5 ms·

It's very easy for this to push people into buying more than they need. 90% of people are fine with an M1 Air, the last time I went to an Apple store the sales

It's very easy for this to push people into buying more than they need. 90% of people are fine with an M1 Air, the last time I went to an Apple store the sales clerk straight up refused to sell me one. He basically told me I didn't know what I was talking about and kept trying to sell me a pro. I asked him 3 times to sell me an Air, and ended up leaving in frustration. Not before he pitched buying a pro on an Apple line of credit instead. If I come into a store and tell you what I want to buy, we're not having a conversation. You have no idea what or who I'm buying it for. Best Buy doesn't do this, I was able to get my Air without an argument and walk out. If anything, this pay later stuff will make the issue worse. You'll go into the Apple store to be told you might as well get the most expensive thing they have in stock, it's zero down anyway!

SoftTalker 4y ago
If you want to talk about what 90% of people are "fine" with, honestly it's a Chromebook. I have a Chromebook I bought in 2018 for something like $200, and it's "fine" for gmail, online banking, youtube, and other casual stuff. I have an ssh app on it to use for work, and that's "fine" as well. Most people don't need more than this.
- bombcar 4y ago
  You can get a Chromebook for $149 today right now at Walmart. And a windows 11 craptop for $200. These things are absolutely completely insanely cheap.
jeffy90 4y ago
Do the apple sales people get commission? I seldom enjoy working with people looking to influence me to do something so that they can grow their comission.
- toyg 4y ago
  They probably have targets. Everything they do is tracked, including sales they close.
- reaperducer 4y ago
  Do the apple sales people get commission? It's been widely reported on the internet that Apple salespeople are not on commission, which is what makes the OP's story so curious. Maybe it's changed since the pandemic.
  - Ancalagon 4y ago
    Right? This story sounds sus to me. I've visited Apple stores so many times and literally never had a pushy salesperson.
    - neodymiumphish 4y ago
      Surely, your anecdotal experiences represent all experiences ever.
  - jshier 4y ago
    They don't work on commission but they still have sales targets for attachments like AppleCare and, most likely, the credit card.
  - joe5150 4y ago
    If I've gotten any kind of general attitude at all from Apple Store employees since the pandemic, it's mainly one of "Why are you here?" Maybe this employee wanted to take advantage of the rare opportunity to do something other than retrieving people's pick-up orders and actually try to sell something, but this is deeply untypical for shopping at the Apple Store.
  - ksec 4y ago
    >It's been widely reported on the internet that Apple salespeople are not on commission, which is what makes the OP's story so curious. It has also been widely reported that Apple invented USB-C and gave away for free, and All AirPod were sold at cost or at lost. The No commission thing were from Steve Jobs era for pete sake. How long ago was that? Depending on regions all Apple retail employees have KPIs. And we are coming close to 10 years since it’s first introduction.
wincy 4y ago
That’s crazy! I use my M1 Air for everything and it’s excellent. I would have asked to talk to his manager.
- 999900000999 4y ago
  Oh it gets better than that, I walked into the store and asked to buy a MacBook Air. The first clerk disappears, and some kid who is roughly 19 starts lecturing me about how much better the pro is. I politely respond, I just want to buy the Air. He insists, 'well , do you want to make music '. I respond, 'please sell me the Air'. At this point he's not budging. I ask a final time, and ask why are you making this interaction so difficult. Him: 'well you're making it difficult'. I walk out and go to Best Buy. At Best Buy I simply asked to buy an Air, and I was out in 5 minutes. Now truth be told, if the kid would have told me he needs to push a certain number of pros per month, I might have said okay and brought one. But instead he decided to insult me, I even explained that as a software engineer I knew exactly what I was talking about. I shouldn't need to explain anything when I'm trying to buy a product, it's none of your business if I prefer an M1 air because I routinely dropped my laptops. If it's a gift for someone else, or in reality it does the job I need it to do. I'm legitimately never going into an Apple store again after this.
  - radlad 4y ago
    Well, do be aware... I don't think that Best Buy _technically_ pays commissions based on sales, but they do often have reps from brands around who will try to sell you heavily on their product (e.g. Samsung reps.) I've also heard stories that while you won't get a commission, you may get more perks at work for higher sales numbers. In any case, your experience at Apple sounds insane.
    - 999900000999 4y ago
      Best Buy isn't perfect, but in general they're much lighter on the 'advice' they try to give you. Their commission is in selling useless warranties, if a clerk does a good job I'll buy one as a tip.
tnel77 4y ago
I get trying to upsell you, but why would you turn down a sale? Make the suggestion and then let the customer purchase whatever they want. A sale is a sale, no?
- bombcar 4y ago
  Imagine the commission (not saying it’s such) is $0 on the base model and $199 on the top end. Why bother giving the customer what they want if there’s any chance they’d jump for the big one?
  - kzrdude 4y ago
    This representative is just tanking Apple's reputation for his own gain, that's what it looks like from the outside.
scyzoryk_xyz 4y ago
This is what they used to be good at - not trying to sell you too hard. I guess that has changed - I also had several strange unpleasant interactions lately. Either difficulty buying something, or annoyance being sold on something more or something else.
ksec 4y ago
Like I said many times and keep being downvoted, their Apple Store KPI does not align with the original Apple Store experience.

SoftTalker 4y ago

If you want to talk about what 90% of people are "fine" with, honestly it's a Chromebook. I have a Chromebook I bought in 2018 for something like $200, and it's "fine" for gmail, online banking, youtube, and other casual stuff. I have an ssh app on it to use for work, and that's "fine" as well. Most people don't need more than this.

bombcar 4y ago
You can get a Chromebook for $149 today right now at Walmart. And a windows 11 craptop for $200. These things are absolutely completely insanely cheap.

jeffy90 4y ago

Do the apple sales people get commission? I seldom enjoy working with people looking to influence me to do something so that they can grow their comission.

toyg 4y ago
They probably have targets. Everything they do is tracked, including sales they close.
reaperducer 4y ago
Do the apple sales people get commission? It's been widely reported on the internet that Apple salespeople are not on commission, which is what makes the OP's story so curious. Maybe it's changed since the pandemic.
- Ancalagon 4y ago
  Right? This story sounds sus to me. I've visited Apple stores so many times and literally never had a pushy salesperson.
  - neodymiumphish 4y ago
    Surely, your anecdotal experiences represent all experiences ever.
- jshier 4y ago
  They don't work on commission but they still have sales targets for attachments like AppleCare and, most likely, the credit card.
- joe5150 4y ago
  If I've gotten any kind of general attitude at all from Apple Store employees since the pandemic, it's mainly one of "Why are you here?" Maybe this employee wanted to take advantage of the rare opportunity to do something other than retrieving people's pick-up orders and actually try to sell something, but this is deeply untypical for shopping at the Apple Store.
- ksec 4y ago
  >It's been widely reported on the internet that Apple salespeople are not on commission, which is what makes the OP's story so curious. It has also been widely reported that Apple invented USB-C and gave away for free, and All AirPod were sold at cost or at lost. The No commission thing were from Steve Jobs era for pete sake. How long ago was that? Depending on regions all Apple retail employees have KPIs. And we are coming close to 10 years since it’s first introduction.

wincy 4y ago

That’s crazy! I use my M1 Air for everything and it’s excellent. I would have asked to talk to his manager.

999900000999 4y ago
Oh it gets better than that, I walked into the store and asked to buy a MacBook Air. The first clerk disappears, and some kid who is roughly 19 starts lecturing me about how much better the pro is. I politely respond, I just want to buy the Air. He insists, 'well , do you want to make music '. I respond, 'please sell me the Air'. At this point he's not budging. I ask a final time, and ask why are you making this interaction so difficult. Him: 'well you're making it difficult'. I walk out and go to Best Buy. At Best Buy I simply asked to buy an Air, and I was out in 5 minutes. Now truth be told, if the kid would have told me he needs to push a certain number of pros per month, I might have said okay and brought one. But instead he decided to insult me, I even explained that as a software engineer I knew exactly what I was talking about. I shouldn't need to explain anything when I'm trying to buy a product, it's none of your business if I prefer an M1 air because I routinely dropped my laptops. If it's a gift for someone else, or in reality it does the job I need it to do. I'm legitimately never going into an Apple store again after this.
- radlad 4y ago
  Well, do be aware... I don't think that Best Buy _technically_ pays commissions based on sales, but they do often have reps from brands around who will try to sell you heavily on their product (e.g. Samsung reps.) I've also heard stories that while you won't get a commission, you may get more perks at work for higher sales numbers. In any case, your experience at Apple sounds insane.
  - 999900000999 4y ago
    Best Buy isn't perfect, but in general they're much lighter on the 'advice' they try to give you. Their commission is in selling useless warranties, if a clerk does a good job I'll buy one as a tip.

tnel77 4y ago

I get trying to upsell you, but why would you turn down a sale? Make the suggestion and then let the customer purchase whatever they want. A sale is a sale, no?

bombcar 4y ago
Imagine the commission (not saying it’s such) is $0 on the base model and $199 on the top end. Why bother giving the customer what they want if there’s any chance they’d jump for the big one?
- kzrdude 4y ago
  This representative is just tanking Apple's reputation for his own gain, that's what it looks like from the outside.

scyzoryk_xyz 4y ago

This is what they used to be good at - not trying to sell you too hard. I guess that has changed - I also had several strange unpleasant interactions lately. Either difficulty buying something, or annoyance being sold on something more or something else.

ksec 4y ago

Like I said many times and keep being downvoted, their Apple Store KPI does not align with the original Apple Store experience.