Last week I had to take my MacBook Pro in to the Apple store. (The screen’s been going blank at random intervals, and since it’s still under the protection plan, I decided to listen to my friends and get the pros to look at it. And in doing so, I experienced two very different attitudes to customer service, and technology, all in the same day.
Image by Emiichann (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Too cool for school
On my way out of the store, I hovered near the MacBook Airs (I don’t have one… yet…). I had a couple of questions so I asked one of the staff – a young woman who was probably in her early 20s – for help. Her voice said, “Sure,” but then she proceeded to make me feel as uncomfortable as I’ve ever felt in a retail outlet.
When I asked for information on the various Airs, she didn’t deign to answer, but pulled up the comps on the nearby iPad… and then did nothing. What if I’d had a visual impairment that didn’t allow me to read the information?
When I remarked that purchasing an external CD drive to load my (legal) version of Microsoft Office would probably be cheaper than purchasing the software again, she practically rolled her eyes as she told me the cost differential. The implication was that I was a loser for considering a less-expensive alternative (though maybe she was scoffing at me for wanting to use Office products).
When I asked what the average lifespan of the machines was, she said, “The technology will be obsolete by then, but you’re looking at ____.” Perhaps this is technically true (is it?), yet I don’t think evaluating how long I can use a machine that is an investment of $2K-$3K makes me stupid.
Perhaps my questions were basic or, in her opinion, stupid; but I was the (potential) customer, I should have been able to ask any questions I wanted without being made to feel that way. And it was an attitude I saw in many of the employees I encountered that day; most of them projected an air of enviable ennui. I managed to bite my lips so as not to say anything snarky, but I literally walked out of the store shaking my head.
Thrilled with Square
After I left the Apple store, I walked across to a different part of the mall, to a little wine and beer store in anticipation of that evening’s wine o’clock. I happened to be on the phone with Lisa Gerber at the same time (with my headphones in), so she will attest to this next bit.
Once I was ready to pay, the cashier rang me up, a young Indian immigrant (I’ve seen him before, and my husband has had the odd conversation with him). As I handed him my credit card, I noticed that instead of running it through the usual machine, he’d pulled out his iPad and was using Square.
Square! How cool! So as I thanked him, I congratulated him on doing so, and asked him how he was liking it. He started raving about it, how he’d been using it for about two months, how it was making business so much more efficient…
I couldn’t help but smile; he reminded me of the time I met Rick Henry. So excited by what technology could do for him and his business, and really using it for its intended purpose – to make life better.
Technology, for better or worse
I couldn’t help but contrast the two experiences, both on the same day, both literally very close to each other.
On the one hand, there was a twenty-something young woman, surrounded by some of the most expensive technological toys on the planet, yet she showed no interest or enthusiasm for making anyone’s life better. Neither did most of the Apple staff I encountered that day, as I noted earlier. On the other, there was a young, twenty-something young man, someone who probably didn’t grow up with tech tools at his disposal, but who was visibly excited by the wonders of technology for very real reasons.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the difference in the two. I don’t think I can write it off to generational differences; I’m pretty sure they were at least of the same generation, if not around the same age. Maybe the wine store cashier is the owner of his business, making him more vested than the Apple store staffer(s)? Cultural differences, maybe? Maybe one grew up taking technology for granted, and the other may not have?
Boredom happens
I’m bored too, at times. I don’t think any of us can truthfully say there are not times we’re malcontent, or dissatisfied with what we do (then something happens that makes us realize we are very lucky to be where we are, and we straighten up, until the next time we get bored… and then it happens all over again).
But bored to the point where we make customers feel uncomfortable? To the point where our body language communicates such negativity that they’d rather be anywhere else but in front of us?
To me that is a frightening state to be in. And if that’s what too much technology does to us – and yes, I keep coming back to the technology, because that was what was in common, yet they had vastly different reactions to and about it – then it’s time to take a step back.
What do you think?
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Great post as always!! The positive I see in this post is how quickly your trip to the mall went from being not so positive to positive just by going to another store. This post ties into the themes of many of your other posts which are about building relationships and how we build trust. In my opinion I think that technology is both good and bad. One thing which we are not teaching younger generations is how to be build relationships outside of technology.
jrsygrl621 That is very true, and I’m glad it happened on the same day. It reinforced my faith in people, in a way, though it did make me sad that there are hordes of young people who are just so “blazey blazey,” (something my husband and I say) that almost nothing excites them any more.
Some people who works at Apple tend to think that they are too smart and think that their customers should be techy to be able to use their products. They sometimes forgot about the real value of customers service. If I’m one of the store manager, I should be doing some real testing and challenges on interacting with customers before hiring them to work.
CrackMarketing I’d like to see that too!
Personally, I wish you HAD been snarky with the Apple staff! I have been treated the same way in an Apple store, and leave feeling like I didn’t belong there, like I was not smart enough to be using the products, let alone dare to stand at the genius bar. I’m not saying everyone who works in an Apple Store has an attitude issue, but I do think that perhaps they need to work on their overall customer service policy and strive to offer a better customer experience, more like the one you had at your second stop. I don’t think the boredom comes from the technology, but rather from an overall attitude that doesn’t quite fit with customer service ideals. Those are probably the people who should NOT be working directly with customers!
NancyCawleyJean I thought about it, believe me! But then I thought… doesn’t that just make me as bad as them, in a way? Like you, I get that part of Apple’s persona is the cult of cool. I bought into it when I switched from PC to Mac, BlackBerry to iPhone, etc… and to a certain extent it’s fun. But I realized it was going to far when I found myself inadvertently looking down at people who didn’t have a Mac, or iPhone. I mean, come on, that was me just three years ago!
That was so funny – I’m on the phone with you and you’re interviewing the dude about Square!!! LOL. Will be by the blog later!!
Lisa Gerber, this is when you and I were chatting the other day.
Shonali, I’ve found the Apple geniuses to be hit and miss. Most are enthusiastic and helpful and some are … I guess like you said, bored. But regarding MS Office and the MacBook Air, I have good news for you. I switched last year from the Pro to the Air and had the exact same concern: would I have to buy the new Office Suite? Or an external drive to install to the new machine? When I used my Time Machine backup to pull all my stuff onto the new machine, all the Office products came with it. I just had to re-register (and can no longer use them on the old machine). So I didn’t need the external drive (though I eventually bought it anyway because some people still insist on sending me stuff on CDs).
RobBiesenbach Thank you, Rob! Really good point about Time Machine too, I hadn’t thought of that. I think, if I get an Air, I may get an external drive anyway, for the same reason (plus if I travel and want to watch DVDs, etc.).
The sad part about this staffer was that she wasn’t a “genius.” If she were, perhaps I could have forgiven the utter boredom as coming from someone who really is that smart (though not all of them are, as you point out). But she gave me the feeling she was so used to all the fancy gadgets and technology around her, that she just didn’t care about them any more.
Oh well!