My Apple store in Tampa literally just opened this last Friday (Sept. 18, 2009) after a three week renovation. It is slightly larger, totally gorgeous, and has a far superior layout when compared to the one it replaced. I figured it was due to the Microsoft store development, but I'd say this particular Apple store was about due for a tune up anyways. The aluminum and glass facade, as well as the spacious, uncluttered, and airy interior are much welcomed and highly refreshing.
When I first heard that Microsoft is planning to lure away Apple store employees by offering them a lot more money, I got slightly angry. Then I stopped to think. This might be a good time for Apple, now flush with vast reserves of cash and an increasingly profitable future, to look at how it handles its employees at every level. From management practices (some of which may be causing a rebellion at one store) to pay rates (which I understand aren't too great in the stores).
I'd like to see Apple clean up its management act (where it needs it) at every level to make sure that employees are treated fairly and with respect everywhere. And particularly in the stores, raise the pay to the point where employees feel true loyalty to the company. Sure, Microsoft can always spend vast amounts and pull some people away. But Apple can build stronger loyalty in its work force that will be visible to the public.
I have heard that conditions on the tech side of Apple are very intense in terms of hours worked and stress. They have obtained amazing amounts and quality of work out of their hardware and software designers. Maybe now is a good time to start bringing in enough new people to spread the burden and let everyone work more normal hours. Hey, with the state of the economy, there's lots of talent available. This could be an important aspect of building the company's ability to succeed in the long run. Burning people out is not efficient. They can use a deeper talent pool to maintain and accelerate their innovation and quality of products.
And finally, the hardware manufacturing in China. That's a big problem for every company manufacturing goods there - labor conditions, both pay and physical, are absolutely terrible. Of course, the whole point is low cost above all else. Apple can step up and demand better conditions from its suppliers - Apple is the 800 lb. gorilla right now and could get meaningful results if it really wanted to. Of course, not nearly enough - it's only one company out of thousands driven by the profit motive. That's where we US citizens and customers for the many (nearly all?) of the products in our homes that are manufactured in China, Vietnam, etc. can step up to the plate. I confess to woeful ignorance on the practical steps that can be taken. We can support fair international trade rules that penalize countries that permit extreme exploitation of their citizens. Support for increased Chinese democracy is appropriate. After all, the Chinese being the ones who suffer are best positioned to change their own government and working conditions. As for pressure exerted by our own government - that would be nice, but we're not in a very strong position to tell the Chinese government what to do, our being literally in debt to them for so much.
One good outcome of this recession may be to force China to develop its internal markets to replace the external ones that have gone away. That means citizens with enough to spend to stimulate production. That means higher wages. Sure hope that happens.
There are far too many assumptions for me to address in this post, but rest assured Apple will continue to win in the retail space even though it might seem (for a fleeting moment at some point) like Microsoft is valiantly giving them a run for their money. I predict confused and angry customers filling these Microsoft stores, and blame directed toward Microsoft for every product under the sun that contains a mutant strain of Windows.
Actually Bob was just a bad ripoff of Magic Cap which was really quite original and neat.
Besides, using rooms as computing metaphors is probably not original to either product, and is only slightly different from the "desktop" metaphor in the first place.
So... the store will be full of "Gurus" helping people with their Service Pack updates and virus maintenance?
If I didn't have an Apple machine, I'd probably be camped out in front of the Microsoft store three to five days a week. I'd likely know each staff member by name, date of birth, and personal address from requiring his/her services so often.
"Hey Sean, do you have that ___ virus again?" Speaking of which, I'm in a classroom now full of Dell Precision desktops, and five are out of order at the same time! At least one has a serious virus. Don't even get me started!
[QUOTE=aduzik;1487580]It's probably just a minor update like Apple has been known to do from time to time. But I also wouldn't be surprised if they held off on doing certain renovations until Microsoft had committed to its retail layout./QUOTE]
Kind of a Snow Leopard reno. Lots of changes, but hardly any you would notice.
If I didn't have an Apple machine, I'd probably be camped out in front of the Microsoft store three to five days a week. I'd likely know each staff member by name, date of birth, and personal address from requiring his/her services so often.
"Hey Sean, do you have that ___ virus again?" Speaking of which, I'm in a classroom now full of Dell Precision desktops, and five are out of order at the same time! At least one has a serious virus. Don't even get me started!
i don't think you would get to know them...they'll get tired of working for such a bullshit company...and quit...
i can't wait to walk into a microsoft store and ask about their Macs...
Bring in your Mac and tell them you cannot get Windows 7 off it, and it's driving you nuts being on there. Then say: "oh.... sorry I thought this was the genius bar! Excuse me." And walk out.
..." Whether the renovations are a direct response to Microsoft's own upcoming store, or merely a coincidence is unclear...
My apple store in tampa closed the last week of august for renovations. I thought I'd read--here, maybe?--that apple was renovating maybe a hundred of its stores, had quite an upgrading campaign underway.
MS Store Guru employee- " I'm sorry sir, that is a OEM problem not windows, please contact Dell, HP, etc... who's next?"
Just like watching a car-wreck in the making.
No, more like this scenario...
MS Store Guru employee- " I'm sorry sir, I was a Mac Genius lured away from by job at the Apple store by MS corporate greed by offering me "mo money"! I have experience with Macs not Windows, so please go to Apple store, buy a Mac and bring that back with questions you may have and I can help you... who's next?"
In the meantime, bring that dead POS PC and being that I am a MS Guru, we'll see if some religious chants can't solve your problem...
i'm curious about where the MS store is in relation to the Apple store in this mall. are they opposite ends, across from each other or what? that could add to the fun if they actually face each other.
They're both on the second floor, and on the same side of the mall. The distance between them is less than half the mall's length.
Below is a link to pictures I took of both locations within just a few minutes of each other:
The comment regarding the government forcing banks to lend to minorities is a right-wing straw-man that has nothing behind it. The act in question was first put in sometime in the late 70s/early 80s. If that's what caused the problems, then it's the slowest time bomb in history.
Try another line of attack if you must - that one's total BS.
Hell, if they didn't have straw men they wouldn't have any men at all.
The whole right wing resentment machine is predicated on believing a lot of made up stuff. And there's zero chance of convincing one of Beck's bots that they're mistaken, because any counter information is just dismissed as leftist propaganda. You know, like science and academia and people with college degrees and Europe.
They got into the bubble and closed the door behind them. They can see you're saying something, but they don't really care.
Anywho, you just know that the Microsoft stores are going to be happening places, because Microsoft is the company that makes videos like this to help people host "Windows 7 release parties."
I'm sure the MS stores will be full of laughing, fun loving middle class people who..... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........
Hell, if they didn't have straw men they wouldn't have any men at all.
The whole right wing resentment machine is predicated on believing a lot of made up stuff. And there's zero chance of convincing one of Beck's bots that they're mistaken, because any counter information is just dismissed as leftist propaganda. You know, like science and academia and people with college degrees and Europe.
They got into the bubble and closed the door behind them. They can see you're saying something, but they don't really care.
'whole right wing resentment machine' = Another straw man
'whole right wing resentment machine' = Another straw man
Well, don't really want to derail the thread, but "straw man" means a made up point of contention that is easily refuted.
I don't see how anyone who is paying attention can deny that the entire tea party/Sarah Palin/Limbaugh/Beck apparatus is one snarl of resentment at how liberals and immigrants and homosexuals and elites and Obama and the government are ruining everything by establishing death panels and banning the Bible and forcing unwholesome foreign ideologies on simple decent folk and collecting taxes and having regulations and capitulating to terrorists.
1. Lets just steal the Mac operating system right in front of everyone
2. Lets just steal QuickTime right in front of everyone
3. Lets just steal Apple Retail right in front of everyone
These are all original thoughts. At least for a huge business to build their profits on the work of others without paying for it. But to be a bit truthful, remember Ford build his car biz by stealing the French idea of the internal combustion engine based automobile. Pepsi is still here, bigger than even, by simply replacing lemon for orange stealing the early Coke recipe. These are a few examples, but Microsoft got away with their "original" ideas. Just look at the number of people on this blog who say that's ok, or it didn't even occur! They proudly say it is ok to 'barrow' ideas, steal employees and condone theft. Well since the present group of crooks in Washington have been stealing the country blind and poisoning us for profits, we get what we deserve don't we? Don't forget that they have carefully made all this behavior legal! Things haven't changed much have they!
You know what they say, "All's fair in love, war, politics, and commerce."
Comments
When I first heard that Microsoft is planning to lure away Apple store employees by offering them a lot more money, I got slightly angry. Then I stopped to think. This might be a good time for Apple, now flush with vast reserves of cash and an increasingly profitable future, to look at how it handles its employees at every level. From management practices (some of which may be causing a rebellion at one store) to pay rates (which I understand aren't too great in the stores).
I'd like to see Apple clean up its management act (where it needs it) at every level to make sure that employees are treated fairly and with respect everywhere. And particularly in the stores, raise the pay to the point where employees feel true loyalty to the company. Sure, Microsoft can always spend vast amounts and pull some people away. But Apple can build stronger loyalty in its work force that will be visible to the public.
I have heard that conditions on the tech side of Apple are very intense in terms of hours worked and stress. They have obtained amazing amounts and quality of work out of their hardware and software designers. Maybe now is a good time to start bringing in enough new people to spread the burden and let everyone work more normal hours. Hey, with the state of the economy, there's lots of talent available. This could be an important aspect of building the company's ability to succeed in the long run. Burning people out is not efficient. They can use a deeper talent pool to maintain and accelerate their innovation and quality of products.
And finally, the hardware manufacturing in China. That's a big problem for every company manufacturing goods there - labor conditions, both pay and physical, are absolutely terrible. Of course, the whole point is low cost above all else. Apple can step up and demand better conditions from its suppliers - Apple is the 800 lb. gorilla right now and could get meaningful results if it really wanted to. Of course, not nearly enough - it's only one company out of thousands driven by the profit motive. That's where we US citizens and customers for the many (nearly all?) of the products in our homes that are manufactured in China, Vietnam, etc. can step up to the plate. I confess to woeful ignorance on the practical steps that can be taken. We can support fair international trade rules that penalize countries that permit extreme exploitation of their citizens. Support for increased Chinese democracy is appropriate. After all, the Chinese being the ones who suffer are best positioned to change their own government and working conditions. As for pressure exerted by our own government - that would be nice, but we're not in a very strong position to tell the Chinese government what to do, our being literally in debt to them for so much.
One good outcome of this recession may be to force China to develop its internal markets to replace the external ones that have gone away. That means citizens with enough to spend to stimulate production. That means higher wages. Sure hope that happens.
There are far too many assumptions for me to address in this post, but rest assured Apple will continue to win in the retail space even though it might seem (for a fleeting moment at some point) like Microsoft is valiantly giving them a run for their money. I predict confused and angry customers filling these Microsoft stores, and blame directed toward Microsoft for every product under the sun that contains a mutant strain of Windows.
microsoft bob?
Actually Bob was just a bad ripoff of Magic Cap which was really quite original and neat.
Besides, using rooms as computing metaphors is probably not original to either product, and is only slightly different from the "desktop" metaphor in the first place.
So... the store will be full of "Gurus" helping people with their Service Pack updates and virus maintenance?
If I didn't have an Apple machine, I'd probably be camped out in front of the Microsoft store three to five days a week. I'd likely know each staff member by name, date of birth, and personal address from requiring his/her services so often.
"Hey Sean, do you have that ___ virus again?" Speaking of which, I'm in a classroom now full of Dell Precision desktops, and five are out of order at the same time! At least one has a serious virus. Don't even get me started!
Kind of a Snow Leopard reno. Lots of changes, but hardly any you would notice.
If I didn't have an Apple machine, I'd probably be camped out in front of the Microsoft store three to five days a week. I'd likely know each staff member by name, date of birth, and personal address from requiring his/her services so often.
"Hey Sean, do you have that ___ virus again?" Speaking of which, I'm in a classroom now full of Dell Precision desktops, and five are out of order at the same time! At least one has a serious virus. Don't even get me started!
i don't think you would get to know them...they'll get tired of working for such a bullshit company...and quit...
i can't wait to walk into a microsoft store and ask about their Macs...
Bring in your Mac and tell them you cannot get Windows 7 off it, and it's driving you nuts being on there. Then say: "oh.... sorry I thought this was the genius bar! Excuse me." And walk out.
you expressed it better then me and I agree!!
Then how about too much liquidity, which was fed policy.
..." Whether the renovations are a direct response to Microsoft's own upcoming store, or merely a coincidence is unclear...
My apple store in tampa closed the last week of august for renovations. I thought I'd read--here, maybe?--that apple was renovating maybe a hundred of its stores, had quite an upgrading campaign underway.
Then how about too much liquidity, which was fed policy.
How about the invisible hand is a fairy tale and markets behave irrationally.
MS Store Guru employee- " I'm sorry sir, that is a OEM problem not windows, please contact Dell, HP, etc... who's next?"
Just like watching a car-wreck in the making.
No, more like this scenario...
MS Store Guru employee- " I'm sorry sir, I was a Mac Genius lured away from by job at the Apple store by MS corporate greed by offering me "mo money"! I have experience with Macs not Windows, so please go to Apple store, buy a Mac and bring that back with questions you may have and I can help you... who's next?"
In the meantime, bring that dead POS PC and being that I am a MS Guru, we'll see if some religious chants can't solve your problem...
i'm curious about where the MS store is in relation to the Apple store in this mall. are they opposite ends, across from each other or what? that could add to the fun if they actually face each other.
They're both on the second floor, and on the same side of the mall. The distance between them is less than half the mall's length.
Below is a link to pictures I took of both locations within just a few minutes of each other:
http://thesmallwave.posterous.com/lo...tore-is-packed
The comment regarding the government forcing banks to lend to minorities is a right-wing straw-man that has nothing behind it. The act in question was first put in sometime in the late 70s/early 80s. If that's what caused the problems, then it's the slowest time bomb in history.
Try another line of attack if you must - that one's total BS.
Hell, if they didn't have straw men they wouldn't have any men at all.
The whole right wing resentment machine is predicated on believing a lot of made up stuff. And there's zero chance of convincing one of Beck's bots that they're mistaken, because any counter information is just dismissed as leftist propaganda. You know, like science and academia and people with college degrees and Europe.
They got into the bubble and closed the door behind them. They can see you're saying something, but they don't really care.
I'm sure the MS stores will be full of laughing, fun loving middle class people who..... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........
i cannot wait to see pictures of those stores
and the paid people who will hang around in the store to make it look crowded
Hell, if they didn't have straw men they wouldn't have any men at all.
The whole right wing resentment machine is predicated on believing a lot of made up stuff. And there's zero chance of convincing one of Beck's bots that they're mistaken, because any counter information is just dismissed as leftist propaganda. You know, like science and academia and people with college degrees and Europe.
They got into the bubble and closed the door behind them. They can see you're saying something, but they don't really care.
'whole right wing resentment machine' = Another straw man
'whole right wing resentment machine' = Another straw man
Well, don't really want to derail the thread, but "straw man" means a made up point of contention that is easily refuted.
I don't see how anyone who is paying attention can deny that the entire tea party/Sarah Palin/Limbaugh/Beck apparatus is one snarl of resentment at how liberals and immigrants and homosexuals and elites and Obama and the government are ruining everything by establishing death panels and banning the Bible and forcing unwholesome foreign ideologies on simple decent folk and collecting taxes and having regulations and capitulating to terrorists.
Yes.
1. Lets just steal the Mac operating system right in front of everyone
2. Lets just steal QuickTime right in front of everyone
3. Lets just steal Apple Retail right in front of everyone
These are all original thoughts. At least for a huge business to build their profits on the work of others without paying for it. But to be a bit truthful, remember Ford build his car biz by stealing the French idea of the internal combustion engine based automobile. Pepsi is still here, bigger than even, by simply replacing lemon for orange stealing the early Coke recipe. These are a few examples, but Microsoft got away with their "original" ideas. Just look at the number of people on this blog who say that's ok, or it didn't even occur! They proudly say it is ok to 'barrow' ideas, steal employees and condone theft. Well since the present group of crooks in Washington have been stealing the country blind and poisoning us for profits, we get what we deserve don't we? Don't forget that they have carefully made all this behavior legal! Things haven't changed much have they!
You know what they say, "All's fair in love, war, politics, and commerce."