The nice thing about retail is if the customer experience sucks, people stop going and the store either responds or closes. I will hold my opinion and see how things are in 6-12 months but since I buy most of my stuff online like many others I am curious how this will affect Apple in the long term.
This is a mistake, any company that focuses on revenue first over customer satisfaction will achieve neither.
That was one of the core tenets of SJ's philosophy when he took Apple back. I would have hoped that this particular lesson would have been a permanent fixture.
As I am writing this, there are 75 posts on this thread. Of these, 15 are by members with over 1000 posts. The remaining 60 are by members with less than 1000 posts -- often numbering in single or double digits.
So, 80% of the posts in this thread are by relatively new members.... FWIW.
As to the topic of this thread: if Apple is sacrificing customer satisfaction and customer experience for revenue, It is a big mistake, IMO -- and will have the opposite effect.
So far, all we have is anecdotal information -- some of it positive and some of it negative.
"Retail" is hard to do right -- especially when the staff requires expertise and training. Morale must be maintained, while at the same time staff levels must be adjusted to compensate for attrition, seasonality, product cycles and external influences.
So far, Tim Cook has proven to be a very savvy and effective executive. I have seen no evidence that Tim has done anything but enhance the "Apple" left by Steve.
I was in an Apple store today and they wouldn't give me a free replacement on my Macbook Pro battery, which was so swollen that the trackpad doesn't even work anymore. Yes, it's out of warranty, but it's also a massive fire hazard and has the risk of exploding. (It still holds a charge just fine, it just doesn't fit in the case anymore.) How long until there are more batteries bursting into flames on airplanes because Apple is too cheap to offer replacements. And this is after I already shelled out ~$80 to buy a new power cord within the last couple months because that too had become completely frayed and was also a fire hazard.
What's more, I tried to report the swelling issue on their 800 number since it's a serious safety hazard, and they wouldn't even file a report.
IF there's a fire on an airplane, it will be because you insisted on using an unsafe battery. It's not Apple's fault that you'd prefer to use an unsafe battery rather than replace it. Apple has not obligation (legal or moral) to replace your battery for you after the warranty has expired. They did do so for some people, but only when the number of charge cycles was below some limit. Apple doesn't owe you a lifetime supply of batteries.
Revenues over customer happiness? Unacceptable for Apple. Apple should not be following the formula set by the failing big box stores.
I think it's worth nothing that complaints from a few disgruntled employees should be taken with a grain of salt. Apple has done an exceptional job of creating customer happiness and adding some focus on revenues does not necessarily interfere with customer happiness.
This sure doesn't sound promising. I bought an iPad as a gift for my mother about two weeks ago and the Genius I was dealing with pulled a BestBuy sales routine to push Applecare down my throat. I did not appreciate it -- and thought to myself that it felt like the guy was on commission. I do not want to deal with commissioned/quota'd sales people when I visit an Apple store.
Maybe the sales person thought he was doing you a favor by bringing up AppleCare. I would never buy a laptop or tablet without AppleCare and would consider that any sales person who didn't bring it up was neglecting his obligation to inform me of desirable options.
And I doubt if you were dealing with a Genius in buying a new iPad. Not all Apple Store employees are Geniuses.
I was at an Apple Store over the weekend and so many of their staff just standing around doing nothing.
That's been my experience, too. In fact there have been times that it has been hard to navigate the store because the number of Apple employees is greater than the number of customers. There are undoubtedly times that the number of employees COULD be cut back without harming service in any way.
If it really interferes with customer service, Cook will probably take action. He seems like the kind of guy who's not going to get too worked up over all the whining that accompanies any change, but if the change truly does cause a drop in customer service, he's likely to step in pretty quickly.
This might finally push me to making a platform switch to Microsoft Surface. First it was the draconian App Store policies and now destroying the retail experience that so many of us depend upon every day of our lives. The Apple retail experience was so good many of us make a habit of visiting international stores on vacation.
This is seriously bad news for consumers.
Let's see:
- You're considering switching platforms - with all the time, cost and energy that entails - because of a rumor of a slight cutback in number of retail store employees (but no evidence that it has actually happened)
- You want to change your computing platform because of some minor App Store details (which you call 'draconian') -- most of which only affect developers, not end users
- You depend on Apple's retail store policy every day of your life?
No way! Insurance always has been and always will be the biggest scam. Just take care of your stuff and put your cash to better use.
I hate when they (salesmen of any breed) push this crap.
Then don't buy it.
But many people consider insurance to be absolutely essential for a portable computing device. I know that I do. The risk of damage is very high and the cost of repairs is equally high. While I am always amused when Best Buy offers $29.99 insurance on a $49 device, AppleCare is a great deal. As such, I would consider a sales person who didn't mention it to be neglecting their responsibilities to me as a customer.
I H A T E that guy. Typical corpo freak piece of garbage that will try to improve the operation numbers at any cost so he can look good. I have seen this kind of human trash in big companies many times. A "peter principal" case.
There better be no impacts on the Montreal downtown store, going there is already like going into a busy hospital ER, youre lucky if you can talk to support in less than a hour.
I'll just remind all the Tim Cook haters that it was Steve Jobs who recommended Cook replace him as CEO. Care to explain that one away? Because I don't think you can.
This whole AppleCare stuff, I live in uk and have friends in the USA. I simply inform the guy at the store, that if he can match the USA price, then we have a deal....that usually shuts them up!
<vc><strong>A report on Monday outlines the supposed gradual but significant change Apple's retail stores are going through as Senior Vice President of Retail John Browett emphasizes revenue over customer experience.</strong>
I never liked the idea of Apple opening so many stores because I figured inevitably they'd reach a saturation point but there doesn't seem to be an issue with how the stores are performing.
Even with the data we don't get to see that might show up some dead weight, it's hard to see how 45,000 or so staff can be making a significant impact on their profits. Still, it's their call to make, we can only judge by the impact caused.
My local Apple store is normally swamped. It is almost to the point you need an appointment to buy anything there. The main point of the Apple Store was to give visibility to the brand that they felt was not well represented in other retail outlets - which means my local stiore has issues with this goal. This PR function did not have a lot of profit motive, although the past reporting on sales per square foot or by employee seemed to be more than any other retailer on the planet. The question of store need may be dwindling as more purchase online, BUT it would seem to me that the need for PR is stronger than ever with potential "evil" status being touted by the press in the patents area. Ultimately Apple will need to decide if more market penetration is important in converting non-Apple customers or if they see a new path (as they seem to do in all their endeavors) to reach their goals in this area.
Let's boost revenue by cutting staff and training for them. Wait, uproar? OK, we'll have staff be rated by how many accessories they can hawk!
Browett needs to be shown the door ASAP unless Tim Cook / Apple really want to destroy the stores. High pressure sales from people hovering and looking to sell you everything you don't need are exactly what the Apple Store experience hasn't been, and a brief uptick in MARGINS isn't going to translate into long term growth of any kind. Browett is clearly not the one for this job, and if Cook and company don't see this it really doesn't bode well long term.
Utterly disgusting, Apple. Cook is known to squeeze the component supply chain until the pips squeek, but for the most valuable company in the US cheap-skating it's own workers (are they trying to rival FoxCon in that respect?) is despicable. I think we should blame Cook for this debacle; this might have happened under Jobs but this would have been reversed quickly - can you imagine this dragging on for so long under Jobs? Get rid of Browett, he's now toxic and synonymous with poor management. Tim Cook, please go on a personnel management course, you've spent too much time on the supply chain side. Also, as someone who was present at the WDC2012 keynote, please take some presentation course - you came over as weak and ineffectual.
Let's see:
- You're considering switching platforms - with all the time, cost and energy that entails - because of a rumor of a slight cutback in number of retail store employees (but no evidence that it has actually happened)
- You want to change your computing platform because of some minor App Store details (which you call 'draconian') -- most of which only affect developers, not end users
- You depend on Apple's retail store policy every day of your life?
I call 'troll'.
Unless he's part if some black/grey market ring I also seriously doubt Apple retail is a part of his everyday life. Some people just don't know how to tone down a lie so that it's believable.
Really, I don't like this. Someone I know recently pledged not ever buy a PC again because the customer service, the being on hold with Indian people, etc. With Apple, this didn't happen. I don't know where it's going now.
Totally agree …. Steve Jobs is about experience, this guy doesn't fit into Apple (hope is not another Scully)… If he continues soon by 2017 the same thing will repeat … 90 days to bankruptcy … only difference this time there wont be another Steve to resurrect apple..
Comments
The nice thing about retail is if the customer experience sucks, people stop going and the store either responds or closes. I will hold my opinion and see how things are in 6-12 months but since I buy most of my stuff online like many others I am curious how this will affect Apple in the long term.
This is a mistake, any company that focuses on revenue first over customer satisfaction will achieve neither.
That was one of the core tenets of SJ's philosophy when he took Apple back. I would have hoped that this particular lesson would have been a permanent fixture.
So, 80% of the posts in this thread are by relatively new members.... FWIW.
As to the topic of this thread: if Apple is sacrificing customer satisfaction and customer experience for revenue, It is a big mistake, IMO -- and will have the opposite effect.
So far, all we have is anecdotal information -- some of it positive and some of it negative.
"Retail" is hard to do right -- especially when the staff requires expertise and training. Morale must be maintained, while at the same time staff levels must be adjusted to compensate for attrition, seasonality, product cycles and external influences.
So far, Tim Cook has proven to be a very savvy and effective executive. I have seen no evidence that Tim has done anything but enhance the "Apple" left by Steve.
IF there's a fire on an airplane, it will be because you insisted on using an unsafe battery. It's not Apple's fault that you'd prefer to use an unsafe battery rather than replace it. Apple has not obligation (legal or moral) to replace your battery for you after the warranty has expired. They did do so for some people, but only when the number of charge cycles was below some limit. Apple doesn't owe you a lifetime supply of batteries.
I think it's worth nothing that complaints from a few disgruntled employees should be taken with a grain of salt. Apple has done an exceptional job of creating customer happiness and adding some focus on revenues does not necessarily interfere with customer happiness.
Maybe the sales person thought he was doing you a favor by bringing up AppleCare. I would never buy a laptop or tablet without AppleCare and would consider that any sales person who didn't bring it up was neglecting his obligation to inform me of desirable options.
And I doubt if you were dealing with a Genius in buying a new iPad. Not all Apple Store employees are Geniuses.
That's been my experience, too. In fact there have been times that it has been hard to navigate the store because the number of Apple employees is greater than the number of customers. There are undoubtedly times that the number of employees COULD be cut back without harming service in any way.
If it really interferes with customer service, Cook will probably take action. He seems like the kind of guy who's not going to get too worked up over all the whining that accompanies any change, but if the change truly does cause a drop in customer service, he's likely to step in pretty quickly.
Let's see:
- You're considering switching platforms - with all the time, cost and energy that entails - because of a rumor of a slight cutback in number of retail store employees (but no evidence that it has actually happened)
- You want to change your computing platform because of some minor App Store details (which you call 'draconian') -- most of which only affect developers, not end users
- You depend on Apple's retail store policy every day of your life?
I call 'troll'.
Then don't buy it.
But many people consider insurance to be absolutely essential for a portable computing device. I know that I do. The risk of damage is very high and the cost of repairs is equally high. While I am always amused when Best Buy offers $29.99 insurance on a $49 device, AppleCare is a great deal. As such, I would consider a sales person who didn't mention it to be neglecting their responsibilities to me as a customer.
It's not hard to say 'no, thank you'.
Someone's going to get fired. There is no way they should be focused on "maximizing revenues" over customer experience. That's a strategy to fail.
I H A T E that guy. Typical corpo freak piece of garbage that will try to improve the operation numbers at any cost so he can look good. I have seen this kind of human trash in big companies many times. A "peter principal" case.
There better be no impacts on the Montreal downtown store, going there is already like going into a busy hospital ER, youre lucky if you can talk to support in less than a hour.
Apple makes more money per square foot that any other retailer in the US:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20096519-17/another-apple-win-retail-sales-per-square-foot/
Apple makes $400,000 per employee:
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-01-23/tech/30654463_1_apple-exxon-mobil-iphones
Doesn't sound like a desperate situation.
I never liked the idea of Apple opening so many stores because I figured inevitably they'd reach a saturation point but there doesn't seem to be an issue with how the stores are performing.
Even with the data we don't get to see that might show up some dead weight, it's hard to see how 45,000 or so staff can be making a significant impact on their profits. Still, it's their call to make, we can only judge by the impact caused.
Let's boost revenue by cutting staff and training for them. Wait, uproar? OK, we'll have staff be rated by how many accessories they can hawk!
Browett needs to be shown the door ASAP unless Tim Cook / Apple really want to destroy the stores. High pressure sales from people hovering and looking to sell you everything you don't need are exactly what the Apple Store experience hasn't been, and a brief uptick in MARGINS isn't going to translate into long term growth of any kind. Browett is clearly not the one for this job, and if Cook and company don't see this it really doesn't bode well long term.
Utterly disgusting, Apple. Cook is known to squeeze the component supply chain until the pips squeek, but for the most valuable company in the US cheap-skating it's own workers (are they trying to rival FoxCon in that respect?) is despicable. I think we should blame Cook for this debacle; this might have happened under Jobs but this would have been reversed quickly - can you imagine this dragging on for so long under Jobs? Get rid of Browett, he's now toxic and synonymous with poor management. Tim Cook, please go on a personnel management course, you've spent too much time on the supply chain side. Also, as someone who was present at the WDC2012 keynote, please take some presentation course - you came over as weak and ineffectual.
Unless he's part if some black/grey market ring I also seriously doubt Apple retail is a part of his everyday life. Some people just don't know how to tone down a lie so that it's believable.
Really, I don't like this. Someone I know recently pledged not ever buy a PC again because the customer service, the being on hold with Indian people, etc. With Apple, this didn't happen. I don't know where it's going now.
Totally agree …. Steve Jobs is about experience, this guy doesn't fit into Apple (hope is not another Scully)… If he continues soon by 2017 the same thing will repeat … 90 days to bankruptcy … only difference this time there wont be another Steve to resurrect apple..
apple's trading at 675 right now.