Google’s stores are a lame challenge to Apple’s
washingtonpost.com
washingtonpost.com
Going to the Apple Store is almost always an unpleasant experience. First, the small number of locations means that getting to an Apple Store can be onerous. Moreover, the majority of stores are massively overcrowded. On weekends, I literally can't get into my local Apple Store because of overcrowding. There are simply too many people to physically navigate the store. Imagine riding a crowded public bus. That is the level of crowding.
Moreover, the setup of the Apple Store encourages people to linger and leisurely use the devices. In practice, this means that people (particularly little kids) will spend upwards of thirty minutes playing some asinine game on the display devices. There are no limits enforced, and the chronic overcrowding means that even getting to look at a device is difficult.
If you happen to go during a weekday when there isn't overcrowding, you get overwhelmed by Apple staff. Effectively every time I enter an Apple Store I get accosted by no less than three employees, not to mention the "concierge" that guards the entryway to the store. When shopping, I don't want to be berated by staff. It's very reminiscent of the episode of The Office where Dwight gets fired and takes up a position at Staples. When a woman comes into his department to shop, Dwight stands five feet away from her and just glares at her the entire time.
Deciding whether or not to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a device is already mentally taxing; having Apple staff constantly interject does not make the experience any easier. I don't think I've ever heard anyone I know speak positively of an experience at the Apple Store, particularly because they feel absolutely overwhelmed by the way the staff treat them.
I'm not sure if these problems are pervasive or specific only to my local store, but in my experience, the notion that the service at the Apple Store is "magical" is downright laughable.
The Microsoft Store on the other hand.... that needs work. I've been a few times now and the balance of staff:customers:devices was way off. As one of the few customers in the store, I was repeatedly asked if I had questions. Finally I decided to ask what QuadHD+ is (3200x1800 if you're curious)... the store rep didn't know, then dragged me over the computer so she could look it up and "explain" it to me and how it's "better than retina".
Receiving too much credit? Are you asinine? Perhaps you don't remember the days before the Apple Store. Purchasing a computer involved going to retail outlets like CompUSA or Circuit City that cared more about their bottom line then paying attention to the dilapidated surroundings. If you did choose to go to a slightly nicer place like Best Buy, good luck buying a computer that didn't come with tons of manufacturer adware that the "GEEKS" felt the need to either clean for a ridiculous fee or install more on top of. Or my favorite, you could go to Gateway Country, and get the worst of retail annoyances and overpricing with the annoyance of waiting provided by online shopping!
In fact, the misguided nature of your post is pretty well evident if you simply replace all instances of [Apple Store] with [holiday shopping]. It's difficult to get into most any shopping center retailer, especially those that have a single location in a major metro area.
Oh, and how dare any retail store allow potential customers to spend time getting familiar with the devices they're about to drop hundreds of dollars on. Nope, some self-entitled guy on HN thinks your game is asinine, yet lacks the basic social cues to politely ask to see a device or god-forbid queue for it, so curse Apple for not enforcing limits. (For the record, they do enforce limits in highly specific circumstances where people are actually abusing the privilege, but I'd like to see you try to deal with angry shoppers during the holidays).
And yet, when Apple staffers do approach you, to ya know, maybe inquire if you'd like to check out a device yourself, they're berating you.
Which is the whole point: Apple gets credit in retail because they do the best job of providing a great buying experience to customers in an industry that is inherently difficult, whereas MS, Samsung, Google and others just seem to copy poorly. Since your own insecurities seem to be the problem, just neckbeard it up for some online shopping at home, which is the most pleasant experience anyway.
I buy a computer once every three to five years, which I usually do online, except in the rare case that the store carries an upgraded model. What I really want from an Apple store is stuff for my Mac: software and compatible accessories. They used to have racks full of software, Wacom tablets, MIDI interfaces, etc.
On a long shot, I went in one day to ask whether they carried audio interfaces (to connect a decent microphone or guitar). The salesperson didn't understand what that was or why you'd want it. This from the company that makes Logic Pro.
Err, its nice I guess, in a "we're kinda different" way, but no where am I thinking its magical or a positive shopping experience. Staff there tend to be borderline short with me, obviously because they're busy with other customers. Staff at the genius bar look depressed and over-worked. One genius borderline yelled at me when I told him I'll need my ac cable back from my imac after service. He snottily said "well I can't prove you didn't bring one" and practically threw one at me.
Retail has moved to this aesthetic, which is also interesting in a way, but at the end of the day I'm exchanging money for product. Who has mastered the art of making the prettiest store and who is merely just "good" at it really doesn't make much difference to me, and I imagine, to many others. Value for my money and decent return policies are all I really care about.
Anyway, its all incredibly inferior to ordering online. That's the dirty little secret that scares the retail industry.
If you notice, it's exactly the same style of store that high-end fashion boutiques and perfumeries were based on. Apple took this approach and replaced a few hangers with high end clothes with computers and tablets and stuck a tech support desk in the back.
The problem with knock-off stores is that they try and copy Apple's take on the style rather than going back to the source and just copying other high-end fashion stores.
Is there some great source of bespoke computers that you buy from?
I think it was in William Gibson's Idoru that the main character had some mobile computer with a handmade jeweled case made by some small co-op or other. I've been waiting for the rise of these groups.
I think the author's criticisms are off base. It doesn't really matter if the store is hosted below the High Line or in a slick loft in Chelsea, or in Bryant Park as it is currently, because the Cool Factor would be borrowed. People are extremely good at spotting inauthenticity, trying to borrow that Cool Factor is just going to look lame and desperate (see: Microsoft store in Times Square).
Most Apple Stores are in extremely normal, even boring, places. Their attractiveness to shoppers isn't borrowed from their location, it's inherent in the products stocked within.
In other words, before you can have that slick, zen-like, all-glass Apple Store, you first need to invent the iPod. The headline-grabbing, head-turning products need to come first, before you build a store to house it in. As much as I like the Nexus products, they're not it.
What's so cool about some mass produced disposable widget that gets sold to grandmas at Walmart? This isn't the Apple of 2002. Cool is about exclusivity and membership into something grandma can't be a member of. Marketing telling you something is cool is actually uncool.
>As much as I like the Nexus products, they're not it.
I'm glad it lacks the pretensions you describe. Its a phone, not a religion.
In fact I think the primary factor for its enduring success (and that of the new Apple era as a whole) is that they managed to be "cool" and popular at the same time. They had the marketing that told you it was cool (dancing silhouettes, etc), and everyone from hip indie kids to grandmas said "yeah, that is cool."
Magic always comes with a price.
Revolutions, too.
http://winterwonderlab.withgoogle.com/finder
Strangely, it was near the bottom of the second page of (Google) results for "Google Winter Wonderlab".