An Open Letter to Apple:
I just returned from the Apple store at Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento where I purchased my second Apple computer in as many weeks. As a matter of fact, it’s the 5th Apple purchase in 2009 alone. Last year, in personal and business purchases I racked up more than $30,000 at the store and the year before that my big spending included the purchase of 100 iPods and a number of iBooks as campaign giveaways.
I share this because I am an avid supporter of Apple products, but also to contrast how drastically different my experience with Apple products is when compared with my experience in this particular Apple store.
In the middle of last year, I purchased a Macbook for my wife and I noticed a marked shift in the level of service at the Apple store. It took more than an hour to purchase a stock machine, which we had picked out long before we arrived. When I came in to purchase an iMac a couple months later I had learned my lesson and booked a “Personal Shopping” appointment. I arrived 5 minutes early (I didn’t want to keep my “personal shopping” attendant waiting) and proceeded to stand around for the next 30 minutes waiting to be seen by someone who could sell me the machine I already knew I wanted. Even after explaining to other sales people that I just needed to grab a computer, pay for it and walk out, it still took a full 90+ minutes for me to spend $2000 in your store.
Two weeks ago, I had the same experience buying a new Macbook, even with the assurance that a “personal shopping” appointment would expedite the process in the event that a regular sales person was not available. In that case, 45 minutes for $2300 in sales. Please remember, in each of these encounters I ALREADY knew what I wanted, had no questions, had card-in-hand ready to purchase.
My frustration peaked today, when I stopped in for a twofer. Today I bought a 24” iMac (to the tune of almost $1700) and hoped to see a Genius about my 2-week old Macbook battery, which was at 79% health and can’t maintain a charge of more than 2 hours. Clearly this is an easy fix, and while I don’t expect royal treatment, I figured that a very loyal (and lucrative) customer in the middle of a significant purchase could get a moment of attention from support personnel. I was told that I would have to wait until Thursday to be seen. More than 48 hours in order to talk to someone about a faulty battery that’s less than two weeks old!
More often than not, I try to purchase online or I send others for tech purchases, but once in a while I just want (or need) to walk away with a machine today. It used to be a wonderful experience going in to an Apple store and doing so, but in the last year or two, it has become a painful process. In fact, I have been routinely disgusted with the lack of skill, attentiveness and care with which the staff at this Apple store address customers. As a consultant, when I convince other organizations to purchase Apple products, I often find myself making excuses for the terrible service they are sure to receive.
Surely Apple of all companies can “design” a better experience. If you need to make the Genius bar 3 feet longer to increase the tech support capacity by 20%, please do it. If you need to stop hiring young hipsters who embody the spirit of Apple, in lieu of people who actually know how to use the products (and, heaven forbid, know what an L2 Cache is) then PLEASE DO IT.
I have very low standards for most retail environments. Still, this particular Apple store has exceeded my expectation as a consumer of being insulted, ignored and treated as disposable. I hope Apple addresses the issue, because at this point I’d just as soon go to a Best Buy to buy an Apple. Surely I can’t be the only one, and I’m one of your “fans.”
Robert Coombs M.A.
IdealFusion Consulting
