Inside the lonely, cranky Microsoft Store on iPhone 5 launch day (venturebeat.com)

TL;DR: It may happen, but nothing about Microsoft's position in the market seems inevitable going forward.

Most people outside the HN bubble actually like and admire Microsoft because it's what they know ---- and most importantly, they don't care about computing enough to know the differences between things, so they go with the comfortable and familiar. Apple's premium pricing keeps a lot of people away from the Mac (not that Apple needs to care -- their business model is fantastic for their bottom line). So, for most people -- the Android crowd that uses MSFT at work -- Microsoft stores could become something meaningful in the overall landscape.

Then again, since most of the people I'm talking about just don't care that much...when the time comes to buy that new laptop they might not ever make it to the store when the (already familiar and comfortable) Best Buy / Costco / Sam's / Walmart / Dell / Amazon buying experience will do just fine.

I really like the stores. They have a refreshing vibe that's in contrast to the Apple store's minimalism. The Kinects, Xboxes, and Surfaces also bring in a pretty diverse crowd since there's an addition of a gaming aspect. There's a wraparound screen that adds a lot of color that the Apple store lacks. It's definitely a well-done ripoff in my opinion.

I go to the one in Tyson's Corner and it's usually pretty busy. I can't say I've actually bought anything from there, but the employees have always asked if I needed assistance. They were also very helpful when describing laptop options to my parents, and pointed me to the ultrabooks when I couldn't find them.

I guess it depends on Microsoft hiring the right employees and management making sure the customer service is up to par. I have no complaints though.

There are only two types of store culture in retail: the right one and the wrong one. Apple obviously totally nails the approach, which when you think about it is actually very suprising, because ragrdless of the company culture, consumer electronics stores of any kind are manned by bored and/or clueless staff. Good examples are the Dell mini stores, Best Buys.

Not a consumer electronics example but a great example of just how big a difference employees who are both excited and knowledgeable about the products they sell is Marbles, the Brain Store. I always felt that the people working there would still be there even if they weren't paid.

Given they carbon copied everything you immediately notice about Apple stores (look, feel, employee uniform), I do find it surprising they didn't try to ape the store culture too.

There really are Microsoft fans that know how to relate with people. And a lot of them (and others) have a pathological hatred for all things Apple.

I'd hope for some swagger going into any branded store even if I thought their products were overpriced crap (I'm looking at you, Sony Store). Otherwise, it's just depressing.

> So the Microsoft store culture is not like the Apple store culture.

Microsoft and carrier shops tend to have a thrift store culture. No guidance, no expertise and lots of low-quality stock.

Or worse they have used car dealership culture. Agressive, slick salesmen who see a commission and not a person.

Aren't MS' margins more than Apple's?

I guess you will get very different attitudes when asking reasons for failure rather than success

T-mobile is hurting pretty bad at the moment. Due to the whole AT&T attempted takeover they "optimised" many parts of the business. That included consolidating call centres and making call centre employees also have sales and similar quotas. They reduced own store staffing to absolute minimum levels. The corporate owner (DT) doesn't have much interest in T-Mobile, certainly not enough to invest or pay much attention to management.

Eventually the AT&T thing collapsed and tmobile sank to the bottom of various satisfaction ratings (from usually being at the top). There is much debate as to what the cause of the malaise is, and how to get out of it. Some think this is purely a lack of iPhone issue, while others have pointed to phone selection, customer service, coverage, management, marketing, sales and who knows what else. None of these things are easily fixed, although they are addressing the iPhone issue by changing frequency usage around to the more common ones used by AT&T and others.

There is a new CEO, and he has done the usual rallying the troops ra-ra stuff. As you noticed it didn't really help.

I'm going to have to assume you meant to post this under a different article.

I think the point is more that Apple understands that its retail employees are the public face of Apple. They are, figuratively, part of the PR department. So they train their "geniuses" to always be friendly and helpful.

Microsoft on the other hand may not understand this (though it's just a sample size of one.) In any case, this store manager lost a great opportunity to show his store to a journalist and get some press.

Careful what you wish for. Microsoft's "frictionless ways to buy online" always seem to involve more restrictive, less comprehensible licensing. I'd love to see Microsoft move to Apple's simplified model for non-volume licensing: one license = your choice of

  1. all users on all devices you own or control for personal, non-commercial use.
  2. all users on a single device for commercial use.
  3. one named user on all devices for commercial use.

C.f., e.g., Mac Office, where it looks like the only (non-subscription) option for individual, commercial use on multiple devices going forward is a $220 license per device, with no upgrade or multipack pricing, and moves towards electronic delivery at MSRP rather than (frequently discounted) retail sales of packaged product. Net result: an Office license I can get for $150 today will cost $440 next year.