Apple Store (Manchester) (Apple Retail Store)

Member Name: ChandlerFord

Product:	Apple Retail Store
Date:	07/07/09 (61 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Try before you buy, No hard sell, Knowledgeable staff

Disadvantages: none found

I own a few Apple products, all bought because of how much I was impressed with my first iPod some years ago. I discovered the Apple Store soon after.

The first thing that strikes you about the store is you can try all of the Apple products before you buy them. You can immediately see all of the different iPods, Macs and Macbooks all just waiting to be played with! Each iPod has headphones attached, is tethered to the bench, and is docked so that the battery is always charged. Pop a set of headphones on and you're ready to play. This is really useful as you can see if the interface suits you, and get a feel for the size and styling of the device. Interestingly, all of the iPod range are attached to great headphones rather than the ones you get with the device. I assume the reasons for this are two-fold: firstly these headphones show off the iPod's sound quality better, and secondly the standard headphones would be hard to secure in the shop and so may get stolen.

Macs are lined up down the sides, including Mac Minis attached to a variety of displays in different sizes, there's even one attached to a musical keyboard for those with any talent in that direction (I leave it well alone!) MacBooks are in the middle of the store and, importantly with laptops, you can try the keyboard and mousepad out to make sure it suits.

At the back of the store is the Genius Bar (which I assumed was a place someone like me would be able to get a pint, but I wasn't in luck!) where Apple staff can guide you through aspects of all things Apple.

You can also visit the store, by appointment, for lessons in Max OS X and other Apple software, so you can turn yourself into an Apple expert a lot quicker than struggling at home.

The last thing you notice in the store are the staff. They are there to help, but it seems they don't have a mission to sell. Apple let the products sell themselves it seems. The staff may say hello but, unless you look completely lost they just leave you to browse, which I find a nice change from other stores selling high value items. All the staff know what they are talking about if you're stuck, and still won't push you for a sale.

Then, once you've decided what you want, all you have to do is find a member of staff, and they will get your products for you, and you can pay (on card) right there in the middle of the store, no queueing at checkouts here. They even email you a receipt automatically, so you can't lose it on your way home.

Summary: A wonderful experience buying great products