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NYT: Apple Stores Offering Endangered Face-to-Face Service

by , 8:15 AM EST, January 27th, 2005

Calling free face-to-face support an "increasingly rare service", New York Times reporter Katie Hafner writes in Thursday's edition of the Genius Bar concept inside Apple retail stores.

Ms. Hafner details how the concept has existed since the first store opened in McClean, Virginia in 2001 and how in-store specialists help customers with problems ranging from stuck DVDs to issues of syncing an iPod with a PowerBook.

Ron Johnson, Apple's senior vice president for retailing is quoted in the story as saying the Genius Bar is "the part of the store that people connect to emotionally more than any other."

Mirrored after similiar service he had seen at the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton hotel chain, Mr. Johnson told the NYT that Apple was concerned in the beginning that Genius Bar staffers would be too geeky and lack the social skills to work with the public. "But he soon found that more often than not, the employees were well-socialized young people who happened to know a lot about computers," the article said.

Observer Comments

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Close Name:kenaustus Posts: 601 Joined: 27 Jun 2003
Thu Jan 27, 2005 11:00 am Subject: A very good read

The story is a good read and is the best article I've seen demonstrating the difference Apple provides in a retail environment. The Apple Stores are definitely something special - just as Macs are something special.


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Close Name:Intruder -   TMO Mac Specialist Posts: 2921 Joined: 07 Jul 2004
Thu Jan 27, 2005 11:52 am Subject: minor typo

It is McLean, Virginia (not McClean).

Home of the CIA (right next to Langley).


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View Name:Guest
Thu Jan 27, 2005 11:59 am Subject: What Apple's Retail "Partners" have lacked
Close Name:Mace Posts: 9163 Joined: 07 Aug 2003
Thu Jan 27, 2005 1:10 pm Subject:

AppleStore is fantastic. I went to the flagship in San Francisco once. The atmosphere is very welcome and comfortable. It is buzz with many people. Is not easy to land on a Mac to play with.


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Close Name:Small White Car Posts: 1950 Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Thu Jan 27, 2005 1:18 pm Subject:

Quote
Mace wrote:
AppleStore is fantastic. I went to the flagship in San Francisco once. The atmosphere is very welcome and comfortable. It is buzz with many people. Is not easy to land on a Mac to play with.


lol, yeah. That's a good problem for Apple, I guess. If you stand behind someone long enough eventually they'll leave. Standing CLOSE behind them helps speed the process up


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View Name:Guest
Thu Jan 27, 2005 2:18 pm Subject:
Close Name:Nom Posts: 58 Joined: 07 Jul 2004
Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:35 pm Subject:

Something else to consider:

Apple can run their stores at less of a profit than a regular retailer could afford to. As long as they're at least breaking even, Apple doesn't need the retail margin - they already get the profit from the hardware sale, and the stores act as quite effective advertising and support.

That said, people are often willing to pay more (even a lot more) for the perception that they are being looked after.


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