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Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
10/28/09
I'm primarily an Apple user. With that said, I'm gonna give a wholehearted "WELL DONE" to Microsoft for this. Awesome! Here are a few of my first impressions:
First, I think that it looks like an awesome store that would be exciting just to be in (hence the crazy lines on opening). The store environment is one of those places that makes you money fight to leap right out from your pockets, yet something makes you feel okay with that - now that's effective retail. The simplicity of design, the colors, the screens - it all just works well.
Okay, so I'll be honest - I worked Apple retail a few years back... and seeing the pictures of this literally made me feel like I was in an Apple store. Besides the obvious, here are the things that get me: The table layout, the way the computers are displayed, the colored employee t-shirts, complete with some kind of writing on the sleeves, their lanyards w/ name tags, the similarly-styled glass storefront, the wall-sized-yet-simplistic ads... oh I could go on. Now, with that said, rather than getting all "AppleFanPsycho", I actually want to applaud Microsoft for admitting that something their competitor is doing WORKS and adopting it, then seeking to improve on it. Use what's proven to work! Why fix what's not broken? In my opinion, admitting that, adopting it, emulating it, and taking the time/effort/money to implement it well, with their own added twist will make Microsoft hugely successful in retail.
The one thing I'm curious to see is the kind of employee training and the customer service model that they implement. Even if some people would completely disagree, I think that's what makes Apple Retail so successful. And no - Apple didn't come up with that one on their own, they did exactly what MS is doing now: they looked at the most successful customer service-related businesses in the world (Ritz Carlton etc), saw what worked and why, then adapted it to fit their needs. Apple even hired personnel from Ritz Carlton to train their first employees. So the whole MS-hiring-Apple-people thing is exactly what Apple (and countless other companies) did to be successful! Smart move for Microsoft!
The other thing I have a hard time envisioning is how MS is going to balance the support of third party hardware with the sale/promotion of their own products. At Apple, a Genius Bar is easy, because Apple designs the hardware and the software, and can train people directly on that. Also, Apple doesn't have to go through third-party sources for part-replacement, honoring warranties, etc.. These are all challenges that Microsoft Technical Advisors will face with their Answers Suite. But I'm excited to see how they tackle it, and I again applaud them for taking on that challenge as an added gesture of customer service!
/...TLDR #microsoftstore
10/23/09
Also, I hate the whole Grand Canyon thing. Everyone pulls that out of their ass when talking about Arizona. I've lived here my whole life and never been there. I don't know very many people who have, actually. #microsoftstore
10/23/09
Oh yeah, windows 7... WooHoo!
*I'm rockin' a 100% legit Ultimate on my desktop, and I could never go back to XP/Vista.*
Well done Microsoft. Perhaps you will have a whole year here where just about every single thing you did was fantastic.
Please? Us fanboys need more ammo and equipment. #microsoftstore
10/22/09
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10/22/09
You're kidding, right?
Redshirt #microsoftstore
10/22/09
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10/22/09
Be original.
Be simplified.
Be boundless.
Be inspired.
Be entertained.
Be heard.
(Interpret that last one as you will, because I'm not quite sure what it means.)
Microsoft also set up displays for Rock Band and DJ Hero at a separate entrance to the mall, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were other kiosks throughout the plaza.
The wait, while long, was not excruciating. The event seemed well organized, and Microsoft provided everyone with the typical swag (Bing t-shirts, free cookies, water bottles, etc.)
The crowd seemed to be filled with tons of computer enthusiasts, and unsurprisingly many people were taking photos of the store with none other than their iPhones.
While the turnout was pretty big (the line itself wrapped around the entire food court) I still managed to be one of the first 1000 to enter the store and get a gift bag. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to properly rifle through it yet, but I'm pretty sure among other things it included a gift card for the store (probably not worth much, maybe $5,) a gift card toward a Zune pass and other items not worth mentioning (if I come across anything else in there exciting, I'll append it to this comment.)
Once inside, yeah, it's pretty much just like the Apple store except with the Microsoft Surface tables distributed throughout (which, upon viewing Surface for the first time in person, I have to admit I was fairly disappointed, since the screens look dim under the bright lights of the store and their limited functionality renders them basically as huge iPod Touches.)
I'd say the staff is probably the best thing you'll find inside. They're pretty friendly and helpful, and applaud (literally) anytime a large purchase is made. Of course, it's easy to be charming and affable on day one, so we'll see if they still are on day one-hundred.
And for anyone interested, the only thing that seems completely unorganized is the Ashley Tisdale concert. I know, I know, you're on the edge of your seats wondering if it will be actually inside the store or in the mall or in the parking lot, and to be honest, most of the staff there seems to be wondering too.
Besides that, it seems like it will make for a decent browsing experience for most people, but I think that will be it. I imagine it's more difficult for something like the Microsoft store to lock in a sale when many items inside are third-party equipment (namely Dell) that you can likely find at other vendors for a more competitive price. Xboxes can be purchased at other outlets that offer sales or coupons, Zunes can be personalized if bought online, etc.
Basically, you get more value for the buck if you shop elsewhere, whereas with Apple you get the same product for the same price regardless of how you get it for the most part.
Because of that, the Microsoft Store seems more akin to the Sony Store, which offers its gaming console, media players and products in an inviting environment that ultimately gives you less bang for your buck. This will be an interesting experiment to see play out.
10/22/09
10/22/09
Its just like a movie dude. You don't see people in line while the movie is going on, just before. #microsoftstore
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10/22/09
There's almost a zero chance of getting shot! #microsoftstore
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10/22/09
You're welcome. #microsoftstore
10/22/09
10/22/09