Page 12 - GBC Spring 2019 ENG

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Golf Business Canada
Hong Kong’s rst Apple store that opened in 2012 was a massive success.
There is nothing wrong with computers and digital devices that are not made by Apple. The difference is that every other computer company has commoditized themselves; they compete on price whereas Apple competes on experience.
Apple knows that the longer you remain in the store experiencing the products the more likely it is that you will become a customer or remain a customer. People that love Apple appreciate the design and user friendliness of their products, but what they really value is who Apple helps them become.
ZAPPOS CALL CENTRE
Another great example is a call centre, which undoubtedly you have experienced. Most businesses that have a call centre focus on ways to improve their customer service. They want to be as quick, easy and ef cient as possible to work with. They don’t want you to feel stuck on the phone with them trying to resolve an issue.
However, Zappos, an online shoe retailer has turned this notion of the call centre experience on its head. Instead of focusing on decreasing the time they spend with their clients, Zappos celebrates, every day, the employee who spent the MOST time on the telephone with a client.
The experience that Zappos wants you to have is one that doesn’t make you feel rushed. It’s an experience that doesn’t make you feel that the person on the other end of the phone is trying to be quick and ef cient. They want you to feel that Zappos cares, and has all the time in the world to resolve your problem, and make you happy. The record for the longest Zappos customer care call is almost 11 hours (picking shoes for a bridal party, if you’re curious.)
Tim Hortons has chosen to compete on price. They charge as little as possible while Starbucks charges twice as much, and sometimes even more.
APPLE VS BEST BUY
Consider and compare the Apple store experience and a Best Buy store experience. Best Buy sells all kinds of products in addition to personal computers and digital devices, but they compete on price. Best Buy is almost synonymous with “discount.”
Conversely, have you ever heard of Apple having a sale? Have you ever seen an Apple store that wasn’t busy?
If you were to ask most people what business Apple is in, they would tell you that Apple sells computers and personal digital devices, such as iPads and iPhones. This isn’t true, at least not according to Apple.
Apple believes that they are in the people business, speci cally the human transformation business. Apple wants to change the way you create. They have the Genius Bar at the back of the store where customers can book time to learn about how to use their technology, and at any time you can walk in and talk to a staff member, who might be wearing a
“Unlike Best Buy, which is a warehouse, Apple’s stores are crisp and clutter
free. There are only a handful of items on display on the tables, which are easy to walk around. Apple hosts events in their stores that are free to attend.”
name tag with an offer on it to “Make your iPhone your phone.”
Unlike Best Buy, which is a warehouse, Apple’s stores are crisp and clutter free. There are only a handful of items on display on the tables, which are easy to walk around. Apple hosts events in their stores that are free to attend. I once listened to one of the cast members from Wicked talk about becoming an actress in an Apple store in Chicago. What does becoming an actress have to do with using a Mac? Nothing. But the place was packed.