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Mac retailer in Montreal, Canada closing its doors

updated 11:20 am EDT, Tue September 21, 2004

Montreal Mac shop closes

A Mac retailer in Montreal, CA may soon be forced out of business due to a declining user base and "plunging popularity" of Macs, according to an article in Montreal's The Gazette. B.Mac Le Magasin Inc. has closed three of its four stores in the Montreal area and laid off 37 of 52 employees. The fourth store may be forced to close next month--or face the prospect of bankruptcy, according to one reader. "The newspaper blames poor worldwide Mac sales and a low percentage of the overall PC market but doesn't provide information about Montreal's market where there is an apparently thriving design community that mainly uses Macintosh systems."

by MacNN Staff

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mtroute
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: May 2002

0

09/21, 11:33am | report spam | close Reply |
Please...

Don't blame "marketshare" for your troubles when it was most likely poor managment. Many many other Mac only stores do very well in the same environment...

AboveDesign
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Joined: Sep 2004

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09/21, 11:44am | report spam | close Reply |
Only in Quebec....

Quebec is a unique market in Canada, they certainly do not represent the whole of Canada. West Coast Mac sales are strong according to a friend of mine who is a Mac retailer.

peterh
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Joined: Oct 2003

+1

09/21, 11:50am | report spam | close Reply |
BMac closed in Ottawa...

BMac closed their store in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada a few weeks back... they had been cutting back hours and inventory over the past months. Yes, Macs have a smaller marketshare, but if you put in place a well supplied and managed store in a good location and have a highly knowledgeable staff... your customer base will be loyal. There has always been a void for that in Ottawa, one which will hopefully be filled by another shop called The Mac Group.

hayesk
Professional Poster

Joined: Sep 1999

+1

09/21, 12:05pm | report spam | close Reply |
BMac in Ottawa

I used to shop at the Ottawa BMac. The problem was they didn't seem to have much business sense. They had a huge store where space cost a premium. In the store they had pool tables, sofas, easy chairs, TVs showing TechTV all day, and wide open spaces with relatively few shelves with products. They had good selection, but their store should have been about a quarter of the size it was.

Souljah
Junior Member

Joined: Aug 2002

0

09/21, 12:07pm | report spam | close Reply |
Poor location...

blame it on poor location...the flag ship store is in an industrial area.......the other which was or is downtown was not street level.
So hard to get to and inconvient...no "casual/just browsing" customer traffic...big mistake.
Bring in an official Apple store!

ottawayogi
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Joined: Sep 2004

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09/21, 12:09pm | report spam | close Reply |
Some Other Options

It's a pity that B.Mac closed their doors. Though, I can't say that I'm too surprised. I don't think they made very good use of their very large Ottawa retail space (a fairly large percentage of it was dedicated to art supplies and a pool table) and perhaps their marketing wasn't agressive enough.

I agree - I don't think "market share" is really the issue. Apple's getting so much press these days as a result of the iPod and Music Store's success and I think that many people are starting to take a serious look at their other offerings. It seems that just about everyone I know is turning to Macs when they buy a new computer - especially for personal/home use (it could be that I'm a bit of an influence to their purchasing decision...I should be getting a commission ;).

I've heard that Best Buy will soon be carrying Macs as well (in the Ottawa area at least). Also CompuSmart sells and services Macs.

hayesk
Professional Poster

Joined: Sep 1999

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09/21, 12:18pm | report spam | close Reply |
Re: Best Buy

Best Buy already has Macs. A decent selection. But the problem is with the big box stores is they only carry the Macs. They do not carry third party software and accessories, short of Photoshop and Norton Utilities.

Compusmart is better, and there is The Mac Group on Gladstone.

redwood
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Joined: Oct 2003

+1

09/21, 12:28pm | report spam | close Reply |
Intelligence on this boar

It's nice to see so many intelligent comments on this board from local and knowledgeable sources on the topic. Way to go macnn readers.

tabarnak
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Joined: Jan 2003

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09/21, 12:34pm | report spam | close Reply |
very bad services

maybe the owner should blame himself instead of market share. actually there is many mac users in montreal and the design community is pretty big.

i stop buying my macs there, the service was terrible. they were lying to consumer all the time. if you had a problem and have to bring your machine there, the guy would answer 'we'll look at it within 48hours and call you back', and by that he ment 'we'll have it for more than a week and not call you back'. when you called to know if they had a product, their answers was yes we have it. when you arrive at the store, they didn't. (happens to me 2 times). the list can go on like that... every mac users i know that has made business with them are avoiding them, me included.

to bad, it was a good store at the begining. i just which we could see an apple store. but there is many other places right now, never seen so much mac stores in montreal

hypersoft
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Joined: Nov 1999

+1

09/21, 12:41pm | report spam | close Reply |
b.Mac

bMac had a location in Ottawa up until a few weeks ago when it was closed. It was staffed by good people that knew their way around a Mac and how to get work done on what is simply the best system around. They were helpful and able to provide accurate answers to technical questions on the Mac. I considered them a good resource in the area for Mac repairs and service. (I'd probably even consider hiring some of them.)
Market share for Macintosh is not the problem. The Quebec market (culturally unique or not) is not the problem.

It is hard to sell from an empty shelf. Five week waits for eMac delivery from Apple. More than 2 months without iMacs. Long waits for G5s. Spotty availability of iBooks and PowerBooks can all be issues in a market where the margin of profit for a CPU is razor thin.

The profit on an eMac barely covers one month's telephone bill for residential service let alone a basic business line.

It is very very tough to make a living selling hardware alone. When you can't get enough computers to sell you can't sell copies of MS Office or printers that will generate repeat sales of ink cartridges.

As an Apple VAR who loves the Mac OS and Apple hardware over anything else out there, I'd love to open a retail store front operation to sell, service and support Macs in "the Macintosh Way" style.

The fact is, there still has to be a business case and a way to standout from the crowded market.
I can do that in a focused market (medical software) by providing superb software and outstanding ongoing support because the profits to enable me to keep answering the phones are there from services and support contracts. The general consumer market seemingly will drive 150 km to save $10.00.

It is bad enough that both the federal and provincial governments each make more money on a simple sale of an eMac (markup is about 5% vs taxes at 7 and 8%) but when a client whips out the old plastic and the bank wants it's commission on the credit card sale.

With on-line sales more and more accessible, by an ever larger client base, has come cutthroat prices. The average small retailer can NOT compete with on-line sales on price alone. Big box national chains leverage their volume sales to extract co-op advertising funds from manufacturers and squeeze a few bucks more from the consumer with inflated in-house service contracts but forget about asking a simple tech question... the guy on the selling floor at Future Shop, Best Buy or WalMart knows squat.

As hard as it can be, I continue in the Mac business because it is the platform that makes the most sense in so many ways - and I can make a decent living at it.

djfern
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Joined: Sep 2004

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09/21, 02:17pm | report spam | close Reply |
bad management

Yep. the Ottawa store was in a suburb. it was absolutely massive and rarely had anything i was looking for in stock that day. They're prices were ok. They seemed to have 2 staff to every customer - which is nice, but stoopid too.

I think the real problem with bmac is that they're incompetent business owners. They're store in downtown montreal is located on the second floor - and not even in the best area for computer stores.

Take a look at Carbon Computing in Toronto - they just moved into a BIGGER store and placed themselves smack dab in an up & coming film and artists neighbourhood. Massive storefront. Great website. It took BMac a couple of years before it even listed prices on it's bloody website.

CPUsed - another great Toronto mac store - very easy to get to by subway or car - close to downtown - they've moved three times in the last 10 years - always to bigger locations.

Computer systems centre in Toronto - massive store at one of the biggest intersections in toronto. They sell PCs too, but they're mac section is easily half the store. They own a whole building and do lots of corporate clients.

So, for BMac to be blaming their woes on demand for Macs is prettty ridiculous. They're stores were in dumb locations, stocked with consumer goods and their business model was a bit insane - they sold art supplies (like pens and paints) WAY more expensive than a normal art store or discount store, and they carried few things in stock. No wonder.

The only sad thing is that Ottawa really only has one mac store left. They're a small outfit, but really nice guys. This town is just begging for a downtown store with good storefront and items IN STOCK.

enough said.

dlefebvre
Mac Elite

Joined: May 2000

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09/21, 02:22pm | report spam | close Reply |
Too bad

I shopped at Montreal's main location. The staff knew what they were talking about. The only problem was the location in the middle of industrial nowhere. Without a car, forget it.
Montreal deserves an esay acces Mac store in a downtown shopping mall.

philomath777
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Joined: Mar 2004

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09/21, 02:23pm | report spam | close Reply |
BMac in Ottawa

Interesting how peoples' perceptions are different. I had really good service from BMac in Ottawa, although I just used their service department and art store. They did have a lot of space in their store but I liked it - it didn't feel crowded and overlit like so many box stores. Who knows? Maybe unprofitable stores in Montreal brought down the Ottawa store...

As far as the newspaper report about "plunging popularity" of Macs, that's Windows spin and a lot of baloney. Soon with Microshaft's Music Store opening, they'll be writing about plunging popularity of iTunes and the iPod. Many newspaper tech journalists have the brains and IQ of a dead budgie bird, parroting what some other budgie bird flying around Bill Gates' cage is singing.

schesbh
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09/21, 03:22pm | report spam | close Reply |
It's about time

Since being part of the Apple family since 1976...and involved in many areas of the Mac over the years in and around Quebec, I heard nothing but compliants about this store, from consumers to retailers. Do we feel bad about this, no in fact happier that they are finally off the market. I never purchased at this store, rather giving my clients the benifit of better quality service and sales from the several other Retailers in Quebec that were glad to treat you properly. One retailer I spoke with today is so busy with calls and customers who are bringing their Macs to them fore repair since they were told that the final store is closing and they can't repair / upgrade their computer. It boils down to how you treat your customer... this store did not learn and this is what has happened.

carbmac
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09/21, 03:32pm | report spam | close Reply |
Poor location & staff

My friend and I are recent switchers (March '04). The downtown B.Mac store is in an abandonned (or what looks like, rather) an old church. And on the second floor (or third..?). Anyway, it's poorly located. So poorly, you have to be carefully looking for it to find it.

The store looks (and is) dirty. Sofas and a (non-functionning) baby foot table isn't exactly what I'd call good selling methods. I also visited their other location, closer to home this time, in the industrial park. Wow... it's even dirtier, and the staff is very strange. There is like two teenager girls greeting you, and quite frankly, they don't look and sound like they know what they're selling.

We since switched to Micro Boutique for our Mac needs and we've been served much better. Friendlier service, and cleaner store. And a better variety (routers, printers, etc.)

With all the people around us buying Macs (either switching or getting their first computer), it's impossible to blame it on market condition. There's a software only store that sells Mac stuff in downtown (Le Camelot) and their Mac section is always filled and stuff is moving. So, it's definitively not a market share thing.

Ray

ecrelin
Junior Member

Joined: Oct 2000

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09/21, 03:52pm | report spam | close Reply |
retail's tough

I almost never shop retail, unless I need something immediately even though there are stores around. As technology has advanced, the prices and selection of items like computers and peripherals are vastly better online. If my clients don't have questions or don't need to touch a machine I advocate that they also buy online. Trying to stay alive as a consumer resource with this market model is tough anywhere. If you run a crappy store you're done. Luckily with M$ betting on a longshot, hee hee, you are going to see a steady marketshare growth so if these guys can hang on they'll be doing well.

macpromtl
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Joined: Sep 2004

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09/21, 04:02pm | report spam | close Reply |
b.mac & the Gazette

What a load of bull. There are many successful Apple retailers and consultants still doing fine in Montreal, and you don't have to wait for your computers all that much. I have friends who have ordered and received laptops and G5 computers from dealers on time recently (read: the last four weeks), and school boards and universities in Montreal are still buying Macs en masse.

B.Mac were proud to advertise all over the place, but the reality in the store was that the stock was often stale (man, Jaguar books still on the shelves almost a year after Panther, and ancient - and I mean ancient - gaming titles) and the service was horrid. I went there three times over the last twelve months, they never had the accessories I was looking for, whether they were simple Griffin stuff or even MacAlly cables. Service was lame, with more staff on the floor than clients, yet none would speak to you or help unless you chased them down. For crying out loud, they had two - TWO - people manning the front cash, and it took forever to get the bill done and get out of there.

You'd figure with an outfit that size - and the amount of people layed off is staggering - you'd be able to get to a regular human being on the phone fairly fast, but nooooo. Jump through the hoops of the press 1, press 4, press whatever, and you'd be put on hold, until you got "please leave a message, we'll call you back".

Just two words on their passing: good riddance. Shame on the Gazette for publishing that pack of lies about "ever-dwindling number of corporate Macintosh users like graphic houses". Hah. Production houses and ad-firms are moving to G5 and updating their software pool (the print shop I work with is moving from G4s to G5s and doing quite well, thank you). There are more Final Cut Pro stations in video houses than Avid systems. The truth is they had horrible customer service and, as a repair/upgrade shop, they truly sucked. The market stopped going there, and went to the shops that still cared - and provided decent service. If Darwin was right, this is a prime example of survival of the fittest.

gurman
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Joined: Sep 2000

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09/21, 04:03pm | report spam | close Reply |
business model

So they've closed all but one shop and still have 15 employees? How many single-store Mac shops anywhere have that kind of payroll overhead? All the successful ones I've seen have 3 - 4 full-time equivalents, and limited floor space, so they can afford the rent in areas where Mac users are likely to live.

I'm not familiar with BMac, but it sounds as though they doomed themselves. Product availability issues couldn't have helped them, but their payroll just had too many people on it.

Bonhomme7heures
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Joined: Oct 2003

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09/21, 04:09pm | report spam | close Reply |
carbmac is right!

I have no sympathy for bmac closing. The location was just screeming out loud: "DON'T BUY ANYTHING!" I found a picture of the church with the shopping mall in front. Go take a look http://www.farha.com/sf2000/montreal001.html.

The store is located on the top floor, right over the yellow sign on the far left. And to reach that place, you had to in and take an elevator.

So don't believe what the owner said, believe what the montrealers know!

DMayer
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Joined: Sep 2004

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09/21, 04:24pm | report spam | close Reply |
A few more comments

I agree with comments made here about B.Mac (store, location, ...). I would also add that one of their main competitor, INSO (also known as Micro-Boutique) has stores in at least 2 of the biggest universities in Montreal. Selling to students, teachers, and universities gives INSO a lot of sales (volume and revenue). Plus, the one time I shopped at B.Mac, I was told that I could not buy at educationnal prices (even tough I am a college teacher).

Finally, even tough I think that Apple is doing as good here as anywhere else, I think Apple could do a better job to promote the Mac here. When I travel to the states, I am always surprised to see that Apple is much more present in the public space (ads, ...).

Bonhomme7heures
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Joined: Oct 2003

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09/21, 04:26pm | report spam | close Reply |
More pictures!

Scroll down at hte bottom and take a look at the Bmac store:

http://www.ifoapplestore.com/stores/montreal/

flyfrog75
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Joined: Sep 2004

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09/21, 04:38pm | report spam | close Reply |
Bmac was the problem

Like it was mentioned in previous posts, Bmac has nobody to blame but themselves.
Poor locations and crappy service.
I have had similar experiences where on more than one occasion I was lied to about repairs done on my machines.

If you are looking for a Mac place in the Montreal area, there is a great place in Dorval called Microserve or in Laval a place called CompuSmart.
Good ridance Bmac.

Buzy Beetle
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09/21, 05:07pm | report spam | close Reply |
B as in ?

I'm still wondering what the B in Bmac meant... "business"? What a great way to target Mac users "Business Macs"... eewww

Really from what I and my friends experienced with Bmac in Montreal, it's not surprising to see them fail. I was there with my friend, who was ready to buy a PowerMac, but we decided to go away after 30 minutes waiting for staff. The store wasn't even crowded in any way.

The church location was not as bad as it seems, it was a traditionnal Mac/graphic designer store long time before it was bought by Bmac. Still it was at the second floor of "La Belle Province" a very low-grade fast-food chain, and while I enjoy poutine and Macs, I don't feel the target markets overlap that much. At least it was downtown. The other stores were simply in the middle of nowhere.

The Gazette has sometimes this mindset of promoting the ubiquity of some means of communication standards because "everyone use them", while they spread FUD against people wanting to promote/protect alternatives.

12345FU2
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Joined: Feb 2003

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09/21, 05:29pm | report spam | close Reply |
Macs in Canada BOOMING

In spite of excellent demand for Macs in Canada Apple earlier this year FIRED their entire national sales force and have done NOTHING since, yes NO replacement in any way, private or otherwise.

Apple IS making every effort possible to destroy Mac sales in Canada with not one single Apple store in the entire country and NO iTunes access either. Pitiful support for independents and perpetual delays in supporting the market. Apple needs to have their a** handed to them for their continuous efforts to destroy the Mac market.

Mean while self centered independents, the ONLY access available, feel they don't need proper stock and even charge OVER list price and as a rule are utterly clueless about Apple and related products. In spite of this continual abuse the market for Apple products is thriving.

Imagine how good the market would be if Canada was treated as well as the USA. We would no doubt triple the market share that Apple USA has in short order.

Being an Apple supporter in Canada is the ultimate thankless job.

gartenmuzik
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Joined: Oct 2003

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09/21, 05:38pm | report spam | close Reply |
wrong information!

I was an employee there and this information is hilarious. First of all, B.Mac had 2 stores in montreal, 1 in laval and 1 in Ottawa. Laval closed long ago and Ottawa a few months ago. The two stores in Montreal are now closed and one will briefly reopen for liquidation. There are other mac stores in Montreal like INSO MicroBoutique that have sold macs for 21 years now, and honestly, do it much better thank you! The truth is that B.Mac was a terrible place to work at and the big boss didn't care about employees. Hundreds of employees were rotated through its existence. The problem has nothing to do with the MAC but rather because the store was a terrible store. INSO has gained unsatisfied B.Mac clients and is seeing a big wave of walkins since the B.Mac doors are locked. Ask anyone who has worked there, the boss did a personal mental bankrupty and wanted everyone else to feel as miserable as he did. I now work for apple and believe me when I tell you that the online apple store in canada is doing great!

apple514mtl
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09/21, 10:06pm | report spam | close Reply |
bMac = bCrap ?

This comment is from yet another Apple Sales and Service shop owner that at one time not all that long ago, enjoyed with great contentedness sharing the Montreal market with a series of shops bearing the name bCrap.

bCrap as they have been referred to by our clients. Many of whom shared many of the same ghastly experiences of slow service, misdirection, and general aggravation that other posters to this forum have described.

One time I desperately needed an accessory for a client of mine. At the Pare Shop, it took half an hour for someone to help me, (there were 3 other clients in the store) and another 15 minutes of standing around the checkout station while some teenager was figuring out how to print my bill and talk on the phone with one of their friends at the same time.

The problem that bMac had was simple. Their focus was on selling boxes in the same way you would if you operated a Future Shlop or a CompuSmart. This approach works quite well for selling televisions, radios, microwaves, and even cases of paper & pencils.

All computer buyers need after sale support. Even if it is just to answer a simple question. As you can see from the other posters here, bMac�s support was far from stellar.

My clients know that they can always count on me and my shop to answer any of their concerns, or give an opinion.

Our service department was founded on and bases itself on a simple rule. Every service order gets evaluated AS it is accepted. Our clients know within the span of a few minutes to a few hours how much time it will take to repair their computer, how much it will cost, and which parts we will be replacing.

Our clients love us for it. and I would like to take this moment in time to personally thank the mis-directors, and mis-mangers of bMac, for showing my colleagues and I, exactly how NOT to treat customers.

Thanks again, and thank you especially for strengthening OUR loyal following of happy clients.

Torisutan
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Joined: Sep 2004

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09/21, 11:23pm | report spam | close Reply |
Totally

I used to work in the Ottawa location, too. B.Mac started off as a fine place to work. That was when the owner gave the illusion he actually cared about his employees.

After a while, he obviously was just showing his dedication towards B.MacSys or IRON as it was later called. He forgot about the entire company and put out this new system. A system we should have had since day one, instead of the half-assed written one we had running under Filemaker. So first off we were slow because Filemaker makes a terrible front end (or at least it did how it was programmed for us) and then we were slow because we had to get used to this new system that didn't make any sense.

It also didn't help that he left his wife to date the purchaser in the company who was an airheaded twit. She didn't know her a** from a hole in the ground, and of course you can't tell that to the owner or bye bye! So when you're sitting here, not able to get product because someone incompetant is behind the wheel of the company (yes, the Ottawa store DID NOT have control over it's own product, it was at the mercy of a ditzy idiot).

So please, haters of the Ottawa store, as mindless pawns in B.Mac's insane ruling, we had no control over anything in the store. All we could do is curse under our breath when things didn't get ordered because the purchaser "forgot" or some other bullish excuse, because we knew that it was OUR faces that would get yelled in when we returned from the warehouse, not the purchaser. Then we'd have to make up some bull or try and find some other solution because we couldn't let out one of B.Mac's SECRETS or anything. The guy ran the place like it was MI6 or something. It was so stupid and irritating.

We were just simple folks trying to make a living with a product that we love, we wish we could have done more for you.

Well, all I can vouch for is the Ottawa store. I don't know about the other stores.

Musti
Dedicated MacNNer

Joined: Jan 2001

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09/22, 03:50am | report spam | close Reply |
That blows...

I liked their approach, though it was a bit overkill (Design materials at one side and computers at the other, a childplay area at one corner and magazines over there). Not very knowledgeable sales clerks, and too many of them. Sometimes flaky service, but positive, constructive approach. Very responsive management team. FutureShop selling Macs? God save us, those guys know nothing but push extended service plans. Compusmart? Depressive stores, overpriced materials...Sigh. I want my Mac store.

epsibrown
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Joined: Sep 2004

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09/22, 09:28am | report spam | close Reply |
Qualitty & prices

Well, actually, as someone who has had to deal with BMac on more than one occasion (and having once competed with them too, I have to admit), I can safely say that the quality of their service offerings and their prices are probably more the cause of their situation... The declining base argument MIGHT have some truth to it, but their business practices (long waits, not-very-savvy-techies, and high prices) most likely didn't help their case... I do feel sorry for their staff, but this is one guy who sure won't miss this retailer!

elvisisgod
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Joined: Jul 2003

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09/22, 10:22am | report spam | close Reply |
What about Apple ?

It is rather sad to see the passing of B.Mac as now there will be less competion. Before B.Mac came unto the scene, Montreal retailers where basically overcharging. Having bought and used Macs for years, I had to mail-order from Toronto...

B.Mac was one the first Montreal retailers to heavely advertise in Newspapers, they were agressive in promoting Mac.

Part of the problem, that no one has mentionned is the lack of computers themselves. If I go into any Mac store in Montreal, I will have to weeks/months to get what I need. The lack of stock (from iMacs to top of the line G5s) is partly responsible - it seems that Apple is chocking it's resellers. If you don't have stock that bring in customers you can't sell items that make you money(printer ink, add-ons). The profit margins on the computer itself was very low...

I certainly don't want to use the Apple store - they don't give me service or great choices. At the price that Apple charges for componants is ridiculous - before spending upwards of 6000$cnd for a new system, it only makes sense to look at PCs...

macgodess
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09/23, 06:10pm | report spam | close Reply |
Apple Retail in general..

There's an awful lot of talk here specifically about B.Mac, and yes, I worked for them in the past also, but I've also worked for other Apple resellers, and they all have their flaws - and not always the faults of the people running them. I really am sorry to see people I know out of jobs for things that they really have no control over, and I also know that there were "good" people involved in B.Mac, and I'm sure there's quite a few end customers out there that could also tell that. I can only speak for what I saw at the beginning of the B.Mac expansion however.

Sure there are other Apple resellers, but they get restricted by the same issues from Apple as every other reseller. Apple enforces very strict rules in both their retail and service sides of the business, and in the US, this is even worse for the private Apple reseller - imagine how any service department feels in competition with the Apple store in the US who stock parts and have enough well paid staff to get a repair done on the spot, when any reseller has to order only one part (or get penalized for ordering more) per machine in for repair, and have it sent to them hopefully within 2 business days, but this could be longer if Apple's warehouse is out of stock....

Granted, this kind of competition from Apple doesn't happen in Canada, but the restrictions on a reseller are still infuriating.

Sales is a hard market to do really well, picking a sales force who you feel confortable representing your business ethic is near impossible, and unfortunately can be a slippery slope to less than mediocrity.

krafix
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09/26, 11:43am | report spam | close Reply |
Facts

The B in BMac stands for "Brentrose Solutions" which paved the way for BMac (If I recall right). My experience: Their Filemaker database was an horror story. Had to changed my "filemaker" biz info 3 times and finally no employee got it right/entered it correctly/billed wrong. Great big "industrial location" store with plenty of hardware to try on but strange (I mean really strange) staff. I sent a client there once... he came back with an horror repair story. Stock? Sure, plenty of it. But nobody to know about it or be sure it was there. Finally, this is an "english" philosophy store. In QC, it doesn't cut it. You need a francophone approch to business. At least when you want to talk "consumer". Sorry, next caller.

krafixknowsnot
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Joined: Oct 2004

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10/05, 09:44pm | report spam | close Reply |
Facts Revised

Actually pretty much everything that krafix said is quite inaccurate, everything except that Filemaker was very inefficient. B.Mac stands for Brenrose Solutions (close though) and employees enter whatever is given to them into customer files for billing. B.Mac seldom had very much stock which was one of the main factors contributing to customer dissatisfaction. Staff was very well informed about products in the Mac world, but there was never any stock to talk to clients about, and staff definetly knew when products were there, because it was so exciting to have something in stock! Finally, the whole "need a francophone approach to business...[in Quebec]" statement is horribly wrong and I don't think I need to explain why. It is fact that an increadible number of "english" philosophy stores are very successful in Quebec. Better luck next time krafix, next caller!

dust2dust
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10/21, 03:40pm | report spam | close Reply |
B.[Bankrupt]Mac

Here is a little story (with perspective it's hard to not laugh at my situation ;-)

All I can say is this situation f*** me up badly. I ordered in july at B.Mac a G5 fully loaded with many peripherics (2 monitors, External FW HD, Extra Ram, etc.).

At this time the 6-8 weekes of waiting was okay. I was entering pre-production only in september. The timing seamed perfect to me. (I also always have been used to Apple being so freakin slow on shipping their new systems).

September comes and I was suppose to get my G5. Unfortunatly they tell me I have to wait another 4 weeks. IT is late due to : liquid cooling and Video Card bullshit. October comes and well their door are closed. It looks like I won't see this G5 and the deposit is probably already spent by the owners. (My credit card company is on the case, another 6 months before sometinh is concluded...who knows).

I have now 2 problem :

1) The main one being that I can't afford to wait another 2 months for a BTO.
2) Where should I go to have secure/safe business with an Apple vendor here in Montreal ?

I personnaly think that somewhere Apple should regulate the new Authorised Vendors. And the internet Apple Store is not a solution people want especially when they are looking for a complete suite of product not being all Apple branded $$$.

-s

MacHeadCase
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Joined: Feb 2003

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09/30, 01:44pm | report spam | close Reply |
B.Mac has re-opened

Here is their new website: B.Mac and they've re-opened in a trendy Montreal neighbourhood, the Plateau Mont-Royal. The store is pretty well situated, am going to see it today to know what's up, what the store looks like, etc.

MacHeadCase
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Joined: Feb 2003

0

11/09, 02:52pm | report spam | close Reply |
B.Mac's new store

I doubt this one will survive... I went a few weeks ago to check the place out. It's a very small store, only has three Macs on display and not even the latest models at that (!!!), they sell PeeCees, a few iPod models (surprise surprise!...) and cell phones. There's kiddie games for sale near the back of the store. You come out of there wondering why the h*** did they ever bother. Almost looks like the owners bought the name so they could use it to attract Mac users and people interested in buying an iPod or two. Looks like I'll be sticking to Inso's MacBoutique on Avenue du Parc. If only Apple could open a store here... :rolleyes:

roberto
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Joined: Jun 2007

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11/27, 07:16am | report spam | close Reply |
wow

interesting thread!

thanks to all the posters

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Mac retailer in Montreal, Canada closing its doors

updated 11:20 am EDT, Tue September 21, 2004

Montreal Mac shop closes

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