Last weekend I went to Rochester specifically to visit the Apple Store. I need a new computer and have always had PCs, but the time has come, I think, for the big switcheroo.
I know, I know…
So to all you “too cool for school” Mac people out there? (You know who you are.) Here’s your big chance to stand up and say, “DUH!? What took you so long??”
Feel better now? Good. Now sit down.
You know when you walk into a store and the clerk says, “Can I help you?” And you say, “No, just browsing, thanks” even if you are looking for a specific something and could actually use some help finding it?
You don’t dare admit you need help because then that clerk will hover and bird-dog you around the store for the rest of your life, giving you no space, no peace, just being a big fat hemorrhoid.
That’s because in most retail situations the clerk isn’t there to HELP you; he or she is there to sell you. He or she doesn’t care that the dress or the pants look terrible on you or don’t fit properly as long as the sale is made and they get their pathetic little commission.
So imagine my delight when I found out that in the Apple Store employees don’t get a commission, nor do they care about shepherding you over to the cash register to write up a sales slip. They realize most people will be customizing the computer of their dreams online anyway, so they can kick back and just be…helpful.
This makes them very happy—or at least this was my impression of my salesperson, Ethan. It was clear that he loved these Macs and he seemed genuinely tickled to talk to people thinking about buying one.
The first question Ethan, my salesman asked me was, ‘What do you like to do on your computer.”
And the rest of the hour and a half was spent talking about me and my needs.
Imagine! It was all about me and my (computing) needs! This is guerrilla marketing, people! This is revolutionary!
This is …effective.
Today’s email brought me notification that my new MacBook Pro shipped today.
Inspiration Location 