The quote above is from a piece by Larry Downes about the downfall of Best Buy which was also covered by John Gruber of Daring Fireball. Gruber covers Apple related news and gives great insight on the industry. I’m a fan of both Apple and Gruber, but let me ask you this. Have you been to an Apple retail store lately? Recently the experience is not much better than Best Buy in my opinion.
The last few times I’ve tried to go to an Apple retail store, I’ve been met with a barage of customers waiting around for an employee to basically hold their hand reset their iPhone. You’re herded into a queue as soon as you enter and store employees no longer have time to get to know you or ask you about your needs. In my opinion, it’s difficult to experiment and test products anymore because all the popular products and accessories are packed into one main corner and the folks waiting around are usually fiddling on a device just to pass the time. I used to spend hours in their stores, but now I get easily frustrated and walk out. Maybe I’m just getting old and cranky. Pay attention next time you go to an Apple store and tell me if I’m way off base.
