I just talked to an Apple rep today...

dstranathan

Nothing too exciting to tell you here, but he did say this:



1) Very cool, dramatic changes for the G4 at MWNY. (Duh!)



2) An Apple store was planned for the KC area (on the Plaza), but was canned at the last minute. (Damn! I live in KC).



3) He said that 60% of the business at a local KC CompUSA is Apple-related! They may even expand the "store-in-a-store"



4) Apple is considering another attempt to sell Macs at BestBuy .(I think this sucks)





And now back to the guys in the news room for the weather...

buonrotto

These stores-within-stores seem to be the only way to get proper care and attention payed to Macs. They tend to just rot in the corners otherwise. If Best Buy were to join the Mac camp for a third time, it would only work with a dedicated Mac section, which Circuit City may not like.

macsrgood4u

You''re right, nothing exciting. One problem, Apple Reps are the least knowledgable of all the people at Apple. SJ and the exec. staff run a tight ship and nobody knows what's coming except for a few of the people working on projects both inside and outside of the company and they all sign NDA..

applenut

[quote]Originally posted by MacsRGood4U:

<strong>You''re right, nothing exciting. One problem, Apple Reps are the least knowledgable of all the people at Apple. SJ and the exec. staff run a tight ship and nobody knows what's coming except for a few of the people working on projects both inside and outside of the company and they all sign NDA..</strong><hr></blockquote>

I don't think that's true. No one knows the COMPLETE story outside of that small niche but many people outside of it know about varying aspects of whatever is going on. They have to.

eugene

60%? Not in your life.



Macs at Best Buy? They'd hire an Apple Solutions Consultant like they did with CompUSA to make sure everything runs smoothly. ASCs are Apple employees so they're basically cheerleaders who try to convince you to go Mac and then hand you off to a store employee for the final sale.

spart

[quote]Originally posted by dstranathan:

<strong>2) An Apple store was planned for the KC area (on the Plaza), but was canned at the last minute. (Damn! I live in KC).</strong><hr></blockquote>



FSSSSSSSSSSCCCCCCCKKKKKK!!!!!!



Sigh...closest one (to Iowa) is still Chicago. I think.

nebagakid

[quote]Originally posted by Spart:

<strong>



FSSSSSSSSSSCCCCCCCKKKKKK!!!!!!



Sigh...closest one (to Iowa) is still Chicago. I think.</strong><hr></blockquote>

HAHAHAHA, two in the DC area, one on the Metro!!!! (subway system, can get you around the city really easily!)

cosmonut

The Plaza would be a good place for an Apple Retail Store. It's an "upscale" shopping district with stores like Sak's Fifth Avenue, Sharper Image, FAO Schwartz, etc.



I'd still prefer that it goes in a major mall that's close to a highway so it's easier to get to from anywhere in the metro area. How about Independence Center? Then it's a 20 minute drive from my house.

leonis

[quote]Originally posted by dstranathan:

<strong>Nothing too exciting to tell you here, but he did say this:



1) Very cool, dramatic changes for the G4 at MWNY. (Duh!)

</strong><hr></blockquote>



Oh yeah. $200 price hike and 133Mhz increase are DRAMATIC for Apple



Sorry....I just woke up and really need to laugh



Absolutely no offense to you

macsrgood4u

I still believe Apple Reps are kept in the dark as much as we are. The iPod, for an example, was not even unveiled to most Apple employees until the weekend before it was announced. Only al handful knew of it within the company. The reps were not those that did. (They tend to talk too much!)

junkyard dawg

Last Apple rep I talked to kept trying to sell me an iMac, even after I told him I own a Powermac and have no need for a new Mac.



He also gave some BS line about why the iMac could only use 15" LCDs, basically he said it was because of the way they cut the glass for the displays. Sounded like total BS to me.



The guy was utterly worthless. I wouldn't put any weight in anything those Apple reps say.

macskickass

[quote]Originally posted by Junkyard Dawg:

<strong>Last Apple rep I talked to kept trying to sell me an iMac, even after I told him I own a Powermac and have no need for a new Mac.



He also gave some BS line about why the iMac could only use 15" LCDs, basically he said it was because of the way they cut the glass for the displays. Sounded like total BS to me.



The guy was utterly worthless. I wouldn't put any weight in anything those Apple reps say.</strong><hr></blockquote>



There will always be a rotten apple in a barrell of apples

applenut

[quote]Originally posted by MacsRGood4U:

<strong>I still believe Apple Reps are kept in the dark as much as we are. The iPod, for an example, was not even unveiled to most Apple employees until the weekend before it was announced. Only al handful knew of it within the company. The reps were not those that did. (They tend to talk too much!)</strong><hr></blockquote>



hnadful? I guess apple execs did all the beta testing, marketing, documentation, packaging, web pages, etc.



face it. Apple tries to make it seem like everything is a really small secret but there are many who know. and some do not know what the overall product will be but know pieces of info.



no, apple rep likely would not know about the iPod before its release. no reason for one to. but there is a sight chnace they have heard things about release dates for updates. It's not coincidence when resellers start offering up big sales/rebates/bundles before a new model is released.

sybaritic

[quote] ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by dstranathan:

2) An Apple store was planned for the KC area (on the Plaza), but was canned at the last minute. (Damn! I live in KC).

------------------------------------------------------------------------



FSSSSSSSSSSCCCCCCCKKKKKK!!!!!!



Sigh...closest one (to Iowa) is still Chicago. I think. <hr></blockquote>



One is coming to St. Louis, but the Plaza in KC would have been great, or maybe up the road in Wesport where Pennylane/The Prospect/etc. used to be.



-------------------------------------

Going to KC from Nashvegas

<a href="http://www.joecroker.com/songs/clips.html"; target="_blank">www.joecroker.com/songs/clips.html</a>

cyko95

A couple of questions to previous comments...



dstranathan - Why would Mac's at Best Buy be a bad thing?



And...



Sybaritic - Do you have a when and where on the Apple Store in St. Louis. I live close to there, and would love to know more about it. Any info would be appreciated...



Thanks <img src="graemlins/surprised.gif" border="0" alt="[Surprised]" />

sybaritic

I read that the St. Louis store would be the last of the new stores to open this year (November or December).



-------------------------------



Listening to Texas Spurlock in Nashvegas

<a href="http://www.wacoproductions.com"; target="_blank">www.wacoproductions.com</a>

amorph

[quote]Originally posted by cyko95:

<strong>A couple of questions to previous comments...



dstranathan - Why would Mac's at Best Buy be a bad thing?</strong><hr></blockquote>



Because Apple tried that, and Best Buy wage slaves proved to be utterly incapable of selling iMacs, even when they were at the peak of their popularity. Then Best Buy got in a huff about stocking different colors, and that was that. Now that the iMac comes in one color and Apple has the successful CompUSA redeployment behind it, they might feel bold enough to try again.



I'm not expecting much, though. Best Buy's convenient if you go in knowing exactly what you want, but otherwise...

buonrotto

For the record, I don't buy anything at Best Buy anymore due to their draconian return policy, even for lemons.

cyko95

I agree with the fact that Best Buy may not offer the "Best Service", but when all is said and done. But I personally don't buy from a store based on their reps. I go to a store based on the research that I did on my own for a product that I know I want. I don't get talked into buying anything. Any Jackass and can ring me up, and as far as comparing CompUSA and Best Buy goes...they're sister companies.

All i'm saying is this, they more the product is available, the better. I live in Illinois and since Sears and Sam's stopped carrying Mac's you have to drive at least an hour and a half to find a store that carries them. Versus going to 5 miles to buy a piece of crap PC from any other store that, and I guarantee this, has employess that couldn't work the picture oriented touch screens at your local McDonalds, let alone a home computer.



But thats just my opinion, I could be wrong.

eman

Best Buy might not have good return policies and stuff like that, but they have amazing prices on CDs a lot of the time.

sdw2001

Shall we discuss the lack of an Apple Store within 2.5 hours of Phila? Actually, probably 3+.



Philadelphia is the 5th largest city in the nation. WTF? Oh, and just to prevent the onslaught of Mr and Mrs. "please prove it":



<a href="http://demographia.com/db-uscity98.htm"; target="_blank">http://demographia.com/db-uscity98.htm</a>;



[ 06-10-2002: Message edited by: SDW2001 ]</p>