I checked again and added yesterday were apple pro keyboard and mouse ($59? I thought they were supposed to be price dropped), Airport Extreme card and base station, and powerbook batterys and adapters. No iSight yet though. I check this almost every day I work so I will keep you guys posted.
If they're selling PowerBook batteries, I guess they'll carry the 'Books themselves? That would be cool! Sounds like pretty much the entire line, kinda like CompUSA (I'm so used to these types of stores only doing the iStuff, like Circuit City and Sears did).
Would be very cool to walk into a Best Buy and see lots of aluminum and silver-colored goodies, alongside the usual white glossy stuff.
And, just as important, accessories and goodies (iPod stuff, batteries, mice, keyboards, iSights, OS X, other Apple software, etc.).
There is NOWHERE in my town I could go and buy a copy of Jaguar tomorrow if I wanted to. NOWHERE. Can you believe that?
There is NOWHERE in my town I could go and buy a copy of Jaguar tomorrow if I wanted to. NOWHERE. Can you believe that?
(where's a little bawling, hysterical smiley?)
I feel your pain, scates. Living in the south seems to have some drawbacks in the shopping world. My options here (back in Athens, GA) are circuit city (probably the worst store of the worst chain) or a pretty shitty best buy. Or Sears if I'm feeling adventurous (hey, I got an indigo iMac for a steal a couple years ago... still plugging away in my parent's house, happily running 10.2.6 - how many bargain basement windows machines less than $500 new could be running XP as well???).
Or there's 2 hour trek to ATL to go to CompUSA or the Apple Store. Thank god for the internet.
But I've seen lil ol' purty as you please republican women act that way too. They should get together and form their own party and make their number one priorty be giving us a good smilie.
They should get together and form their own party and make their number one priorty be giving us a good smilie.
i'd vote for that.
back on topic though, i think what this boils down to is whether it's better to have bad representation vs. no representation.
not sure i'm a fan of the FUD that's going to spread like wildfire as soon as Macs show up at best buy. although if they could just give those sales guys huge kickbacks, they'd be lying through their teeth FOR Macs instead of against them.
Walked into a Best Buy over the weekend. They have one a cart/table near the entrance with an iMac running a demo, a tipped over basket of Apples, some signage. On the shelves next to other PCs were an eMac, two more iMacs, and a Power Mac. They had just been put out there and weren't even plugged in yet.
Bestbuy.com has Powerbooks and iBooks. But look on the brighter side for us guys...Best Buy frequently offers 12-24 month no interest financing and huge rebates on all notebooks. This is great news for us, their service plan is $219 vs, Apple's 349, but I don't know if I would go with Best Buy's service plan anyway, I think Apple has a much better track record there. But yeah, now Apple computers are more obtainable even with their higher prices...so...yay.
AppleInsider mainpage updates with leaked Best Buy employee memo:
"Internal Best Buy Memo Details Plans With Apple
By:_Kasper Jade
08.09.03
An Internal memo distributed to Best Buy personnel on August 5th, and recently obtained by AppleInsider, details a few of the retailer's plans for its renewed relationship with Apple Computer.
The memo begins by announcing the new partnership to the Best Buy staff and stating that they keep informed of the latest information surrounding the Macintosh platform.
Immediately following, the memo reads in part: "With the same passion Democrats and Republicans often use to express their political views, PC and Mac owners can debate their computers? superiority for hours on end. With its impassioned customers and loyal fan base, adding Macs back into the product assortment can only have positive results."
The memo then focus on Customer-driven solutions, stating that decision to market Apple computers differentiates Best Buy from other retailers. "This is what being customer-driven is all about."
The document further states that, while not all Best Buy stores will cary Apple's products, each location will be impacted by the roll-out. Additionally, employees should watch for traffic driven to Best Buy locations and BestBuy.com as a result of the advertisements that will be published beginning August 10th. Macs will also be highlighted consistently in Best Buy ads through much of August and September.
Finally, the memo touches on preparatory measures that were taken to ensure positive results. "Twelve service center technicians (one from each location) attended training at Apple?s corporate training facility in Cupertino, Calif. from July 21 to Aug. 1. This enables Best Buy service centers to be certified for factory warranty service on all Apple products."
Look for these new Best Buy ads to appear in Today's news publications for sales starting Sunday."
My concern has always been that the Best Buy locations are being stocked with machines that are about to be discontinued: Powerbooks and iMacs especially. BB will be TERRIBLE about removing these display machines and replacing them with the new models. Oh and forget about any of these machines ever running Panther. It's going to be Christmas Eve and all the Best Buy demo Macs will be long discontinued PBs and iMacs running 10.2.4.
Why didn't Apple wait a month or even two so that the Best Buy roll out could be done with brand spanking new PowerBooks and G5s running 10.3? They waited this long to get back in the game, so why not wait a little longer and do it right?
As for Best Buy selling Apple computers. I recall the "team" meetings we used to have. And since Apple is supposed to be featured prominently in tomorrow's ad, I can only imagine how tomorrow's team meeting will go.
Manager: "Ok, in today's ad, we have a couple of new products."
Employee #1: "Yeah, that Apple crap."
Team laughs
Manager: "Tell me about it. Now we have to sell this stuff, but the problem is, we can't sell our learning software with it, they have thier own AppleCare program, so we can't sell service plans with it, and we can't sell many accessories with it, frankly, I don't know why we are selling them at all. My advice to you, keep selling the PCs. Show customers the Mac, but explain to them that they can't do everything on a Mac that they can on a PC. That way, we can sell the service plans, the accessories on included package printers, and the works. That will keep our numbers up."
This will probably be an unfortunate truth at many stores, though this is the pessimist in me. If I were still working there, I would strongly object and inform the "team" that Macs can do everything a PC can do, more efficiently, and they are far more reliable. This wouldn't be music to the ears of a manager who enjoys significant kick backs and bonuses when their extended warranty and accessory numbers are up. I hope Apple knows what they are doing.
Are there Apple products in Canadian Best Buy stores as well?
don't think so yet, though they should be available via bestbuy.com. this looks to be a very "trial run" by apple to see if they can correct the debacle that was the first time they tried selling macs through best buy.
i remember reading one story that sounded similar to an experience of my own, where someone asked if they had any mac software, and the attendant said "mac software?!? that's a good one. nothing runs on those things!" the customer took exception to that and did the standard "actually, many current titles are available for mac..." the sales rep said "hey, i don't need any trouble from your kind in here!" and it just devolved from there. think the scene from "anger management" when adam sandler is just sitting there, and everyone and their mother starts accusing him of not staying calm. the best buy sales rep eventually called store security on him and had him escorted out, which probably made him REALLY fly off the handle. 'course, it would help i they didn't employ 18-20 year old g
Best Buy is cool in some regards and highly sucky in others. For Apple to do well they have to have Apple employees there often to assist the staff and customers become educated about Macs. Also to "help" Best Buy maintain their committment to properly sell Apple products. I really don't want to see Macs covered in dust turned off. Apple has to be aggessive with Best Buy.
2 Infomercial
Not a bad idea, but just not on a UHF channel at 3 am. I would use it to pimp the whole Mac line, iApps, iTMS, dispel myths, gaming, performance etc. More importantly make it through the Apple Store. Something allong the lines of call 1-800-apple now, go to www.applestore.com or visit your local Apple Store. Combine the infomerical with a nice 6 month no interest credit plan would make it sweeter! I'd run it through the holiday season. Make is cool not stupid, get some celebs and musicians in as well.
The more I hear about this whole Best Buy thing, the more worried I get. It's not like Apple doesn't know Best Buy's corporate culture of ineptitude, even hostility towards Macs. Why are so many crucial details of the rollout not being handled by Apple directly? Why are soon to be discontiuned models being put on display with no demo materials or proper configuration? Why are price and spec cards being written by hand? Why are Macs available at BestBuy.com with a nice $150 rebate, then pulled and then put back up minus the rebate?
Here's how the rollout should have gone:
1. Wait until the new Powerbooks, iMacs, G5s and Panther are ready for sale. If this means September or October, so be it. This return to Best Buy has been waiting for five years, what's two more months to do it right?
2. Full-time Apple rep for each participating Best Buy, literally from day one. Each store's Apple rep should be on the ground the day the first Macs arrive. Setup of Apple merchandise and demo materials can not be left to the regular sales staff. The message must be sent to every Best Buy employee that Apple is very serious about their presence this time around.
3. Ad campaign. Apple at Best Buy billboards, in store signage, banners, etc., all boasting the availability of the G5 and Panther.
Here's how the rollout did go:
1. Soon to be discontinued Macs are dumped in the store's loading dock with no plan, no proper setup, no demo materials, no brochures, no Apple rep on day one to send the proper message to staff and public alike.
2. Macs show up on BestBuy.com, apparently without the knowledge of anyone in the stores. The store wide $150 rebate seems to apply, but it takes Best Buy management several days to wake up and then pull the Macs. A few days later they show back up on the site, but minus the rebate.
3. Ad campaign is limited to one small section buried in the Best Buy mailer with no new products to advertise.
4. The very existence of the G5 is nowhere to be seen. Apple returns to the biggest retailer in North America, in the middle of launching their most important product ever, and nobody even knows it exists.
5. The complete absense of a strong Apple presence on the floor on day one reinforces the "who cares" attitude of the clueless Best Buy sales staff. All they see is a bunch of old, overpriced Macs dumped on their store shelves with no reason to care. The Best Buy Mac "rollout" is over before it even begins.
6. When the new Powerbooks, iMacs and G5s finally do arrive they will have to displace the old display models that never should have been there in the first place. This will be a disaster. Best Buy will leave the old gear out, with little if any explanation and the "Mac section" will turn into a mess of open box and red tagged demo machines that looks like royal hell. Not the presentation you want for the G5 in all its glory.
Best Buy Apple training materials revealed. Perhaps an AI member could pull the JPEGS and post them to this thread.
The materials are obviously Apple generated and are more thorough and even hard hitting than I thought Best Buy brass would have been comfortable with. So is this a good sign?
Comments
Macaddict16
Would be very cool to walk into a Best Buy and see lots of aluminum and silver-colored goodies, alongside the usual white glossy stuff.
And, just as important, accessories and goodies (iPod stuff, batteries, mice, keyboards, iSights, OS X, other Apple software, etc.).
There is NOWHERE in my town I could go and buy a copy of Jaguar tomorrow if I wanted to. NOWHERE. Can you believe that?
(where's a little bawling, hysterical smiley?)
Originally posted by pscates
There is NOWHERE in my town I could go and buy a copy of Jaguar tomorrow if I wanted to. NOWHERE. Can you believe that?
(where's a little bawling, hysterical smiley?)
I feel your pain, scates. Living in the south seems to have some drawbacks in the shopping world. My options here (back in Athens, GA) are circuit city (probably the worst store of the worst chain) or a pretty shitty best buy. Or Sears if I'm feeling adventurous (hey, I got an indigo iMac for a steal a couple years ago... still plugging away in my parent's house, happily running 10.2.6 - how many bargain basement windows machines less than $500 new could be running XP as well???).
Or there's 2 hour trek to ATL to go to CompUSA or the Apple Store. Thank god for the internet.
(where's a little bawling, hysterical smiley?)
try :democrat:
But it is funny, so
Ahem...okay, back to "Mac only" mindset...
Originally posted by alcimedes
try :democrat:
But I've seen lil ol' purty as you please republican women act that way too.
They should get together and form their own party and make their number one priorty be giving us a good smilie.
i'd vote for that.
back on topic though, i think what this boils down to is whether it's better to have bad representation vs. no representation.
not sure i'm a fan of the FUD that's going to spread like wildfire as soon as Macs show up at best buy. although if they could just give those sales guys huge kickbacks, they'd be lying through their teeth FOR Macs instead of against them.
Macaddict16
"Internal Best Buy Memo Details Plans With Apple
By:_Kasper Jade
08.09.03
An Internal memo distributed to Best Buy personnel on August 5th, and recently obtained by AppleInsider, details a few of the retailer's plans for its renewed relationship with Apple Computer.
The memo begins by announcing the new partnership to the Best Buy staff and stating that they keep informed of the latest information surrounding the Macintosh platform.
Immediately following, the memo reads in part: "With the same passion Democrats and Republicans often use to express their political views, PC and Mac owners can debate their computers? superiority for hours on end. With its impassioned customers and loyal fan base, adding Macs back into the product assortment can only have positive results."
The memo then focus on Customer-driven solutions, stating that decision to market Apple computers differentiates Best Buy from other retailers. "This is what being customer-driven is all about."
The document further states that, while not all Best Buy stores will cary Apple's products, each location will be impacted by the roll-out. Additionally, employees should watch for traffic driven to Best Buy locations and BestBuy.com as a result of the advertisements that will be published beginning August 10th. Macs will also be highlighted consistently in Best Buy ads through much of August and September.
Finally, the memo touches on preparatory measures that were taken to ensure positive results. "Twelve service center technicians (one from each location) attended training at Apple?s corporate training facility in Cupertino, Calif. from July 21 to Aug. 1. This enables Best Buy service centers to be certified for factory warranty service on all Apple products."
Look for these new Best Buy ads to appear in Today's news publications for sales starting Sunday."
My concern has always been that the Best Buy locations are being stocked with machines that are about to be discontinued: Powerbooks and iMacs especially. BB will be TERRIBLE about removing these display machines and replacing them with the new models. Oh and forget about any of these machines ever running Panther. It's going to be Christmas Eve and all the Best Buy demo Macs will be long discontinued PBs and iMacs running 10.2.4.
Why didn't Apple wait a month or even two so that the Best Buy roll out could be done with brand spanking new PowerBooks and G5s running 10.3? They waited this long to get back in the game, so why not wait a little longer and do it right?
Manager: "Ok, in today's ad, we have a couple of new products."
Employee #1: "Yeah, that Apple crap."
Team laughs
Manager: "Tell me about it. Now we have to sell this stuff, but the problem is, we can't sell our learning software with it, they have thier own AppleCare program, so we can't sell service plans with it, and we can't sell many accessories with it, frankly, I don't know why we are selling them at all. My advice to you, keep selling the PCs. Show customers the Mac, but explain to them that they can't do everything on a Mac that they can on a PC. That way, we can sell the service plans, the accessories on included package printers, and the works. That will keep our numbers up."
This will probably be an unfortunate truth at many stores, though this is the pessimist in me. If I were still working there, I would strongly object and inform the "team" that Macs can do everything a PC can do, more efficiently, and they are far more reliable. This wouldn't be music to the ears of a manager who enjoys significant kick backs and bonuses when their extended warranty and accessory numbers are up. I hope Apple knows what they are doing.
Originally posted by InactionMan
Are there Apple products in Canadian Best Buy stores as well?
don't think so yet, though they should be available via bestbuy.com. this looks to be a very "trial run" by apple to see if they can correct the debacle that was the first time they tried selling macs through best buy.
i remember reading one story that sounded similar to an experience of my own, where someone asked if they had any mac software, and the attendant said "mac software?!? that's a good one. nothing runs on those things!" the customer took exception to that and did the standard "actually, many current titles are available for mac..." the sales rep said "hey, i don't need any trouble from your kind in here!" and it just devolved from there. think the scene from "anger management" when adam sandler is just sitting there, and everyone and their mother starts accusing him of not staying calm. the best buy sales rep eventually called store security on him and had him escorted out, which probably made him REALLY fly off the handle. 'course, it would help i they didn't employ 18-20 year old g
1 Best Buy
Best Buy is cool in some regards and highly sucky in others. For Apple to do well they have to have Apple employees there often to assist the staff and customers become educated about Macs. Also to "help" Best Buy maintain their committment to properly sell Apple products. I really don't want to see Macs covered in dust turned off. Apple has to be aggessive with Best Buy.
2 Infomercial
Not a bad idea, but just not on a UHF channel at 3 am. I would use it to pimp the whole Mac line, iApps, iTMS, dispel myths, gaming, performance etc. More importantly make it through the Apple Store. Something allong the lines of call 1-800-apple now, go to www.applestore.com or visit your local Apple Store. Combine the infomerical with a nice 6 month no interest credit plan would make it sweeter! I'd run it through the holiday season. Make is cool not stupid, get some celebs and musicians in as well.
Here's how the rollout should have gone:
1. Wait until the new Powerbooks, iMacs, G5s and Panther are ready for sale. If this means September or October, so be it. This return to Best Buy has been waiting for five years, what's two more months to do it right?
2. Full-time Apple rep for each participating Best Buy, literally from day one. Each store's Apple rep should be on the ground the day the first Macs arrive. Setup of Apple merchandise and demo materials can not be left to the regular sales staff. The message must be sent to every Best Buy employee that Apple is very serious about their presence this time around.
3. Ad campaign. Apple at Best Buy billboards, in store signage, banners, etc., all boasting the availability of the G5 and Panther.
Here's how the rollout did go:
1. Soon to be discontinued Macs are dumped in the store's loading dock with no plan, no proper setup, no demo materials, no brochures, no Apple rep on day one to send the proper message to staff and public alike.
2. Macs show up on BestBuy.com, apparently without the knowledge of anyone in the stores. The store wide $150 rebate seems to apply, but it takes Best Buy management several days to wake up and then pull the Macs. A few days later they show back up on the site, but minus the rebate.
3. Ad campaign is limited to one small section buried in the Best Buy mailer with no new products to advertise.
4. The very existence of the G5 is nowhere to be seen. Apple returns to the biggest retailer in North America, in the middle of launching their most important product ever, and nobody even knows it exists.
5. The complete absense of a strong Apple presence on the floor on day one reinforces the "who cares" attitude of the clueless Best Buy sales staff. All they see is a bunch of old, overpriced Macs dumped on their store shelves with no reason to care. The Best Buy Mac "rollout" is over before it even begins.
6. When the new Powerbooks, iMacs and G5s finally do arrive they will have to displace the old display models that never should have been there in the first place. This will be a disaster. Best Buy will leave the old gear out, with little if any explanation and the "Mac section" will turn into a mess of open box and red tagged demo machines that looks like royal hell. Not the presentation you want for the G5 in all its glory.
Check out this thread at Ars.
Best Buy Apple training materials revealed. Perhaps an AI member could pull the JPEGS and post them to this thread.
The materials are obviously Apple generated and are more thorough and even hard hitting than I thought Best Buy brass would have been comfortable with. So is this a good sign?
Originally posted by Ensign Pulver
Perhaps an AI member could pull the JPEGS and post them to this thread.
No problem.
It seems decent but I wonder what the follow through will be like.