One More Thing For Apple Stores: Food?

mattnyc99 writes "Esquire raises an interesting question on iPhone 5 day: What if Apple stores had cafes? From an analyst cited in the article: 'In line with the Genius Bar concept, I could see them taking a part of the store and making it a café atmosphere where customers could interact with technology in a relaxed environment.'"

Comments

Alcohol would help sales

[Barryke]

Alcohol would help sales as it increases the chance of making impulse decisions.

Re:Alcohol would help sales

[Monchanger]

I was thinking Apple would be more likely to utilize Kool-aid. *ducks*

Re:Alcohol would help sales

[billcopc]

Dude... as a guy who regularly writes code while sitting in a quiet pub, I can tell you first-hand: the last thing you want to see is a drunken Apple fanboi.

I have the unfortunate distinction of owning a 17" MBP. Wasn't my idea, but part of my job is mobile app dev, and I needed a new laptop anyway, so I let my boss buy me the dumb thing. Every goddamned turtleneck-wearing cockmongler has to bless me with a rant about how they love their Mac. When I tell them I hate the thing and that it hinders my workflow, the answer is always "you'll learn to love it" - never "you will get used to it" or "yeah I guess that feature kind of sucks". They simply cannot parse the reality that someone might not be head-over-heels for a piece of Apple hardware.

And that's when they're fresh off the street, still sober. After one and a half pints of wheat beer, they step it up a notch by shouting in your ear about how awesome GarageBand is, you're a "fucking dinosaur" for using Cubase. After pint #3, they start telling you how iCloud is going to change your life and end world hunger. Somewhere during pint #4, the bartender calls 9-1-1 because Mr Fanboi has accidentally fallen under your boot and crushed their windpipe.

So no, let's not sell booze at the Apple store. Those cultists are annoying enough as it is, and frankly I'm already quite tired of having to cleave through hordes of people just to buy a stupid charger. You want to improve the Apple store experience ? Kick them out after 5 minutes if they haven't bought anything. It's a fucking Apple store, they sell all of 4 products. You don't need to browse, you need to get in, remortgage your kidneys, and get the fuck out.

$ per square foot

[OzPeter]

From a stat I saw a few weeks ago (can't be bothered to look it up) , Apple already rakes in about double the $ per square foot it makes from its stores than the next highest retailer makes in their stores. So why would Apple want to change a winning formula?

We already have that

[ArhcAngel]

It's called Starbucks. Of course Apple doesn't own it so they would probably open iBucks and sue to have Starbucks shut down for stealing their look and feel.

Or, you know, drinks?

[thermostat42]

Reminds me of a friends facebook status: "At Genius Bar. I can think of at least two things wrong with that name."

Brilliant!

[pushing-robot]

A glorious synergy of snack food and glossy touchscreen devices.

hipster overload

[kirkb]

Not only would "apple store" plus "coffee shop" be hipster overload, but where you see "customers could interact with technology in a relaxed environment", I see "people spilling coffee on things"

The importance of saying No

[haus]

This would not be inline with the Genius Bar, which is there to help people resolve problems users have experienced with their Apple technology.

One thing that Apple does better than almost any other tech company is that they say No to most items that are not relevant to their goals. They do not load up their stores with extra padding items in order to try to sell a few more units, unless they think that it fits in with the use of their key products. When you launch a new Mac, you are not hit over the head with loads of crap-ware which the system vendor managed to make an extra 30 bucks by hoisting upon you.

Picking up the short buck is not worth tarnishing the brand. To bad few other tech vendors will be able to figure this out.

Re:Good place for ./ers to meet chicks?

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

Yeah. I'm sure a bunch of opinionated nerds hanging around an Apple store telling the ladies why they're wasting their money and trying to push Android on them will get them all sorts of boo-tay.

Umm, except for one thing...

[Maury Markowitz]

I can barely get in the door of the Apple Store in the ones I've visited in Toronto and Ottawa. They need more crowding, why?

This is a seriously stupid idea.

Yet another stupid idea

[Capt.DrumkenBum]

There is an Apple store not far from where I work. I go past it from time to time, have brought a few products in for service, and even made a purchase or two in the store.
You know what stands out about the Apple store?
It is ALWAYS full of people. Why would they give up valuable floor space currently used to display products, to try to sell coffee? To bring in customers? They do not seem to have a problem with that.

Yet another stupid idea by someone who has never run a business.

Re:Yet another stupid idea

[vlm]

It is ALWAYS full of people. Why would they give up valuable floor space currently used to display products, to try to sell coffee? To bring in customers? They do not seem to have a problem with that.

I've noticed that. Some random quiet midday there will be 200 people in the mall, great my chance to browse the apple store in non-claustrophobic peace, no, 100 of those 200 mall rats will all be crammed into the Apple store. Totally weird.

Anyway the idea is if customer satisfaction is dropping due to long wait times, one time honored way to improve it is to stuff food and drink down the customer's maw. Hence the mid level car dealers and repair shops I visit have donut and soda and coffee while you wait for them to prepare your purchase paperwork or replace your transmission filter. Free coffee at my local (slow) bank. In the event I hold my nose and visit walmart/sams club, I go to the cafeteria while wife goes thru checkout line. Actually kind of a tradition to eat that sams club pizza every time we go, while she checks out.

Re:Ha!

[Adriax]

Open Source coffee shop might actually be a good gimmick.
Cheap coffee and some baked goods, but have the recipe book out for people to look at. Could take suggestions from people on how to modify the recipes, which should eventually lead to a recipe tuned perfectly for the local preferences.

Do the roasting for the coffee on site too, and sell the raw beans to people who want to do the roasting themselves.

Re:Good place for ./ers to meet chicks?

[idontgno]

Good point.

If 25 years of marriage have taught me anything, it is this: a woman digs a dude who tells them in exhausting and pedantic detail why they, the woman, are wrong.

Now, if only my wife would learn that lesson...

NFC?

[vlm]

76 comments and no one, not even the original article, has commented on this is the perfect way to roll out a near field communications micropayment function in the next iphone?

NFC / micropayments / all that rot all have the chicken and the egg problem. But if you knew you could at least buy a cuppa coffee at any Apple store with it... maybe if Apple didn't sell the coffee itself but got some established coffee shop to move in as part of a deal ALL of that chain's coffee shops would accept the new NFC micropayments thingy... I think we're on to something here, for the intro of NFC payment.

At least around here, Apple stores are in big malls, with lots of foot traffic, which certainly pushes the NFC concept into other stores.... I can buy a cuppa coffee at the apple store, why not every food court vendor... why not buy a shirt at old navy... I think we're on to something here, for the NFC midgame/growth phase...

But not Apples

[Culture20]

If Apple started selling apples then they might lose their trademark for being to generic.
Of course the cafe sounds interesting. There could be poetry readings that are typed into a screen reader on a MacBook Air, and whenever an iPad is sold, everyone could snap their fingers in approval.

Re:Ha!

[dead_user]

Just ask Julia Roberts.