[ghshephard]

I went to the stanford shopping center recently - and, because obviously we were visiting the Apple store while we were there, we decided to go check out the Microsoft store as well - it was only a few doors down. I was pleasantly surprised at how darn nice it was. It was much larger than the Apple store, had better air conditioning (though, maybe because it wasn't as crowded) - had a cool Kinect/Xbox living room set up front, and had these awesome video walls.

I did have a similar experience as the individual in question - I was kind of used to the very gregarious Apple employees, so I was a bit taken aback when I asked if they had any Lumias (I hadn't been able to find them that quickly), and, instead of being lead to it like a small child (as I'm used to at the competition) - I got a bit of a gruff, "They're in the phone section." - this, despite the fact, we were standing beside a table full of phones, none of which were the Lumia. :-)

The stores are quite nice, beautiful even, but the Stanford Shopping Center employees should take some Apple training.

[checker]

I really like the stores. They have a refreshing vibe that's in contrast to the Apple store's minimalism. The Kinects, Xboxes, and Surfaces also bring in a pretty diverse crowd since there's an addition of a gaming aspect. There's a wraparound screen that adds a lot of color that the Apple store lacks. It's definitely a well-done ripoff in my opinion.

I go to the one in Tyson's Corner and it's usually pretty busy. I can't say I've actually bought anything from there, but the employees have always asked if I needed assistance. They were also very helpful when describing laptop options to my parents, and pointed me to the ultrabooks when I couldn't find them.

I guess it depends on Microsoft hiring the right employees and management making sure the customer service is up to par. I have no complaints though.