This seems to further exemplify a focus on disposable consumer products instead of the mac as a platform.

Hmmmmm... and here I was thinking that it exemplified "we're getting too friggin' busy to offer one on one reserved service because our products are so darn awesome".

Two opinions...

I wonder how often Apple Store employees were getting stood up (i.e. people not honoring their own appointments).

Or how often employees were getting gamed by people who spent a hour (or more) going through everything, then leaving empty-handed.

Another possibility to consider are Apple's retail partners. I can easily see them saying "we'll carry your product if you steer customers to OUR stores". Dropping the program altogether would be a good compromise.

It's ironic such a statement should come from someone with your signature

Judging by the Regent Street store in London, it may simply be a way of freeing up staff to deal with as many people as possible. I booked a Genius Bar appointment for my Macbook last Tuesday, I wasn't seen for 40 minutes after my appointment time. The staff must feel besieged, the place was packed out at three in the afternoon! I really take my hat off to the staff's calmness, endurance and dedication in the face of such an onslaught of humanity!

I've said it before but it's the same story in other Apple stores in the UK I've been to: Westfield and Brent Cross both also in London, Sheffield, Liverpool.

I don't think Apple minds the gamers so much, if they like the Apple stuff they'll be back sooner or later. It's taken me several visits and a few weeks to purchase major Apple gear but I've made quite a few purchases over the years.

As for the UK I don't believe dropping the programme affects the retail partners one way or the other, if anything, Apple's success has encouraged third party retailers to start carrying Apple stuff again.

It's encouraging are buying and not just browsing at the Apple Stores. Judging by the queues at the tills in Regent Street, Apple can't shift its stuff fast enough!

I'm sure Steve Jobs and the shareholders will be happy!

definitely a dumb idea from the beginning. even though the stores can be incredibly busy, you can usually find a group of employees standing around...well....doing nothing.

by the way, nothing is more unfriendly or uncomfortable than having to approach a hipster group resembling a clique to get product help.

edit: i really don't think this is exactly a typical apple store experience, but i know it has happened to me. the apple store is the tool i use to show people what it's like to own a mac (they usually end up buying). so, really, just greeting a customer at the front door and offering personal service is enough to outclass any electronics retailer, and usually apple does this anyway. personal shopping is redundant.

i don't get what his signature has to do with it. do you know who the flight of the conchords are? (they are a comedy band...so, you know, i'm guessing the sig isn't exactly serious)

i still think the guy you replied to was wrong, i don't think eliminating personal shopping really matters. as my post says, it's a dumb service, if you have employees greeting and personally attending to people as much as possible you really are outclassing 99% of retail outlets out there.

The key issue these days seems to be understaffing. A store manager admitted as much when he called me to follow up on a survey I took online after buying an iPad at the store. The place was crowded and the experience did not go as smoothly as it always has for me in the past. I worked at one of the first stores for a while back in 2001 and have been going to them regularly over the years. My impression has been that as they have become more popular and numerous, the quality of the shopping experience has been steadily declining. The furnishings in some stores are showing their age, it takes longer to get served, and the staff seems less knowledgeable.

Originally the Genius Bar was a relaxed place where they even offered you a bottle of chilled water from the little built in fridge. Those disappeared years ago. The store nearest me doesn't even have a rest room. The one I worked in had a really nice one. Even with all this the Apple Store is still head and shoulders above any other CE retailer, but I think they need to be careful about not losing their edge. When I got hired there were tons of Apple geeks fighting for those jobs. It seems that now the geek supply has been depleted and they are hiring more and more warm bodies who are trainable.

Plus, I had to walk a mile through the snow with no socks back when I was . . .

i wish i could find the source again, but i remember reading that macs were used for about 2 years longer than their PC counterparts. typical PC lifespan was 3 years, 5 years for macs. not exactly disposable.

as far as iphones go, i don't think it's fair to point the finger at apple for making a "disposable" product. you think cell phones weren't disposable before the iphone?

it has nothing to do apple using internal batteries, either, if that's your qualm. users don't replace them often enough, and apple charges the same price for battery replacements as they do for spare batteries. only 5% of users ever replace a laptop battery, and probably even less for phone users who are used to throwing out their phone every 2 years.

e.g.: today's macbooks come with batteries that last for 3x the cycles as my 2007 macbook. i feel like my macbook is ready to be replaced with something faster, and i have never replaced the battery, and still get about 2-3 hours of usability. do i really want to invest in a $100 battery for a computer that's already 3 years old? would anyone?

my ipod touch 1G has been thrown, stepped on, lost 3 times, and i just keep finding it and it keeps on working. not exactly disposable, i can't seem to get it to stop working.

what other electronics maker has ever decided it was a good idea to use metal and glass instead of plastic and more plastic?? only apple thought to use quality materials to reduce scratches and increase durability rather than throwing the cheapest, most hastily designed case possible. see unibody macs.



i dunno if my comments are completely applicable to what you are trying to say, but i think it's fair to say that apple is committed to lasting quality and customer service at a better level than the vast majority of electronics makers.

yeah, just sheer volume of customers. the apple store near me is ALWAYS at least 3x busier than any other store in the mall. there are @20 - 30 apple employees working there on a saturday and the store is packed... everytime i go in there i walk out thinking "i need to buy more apple stock".