What concerns a lot of retail employees is the way foot traffic is increasing & the type of clientele that are visiting the stores. The Apple Stores were never meant to see this type of foot traffic in their locations. They are just too small & are already bursting at the seams right now.

Employees arent gonna be able to address everyone is the manner that they used to. Meaning, there will be no time to just hang out with the customer & chat about Apple’s products, customer & software solutions, etc. Its that laid back no pressure attitude that customers really appreciate. Its very refreshing to them & as another poster said, has a certain boutique-like feeling, which is what the original plan was. I mean, the genius bars used to give away a free bottle of apple branded water to its visitors for christ sakes!

Anyways, we have been moving away from that model, but the stores are staying the same. And if they expect to pull Best Buy-like sales numbers, then god help us all! There isnt gonna be time (or room) to breathe for anyone, so its gonna just sour the experience & gonna make Apple Stores just another electronics outlet. No more of that special feeling. No more laid back shopping. Apple stores were VERY un-retail in the beginning, but not anymore. Its get ‘em in, get ‘em out with their purchase. Even newly hired employees are getting worse & a lot less Mac savvy (if they even own a Mac) people are being brought in just to cover.

And the clientele is already changing from the smart Mac user to the stupid iPod owner who thinks they are a true Apple customer because they picked up their iPod at some ghetto Wal-Mart (or somewhere similar) & think Apple employees should bend over backwards for them because of it. They dont know (nor do they care) how the store works, how to make a genius bar appointment, or anything else about Apple as a company. Not trying to sound uppity & everyone deserves a chance, but some of those people are just the worst.

I can feel it slowly fading away little by little every day. Sad, it really is.

Of course, the Apple Store is more than just a retail store, and should be measured by additional metrics as well like classes offered, customers serviced, etc.

Apple’s point is that a retail store can perform much better than other retail stores (using retail store metrics), even if the store is focused on an overall customer experience more than on just selling products.

Yes Apple is beginning to widen their product line. But to what end? What is the bigger picture? The phone runs an OS comparable to OS X. When people see how easy it is to use perhaps they’ll consider the jump to OS X. The same goes with the iPod and iTunes. Mastered iTunes? You’re on your way to knowing how to use almost the entire iLife suite. The iPhone and the Apple TV will do one thing for sure. It will get them into the doors of the stores. People will take one look at the iMac and say, “That’s the WHOLE computer???” Their market share will grow again riding on the shoulders of their accesories as it always has, i.e. the iPod.

Not to mention that Ron Johnson has always maintained that it isn’t about moving machines. It’s about enriching lives. The iPhone will continue that. And this idea, no matter what Apple is selling us, will always be what makes them a better company than the retail giants you named.

I absolutely hate when the Apple Store is compared to retailers like Best Buy. Best Buy is exactly like WalMart. Dull, crowded and cheap. Apple Store is not a warehouse retailer with crap service and employees who don’t know anything.

As a passionate Apple Store employee, it made nervous when we dropped the ‘computer’ from our name and ’switched gears towards consumer electronics.’ Yea, thats code for: ‘we’re turning into a Best Buy.’ It makes me angry to hear big shot Ron Johnson compare and trying to compete with the likes of Best Buy. WE’RE NOT A BEST BUY, CURCUIT CITY, WALMART! We’re supposed to be different and unlike any other place out there.

The Apple Store is losing it’s identity. Apple is losing it’s uniqueness with it’s growth and is turning into just another consumer pimp.

Apple Store employee