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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.'"
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?
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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.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
I was thinking Apple would be more likely to utilize Kool-aid. *ducks*
Reminds me of a friends facebook status: "At Genius Bar. I can think of at least two things wrong with that name."
no comment
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.
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.
If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
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...
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
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.
-Billco, Fnarg.com