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Best Buy is Ruining the Ipad.....

Dammit Cubs

Dammit Cubs

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jul 31, 2007
2,127
731
I went to both the Apple Store and the Best buy store.

While the Apple store has alot of apps catered toward the Ipad's full screen. There are many units at Best Buy that just used the Iphone apps. That's the worst thing to do. They look beyond ugly and it just adds the "big iphone" legend.

People who were like ..."oh wow" were people who saw the Ipad's true potential and that requires IPAD APPS!!!!.

Reason Number 1230805373498437 on why Best Buy has the dumbest employees EVER.
 
I think people are a lot smarter than that. The iPad isn't going to crumble because of a few iPhone apps on demo units at Best Buy lol People who regularly read papers/current event magazines/tech/entertainment and watch TV have already seen the iPad in action.
 
Can't agree more on all points. From the first time I ever stepped foot in a Best Buy to the last time, I was constantly unimpressed by every employee I encountered. On my 3rd or 4th (either way it was the last) trip in, I was there to return an unopened item. As I asked the employee at the door where the customer service desk was, he gave me a hard time, asking why I was returning the item. What is wrong with it? Why did I buy it in the first place? About 6 or 7 times he badgered me about my reasons for returning a $20 item, none of his damn business really, and as a result the company lost any possible business I might have given them in the future. Good hiring practices are clearly one of their strong suits (sarc).

Edit: sorry, got off on kind of a rant.
 
Dammit Cubs said:
I went to both the Apple Store and the Best buy store.

While the Apple store has alot of apps catered toward the Ipad's full screen. There are many units at Best Buy that just used the Iphone apps. That's the worst thing to do. They look beyond ugly and it just adds the "big iphone" legend.

People who were like ..."oh wow" were people who saw the Ipad's true potential and that requires IPAD APPS!!!!.

Reason Number 1230805373498437 on why Best Buy has the dumbest employees EVER.
Click to expand...

I noticed the iPhone apps on their demo units too. My best buy had the iPhone need for speed set at 2x, when the iPad need for speed looks so much better.
 
Best Buy has a natural way of screwing themselves royally at many occasions. Apple products are their undoing many times because of idiotic Freak Squad members or mac haters in the Freak Squad.
 
I spoke to the people at Best Buy about this. Believe it or not, the iPads came pre-loaded that way on launch day. It's not Best Buy's fault. They could log in using their own accounts and install some iPad apps I suppose, but the blame more lies with Apple.
 
There were apps loaded at my Apple store that seemed to be the iPhone version, but plenty iPad versions to show off. So the iPad at Best Buy is not configured the same as at Apple stores?
 
mikethebigo said:
I spoke to the people at Best Buy about this. Believe it or not, the iPads came pre-loaded that way on launch day. It's not Best Buy's fault. They could log in using their own accounts and install some iPad apps I suppose, but the blame more lies with Apple.
Click to expand...

The blame lies with Apple in more ways than one.

First of all, Apple should have a demo itunes account for selling iThings so that any store anywhere can load up a few songs and a few games on demo units. And it doesn't matter if the account credentials fall into "public" hands because all you could ever get on the account are free apps and a few demo songs. There are plenty of free iPad apps that do a fine job of showing it off better than iPhone apps running at 2x.

Second of all, Apple never should have designed the iPad as a lost puppy looking for it's mommy computer running iTunes. My jaw just about hit the floor on April 3rd when they practically insisted on hooking my iPad up to iTunes before I left the store. Only later did I realize that if they hadn't done this, there would have been thousands of "dead" iPads with stupid screens saying "please connect me to iTunes". That would have gone over like a fart in church. Apple made a nice last minute recovery by insisting on "activating" all those day one iPads but the smart play would have been a truly standalone unit to begin with.

TimothyB said:
There were apps loaded at my Apple store that seemed to be the iPhone version, but plenty iPad versions to show off. So the iPad at Best Buy is not configured the same as at Apple stores?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure. The day I picked mine up I grabbed it and left. I had no interest in playing with the displays when I was minutes away from having my own. I never bothered looking at best buy either. I did notice that on Day One, the Apple employees had only spent a few hours setting up the iPads. They didn't have them a day ahead of time. The advantage at the Apple store might be that they knew how to get a demo itunes account set up and the best buy guys didn't have that "tribal knowledge".
 
mikethebigo said:
I spoke to the people at Best Buy about this. Believe it or not, the iPads came pre-loaded that way on launch day. It's not Best Buy's fault. They could log in using their own accounts and install some iPad apps I suppose, but the blame more lies with Apple.
Click to expand...

Best Buy is never at fault of anything in their stores... It's the manufacturer's fault. Classic Best Buy....
 
r0k said:
The blame lies with Apple in more ways than one.

First of all, Apple should have a demo itunes account for selling iThings so that any store anywhere can load up a few songs and a few games on demo units. And it doesn't matter if the account credentials fall into "public" hands because all you could ever get on the account are free apps and a few demo songs. There are plenty of free iPad apps that do a fine job of showing it off better than iPhone apps running at 2x.

Second of all, Apple never should have designed the iPad as a lost puppy looking for it's mommy computer running iTunes. My jaw just about hit the floor on April 3rd when they practically insisted on hooking my iPad up to iTunes before I left the store. Only later did I realize that if they hadn't done this, there would have been thousands of "dead" iPads with stupid screens saying "please connect me to iTunes". That would have gone over like a fart in church. Apple made a nice last minute recovery by insisting on "activating" all those day one iPads but the smart play would have been a truly standalone unit to begin with.



I'm not sure. The day I picked mine up I grabbed it and left. I had no interest in playing with the displays when I was minutes away from having my own. I never bothered looking at best buy either. I did notice that on Day One, the Apple employees had only spent a few hours setting up the iPads. They didn't have them a day ahead of time. The advantage at the Apple store might be that they knew how to get a demo itunes account set up and the best buy guys didn't have that "tribal knowledge".
Click to expand...
I had my iPad (two, actually) within 20 minutes of the Apple store opening on April 3rd. I was never instructed to open them in-store and connect it to their iTunes. I did it myself when I got home.

But I must admit, besides cell phone plan details, I don't think there's a single subject regarding their merchandise that a Best Buy floor employee knows more about than do I. And the cell phone guys aren't even their employees - many work for the carriers themselves.
 
Dammit Cubs said:
I went to both the Apple Store and the Best buy store.

While the Apple store has alot of apps catered toward the Ipad's full screen. There are many units at Best Buy that just used the Iphone apps. That's the worst thing to do. They look beyond ugly and it just adds the "big iphone" legend.

People who were like ..."oh wow" were people who saw the Ipad's true potential and that requires IPAD APPS!!!!.

Reason Number 1230805373498437 on why Best Buy has the dumbest employees EVER.
Click to expand...

Obviously you should not expect that iPad will get the same level of attention from sale personnel in Best Buy as in Apple store. In Apple store they sell what 10 SKUs? In Best Buy, each employee has to take care of hundreds of different devices. Just compare cell phones: 1 in Apple store against (just guessing) 100 in Best Buy. Taking this into account, I'd say best Buy is doing excellent job.
 
Best Buy employees are really only there to fill a pair of shoes. I've never met a single employee that knew their product on a level that was respectable.

You should only use Best Buy when you know exactly what you want, or know what you're looking at. The employees should only be brought into the equation at checkout time.
 
I think a bigger problem for Best Buy (and Apple) is that the iPad is stealing away all of the attention from the iMac and MacBook lines. Every time I go to Best Buy now, the iPad kiosks are crowded but no one seems to be looking at the other Apple products. Or maybe the iPad will be the gateway drug to other Apple devices?
 
Surprisingly, our local Best Buy loaded its iPads with some really nice apps, including Elements, MLB, Star Walk, Real Racing HD, and F1 Live Timing (a $33 app!).

Unfortunately, it's one of the least trafficked Best Buys I know. :(
 
jav6454 said:
Best Buy is never at fault of anything in their stores... It's the manufacturer's fault. Classic Best Buy....
Click to expand...


Exactly.. A good account manager from Best Buy would have contacted Apple to include better Apps for display units. Maybe they did contact Apple, but I can't imagine why Apple wouldn't do this as they are also interested in selling many units.

Any competition between The Apple Stores and Best Buy is not based on installed apps on the iPad.
 
Travisimo said:
I think a bigger problem for Best Buy (and Apple) is that the iPad is stealing away all of the attention from the iMac and MacBook lines. Every time I go to Best Buy now, the iPad kiosks are crowded but no one seems to be looking at the other Apple products. Or maybe the iPad will be the gateway drug to other Apple devices?
Click to expand...

I think any Apple device is a gateway drug, because they all work together so well. I remember starting with an iPod, then saying, well it makes sense to get an iPhone to merge the iPod and phone. Then I said, well, iPhones sync really well with Macs. And before you know it, I had both. Similarly with the iPad, its gotta sync to something, you know? Plus, people will use the iPad, say wow this is so simple and intuitive, and be much more open to the idea of a Mac in the future.
 
mikethebigo said:
I spoke to the people at Best Buy about this. Believe it or not, the iPads came pre-loaded that way on launch day. It's not Best Buy's fault. They could log in using their own accounts and install some iPad apps I suppose, but the blame more lies with Apple.
Click to expand...

If this were true, then all Best Buy locations with iPads on display would be the same. My local Best Buy had only iPad apps and the Apple representative loaded some more on there.

Best Buy = Best Lies. I've overheard Best Buy people tell taller tales than my uncle's fishin' stories.

My jaw just about hit the floor on April 3rd when they practically insisted on hooking my iPad up to iTunes before I left the store. Only later did I realize that if they hadn't done this, there would have been thousands of "dead" iPads with stupid screens saying "please connect me to iTunes". That would have gone over like a fart in church. Apple made a nice last minute recovery by insisting on "activating" all those day one iPads but the smart play would have been a truly standalone unit to begin with.
Click to expand...

I disagree that Apple insisted on Best Buy hooking up the iPad to iTunes before one leaves the store. This is just Best Buy's standard operating procedure with any computer. They take the computer over to the Geek Squad desk and insist on doing a performance check before the computer leaves the store. Once there, they try to sell you more software and services.
 
All the iPads at the Apple Stores during first week had crappy iPhone apps on it too. They probably updated it since but Best Buy didn't.
 
I guess I'm pretty lucky then as our Best Buy has employees that aren't at all like what has been described here, at least not the one's I've come in contact with. The Apple guys are nice and pretty knowledgeable. The manager is a good guy to deal with also. For instance a while back I bought a 13 inch MBP and when I got it home I inspected it very closely before I even booted it up. On the bottom of the case I noticed a dent that was protruding outwards, which I thought was odd. Anyway I took the unit right back to Best Buy and the manager looked at the MBP. He offered me a new unit but said he would knock some money off this one if I still wanted it. He assured me that if there were any issues the unit was still under warranty. When he asked me how much I thought was a fare amount to knock off, I was thinking maybe $75.00, but I told him I didn't really know and what did he think? He said, how does $150.00 sound? I made it look as if I was really thinking about it but inside I thought, "man that is a whole lot more than I would have said" So after a few moments of "pondering" I said, Ok. Not a bad deal really. Then when I bought my iPad the guys who I spoke to about it were really nice, even though I asked the same questions they most likely heard all day and no pressure at all. I have been dealing with this Best Buy for six years and not once have I had an issue with a purchase, out of stock item or return.
 
My local (Wilmington NC) BB store seems to have pretty much just the standard set of iPad apps installed. The home page looks populated by about 6 or so icons. Maybe I should 'help' them and install a couple iPhone games?

The employee at the kiosk is wearing the trademark black polo shirt and white "Apple" logo. Seems friendly and well informed about Apple product.

fwiw.
 
APPLE sent BBuy the demo units... They're NOT just units taken out of the normal stock, but special Demo units with specific software pre-loaded on them. Apple did NOT give them an iTunes account to download additional apps outside the ones that came on the demo unit.

Heck, the demo units at my local BBuy don't even have the iBooks app on them!

Blame Apple, not Best Buy, for sending out crippled demo units....
 
I'm not relying on Best Buy or their employees for any of my buying decisions. The only time I talk to them is when I need something not on the sales floor.
 
old-wiz said:
Wonder if BestBuy will try to sell you an "optimization" service for the iPad like they do for PCs and charge an extra $29.95 for it?
Click to expand...

It's 39.99 now lol

And for whoever said that cell phone employees are employed by the carriers you're wrong they actually are bb employees and on the iPad demos they definitely were sent that way by apple and there is no reason to bother updating them because people by them no matter what they're always out of stock
 
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