nothing, but sometimes finding a vintage designer suit that fits like it was made for me.
If the entire retail landscape looked and felt like the Apple store (which I do love) that would be kind of terrible.
Re: Inside the lonely, cranky Microsoft Store on iPhone 5 launch day
#23So the Microsoft store culture is not like the Apple store culture. Well that's surprising. Considering their margins are less I'm thinking they don't spend as much money employing customer facing people.
Aren't MS' margins more than Apple's?
Re: Inside the lonely, cranky Microsoft Store on iPhone 5 launch day
#24So the author walked into a Microsoft store and asked about their competitor's product, and the retail employees didn't have much to say... And this is news? You don't think I'd get a similar response if I walked into a Reebok store and asked them about the new Nike Air Jordans?
I think the point is more that Apple understands that its retail employees are the public face of Apple. They are, figuratively, part of the PR department. So they train their "geniuses" to always be friendly and helpful.
Microsoft on the other hand may not understand this (though it's just a sample size of one.) In any case, this store manager lost a great opportunity to show his store to a journalist and get some press.
Re: Inside the lonely, cranky Microsoft Store on iPhone 5 launch day
#25Apple's PR department really is an outlier in the tech industry and I don't think it's worth it for other companies to aspire to it, especially now that so many people go to online reviews to check out gadgets before committing to a purchase.
Making awesome products that has great reviews and having a frictionless way to buy online would pay off way more than throwing money at a way to try to steal some of Apple's limelight when it comes to product launches and culture.
Re: Inside the lonely, cranky Microsoft Store on iPhone 5 launch day
#26It mystifies me how Microsoft could continue, with such a clear example from the competition, to fuck up such basic issues. This stuff with the retail stores is just one example, and one which doesn't surprise me at all. How hard is it to make your employees excited and enthusiastic about your products? Especially when you are on the cusp of an exciting new phase of products. Microsoft desperately needs every spokesperson it can get. Apple would never, ever, let this shit fly.
I'll tell you what. If anyone at Microsoft is listening, I offer my services free of charge to help you unfuck your business. Just fly me over to the States, send me on a tiki-tour of your business and I'd be happy to give you some pointers. No sweat.
Re: Inside the lonely, cranky Microsoft Store on iPhone 5 launch day
#27I had a similar experience in a T-Mobile store a few doors down from my local Apple store. Wanted to get my hands on the Galaxy S3 to check it out, surf, etc. before purchase. Took the sales guy 10 minutes to find a demo model in the back-room. Then fumbled with the phone with the sales guy looking over my shoulder, constantly peppering me with questions and small-talk. Apparently he had to keep an eye on me, as they…
T-mobile is hurting pretty bad at the moment. Due to the whole AT&T attempted takeover they "optimised" many parts of the business. That included consolidating call centres and making call centre employees also have sales and similar quotas. They reduced own store staffing to absolute minimum levels. The corporate owner (DT) doesn't have much interest in T-Mobile, certainly not enough to invest or pay much attention to management.
Eventually the AT&T thing collapsed and tmobile sank to the bottom of various satisfaction ratings (from usually being at the top). There is much debate as to what the cause of the malaise is, and how to get out of it. Some think this is purely a lack of iPhone issue, while others have pointed to phone selection, customer service, coverage, management, marketing, sales and who knows what else. None of these things are easily fixed, although they are addressing the iPhone issue by changing frequency usage around to the more common ones used by AT&T and others.
There is a new CEO, and he has done the usual rallying the troops ra-ra stuff. As you noticed it didn't really help.
Re: Inside the lonely, cranky Microsoft Store on iPhone 5 launch day
#28Apple's PR department really is an outlier in the tech industry and I don't think it's worth it for other companies to aspire to it, especially now that so many people go to online reviews to check out gadgets before committing to a purchase. Making awesome products that has great reviews and having a frictionless way to buy online would pay off way more than throwing money at a way to try to steal some of Apple's li…
Careful what you wish for. Microsoft's "frictionless ways to buy online" always seem to involve more restrictive, less comprehensible licensing. I'd love to see Microsoft move to Apple's simplified model for non-volume licensing: one license = your choice of
1. all users on all devices you own or control for personal, non-commercial use.
2. all users on a single device for commercial use.
3. one named user on all devices for commercial use.