The Apple Store is now 10 years old. \u00a0As I’ve been reading all of the articles in the tech press about it, I realized that I’m not sure when I last set foot in an Apple Store. \u00a0I think it was about a year ago, when my first iPhone 4 died.<\/p>\n
I’ve come to hate the Apple Store experience. \u00a0I seem to be one of the few. \u00a0They’re still the most profitable retail store per square foot. \u00a0I only go into the Apple Store if I absolutely have to, which is to say when I’ve done enough troubleshooting on a piece of Apple hardware to know that it’s a hardware issue and they’re likely going to replace it.<\/p>\n
I used to go into the Apple Store to browse, to check out the latest hardware, accessories, and software. \u00a0I played with the in-store hardware and chatted with the employees. \u00a0My husband and I would joke that we couldn’t go in there just to browse because bad things would happen to our chequebook. \u00a0That concern is gone.<\/p>\n
The Genius Bar is an awesome idea, and I used to love it. \u00a0Here’s how it’s described in a 2007 Fortune article about the Apple retail experience<\/a>:<\/p>\n “When we launched retail, I got this group together, people from a variety of walks of life,” says [Apple’s Ron] Johnson. “As an icebreaker, we said, ‘Tell us about the best service experience you’ve ever had.'” Of the 18 people, 16 said it was in a hotel. This was unexpected. But of course: The concierge desk at a hotel isn’t selling anything; it’s there to help. “We said, ‘Well, how do we create a store that has the friendliness of a Four Seasons Hotel?'” The answer: “Let’s put a bar in our stores. But instead of dispensing alcohol, we dispense advice.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I think that the Genius Bar has little in common with either a bar or a good hotel concierge any longer. \u00a0They don’t really dispense advice now. \u00a0You’ve got to make an appointment if you actually want to talk to a Genius. \u00a0You can try to talk to someone if you happen to drop in, but there’s a huge wait. \u00a0There’s often a long wait even if you do have an appointment.<\/p>\n The bar aspect is gone. \u00a0You usually can’t wait at the bar for your appointment, but just hang around hopefully. \u00a0There’s no opportunity to be social or informal. \u00a0They’re too busy to do anything other than give a cursory glance and try to get you out of the way as soon as possible.<\/p>\n I’ve observed that the way that they’re most likely to take care of a problem is simply to give the user a replacement piece of hardware. \u00a0This, of course, results in a delighted user: their problem has disappeared, and it’s been replaced with a shiny new thing that (presumably) doesn’t have the issue. \u00a0There’s usually not a lot of troubleshooting or attempt to actually fix the problem. \u00a0I’ve certainly been quite pleased to have my old and busted iPhone replaced with a new and shiny one. \u00a0Conceptually, though, I find it amusing that their response to something that isn’t working really isn’t all that different from the old “have you turned it off and back on?” tech support solution.<\/p>\n I don’t go to the Geniuses for software issues. \u00a0I’ve too often heard them give entirely incorrect information. \u00a0I once sorted out someone’s MobileMe syncing problem in under five minutes, after a Genius had spent more than an hour on it. \u00a0I lost count of the number of times I’ve heard them give incorrect information about Office. \u00a0I even corrected a Genius who told someone that Mail couldn’t work with Gmail.<\/p>\n A few years ago, Apple removed cash registers from their stores. \u00a0This drives me absolutely batty. \u00a0I walk in, I want to buy something, and now I’ve got to find someone who can actually do it. \u00a0I can’t do it at the Genius Bar because they’re always way overbooked. \u00a0I have to try to find an available employee, and that’s difficult in a packed store. \u00a0Without a cash register, there’s no way for me to indicate that I want to purchase something without flagging down a passing employee. \u00a0There’s no queue, and I’ve often been frustrated when someone who has just walked into the store gets the service that I’ve been desperately trying to get for several minutes.<\/p>\n Last week, I came across an essay from the director of a creative agency titled “Your Agency on PCs”<\/a> in which he has a reasoned discussion about Windows versus Mac. \u00a0He says this about the Apple Store:<\/p>\n If Apple cared about user experience, they\u2019d build a store with a fucking cash register. I\u2019d rather stab myself in the eye than have to walk past all those glassy-eyed zombies to talk to a \u201cgenius.\u201d If I go to the London Drugs down the street, a real person will address my problem, without booking an appointment a week in advance. That\u2019s for any product they sell, and there\u2019s little likelihood of anyone there calling me \u201cdude.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Yeah, that. \u00a0That paragraph pretty well encapsulates why I hate the Apple Store. \u00a0It makes me feel better to know that I’m not the only one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Apple Store is now 10 years old. \u00a0As I’ve been reading all of the articles in the tech press about it, I realized that I’m not sure when I last set foot in an Apple Store. \u00a0I think it was about a year ago, when my first iPhone 4 died. I’ve come to hate … Continue reading I hate the Apple Store<\/span>