Comments on: Apple Doesn’t Always Get It http://www.thinkbrownstone.com/blog/2008/10/07/apple-doesnt-always-get-it/ User Experience Design Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:59:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Russ http://www.thinkbrownstone.com/blog/2008/10/07/apple-doesnt-always-get-it/#comment-18001 Russ Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:27:01 +0000 http://www.thinkbrownstone.com/blog/?p=3#comment-18001 Great insight, Neil - thanks for dropping in and bringing this post back to the forefront; we certainly don't mind that it has a bit of age to it - nice to know it is still striking a chord. Thanks for the comments! Great insight, Neil – thanks for dropping in and bringing this post back to the forefront; we certainly don’t mind that it has a bit of age to it – nice to know it is still striking a chord. Thanks for the comments!

]]> By: Neil http://www.thinkbrownstone.com/blog/2008/10/07/apple-doesnt-always-get-it/#comment-17964 Neil Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:43:59 +0000 http://www.thinkbrownstone.com/blog/?p=3#comment-17964 Interesting post and thought process. And don't ask my why I'm commenting on a year + old post (I have my reasons, okay?). My two cents: @ Don’t rely on the notion that your users will figure things out -I love that idea, and it supports my instinct that there are times when hitting people over the head, though less elegant, is actually showing a certain amount of empathy/respect. Not to mention that customers are not always thinking clearly or paying attention, and it shouldn't be their job to anyway. And if Apple is breaking convention by not having a traditional cash register situation, it's their responsibility to give major design cues to customers that something new is afoot. Anything else is making Apple too cool for their customers, and nobody should be made to feel like they're not cool enough to buy an Apple product (even if it's true in some cases!). My additional suggestion to Apple, in terms of the 20-minute wait to return a product: always make one employee the "perspective person." Just like the sound engineer who sits in the back of the theater with their mixing board so that they can hear a live concert like every fan, the store should have an expediter to stand back for a second and notice the inefficiencies as they happen, and help confused customers find the right place. Or tell them that they don't have to go to the "cash register" to buy something. Interesting post and thought process. And don’t ask my why I’m commenting on a year + old post (I have my reasons, okay?). My two cents:

@ Don’t rely on the notion that your users will figure things out

-I love that idea, and it supports my instinct that there are times when hitting people over the head, though less elegant, is actually showing a certain amount of empathy/respect. Not to mention that customers are not always thinking clearly or paying attention, and it shouldn’t be their job to anyway.

And if Apple is breaking convention by not having a traditional cash register situation, it’s their responsibility to give major design cues to customers that something new is afoot. Anything else is making Apple too cool for their customers, and nobody should be made to feel like they’re not cool enough to buy an Apple product (even if it’s true in some cases!).

My additional suggestion to Apple, in terms of the 20-minute wait to return a product: always make one employee the “perspective person.” Just like the sound engineer who sits in the back of the theater with their mixing board so that they can hear a live concert like every fan, the store should have an expediter to stand back for a second and notice the inefficiencies as they happen, and help confused customers find the right place.

Or tell them that they don’t have to go to the “cash register” to buy something.

]]> By: russ http://www.thinkbrownstone.com/blog/2008/10/07/apple-doesnt-always-get-it/#comment-29 russ Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:46:11 +0000 http://www.thinkbrownstone.com/blog/?p=3#comment-29 You hit that nail on the head, Jeff - I had another bad experience there last night trying to explain to the "genius" who was "helping" me that my iPhone clearly has a shielding issue. The other guys I work with have the same exact phone - when they get close to speakers, there is some noise...when I get close to speakers, they go BALLISTIC - and when I get calls upstairs in my house, it sets off the motion detector lights. I kid you not. He couldn't reproduce it in the apple store (gee, I wonder why? because you have all apple compatible, sheilded equipment there, per chance?), and proceded to give me a level 101 speech about how all cell phones make noise. I told him that if he wasn't going to help me, to just say so, and not talk to me like I am an idiot. Genius. Pfffft. You hit that nail on the head, Jeff – I had another bad experience there last night trying to explain to the “genius” who was “helping” me that my iPhone clearly has a shielding issue. The other guys I work with have the same exact phone – when they get close to speakers, there is some noise…when I get close to speakers, they go BALLISTIC – and when I get calls upstairs in my house, it sets off the motion detector lights. I kid you not.

He couldn’t reproduce it in the apple store (gee, I wonder why? because you have all apple compatible, sheilded equipment there, per chance?), and proceded to give me a level 101 speech about how all cell phones make noise.

I told him that if he wasn’t going to help me, to just say so, and not talk to me like I am an idiot.

Genius. Pfffft.

]]> By: Brizza http://www.thinkbrownstone.com/blog/2008/10/07/apple-doesnt-always-get-it/#comment-4 Brizza Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:31:15 +0000 http://www.thinkbrownstone.com/blog/?p=3#comment-4 VERY interesting stuff. Clearly Apple is not in danger of destroying the brand equity that they have carefully built up over the years, but small mistakes can gradually be painful. This seems like another great idea from the folks in marketing that was faithfully executed, but without the feedback loop. The intention was clearly to make the user experience BETTER, to redesign retail. So whose fault is it - marketing because they didn't think things through enough? Or retail ops because they didn't point out the clear stumbling point? And how can we avoid the same mistake? VERY interesting stuff. Clearly Apple is not in danger of destroying the brand equity that they have carefully built up over the years, but small mistakes can gradually be painful. This seems like another great idea from the folks in marketing that was faithfully executed, but without the feedback loop.

The intention was clearly to make the user experience BETTER, to redesign retail. So whose fault is it – marketing because they didn’t think things through enough? Or retail ops because they didn’t point out the clear stumbling point?

And how can we avoid the same mistake?

]]> By: Jeff http://www.thinkbrownstone.com/blog/2008/10/07/apple-doesnt-always-get-it/#comment-3 Jeff Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:03:44 +0000 http://www.thinkbrownstone.com/blog/?p=3#comment-3 Great points Professor, that's exactly why I do not buy any of my Apple gear at their stores. The minimalistic hipster motif is fine for coffee houses, but not here. I like good signage, employees with assigned tasks in their assigned places and lots of impulse buys at the counter (I always need compressed air), that's why I go to Microcenter when I want to buy and test drive. Plus, the "Genius" moniker has always turned me off, (PhDs curing cancer might be a bit put off being lumped in the same category). Great points Professor, that’s exactly why I do not buy any of my Apple gear at their stores. The minimalistic hipster motif is fine for coffee houses, but not here. I like good signage, employees with assigned tasks in their assigned places and lots of impulse buys at the counter (I always need compressed air), that’s why I go to Microcenter when I want to buy and test drive. Plus, the “Genius” moniker has always turned me off, (PhDs curing cancer might be a bit put off being lumped in the same category).

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