Hacker News Reader

Comment by sandworm101 | Hacker News Reader

>> figuring out how to flag someone down if they're busy. For that reason alone, I've stopped recommending Apple products to my older relatives.

Be cute. Wear cool clothes. Don't be old. Look like an "influencer" with a million followers. The more you look like the people in the apple commercials the faster they will get to you. Above all things, apple stores are image-conscious. They are welcoming to people who fit the image they wish to portray and shun those who do not.

Or, if you really want fast service, do the opposite. I wore my military uniform to an apple store once (picking up a xmas present on my way home from work). Despite the crowds I had a manager helping me within seconds. She was very eager to get me helped and back out the door. Camo does clash with iPhone white.

View on HN

> The more you look like the people in the apple commercials the faster they will get to you.

I'd say this is a bold claim w/o non-anecdotal evidence. Customer service should be non-discriminatory, no matter what product/service you're selling. If I, as a customer, cannot rely on an associate to address my problem simply because I do not dress like their image, then this is not a business worth walking into in the first place.

I can walk into a grocery store with either a million-dollar suite, or a tshirt/shorts, and I still expect the same customer service.

Edit:

A simple anecdotal counter: I do not own any apple products, but I have walked into Apple Stores with friends who own Apple products. None of us dress 'the part' like your 'typical Apple user' does, but I have seen prompt customer service nonetheless.

> I can walk into a grocery store with either a million-dollar suite, or a tshirt/shorts, and I still expect the same customer service.

Oh. Is that borne from past experience? Because my experience living in a very accepting, liberal city, tells me the opposite. Unless your tshirt and shorts are from j crew.

I have lived in both rural and urban areas. I still fail to see how dress affects level of customer service I receive.

Yes, you may live in a more wealthy area, which may attract those with more expensive looking dress. But are telling me that you've personally witnessed a person denied customer service simply due to the fact that they do not dress in expensive clothing?

>> you've personally witnessed a person denied customer service simply due to the fact that they do not dress in expensive clothing?

Nobody is talking about denied anything. This is about speed and priority. It is no surprise that well-dressed attractive people get better customer service. This is just a little more true at apple than at other electronics stores.

> Nobody is talking about denied anything. This is about speed and priority.

Take this example:

I show up in a store at 1200, and am told the waiting time is approx 30 minutes. I wait in the queue.

Another customer shows up in the store at 1220. This customer is more well-dressed than I am. This customer also waits in the queue.

At 1230, the more well-dressed customer is chosen to be serviced before I am, a customer who has been waiting for 30 min vs the other customer's 10 min. I have just been denied customer service in favor of the other customer, no?

I don't mean to make this a long, drawn-out conversation. I'm just looking for clarification.

> I have just been denied customer service in favor of the other customer, no?

Maybe. Perhaps they booked an appointment in advance instead of doing a walk-in and it had nothing to do with their clothing, or there are multiple queues for different types of service.

I totally believe that someone in uniform might get extra nice treatment, but aside from that, I'm surprised you could type something like that without it feeling like waving a big red flag at yourself. If I find myself thinking stuff like that (and I do, all the time, because I'm old and unattractive and can have quite the RBF if I'm not paying attention), it's almost always because my expectations are way off and I'm feeling insecure and paranoid, or I'm feeling insecure and impatient and grumpy and am projecting, or (most likely) I'm the problem. I always remember the old saying about how if some days it seems like every single person I bump into is an asshole, I'm the asshole, and I usually am.

Everybody who works retail wants nothing more than to get customers in/happy/out ASAP, nobody in a busy electronics store cares about only helping attractive people. They want to help those people get out of the store ASAP too. For example, even if there's some questionably hygienic, angry looking morbidly obese fiftysomething guy in a MAGA hat and Crocs standing in the corner glaring at everyone, they're still going to want that person happy and out of the store ASAP, just like everyone else. Maybe even more happy and more out of the store than most if he's creeping out other people. Not helping people who need help just gives them a bad experience and keeps them lurking around the store getting progressively angrier. Nobody wants that.

Or like many other corners of America, aircraft boarding, etc, military personnel are given some extra perks for the risks for which they volunteered.

Who said anything about america? I'm in Canada. We don't get military discounts everywhere. When we wear our uniforms in public we generally get looks of surprise and confusion. We don't get priority boarding. In fact Canadian soldier almost never wear uniforms while traveling, certainly not while on civilian aircraft. America's soldier cult is a very unique thing.

Sorry for assuming the context, but I do still find it very unlikely that an Apple store rushed someone service wise to minimize military apparel away from public appearance.

That said the Apple store is losing luster because it's organized around a human touch feel, but seems to want to not supply enough humans to actually handle capacity. This after making sure placement of the stores are optimized for high-traffic locations

Funny that they should ignore the old fogies without influence, as they are the ones that can most afford the Apple junk.

I’m pushing 50, and I don’t need a fucking loan to buy an iPhone.

Yeah, no interest payments from you. Less profitable.

When you lease to own to your phone through Apple with CitizenOne, there’s no interest

For 24 months, which means that there is a non-zero risk of interest. It also appears to require insurance, precludes you from other offers, etc.

I suspect that these finance deals are still more expensive for the consumer than paying in cash. After all, you’re receiving convince.

[0]https://www.apple.com/legal/sales-support/iphoneupgrade_us/

It’s a lease to own, so after the 24 months, it’s yours and you don’t pay anymore.

You won't be spending as much in their apps store. That's where the real profit margins are.

I have not thought about it like this before but I think you truly might be onto something.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com