Comments on: Letters from Microsoft: An Employee Tosses His Zune

By: Shovel Man

Shovel Man — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:40:37 +0000

What absolute drivel this article is.

I realize this comment is a couple weeks after the original posting, but I could not help myself.

The author of this article should find a new hobby that isn’t centered around his hate for a corporation. A BUSINESS. Who devotes such a large portion of their life to posting libelous comments about a multinational software corporation? Seriously!

Microsoft makes a good product for millions of people. I am sorry that your world views, and seemingly those of your “readers” are so tainted that you derive joy from the thought of people losing jobs simply because the factors leading to it would cause harm to Microsoft as a whole. It’s really quite sad.

I weep for humanity.

[Rather than weep, why not actually point out what you thought was "libelous" about publishing comments made by a Microsoft employee? Your comment says nothing apart from expressing childish frustration. - Dan]

By: John E

John E — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:21:21 +0000

@ tundraboy – well you put your finger on the key issue – will the MS gurus provide really good free tech support or not? if they do, the MS stores will be a hit because windows users need that so badly. if not, another MS flop. nothing else matters nearly as much. otherwise good software demos would be a plus. i wish Apple had dedicated demo setups at its stores for stuff like Bento or MobileMe so you could focus on it with someone to help explain. but they just have one, for AppleTV. room for improvement there.

By: twilightmoon

twilightmoon — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:44:27 +0000

@ gus2000

Pure poetry. Great post.

By: tundraboy

tundraboy — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:29:52 +0000

Re Stores as branding strategies, a couple of things:

1. The Sony and Nike stores are not nearly as many as the Apple stores. They are in high visibility locations in a few prominent cities.

2. The other stores mentioned are for high-end high fashion outfits: Gucci, Prada, etc. Really now, the name ‘Microsoft’ doesn’t exactly fit in that roster.

I have no idea what a Microsoft store can offer that is compelling enough to get enough people to go there and buy it at list price. Microsoft gurus is a disaster waiting to happen, I can already see customers walking away in disgust after the guru tells them “it’s a hardware issue, you should talk with your PC’s manufacturer”. And even if it is a software issue, are they prepared to offer free support to OEM installs of Windows? Hah!

By: JohnWatkins

JohnWatkins — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:50:32 +0000

Actually, I think 1 infinite loop was not built until 1993, but there was an Apple company store in the headquarters building by the time the Mac was being produced. (Perhaps the building they occupied after the 1980 IPO(where the Lisa commercial was shot?)

By: gus2000

gus2000 — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:33:05 +0000

If the only goal of a retail presence is “branding” and “customer experience”, then why not just open the “Microsoft Amusement Park”? Think about how much they have in common: They both seem affordable until you factor in how much you must spend on extras once inside; the layout is designed to keep you from leaving; most things are there to scare the crap out of you (“Ride the ‘Blue Screen of Death’!”); and there are clowns everywhere.

By: JohnWatkins

JohnWatkins — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:29:20 +0000

@daGUY
“But isn’t the whole point of a retail store to sell products?”
Not if it’s a flagship or a brand enhancer — a “trophy store” if you will. Most people think the original Apple store opened in 2001. Actually that was the first ‘retail store.’ The first Apple store was at 1 infinite loop and was probably not particularly profitable. It existed as a company store for employees to buy discounted products and as a beacon to visitors at Apple headquarters. The store, like much of Apple headquarters, took its design queues more from the MOMA than from a retail or office space. Products in the store were more “on exhibit” than they were displayed for purchase. I’m not sure when Apple headquarters was built, but I believe it was around 1980.

I would argue that it was one of the most influential retail spaces ever conceived. The design language of the store influenced some of the most highly respected retailers in the world including Crate & Barrel, Target, Banana Republic, etc. I contend it was a source of inspiration (possibly indirect) for retail thinkers and consultants as well (ie Paco Underhill.) And this is all before Apple even expanded into retail (it was just a company store.) I even think the Apple retail store strongly influenced the design of Apple’s and others company’s retail web sites (white background, image with drop shadow, simple swiss style type, etc.)

I suspect the Apple company store strongly influenced many “trophy stores” that spang up in the 1990’s that didn’t necessarily make money, butwere built to influence, engage, or just catch the eye of customers. Look at the Michigan Avenue Miracle Mile in Chicago — Nike store, Sony store, Disney store, I can’t even think of all the ones that have come and gone. Basically they all existed just to catch the eyeballs of Chicago tourists from all over the country and the world.

In any case, Apple used the the company store (of course it was updated along the way) as the template for the Apple stores we see today, the first of which was opened in 2001, only 8 years ago.

What is unique about Apple’s foray into retail stores is that they actually make a ton of money, they are profitable, extremely profitable. That’s what Microsoft will be unable to duplicate.

By: John E

John E — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:12:09 +0000

@daguy – nope, things have changed. there is a whole new wave of “branding” retail stores all over the world. that are intentionally opened as marketing tools, not to actually make a profit selling stuff at retail list prices. many are money losers on their own – loss leaders. it is all those high-end-chains you see in the major city shopping districts like Union Square here in SF and wealthy suburb malls (and las vegas). Gucci, Prada, and so on. the SonyStyle stores are a tech version of this (there is a longer story there, part of the overall Sony fiasco). it’s about the brand image. only Apple has been able to make a lot of money with stores at the same time as its “branding.” its the exception. MS stores are more the rule.

By: tundraboy

tundraboy — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:26:27 +0000

Guys, here you go again ragging on Steve Ballmer’s qualifications to be MS CEO. Might I remind you that he was Bill Gates’ college buddy? That makes him eminently qualified to be CEO, more qualified than anyone else!

By: daGUY

daGUY — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:00:19 +0000

@John E: “Apple’s stores are money makers, so Apple has a lot of them and is still expanding. MS’ stores will be loss leaders. so their number will always be more limited. but a flop? no.”

But isn’t the whole point of a retail store to sell products? If a retail store is going to cost more to run than what it makes up for in sales, how could you NOT call that a flop?

MS has even said themselves that their stores will be more about the “experience” and brand image than actually selling products. That just seems backwards to me. Apple’s stores are certainly about experience and branding as well, but Apple uses that to then SELL high-margin products that more than make up the cost of keeping the stores running. They’re not raking in cash JUST because the stores are cool! But yet that seems to be MS’ approach.