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Apple Opens First Canadian Store in Toronto
ElectroBot writes "I received a email today with an invitation to the Grand Opening of the first Apple Store in Canada. The Store is opening on May 21st at 9:30am at the Yorkdale Shopping Center in Toronto. There's also a contest for a Digital Lifestyle Collection valued at $2,985. On top of that the first 1,500 people to arrive at the opening will receive a free Apple T-shirt."
It's funny how we still expect people who sell us products to know how they work. Fact is, Best Buy (and the like) employees are $8 an hour high school and community college students who can't afford the expensive devices they're selling you. The working environment in the large chains is often hostile, and turnover is so great they don't bother to train anybody. They DO tell them to answer every question the best they can to make the sale (whether they know the answer or not.) Saying "I don't know what that does" is a sure way to get fired. But there is no penalty for being wrong. And they're wrong a lot, because their education consists of reading the features on the box and guessing (or asking coworkers, who usually aren't a wealth of knowledge themselves) what they mean.
I'm not railing against the employees, by the way. This is a problem with management.
Anyway, as dorky as the "Genius Bar" is, it's a good thing. Apple employees tend to be Apple fans who do know a thing or two about what they're selling. They also do a pretty good job of training and teaching their staff about new products-- admittedly It helps that Apple has a limited line, so there aren't hundreds of devices to know the specs for.
I got a new G5 iMac from Amazon, and saved $166 in sales tax (compared to buying online from Apple directly).
It arrived the next day even though I chose "Super Saver Shipping"!
I like microcars