[blario]

This is different because of what is being cut. I can't remember having used one of those "goodies". They end up like the "toys" that come in cereal boxes: junk you throw out every Spring. And something as personal as a case is something stylish people would rather pick out themselves.

Firstly, we're basically talking about the mission statement of the retail stores. It was originally to provide a great experience. Now it is maximize profit. This is definitely a big deal. No longer giving away junk was not a change of Apple's mission statement.

What does that mission statement mean to the customer? Well... I would lean towards believing many customers are loyal to Apple due to quality. It is logical to think Apple believe[s,d] in quality because it lends to customer satisfaction, which lends to brand loyalty. If customer satisfaction is no longer their driving motivation... does that mean Apple has killed the very reason their customers are loyal to them? Those "goodies" probably were never considered the very reason Apple has brand loyalty. If it was, Apple was able to change that reason to a new reason (quality).

Secondly, how much a customer can trust the word of a salesman is often determined by whether the salesman is commission or not... there's a reason people pay attention to it. This is far larger than no longer giving away items which were never used & thrown away. Although the employee don't seem to be paid via commission now, they basically still are (points tallied on how many high profit items are sold).