I think both Dell and Gateway tried this approach ... how did that turn out for them?
I've been into the Microsoft Stores in San Diego and Orange County ... you can definitely tell they hired the same interior designer who did the Apple Stores. It's rather obvious who it is they are trying to imitate (and "imitate" really is the best word to describe it). They are kind of nice, because you can play around with a few cool gadgets, but, for the most part, the general impression I got from both stores was they were trying to convince everyone they were cool, and that you wanted to buy their products. The main difference between that approach and the Apple Store is when you go into an Apple Store you don't really need anyone to convince you about how cool the product is ... the hands on experience sells the product. The employees are really there to answer any questions you might have, and to help you buy something (barring the Genius Bar). At the Microsoft Store all the employees went overboard trying to sell products, and give you reasons why you 1) shouldn't want to buy an Apple product, and 2) why their product was so much cooler and more awesome. It just comes off as desperate ... at least that was the distinct impression I got from both stores (on multiple visits spanning several months).
The idea that you can somehow copy a successful store/product by simply slapping a different logo on it, and using different colors is sophomoric. I mean it's like Hyundai trying to make their cars look like a Mercedes-Benz ... sure they do look cool, because they copied the design aesthetics of a precision engineered luxury vehicle, but the second you step in one and drive it around the difference is immediately apparently and impossible to deny. That doesn't mean Hyundai (or Microsoft) doesn't make a good product, but when you try to pass your product off as a better built and more desirable product from another company the user is usually going to get disappointed -- especially if they're expecting it to mimic the experience of the more desirable product.
I think Steve Jobs was correct when he said (over ten years ago) "we have to forget this idea that for Apple to succeed Microsoft has to fail." Since then Apple has side stepped Microsoft (and conventional wisdom) and created entirely new markets which it dominates. Microsoft, however, still seems trapped in an early 90's mentality of "flood the market with similar product at a cheaper price (even if quality is sacrificed) to destroy the competition." That approach just doesn't work very well any more ... beside the fact I think Microsoft is spending too much time and energy fighting Apple when they should be worried about Google.
Flood the market with 75 mediocre stores that sell mostly mediocre products and you can join Dell and Gateway at the "we expanded too fast, and then the bubble burst" party.
I also remember the Gateway Stores ("Moooo!!") when they were around... and the dweebs that staffed them were way less than knowledgeable or helpful... they just wanted to sell you a box and get you out the door. Pffft!!
And the Dell kiosks? Ha! They were a joke... and my local Apple Store had a Dell "Kick the Tires/Shit" kiosk not 25 feet from the Apple Store entrance. They were gone in about 2 years!
And now Microshaft wants to do the same thing? With a Brick n' Mortar store? ARE THEY NUTS?!?!?
Sounds like the ol' lessons of history were lost on them! Go back and get schooled, you boys of Redmond!
I can't make up my mind whether to feel sorry for Steve Barmy, "captain of the sinking ship Microsoft" or to admire his fighting spirit in spite of all odds. When i saw the way he pranced about on stage, punching the air, shrieking voice, but with an almost desperate look on his face I knew that he knew he's losing the battle.
A good move. Microsoft is making the best products they ever have right now and I think the only thing that's holding them back is exposure.
If they can get people into the store and using Windows Phone 7 there's no reason why it can't start gaining the marketshare it deserves. Maybe it will also be easier when the new Xbox 360 UI is released that is similar to Windows Phone 7.
"Making the best products they ever have right now"? That's not saying much is it?
snark aside, the real question is whether the MS Store?s ?technical specialists? really provide useful help to Windows users. that is the one really valuable customer service that is worth opening a store for, and so will help MS compete with Apple.
i?ve never seen a real life report about this. does anyone know?
unlike Apple stores, no one is going to actually buy much at an MS store. everything there is priced at list (except for featured sales items), and you can get it much cheaper at Best Buy or on line.
Apple of course does not discount anything, and you can?t save much on line (except sales tax maybe). so you might as well go to the store and carry it home.
and related to that, the huge advantage of Apple stores that MS can never match is on the spot warranty service. that?s HUGE when something craps out. and sooner or later, something always does.
"Making the best products they ever have right now"? That's not saying much is it?
No, but there's still a beautiful symmetry to the fact that once they could force any old crap down the consumer's throat if it had Windows on it ( Windows ME for example ), whereas now they can't even shift something halfway decent because the association is so bad.
I can't make up my mind whether to feel sorry for Steve Barmy, "captain of the sinking ship Microsoft" or to admire his fighting spirit in spite of all odds. When i saw the way he pranced about on stage, punching the air, shrieking voice, but with an almost desperate look on his face I knew that he knew he's losing the battle.
"Captain of the sinking ship Microsoft"? That's perfect. So these proposed new stores are what, like "Rearranging deck chairs on a ship that's going down"?
This is one of the most idiotic things I've heard. I've never been to a Microsoft Store that wasn't almost completely empty. Yet they want to build a bunch of new ones..why? Because Apple has done it? Because it will magically make the stores more popular? Every single Apple store I've been to has almost ALWAYS been PACKED- no matter what time of the day, week, month, or year. That's why they're expanding. This reeks of me too syndrome.
I was thinking about the Genius Bar as well. What will they do when they have irate customers show up at the store? Are they going to service their existing Windows etc. customers through the channel. Sounds like a poorly devised plan by a desperate CEO to me!
No they will have a Go To Bar and all they will do is point you back to the manufacturer of the computer. "Oh you have a Dell, you have to talk them" or they will use the classic line "it's a hardware problem, go back to the manufacturer". All the while aggravation will climb to an all time high and more and more people will be switching to the Mac.
Comments
I've been into the Microsoft Stores in San Diego and Orange County ... you can definitely tell they hired the same interior designer who did the Apple Stores. It's rather obvious who it is they are trying to imitate (and "imitate" really is the best word to describe it). They are kind of nice, because you can play around with a few cool gadgets, but, for the most part, the general impression I got from both stores was they were trying to convince everyone they were cool, and that you wanted to buy their products. The main difference between that approach and the Apple Store is when you go into an Apple Store you don't really need anyone to convince you about how cool the product is ... the hands on experience sells the product. The employees are really there to answer any questions you might have, and to help you buy something (barring the Genius Bar). At the Microsoft Store all the employees went overboard trying to sell products, and give you reasons why you 1) shouldn't want to buy an Apple product, and 2) why their product was so much cooler and more awesome. It just comes off as desperate ... at least that was the distinct impression I got from both stores (on multiple visits spanning several months).
The idea that you can somehow copy a successful store/product by simply slapping a different logo on it, and using different colors is sophomoric. I mean it's like Hyundai trying to make their cars look like a Mercedes-Benz ... sure they do look cool, because they copied the design aesthetics of a precision engineered luxury vehicle, but the second you step in one and drive it around the difference is immediately apparently and impossible to deny. That doesn't mean Hyundai (or Microsoft) doesn't make a good product, but when you try to pass your product off as a better built and more desirable product from another company the user is usually going to get disappointed -- especially if they're expecting it to mimic the experience of the more desirable product.
I think Steve Jobs was correct when he said (over ten years ago) "we have to forget this idea that for Apple to succeed Microsoft has to fail." Since then Apple has side stepped Microsoft (and conventional wisdom) and created entirely new markets which it dominates. Microsoft, however, still seems trapped in an early 90's mentality of "flood the market with similar product at a cheaper price (even if quality is sacrificed) to destroy the competition." That approach just doesn't work very well any more ... beside the fact I think Microsoft is spending too much time and energy fighting Apple when they should be worried about Google.
Flood the market with 75 mediocre stores that sell mostly mediocre products and you can join Dell and Gateway at the "we expanded too fast, and then the bubble burst" party.
Gateway stores here in Dallas: Gone.
Dell stores here in Dallas: Gone.
I also remember the Gateway Stores ("Moooo!!") when they were around... and the dweebs that staffed them were way less than knowledgeable or helpful... they just wanted to sell you a box and get you out the door. Pffft!!
And the Dell kiosks? Ha!
And now Microshaft wants to do the same thing? With a Brick n' Mortar store? ARE THEY NUTS?!?!?
Sounds like the ol' lessons of history were lost on them! Go back and get schooled, you boys of Redmond!
/
/
/
The plans are said to be part of the company's effort to expand the "Microsoft story,"
Yeah.. it is a wonderful story
I think both Dell and Gateway tried this approach ... how did that turn out for them?
I guess it just proves that it's not the stores themselves, BUT what's in the stores!
/
/
/
A good move. Microsoft is making the best products they ever have right now and I think the only thing that's holding them back is exposure.
If they can get people into the store and using Windows Phone 7 there's no reason why it can't start gaining the marketshare it deserves. Maybe it will also be easier when the new Xbox 360 UI is released that is similar to Windows Phone 7.
"Making the best products they ever have right now"? That's not saying much is it?
i?ve never seen a real life report about this. does anyone know?
unlike Apple stores, no one is going to actually buy much at an MS store. everything there is priced at list (except for featured sales items), and you can get it much cheaper at Best Buy or on line.
Apple of course does not discount anything, and you can?t save much on line (except sales tax maybe). so you might as well go to the store and carry it home.
and related to that, the huge advantage of Apple stores that MS can never match is on the spot warranty service. that?s HUGE when something craps out. and sooner or later, something always does.
"Making the best products they ever have right now"? That's not saying much is it?
No, but there's still a beautiful symmetry to the fact that once they could force any old crap down the consumer's throat if it had Windows on it ( Windows ME for example ), whereas now they can't even shift something halfway decent because the association is so bad.
Yeah.. it is a wonderful story
A Love Story it's not!
Scrub video to 1:15 for a laugh at oneself moment...
/
/
/
I can't make up my mind whether to feel sorry for Steve Barmy, "captain of the sinking ship Microsoft" or to admire his fighting spirit in spite of all odds. When i saw the way he pranced about on stage, punching the air, shrieking voice, but with an almost desperate look on his face I knew that he knew he's losing the battle.
"Captain of the sinking ship Microsoft"? That's perfect. So these proposed new stores are what, like "Rearranging deck chairs on a ship that's going down"?
I was thinking about the Genius Bar as well. What will they do when they have irate customers show up at the store? Are they going to service their existing Windows etc. customers through the channel. Sounds like a poorly devised plan by a desperate CEO to me!
No they will have a Go To Bar and all they will do is point you back to the manufacturer of the computer. "Oh you have a Dell, you have to talk them" or they will use the classic line "it's a hardware problem, go back to the manufacturer". All the while aggravation will climb to an all time high and more and more people will be switching to the Mac.
Someone should inform Microsoft's marketing team of the difference between Colorado and Wyoming.
This is what can happen when you use Bing for geolocation data.
Next to it will be a bunch of crappy HP laptops with buttons missing from too much handling from customers.
And don't forget the vast selection of mice (the same ones you can buy at Target).
And half the displays won't work (like the XBOX demo's at Walmart)
...this concept lacks any creativity
But you keep crackin' on Apple Mr. Ballmer,
Keep crackin'