Microsoft's retail store chain flounders in stark contrast to busy Apple Stores

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  • Reply 81 of 108
    2oh12oh1 Posts: 503member
    I live near the Microsoft Store in Portland. Here's a perfect example of how awful it is. I'm not sure if it's still there, but for a long time, there was a huge display in the window with what looked like live tiles (or whatever they call them) from a Microsoft desktop/home page. I think it showed a clock, calendar, weather, etc. It was just a poster though, which means it wasn't worth looking at. I remember a day with rain and temps in the low 50s, but that stupid window sign showed a weather app that said it was something like sunny and 81... because it was a dumb poster.

    If Microsoft wants to be at Apple's level they need to start by being at Apple's level. The window display should have been a monitor shaped to look like a giant Windows Phone or a giant Surface, showing working apps so that the time, date and weather would actually be right. Give people a reason to notice it. Instead, it's a poster in front of an empty store.
  • Reply 82 of 108
    Apple get rent at rock bottom prices while Microsoft have to inmates rents because of the fact that they don't draw people in the malls like Microsoft does. It
  • Reply 83 of 108
    damonf wrote: »
    Yes, knowing what Microsoft is is the company's problem.  If you grew up in the 90s or 00s, Microsoft was the company that:
    - brought you the blue screen of death.  Regularly.  Until Windows XP
    - IRQ conflicts.  You wanted to install a new peripheral or card?  You had to be a Jedi master in understanding your hardware and their BIOS settings.
    - Easily infected OS.  Remember the stories of how many seconds it took for a clean, unpatched Windows XP machine to be infected once connected to the Internet?  Even today Microsoft still doesn't provide decent malware defense, instead everyone has to run a 3rd party antivirus product.
    - Nickel and dimed to death: $79+ for an OS upgrade.  Oh you want this-or-that feature?  You'll have to buy the "Professional" version.  $450 for a productivity suite (MS Office). Which the PC OEMs used to throw in in the 90s, but it got too expensive for them, so they quit doing that.

    Yeah, Microsoft's reputation precedes it.  Windows was unavoidable and dominated everything.  Once people started having a choice with smartphone operating systems, tablets, etc. they couldn't jump ship fast enough.  That's why Windows phone has only 2.9% U.S. market share.  The Xbox is the only Microsoft product I can think of that a large number of the public actually want / choose to use.  Everything else from MS before it was like Soviet Russia bread and milk (consume it or starve yourself, your only choices pretty much).  Except you got to pay for the privilege of using it.

    Bottom line: there are a lot of people in their 30s on up who feel wronged in some way by Microsoft.  That's a heck of a lot to overcome.

    Microsoft is hoping that millennials will save its bacon long term by virtue of simply not having those experience, but it's hard to picture anyone liking Windows for any reason whatsoever. My Windows 8 PC at work still acts up. It's slow. It's saddled with antivirus software. Ctrl-Alt-Del sometimes doesn't work requiring a cold restart. The registry gets corrupted. Network issues (such as offline servers) cause apps to hang. Beneath Modern UI is the same old creaky OS that they've patched along since the days of NT. More importantly, Microsoft isn't in the habit of changing the game. They have a very old play book that they successfully used against past competitors like IBM, Netscape, Palm, Sony, SGI, Sun, etc. The stagnation that was IE6 proves that Microsoft cannot be allowed to beat their competitors, and send millions of users into the dark ages simply because they ran out of enemies to chase. And that is exactly what is wrong with their play book: they obsess over beating their market-leading competitors instead of focusing on customers and obsessing on improving user experience. A lot of that goes back to the corporate culture that Bill Gates (and later Steve Ballmer) created over the years, which had proven to be succesful in the past, except at creating products that anyone loved. That's what they have to overcome: a culture shift.
  • Reply 84 of 108
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post





    Microsoft is hoping that millennials will save its bacon long term by virtue of simply not having those experience, but it's hard to picture anyone [I}liking[/I] Windows for any reason whatsoever. My Windows 8 PC at work still acts up. It's slow. It's saddled with antivirus software. Ctrl-Alt-Del sometimes doesn't work requiring a cold restart. The registry gets corrupted. Network issues (such as offline servers) cause apps to hang. Beneath Modern UI is the same old creaky OS that they've patched along since the days of NT. More importantly, Microsoft isn't in the habit of changing the game. They have a very old play book that they successfully used against past competitors like IBM, Netscape, Palm, Sony, SGI, Sun, etc. The stagnation that was IE6 proves that Microsoft cannot be allowed to beat their competitors, and send millions of users into the dark ages simply because they ran out of enemies to chase. And that is exactly what is wrong with their play book: they obsess over beating their market-leading competitors instead of focusing on customers and obsessing on improving user experience. A lot of that goes back to the corporate culture that Bill Gates (and later Steve Ballmer) created over the years, which had proven to be succesful in the past, except at creating products that anyone loved. That's what they have to overcome: a culture shift.



    Mmmm.... Millennial bacon...

  • Reply 85 of 108
    Microsoft served a strong hand yesterday: HoloLens with an awesome demo, convertible tablet with stylus, Surface 4, new phone that can be used like a PC. Their stores will definitely get busier in the next few weeks. Apple's stock in falling like a freaking rock! I hope they have something to show for, Tim's only new hand was the AppleWatch, and it was a major meh. I miss Jobs, he would have smacked Microsoft across the face with something that set them 10 years behind. But now it seems Microsoft is catching up quickly, it's the 90's all over again.

    Replace "Microsoft" with "Google" and "Hololens" with "Glass" and "Surface" with "Chomebook" you've got 2013 all over again. Apple is still doomed, only now the iPhone is selling even better than ever. The rest of your post is just the troll meme omnibus.
  • Reply 86 of 108
    elrothelroth Posts: 1,201member



    I was in that downtown Portland store for the first time last week (during lunch break from jury duty a couple of blocks away), and it was totally full. A bit chaotic for my taste - just less so than a public market in China. I usually go to the Bridgeport Village store, which is a bit more peaceful, but still has plenty of customers.

  • Reply 87 of 108
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,100member
    People go to Microsoft stores because they have to. They go to Apple stores because they want to. It's like going to a Jiffy Lube vs. a brunch restaurant.
  • Reply 88 of 108
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by tyler82 View Post



    People go to Microsoft stores because they have to. They go to Apple stores because they want to. It's like going to a Jiffy Lube vs. a brunch restaurant.



    More like the DMV vs the restaurant.

  • Reply 89 of 108
    This is a thing in China. Because they want to.

    [VIDEO]
  • Reply 90 of 108
    damonfdamonf Posts: 229member
    Microsoft is hoping that millennials will save its bacon long term by virtue of simply not having those experience, but it's hard to picture anyone liking Windows for any reason whatsoever. My Windows 8 PC at work still acts up. It's slow. It's saddled with antivirus software. Ctrl-Alt-Del sometimes doesn't work requiring a cold restart. The registry gets corrupted. Network issues (such as offline servers) cause apps to hang. Beneath Modern UI is the same old creaky OS that they've patched along since the days of NT. More importantly, Microsoft isn't in the habit of changing the game. They have a very old play book that they successfully used against past competitors like IBM, Netscape, Palm, Sony, SGI, Sun, etc. The stagnation that was IE6 proves that Microsoft cannot be allowed to beat their competitors, and send millions of users into the dark ages simply because they ran out of enemies to chase. And that is exactly what is wrong with their play book: they obsess over beating their market-leading competitors instead of focusing on customers and obsessing on improving user experience. A lot of that goes back to the corporate culture that Bill Gates (and later Steve Ballmer) created over the years, which had proven to be succesful in the past, except at creating products that anyone loved. That's what they have to overcome: a culture shift.

    I completely agree. Not saying that I want to switch to their products down the road though. ;) haha
  • Reply 91 of 108
    damonfdamonf Posts: 229member
    nolamacguy wrote: »
    nailed it. im an enterprise MS developer, and even i dislike the company and its products... i cant tell you how much of my life has been wasted re-installing windows.

    and yep i remember those IRQ conflicts, setting jumpers on modems...good times.

    Ever had to deal with SCCM 2007? The client breaks very easily and inexplicably. Not nearly as robust as the OSes it's meant to manage. Not that Windows too can break easily, but at least it has some safeguards. Lol

    Good times. Good times. Well, not really. Lol
  • Reply 92 of 108
    damonfdamonf Posts: 229member
    pscooter63 wrote: »
    ...which is why those playable X-Box displays must be so important to them.  They're a long term investment for the under-30 mindshare, perhaps?

    Exactly. Seems to be their main (perhaps only) draw to entice customers into their stores.
  • Reply 93 of 108
    It all boils down to the PATHETIC quality of the Microsoft products compared to the Apple, Android or open source solutions.

    LibreOffice or OpenOffice are basically the same if not BETTER solutions tan the very expensive, BLOATED Office365 and there is NO EXCUSE for that when youre are PAYING TOP DOLLARS for these MS solutions that most times are just the Nth re-re-releaee of a THIRTY years old product !!!

    Lets not get into virtualization or databasaes where Proxmox or Postgres RUN CIRCLES AROUND MS software...as they are FREE, or ust buy Oracle or VMWare to get industrial grade, expensive but very very solid solutions...

    Lets not get into the CRAP that the Windows franchise has developed into, just BARELY usable as Windows 10 , except you get just TOO MUCH REMOTE CONTROL ON YOUR HARDWARE FROM MICROSOFT , which is NOT to provide the same QUALITY OF SERVICE that Apple manages to do...

    Talking about the HORRIBLE MESS the MOBILE DISASTERS Microsoft has managed to pile up and INVESTORS SHOULD BE STORMING THE DOORS OF MICROSOFT HEADQUARTERS....

    What HAS TO BE DONE IMMEDIATELY is a RESET ... a ELIMINATION of the OLD GUARD which was basically a bunch of yes men trying to just get their pet projects to prevail ...

    MICROSOFT OWNERS, the SHAREHOLDERS should DEMAND A BREAK UP NOW , while the company STILL HAS GREAT VALUE as it is OBVIOUS TO ANYONE IN THE BUSINESS MICROSOFT IS NOW DOOMED TO DWINDLE ... so for investrs IT WOULD BE MUCH BETTER TO DO A FULL BREAKUP, CAHING IN WHILE THEY STILL CAN !!!
  • Reply 94 of 108
    weaz1weaz1 Posts: 1member
    LMAO! What you groupies don't know will kill you; or Apple in this case. Less people you say? That's because Apple is a hardware company that refuses to create more Jobs, no pun intended, by outsourcing. They had a huge head start that's shrinking up as we speak. Also, the Microsoft store helps people quickly and they leave the store instead of standing around for hours trying to get help for a broken devices and a boring buggy OS. Good luck competing in the months to come....
  • Reply 95 of 108
    The stores around here are always busy. Maybe not always as busy as the Apple store, but sometimes busier. I've seen the same in other places like NC, too.

    It's hilarious that you didn't even put a picture of a real store, and instead some mall kiosk setup (obviously those aren't going to be as bustling).
  • Reply 96 of 108
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BrandonLive View Post



    The stores around here are always busy. Maybe not always as busy as the Apple store, but sometimes busier. I've seen the same in other places like NC, too.



    It's hilarious that you didn't even put a picture of a real store, and instead some mall kiosk setup (obviously those aren't going to be as bustling).



    I've been to the Christiana Mall in Delaware twice. First time at 4pm on a Friday and the second 4pm on a Monday. Neither time did the MS store have any customers. If that is success then my name is Long John Silver.

    I can remember the earlier attempt by MS to sell retail back in the 1980's. The store I passed by in a mall (I think it was just off I-495 in Mass) once again had zero customers.

     

    We don't have any MS stores in my Country (or any that I know of) so I can't judge their overall success but the general consensus amongst IT literate people I know and work with is that they have totally lost the Plot especially with Windows 10.

    Even my local Store is still offering Windows 7 with every PC/Laptop (or no OS) rather than W10.

     

    my last XP machine now runs CentOS. I'm pretty well done with MS. The only thing I have to use is Office.

  • Reply 97 of 108
    linkmanlinkman Posts: 1,035member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Misa View PostMicrosoft store: More employees than staff.

    This really confuses me...

  • Reply 98 of 108

    I've been to the Christiana Mall in Delaware twice. First time at 4pm on a Friday and the second 4pm on a Monday. Neither time did the MS store have any customers. If that is success then my name is Long John Silver.
    I can remember the earlier attempt by MS to sell retail back in the 1980's. The store I passed by in a mall (I think it was just off I-495 in Mass) once again had zero customers.

    We don't have any MS stores in my Country (or any that I know of) so I can't judge their overall success but the general consensus amongst IT literate people I know and work with is that they have totally lost the Plot especially with Windows 10.
    Even my local Store is still offering Windows 7 with every PC/Laptop (or no OS) rather than W10.

    my last XP machine now runs CentOS. I'm pretty well done with MS. The only thing I have to use is Office.

    Wow, you're just out-of-touch with reality.
  • Reply 99 of 108
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BrandonLive View Post





    Wow, you're just out-of-touch with reality.

     

    Well, here is the evidence. The ONLY people in the store were wearing T-Shirts with MS branding

    http://steved.homelinux.org/Microsoft_Store_Christiana_Mall.jpg

     

    This was taken two weeks ago today at 4pm.

     

    If this makes me out of touch with reality then... I'm a monkeys uncle.

  • Reply 100 of 108

    Quote:


    Originally Posted by rotateleftbyte View Post

     

    Well, here is the evidence. The ONLY people in the store were wearing T-Shirts with MS branding

    http://steved.homelinux.org/Microsoft_Store_Christiana_Mall.jpg

     

    This was taken two weeks ago today at 4pm.

     

    If this makes me out of touch with reality then... I'm a monkeys uncle.


     

    That's hilarious. One visit to a remote store at an off hour means absolutely nothing.

     

    I was at the Seattle UVillage store yesterday at 5:30pm and it was busy. They closed at 6 (since it was Sunday) but still had a lot of people there as they started preparing to close up.

     

    Of course, neither of these anecdotes means anything. What matter is that they keep expanding their retail presence because it's a success, and they have been seeing a lot of great customer satisfaction improvements because of it (their in-store customer service is excellent, like most Apple stores). Tech journalists and bloggers are always recommending that people purchase PCs from MS stores because they have better premium selections and come without the crapware you get elsewhere. They're really one of the smarter moves MS has made in recent years.

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