“Consumers don’t really care about things like Snow Leopard, Macintosh, iPods or iPhones. They care about music, web browsing, e-mail and the associated services that go with them. The platform is a means to that end, as is the store. Consumers do care a great deal about the experience they go through in buying these products and they care about the customer service they receive after the purchase,” Gartenberg writes.
“Over the last year I keep hearing more and more anecdotes about Apple’s customer service and particularly the experience at retail. All the stories were tales that bordered on the stuff that urban myths are made of,” Gartenberg writes. “They were repeated over and over to groups of people. They dealt with things ranging from MacBook keyboard problems, iPod failures and customer service during the purchases of back to school systems. In each case Apple did not please these customers, Apple delighted them.”
Gartenberg writes, “Regardless of whether they’re exaggerated over time or not, these stories help further build mindshare today, and mindshare today leads to market share tomorrow.”
Full article, in which Gartenberg calls Apple, the new Nordstrom, here.
It would be interesting if Mr. Gartenberg would go to a M$ store for a comparison.
“It would be interesting if Mr. Gartenberg would go to a M$ store for a comparison.”
There IS no comparison.
The new Apple Store in NYC really reminds me more of a church than of a “store”.
At least, from the pictures on the web.
And I thought the jokes about “Religion of Mac” were exaggerated…
Excellent senitment – it isn’t about the hardware, it’s about the hardware allowing you to do the stuff you want to do…
With Apple stuff you just do it..
With Microsoft you just fight your way through endless obstacles…
When ever we travel to the states from Mexico , we always make a stop at an apple store to browse, and always leave with something new
This is great news!
Now I can get shoes to match my iPod all at one stop!!!
@ TowerTone
“This is great news!
Now I can get shoes to match my iPod all at one stop!!!”
Red shoes? Eeeeewwwww!
It’s the joy of working on a Mac, the thrill of getting stuff done with panache.
I’ve had great experiences with Apple Bridgeport Store, the one nearest me. Not everything has always been 100% perfect but it is consistently an awesome uplifting happy and productive time well spent.
Just ordered an i7 and bought another 1:1. Yes they are definitely getting our business and money and attention.
“The beauty of the stores are effective…”
Seriously? This sentence was written by a professional writer?
Wow…
“Red shoes? Eeeeewwwww!”
That’s not what the Angels think…..
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-angels-wanna-wear-my-red-shoes/id263337361?i=263337387
@TowerTone
As soon as I read the red shoes comment I rushed to the bottom of the page, only to find that you’d beaten me to it. Elvis is King…
It’s the new grammar, TC1: Make the verb agree (more or less) with the nearest noun. It makes no difference if that noun (sometimes pronoun) is the actual SUBJECT of that verb, just the nearest.
“Only one of the plane’s 240 passengers are alive today.” Hmm: “Only one . . . are.” It’s amazing how many people can say that and not throw up.
I just threw up in my mouth a little when I read that sentence.
MW: perhaps, as in, perhaps our schools could learn students some grammar
“Elvis is King”
you mean “King of America”…right?
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/king-america/id252701933
I know I’m speaking to the choir but I have yet to have a negative experience in the Apple Store. My wife’s iPhone 3g had battery issues. 2nd time we went to the Genius Bar the genius said that’s one too many times to visit us with the same issue and just replaced it. I think we were in and out of the store in 20 minutes. Wife’s happy and now tells her friends they have to get an iPhone or a Mac. Solid products & excellent customer service is a killer combo.
Oh, and I didn’t have to endure a “spontaneous” staff line dance while waiting for my Genius Bar appointment.
So, here’s another request for some recent pics from a Microsoft Store, for comparison.
Anyone?
To bolster my courage, I’d take a long draft from a rum flagon, and then do the deed myself.
But I’m in Canada and we have not yet been “blessed” with a Microsoft Store.
Bueller?
I don’t think I’ve ever seen an article posted on MDN by a writer who basically says all Apple hardware and software is essentially meaningless and considered some what of an afterthought by its customers. Wow.
Michael Gartenberg is one of the most insightful people following Apple and technology. He makes an important point about Apple, one that so many journalists and pundits simply fail to understand. It’s not the details in the products that matter, not market share, not the whiz-bang things that get Brian Lam, Robert Scoble or Michael Arrington all in a lather. As self-important as any of those people are, what they think is irrelevant. The same is true for us fanboys. Gartenberg focuses instead on what the average consumer thinks. That’s a huge distinction.
The average consumer doesn’t care for what we know and issues burn on message boards like this. They see a computer or a smartphone as a means to an end. Does the object get in the way of what they want to do, or is it a magic carpet that lets them communicate, learn, share and enjoy? If it doesn’t deliver that, it’s not important. And if it’s cool to play with or be seen with, all the better. Apple understands this.
There is such a thing as the curse of knowledge. The more you know about something, the harder it is to convey that in simple terms to non-experts. That is where a Scoble or Arrington simply don’t get it. And that is why Steve Jobs is, well, Steve Jobs. He is blessed with a gift of giving people things they never knew they wanted, but soon can’t live without. His genius is not adding things, but knowing what to take out or leave out. He intrinsically understands that people don’t want too many confusing features or details. They want things that just work, that are easy and fun to comprehend and use, and want to receive fantastic service when it’s needed.
It’s nice to know that somebody out there gets it. Thanks Michael Gartenberg!
@Brian
Well said! How easy it is for us to forget.