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>the no-pressure sales people (who aren’t on commission) I'd like to talk about that for a second. Apple Store employees will be happy to brag to you that they

>the no-pressure sales people (who aren’t on commission) I'd like to talk about that for a second. Apple Store employees will be happy to brag to you that they aren't on commission to put you at ease, and it is technically true. However, there are a number of "metrics" that they are expected to live up to, which are basically percentages of attachments to sales, like extended warranties (whoops, I mean "AppleCare" which is definitely not an extended warranty and is something totally different), etc. The corporate doublespeak is that these are "goals" and certainly not quotas. Of course, they can call them whatever they like; employees who don't meet them get just as sacked either way. At least that's how it was a few years ago. I don't know about more recently. The point is, when one of these employees tells you that they're "not on commission", they're trying to give you the impression that they aren't under pressure to get you to buy stuff you don't want or need, and that's simply not true. The pressure is just a stick rather than a carrot.

alwaysinshade 14y ago
> attachments to sales, like extended warranties (whoops, I mean "AppleCare" This isn't exactly objective feedback (personal anecdote) but I've never been pressured to buy extended warranties, aka Apple Care, from an Apple store. They explain what Apple Care does and without sounding like my new purchase will explode before its utility expires. Regarding the article - would installing anechoic panels underneath the tables result in a meaningful reduction of noise? If they want to preserve the look of the store, it would be the simplest solution.
- mistercow 14y ago
  >This isn't exactly objective feedback (personal anecdote) but I've never been pressured to buy extended warranties, Well, there are two possible reasons for that. One is that a lot of Apple Store employees just aren't very good at keeping their attachment metrics up, or don't care enough about keeping the job to trade their soul for a paycheck. The other is that a good salesperson can apply psychological pressure to you without your being able to tell that that's what they're doing. I may have used up my quota for mentioning Robert Cialdini's Influence: Science and Practice in HN comments, but seriously, everybody needs to read that book.

alwaysinshade 14y ago

> attachments to sales, like extended warranties (whoops, I mean "AppleCare" This isn't exactly objective feedback (personal anecdote) but I've never been pressured to buy extended warranties, aka Apple Care, from an Apple store. They explain what Apple Care does and without sounding like my new purchase will explode before its utility expires. Regarding the article - would installing anechoic panels underneath the tables result in a meaningful reduction of noise? If they want to preserve the look of the store, it would be the simplest solution.

mistercow 14y ago
>This isn't exactly objective feedback (personal anecdote) but I've never been pressured to buy extended warranties, Well, there are two possible reasons for that. One is that a lot of Apple Store employees just aren't very good at keeping their attachment metrics up, or don't care enough about keeping the job to trade their soul for a paycheck. The other is that a good salesperson can apply psychological pressure to you without your being able to tell that that's what they're doing. I may have used up my quota for mentioning Robert Cialdini's Influence: Science and Practice in HN comments, but seriously, everybody needs to read that book.