Arguments for the Apple Store and other interesting insider tidbits...
Today I had a conversation with a friend of mine looking to buy a laptop (powerbook).
She hasn't used a mac before; read about powerbooks on Apple's web site, liked the features, and went looking around Toronto area retail for a vendor. Couldn't find one because she was looking at places like Office Place, and Futile Shop. This brought up some serious warantee/support questions for her. And pushed her into the general vicinity of IBM ThinkPads. She hasn't bought anything yet. I can tell she really wants that powerbook, but she is very worried that she will not be able to find adequate support for it.
If only there were a store! I explained that Apple's service policy would allow her tyo ship the book in for repairs and gave her the name of two Apple vendors in T.O. -- EduConnect and CPUsed/PCUsed. But she wasn't thrilled. She doesn't want to buy it online, she wants to go into a store and play with one, and more importantly know that she can return it to that location for hands on service and general help. I explained that any of the big retail outlets were unlikely to give that kind of support for the systems they sell either, so she shouldn't single out Apple. Still the ABSENCE of an Apple Store is making this a much harder sell than it needs to be. Apple needs to expand Apple Stores into all of N.America and major European cities. They don't need to have a glut of closely packed stores. But one store in each major international metropolitan area would be great. For Canada: Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, and Edmonton. And Ottawa too: lots of gov't money to be had there. In Europe and the UK: London, Paris, Milan, Rome, A few stores in Germany, Austria, and Belgium. Maybe 75 Stores world wide, with about 40 of them in the US.
On to the insider info. Don't crucify me, but I suggested a Dell as one of the PC alternatives (only because she has a PC already, and I thought it might be worth it for her to look into their warantee practice if only for a point of reference). Her immediate answer was NO WAY!
She handles warantee claims for a major credit card company (oversees them at the management level). Wanna guess who has the most problems with customers trying to adjust billing/rescind or block charges/invoke certain consumer protection privledges? DELL. Just something to note when these and other forums produce the inevitable complaint threads. PC laptops do in fact have their share (and more) of quality control issues, they just don't typically have fan sites where people can gripe about them!
It's interesting that her first reaction was no way am I buying a dell. A reaction based solely on the sheer volume of warrantee claims/complaints against them. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" /> This from someone who is only peripherally interested in computers and has NEVER used a mac.
I asked her if Apple registers a similar volume of complaints. She said no. Only DELL really stood out in that respect. Both companies do much of their business as direct order and so they must have a comparable numbers of credit card purchases. One has a lot of complaints and the other doesn't. Very interesting, indeed. I just thought that you'd like to know for the next time quality control generalizations pop-up in these forums.
She hasn't used a mac before; read about powerbooks on Apple's web site, liked the features, and went looking around Toronto area retail for a vendor. Couldn't find one because she was looking at places like Office Place, and Futile Shop. This brought up some serious warantee/support questions for her. And pushed her into the general vicinity of IBM ThinkPads. She hasn't bought anything yet. I can tell she really wants that powerbook, but she is very worried that she will not be able to find adequate support for it.
If only there were a store! I explained that Apple's service policy would allow her tyo ship the book in for repairs and gave her the name of two Apple vendors in T.O. -- EduConnect and CPUsed/PCUsed. But she wasn't thrilled. She doesn't want to buy it online, she wants to go into a store and play with one, and more importantly know that she can return it to that location for hands on service and general help. I explained that any of the big retail outlets were unlikely to give that kind of support for the systems they sell either, so she shouldn't single out Apple. Still the ABSENCE of an Apple Store is making this a much harder sell than it needs to be. Apple needs to expand Apple Stores into all of N.America and major European cities. They don't need to have a glut of closely packed stores. But one store in each major international metropolitan area would be great. For Canada: Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, and Edmonton. And Ottawa too: lots of gov't money to be had there. In Europe and the UK: London, Paris, Milan, Rome, A few stores in Germany, Austria, and Belgium. Maybe 75 Stores world wide, with about 40 of them in the US.
On to the insider info. Don't crucify me, but I suggested a Dell as one of the PC alternatives (only because she has a PC already, and I thought it might be worth it for her to look into their warantee practice if only for a point of reference). Her immediate answer was NO WAY!
She handles warantee claims for a major credit card company (oversees them at the management level). Wanna guess who has the most problems with customers trying to adjust billing/rescind or block charges/invoke certain consumer protection privledges? DELL. Just something to note when these and other forums produce the inevitable complaint threads. PC laptops do in fact have their share (and more) of quality control issues, they just don't typically have fan sites where people can gripe about them!
It's interesting that her first reaction was no way am I buying a dell. A reaction based solely on the sheer volume of warrantee claims/complaints against them. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" /> This from someone who is only peripherally interested in computers and has NEVER used a mac.
I asked her if Apple registers a similar volume of complaints. She said no. Only DELL really stood out in that respect. Both companies do much of their business as direct order and so they must have a comparable numbers of credit card purchases. One has a lot of complaints and the other doesn't. Very interesting, indeed. I just thought that you'd like to know for the next time quality control generalizations pop-up in these forums.
Comments
Except Dell probably does +10x business in direct sales vs Apple.
<strong>They don't need to have a glut of closely packed stores.</strong><hr></blockquote>
A glut of closely packed stores?! There's only 27 of them, and they're on average about a hundred miles apart.
As to Dell, I doubt they do 10X the business of Apple (or even 10X the credit card business) They'd have about 35-40% of the market if that were true. They don't. It's around 13% globally: So three times more market share, but a lot more than three time the complaints.
Hehe.
1.) Salem, NH Rockingham Park
2.) Peabody, MA Northshore Mall
3.) Cambridge, MA Cambridgeside Galleria
4.) Farmington, CT Westfarms Mall (120 miles)
5.) Albany, NY Crossgates Mall (140 miles)
20% of the Apple Stores are with 150 miles of me.
[ 03-04-2002: Message edited by: Fran441 ]</p>
<strong>Today I had a conversation with a friend of mine looking to buy a laptop (powerbook).
She hasn't used a mac before; read about powerbooks on Apple's web site, liked the features, and went looking around Toronto area retail for a vendor. Couldn't find one because she was looking at places like Office Place, and Futile Shop. This brought up some serious warantee/support questions for her. And pushed her into the general vicinity of IBM ThinkPads. She hasn't bought anything yet. I can tell she really wants that powerbook, but she is very worried that she will not be able to find adequate support for it.
If only there were a store! I explained that Apple's service policy would allow her tyo ship the book in for repairs and gave her the name of two Apple vendors in T.O. -- EduConnect and CPUsed/PCUsed. But she wasn't thrilled. She doesn't want to buy it online, she wants to go into a store and play with one, and more importantly know that she can return it to that location for hands on service and general help. I explained that any of the big retail outlets were unlikely to give that kind of support for the systems they sell either, so she shouldn't single out Apple. Still the ABSENCE of an Apple Store is making this a much harder sell than it needs to be. Apple needs to expand Apple Stores into all of N.America and major European cities. They don't need to have a glut of closely packed stores. But one store in each major international metropolitan area would be great. For Canada: Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, and Edmonton. And Ottawa too: lots of gov't money to be had there. In Europe and the UK: London, Paris, Milan, Rome, A few stores in Germany, Austria, and Belgium. Maybe 75 Stores world wide, with about 40 of them in the US.
On to the insider info. Don't crucify me, but I suggested a Dell as one of the PC alternatives (only because she has a PC already, and I thought it might be worth it for her to look into their warantee practice if only for a point of reference). Her immediate answer was NO WAY!
</strong><hr></blockquote>
Matsu
I agree with you that I think Apple should have some retail stores of there own here in Canada. I personally would love to see some open in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and maybe Calgary as a start.
As for Toronto, why didn't you mention to your friend places like Computer Systems Centre or Carbon Compting. Both places have onsite servicing and pretty good show rooms. I know neither would be able to stand up to a True Apple retail Store though.
Lets hope Apple comes through for us.
I know that currently the stores are not registering many sales. But the impact of the stores remains unquantified. It is entirely possible that people are going into the stores, being exposed to macs for the first time, going home to mull it over, and then they order online as a direct result of the store's influence.
I cannot see how these stores will not be a great shot in the arm for Apple...more like a shot in the vein--mainline! But Apple must get more stores open quickly.
One can only wonder at what will happen when Apple finally has about 100 stores in N. America, all stocked with new iMacs, new PMG5s, and sweet laptops, and suddenly the US economy lurches into another period of expansion.
i live in the east bay area(california) and the only place that sells mac stuff that is less then 45 minutes away is compusa, and i still have to cross the carquinez straits, i live near vallejo, but nothing there either
Just passing it on for the benefit of the of the other people on this board who might want to know. A while back some members of this and other boards were trumping this warantee extension 'feature' of certain credit cards. It won't help you at all in the majority of cases.
And if Amex, Visa, or MC are monitoring these boards. Bite Me! You'll never guess my source.
how many of us have left with a positive experience from CompUSA, Sears, Best Buy, or Circuit City?
from my personal experience, a good apple display/employee is the exception to the rule.
having their own retail space is the only way for apple to control the buyer's experience, and make sure it's a good one.
I love you mom.
Hope that's helpful.
I can't believe I forgot to mention Carbon Computing, definitely worth a visit.