[joev]

It is interesting to see that Apple positions their retail employees more as an extension of their support and brand marketing operations, and less of a simple direct sales channel. Their employees seem to know a lot more about the products than places like Best Buy. That may due to the relatively few things they sell- I notice AT&T store employees are very knowledgeable about the products that they sell, but when you talk to them about service plans, then you start to get the obfuscation and snake-oil sales.