How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster • Hacker News Board

Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster

#81

Post by kristianc » Tue, May 07, 2019, 2:51 PM UTC

jasode wrote: post #16

>[Angela Ahrendts'] overhaul of the Genius Bar has been especially controversial. Customers looking for technical advice or repairs must now check in with an employee, who types their request into an iPad. Then when a Genius is free, he or she must find the customer wherever they happen to be in the store. Ahrendts was determined to get rid of lineups, but now the stores are often crowded with people waiting for thei…

> If an Apple exec wants to bring back the dedicated area for the Genius Bar, how does one avoid the logistical nightmare of those lines? You still have to work within the same finite retail floor space.

The 'logistical nightmare of those lines' is just how every other store that has a similar problem operates. It maybe wasn't great, but the alternative of having people randomly milling round the stores (and usually getting in the way of people who want to browse) is much worse and a terrible customer experience. 'Every table is a potential Genius bar' is a great line to sell the idea internally, but it's a disaster in real life.

Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster

#82

Post by derefr » Tue, May 07, 2019, 2:51 PM UTC

sombremesa wrote: post #46

I went to buy a brand new laptop at the Apple Store, and despite knowing exactly what I wanted I had to wait for at least 20 minutes - when I walked in, I was told to wait until an associate was free (whereas in most stores I could just grab a product off the shelf and go check out), then I was ping-ponged around at least 2 other people (both of whom I had to wait for - 'just hang around this area and we'll send some…

They don’t know (and/or trust you if you assert) that you know exactly what you want; so they’ve got to assume that whoever’s helping you is going to need a large enough time-slot available to help you select SKUs, too.

If you pre-purchase online for in-store pickup (which you can do while you’re standing around in the store), that’s essentially a guarantee on them that you won’t need “SKU selection” service, so once you’ve done that, you can go up to the receptionist staffer at the front and get someone to bring out your purchase pretty much immediately. (Because they do have staff free all the time, but they’re only free for a minute or two at a time between scheduled time-slots. “A minute or two” is enough time to service a pick-up, but not a complete in-store purchase flow.)

Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster

#83

Post by scarface74 » Tue, May 07, 2019, 2:52 PM UTC

r_singh wrote: post #73

scarface74 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I agree that ad sales are disheartening, App Store search has never been that great.

And let's not forget that it's the same with Apple Music search Edit: meant that search is bad enough on Apple Music too (not that it has ads)

I don’t see ads when I search iTunes on the phone for music.

Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster

#84

Post by pram » Tue, May 07, 2019, 2:52 PM UTC

ben7799 wrote: post #26

For me the apple store has basically come to mean: - Very long lines/overcrowded store - It's all full of Apple Watches and stuff like that and trivial luxury accessories - Not enough Macs anymore - None of the really cool displays they used to have like a Mac Pro set up for music studio or video work complete with a camera or midi controller or other instrument plugged in. - For some reason they always smell like BO…

I agree with your observations about the Apple store, but I wouldn't say the MS stores are run better.

At the MS store you can get fast service, but thats mostly because it's empty. The floor staff descends upon you like hungry vultures when you enter, and you can't get rid of them. Thats what I've experienced at the Austin one anyway.

Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster

#85

Post by duxup » Tue, May 07, 2019, 2:53 PM UTC

oldjokes wrote: post #19

I 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…

It seems like the standard inevitability for every service related thing that it degrades noticeably with time.

Start out and offer a thing and tout the level of service, then shave off bits of service to save money until it is bad... probabbly still touting service.

That's one of the reasons I left a career of 20 years supporting high end networking equipment. Company after company would talk big but the gradual (sometimes sudden) dialing back on training, tools, and staff (sometimes outsourcing that cost even more than locals in the end) seemed inevitable and tiresome. But the pressure on individuals to maintain the service level was always increasing. Eventually it was a grind that I just didn't want to do anymore despite the pay being good. You can only take so much talk talk talk from the company but decreasing investment and conflicting action before you lose heart. I decided to start over with something else.

Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster

#86

Post by vbuwivbiu » Tue, May 07, 2019, 2:54 PM UTC

Apple store staff have had cult-member aloofness for as long as I can remember

Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster

#87

Post by phailhaus » Tue, May 07, 2019, 2:54 PM UTC

CaptainZapp wrote: post #42

GeekyBear wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The award for the most asinine thing about the Apple Store is their insistence on not having a proper area to pay for things. For small ticket items, you can scan, pay and leave without needing to interact with the staff. >Thanks to the Apple Store app, you can use your iPhone to scan the barcode of an accessory off the shelf and use Apple Pay to pay for it. From there, you can just walk out of the store with your n…

Well, yeah, thank you+) very much, I guess. So same as with self scanning tills at supermarkets I'm now expected to do the work for one of the most profitable companies in the world, since they can't be bothered to have a proper checkout or hire enough people. +) Not you, personally, obviously. edit: reformat

I mean, it's objectively more convenient and faster. No waiting in line.

Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster

#88

Post by TheMagicHorsey » Tue, May 07, 2019, 2:54 PM UTC

This article misses a very obvious point. The reason it takes so long to get help in an Apple store is because those stores are so popular. This isn't Apple Stores losing their lustre. This is Apple Stores being a victim of their own success.

Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster

#89

Post by dmart » Tue, May 07, 2019, 2:56 PM UTC

Yes! The Genius Bar experience has been terrible (especially as a somewhat socially anxious person) the past few times I've been there. A lot of sitting while constantly busy employees buzzed around, unsure if I was waiting in the right place, hoping someone would come by and ask what I there for.

It's like they're emulating the real bar experience, with a bunch of overworked and inattentive bartenders. Just give me a dedicated line to pick my stuff up.

Re: How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster

#90

Post by groovybits » Tue, May 07, 2019, 2:57 PM UTC

derefr wrote: post #70

Every 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 not sound like a difficult problem to solve. Then again, it could have been the perfect storm of events for OP. Maybe the receptionist had to step out and take an emergency phone call. You never know what could happen. At the very least, the techs and associates working the floor should at least be able to point the customer to the correct place/associate. A 'schedule appt' service queue should not be mixed with the 'walk-in' and 'browsing' service queue.