apple news/media reports
01/26/2005, 9:45pm, EST
Wednesday, January 26th
Genius Bars: "the soul" of Apple's retail stores
Apple's Genius Bars are the soul of its retail stores, according to Apple VP Ron Johnson. A New York Times article discusses the "increasingly rare" free face-to-face technical support phenomenon, the Geniuses themselves, the evolution of the concept, and its inspiration: "The concept of a bar came to Mr. Johnson one night when he was thinking about the kind of environment Apple wanted to create in its stores. He said he was inspired by Four Seasons, the Ritz-Carlton and other hotels where service is paramount. 'We believed you had to bring the people dimension back into retail,' said Mr. Johnson, who joined Apple five years ago after 15 years at Target. 'We thought, What about giving tech support that's as welcoming as the bar at the Ritz?'"
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'Nuts & bolts' accounting & contact management specifically come to mind...
If this "Geek Squad" really is the 'soul' of Apple, then Apple is form sans substance.
Of course, this quotable quote came from an exec, who, really is nothing more than investor relations. 90% of what comes out of execs is filler or calculated to maximize value without divulging anything of true substance.
Now Apple dropping their suit against Nick DePlume, -that- would be something of substance. This is mere filler.
If I happen to be in an Apple store I'll often ask the genius a question. They usually don't know the answer and it doesn't bother me because it's usually an uber-geek question.
52K is a lot better than I heard they were making. Good to hear! Thanks. I heard they were getting ~25K a year. I would have taken 52K a year when I was in college, that's for sure!