The Apple Store & The Trafford Centre

Nine_Lives · 6 October 2012 at 8:02PM

Went to go buy an iPhone today. Went into the store - how does that place even work? Didn't see any standard tills that you usually see in shops. What i thought was the tills was actually the 'genius' bar.

So after some standing around looking lost while looking for someone in a blue t-shirt who appears available i found one. She was stood by an empty table which had iPads & i asked if she was busy. The place was quite busy & i figured it'd be better asking this question rather than jumping straight in as i serve the public in my job & know which i would prefer myself.
She stuttered & shifted about a bit before saying no she wasn't. You know the sort of shifting - as though she doesn't want to be approached.
I asked if there were any iPhone 4Ss in stock as i would like to buy one today.

She told me there was but that she can't leave the table. I was to go see the chap standing at the door & he'd find someone to serve me.

This is my first moan - what a bloody stupid system that is!!! I've essentially gone to an employee & said excuse me but i'd like to hand you nearly £500 who has basically turned around to me & said no thanks, go see someone else & give it to them instead.

So i stand waiting - the guy is serving someone. This chap disappears & the Apple worker sees the next in line, which then makes me next. This guy ahead of me is taking his time (fair enough - fully entitled to) & the Apple worker goes & takes him off down the room. The Apple worker then starts wandering around the room serving other people & doesn't come back to the door.

I give up & head off. A guy behind me is asked by his girlfriend if he's moving as they'd also been waiting some time.

I go to the o2 store after my lengthy wait, prepared to spend the extra £30 just to get served.
Having been in there earlier in the day when my wife bought a Samsung S3, the room had a good number of staff who kept asking if they could help.
I go in there after the Apple incident & the room is rammed, yet there's now only 2 employee's maximum in there when there were 4-6 people previously.

I give up & return to the Apple store to give it one more chance.

The Apple worker is there at the door, so i go to approach him ....... he then walks off as i approach him.
Sod this for a game of soldiers, i'm off to get a coffee then i'm going home.

On my return i go into the store to give it one final chance. I'm again next in line, but when he finishes with the person ahead of me, he wanders off serving other people further down the room.

At this point i say forget it & just leave & come home.

What a daft system they have. Someone can't deal with me because they can't leave a table? How ridiculous. Then the chap is wandering off as i'm approaching him & serving people before me who came after me.

I understand the Apple store is ALWAYS busy & even moreso on a Saturday afternoon, but at least then put more staff on the doors if the system is that you need to report to the door-person first in order to get served.

I think i would rather pay the extra £30 & have my warranty with o2. Imagine if i had a problem? I'd never have it resolved!!!!!

Then my gripe about the trafford centre car park - the road/floor markings show you which way the traffic is to flow & you get people driving up the wrong way in the car park just to take a short cut for the exit. Why is it so difficult to follow the arrows?

If i went again i'd have to go on a school day that's for sure!!

mattyprice4004 · 6 October 2012 at 8:10PM

Rule number 1, never go to the Trafford centre at the weekend.

nearlyrich · 6 October 2012 at 8:16PM

I echo rule one Tuesday night is good even in November and early December it's not too busy.

Or any weekday during the day before schools kick out, the place is rammed after with whining kids who would rather be in a park.

Nine_Lives · 6 October 2012 at 8:24PM

I was going to go yesterday but we ran out of time. I fully expected it to be busy.
That said, i've been when the kids have been at school & the vast majority of the trafford centre is quite nice then, but the Apple store is ALWAYS busy, i've never seen it not busy & i've been at various times of the day/afternoon/evening/night & various times of the week as well as year.

Still, my moan isn't really how busy or quiet the place was - it's the fact that woman told me she couldn't go & get me an iPhone because she couldn't leave her table. How stupid.

At our place, if a chap needs serving & you're on the counter. If he is essentially saying to you, i am about to hand you some money but i need your assistance which requires you leaving your post, if we told the guy he better go see someone else then we would get roasted for it. If someone is handing you money, you take it.

I could understand if i'd said to her - i'm undecided on an iPhone & i'd like you to spend all your shift timeslot with me showing me the total ins & outs of the iPhone, but i didn't. I was wanting her to go get me the phone, take my money & then i leave, nothing more, nothing less.

My gripe doesn't stop with her though. The chap going off serving others ahead of me when they weren't is one i hate. I hate people at my own work who try to jump the queue & i always make a point of pointing out that they've jumped the queue - sorry sir you'll have to wait as this chap was ahead of you & has been waiting for some time is something i'd say.

Then the moan about who even puts this system in place? 1 person on the door tending to everyone on a Saturday? I'm sorry but that's not the mark of a "genius" to me!!

I was so ticked off i didn't even get round to getting myself some new shoes which i'm in need of :rotfl:

vyle · 6 October 2012 at 8:28PM

I could understand if the guy at the door was acting kind of like the first person you see at a restaurant (I dont know what they call them) who sends you to a table... effectively filtering customers in an orderly fashion to the right person to be served, as, when done well, it stops the situations I've encountered where I've been swamped by customers all claiming they were first, while other customers hover in the middle of nowhere fuming because people aren't serving them.

Instead, you've got a clear queue and everyone knows where they are.

Instead, if he was going off serving people himself, it destroys the system... but I guess the people who came after you yet got served before you got served because they were still in the shop, while you went off twice.

But then another reason could be because you can actually book appointments at the apple store to buy stuff and bypass queues. I would never do so myself (Despise apple as a company so will not give them money) but it is an option.

DCFC79 · 6 October 2012 at 8:32PM

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

Rule number 1, never go to the Trafford centre at the weekend.

Ive never been t the TC so exscuse my ignorance but why not go on a weekend ? is that because its busy ?

nearlyrich · 6 October 2012 at 8:35PM

To be fair I walked out of a John Lewis (not Trafford Centre) with £300 I was going to spend on a camera because they don't have anyone serving people you have to queue up behind all the tyre kickers even if you know what you want.

I hate poor customer service anywhere so I do have some sympathy but you picked a bad time to go just after they launched the new iPhone 5.

System · 6 October 2012 at 8:58PM

In fairness to apple they are very popular so can rightly tell annoying customers to !!!! off. They are one of the few companies who don't have to worry about complaints as they are so popular they are always busy!

Nine_Lives · 6 October 2012 at 9:06PM

I disagree with the "rightly" part of your post, though i do understand what you're saying - when you're Apple, it doesn't matter if one person & their £500 goes to Samsung, as another 100 will replace that person. Still doesn't make it right.

I do know you can book appointments for repairs there. Didn't know you could book them for purchases though.

I did go off twice, yes, but when i returned i was watching others as i was waiting & one of the times the folk had came into the shop after me. That said, i can't see how they'd be able to track who came in in what order as there are that many in & out constantly.

I don't mind the 'go see the man at the door' system too much, if they'd just make it work. When it's busy have MORE men at the door if this is the system they want to put in place.

Every cloud has a silver lining though - the missus bought her Galaxy S3 today, so by not buying the iPhone 4S, it gives me time to play with her S3 to see if i'd like to shift to Android.

skivenov · 6 October 2012 at 9:09PM

Just do what you'd do in a restaurant if they weren't coming to settle the bill.

Pick something up and start walking towards the door.

mattyprice4004 · 6 October 2012 at 9:10PM

DCFC79 wrote: »

Ive never been t the TC so exscuse my ignorance but why not go on a weekend ? is that because its busy ?

Absolutely mental would probably describe it.

Just ruins any 'fun' that might be gained by such an activity, but to be honest I couldn't ever see the appeal..

The Apple Store & The Trafford Centre

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