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by gaius 5483 days ago
I was in the Apple store in Covent Garden recently, I knew what I wanted and had phoned in advance to check they had it, so I was just there to pick it up. As a former consultant, I am trained in exactly these sorts of techniques, and can easily spot them, and Apple's training is too good. I don't know how it is to regular people, but the Apple employees I spoke to were downright creepy. Whatever the actual-human equivalent of the "uncanny valley" is. I'll stick to the online store I think and just deal with the hassle of having to be in when I'm expecting a courier.
2 comments
tptacek 5482 days ago
The "technique" you're talking about is "not trying to sell stuff". That bothers you?
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gaius 5482 days ago
The technique is "quickly build a rapport with this person". It feels like being manipulated just as much as outright sales technique, because, well, it is.
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JonnieCache 5482 days ago
Agreed. Don't know if it's like this everywhere, but the apple retail employees I've dealt with have all been creepy like this. The uncanny valley is a good analogy. It's like being sold stuff using mental judo by NLP robots. I occasionally also get the feeling when talking to them that I might suddenly wake up and realise that I've been having a dream about being trapped in an aspirational TV advert.

But I'm british so maybe the whole thing just clashes with our general mistrust of our brother man. We just can't really believe that anyone is actually being nice to us for no benefit to themselves.

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alanthonyc 5482 days ago
"But I'm British..."

That's interesting. I wonder if gaius is also. Maybe it's a cultural thing. I find Apple Store employees to be extra "friendly", if that's the word, but not overly so.

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JonnieCache 5482 days ago
I am british, but let it also be known that I am often a miserable bastard, and this may also be a factor. This isn't really science.
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gaius 5482 days ago
I'm English, yes.
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napierzaza 5482 days ago
It's true. They should act as if they don't like you and can't be bothered. Did you read that WSJ article where they unveiled that they aren't trying to directly sell to you? Oh, it's this one.
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wunderfool 5482 days ago
agreed. i'd rather have a genuine conversation with a real human.

as an aside, i think the interior design motif of the stores has grown stale

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