AppleInsider was first to report Tuesday that Apple was planning a secretive meeting for its retail employees that was likely related to a new in-store initiative or service.
A new report from BGR claims the meeting, which is expected to take place after stores close on Sunday, February 27th, has been called to unveil a Joint Venture service targeted at providing technical support to enterprise customers. Rumors of the service first emerged last March when it was discovered that Apple had filed for the Joint Venture trademark under "technical support and consulting services."
According to the report, Apple plans to offer subscribers to the new service phone-based one-on-one consultations, troubleshooting and on-site visits from Apple Genius technicians. Apple Geniuses are currently only allowed to provide in-store support.
The new service may explain recent changes made by Apple to its policy for Apple Consultant Network referrals. Certified Apple consultants are reportedly upset with the Cupertino, Calif., company over a new support partnership with repair service provider OnForce that would require repair referrals to be issued to consultants through OnForce's system. According to the report, Apple began testing the system in 2009 and just recently began rolling it out on a nationwide level.
By expanding its Genius Bar services to provide additional technical support to businesses, Apple Retail will soon be in direct competition with certified consultants who offer similar services. Such competition could mirror the problematic relationship that occurred between Apple and its resellers when the Mac maker began opening its own retail stores ten years ago.
Apple has been the target of several lawsuits from resellers as a result of this competition. In 2003, San Francisco-based MACadam Computers sued Apple over alleged unethical or illegal business dealings. MACadam has since closed its doors.
In 2005, several Apple resellers filed a class action lawsuit against Apple accusing the company of unfair and unlawful competition. According to the plaintiffs, Apple stocked its own retail stores before providing inventory to resellers and engaged in unfair pricing policies.
14 Comments
See that was my ideas. My emails to Steve didn't go to waste LOL !
Nothing to be surprised about here.. The name of the Game is Profit and market share and part of this is keeping every part of the business inside of the box. Anything that can be related to these products could at any time be taken upon by the company to add to there own repertoire of services offered.
Just like the scouts finding new lands many moons ago to build new communities, cities and the such. Im sure the native inhabitants were not happy at first, but then again look at where we are today..
Nothing should be surprising in the world of business, as anything that can happen probably will happen.. That is a certantity.
Apple Geniuses are currently only allowed to provide in-store support.
You guys have funny ways of telling stories.
See that was my ideas. My emails to Steve didn't go to waste LOL !
I'm glad it made you that million bucks you thought it would.
If Apple takes on a company as a distributor shouldn't that company get exclusive rights to their town or a specific geographical area? Territories are the was many sales organizations are built.
It would be understandable if the company charged with selling the products wasn't moving them as well as anticipated. Then there could be a contractual statement that cancels their franchise.
For Apple to open retail stores near their franchisees is just wrong. To not equally supply them is also a bad thing. The bigger Apple gets the more bad karma it is gathering.
We need to remember that the only reason we all like Apple so much is that their only serious competitor right now is Microsoft. If there were an awesome operating system out there that was as good as OSX and not a Microsoft product, I think I'd go with it.
I've got Ubuntu on one computer. It is a hobby for me. If it were easily configurable so that all of my peripherals worked, I'd use it almost exclusively. Unfortunately I can't even get the Opera browser to play Quicktime videos. I'll stick with Apple only because they're better than Microsoft not because I'm in love with the company.