The Apple Experience
Thursday, May 10 2018. Its 12 noon. I was at the Chandler Fashion Centre mall. Being a weekday, the mall wore a deserted look.
As I navigated through the mall, I come across an Apple store. I had no intention of buying a watch. I was there to get my out of warranty i- phone battery replaced. At any of the apple stores in the US one can get a cell phone battery replaced at $ 29. It costs the same amount in India as well. However, for a journalist in me it offered a good opportunity to interact with the store personnel.
What struck me as I entered the store was the fact that the store did not have a formal name or a logo across its fa?ade.
Compared to the other stores in the mall, there were many customers in the store. Most of them were in their forties and above. As I had not booked a prior appointment, I had to wait for a few minutes.
I was soon attended by a middle aged guy wearing a green full sleeved shirt and shorts. He did a quick diagnostic test on my cell phone to ensure that I had the latest updates installed on my phone.
He collected my phone and requested me to wait for an hour to get the battery replaced. As I had a lot of time to spare, I browsed through the watches. I had already compared the prices in the store with the websites such as amazon, Best Buy, Kohl’s etc;. These websites offered a nominal discount as compared to the apple store.
I had read about the launch of series 3 watches in India and hence was keen on knowing about the features and the price.
The Apple Watch Series 3 — is available in 38mm and 42mm sizes in two variants:
· GPS only
· GPS plus Cellular.
The following models are available in Series 3:
1. The standard models are available in aluminium case as well as stainless steel case with a rubber strap.
2. Apple watch EDITION with a CERAMIC case with price ranging from $ 1299 onwards.
3. Apple watch HERMES with leather strap and stainless steel case ranging from $ 1149
The cellular Watch allows a user to make calls, reply to SMS, and receive notifications even when the iPhone is not around. It can also be used to ask Siri to send a message or stream music on the move. The cellular watch comes with an electronic SIM.
The series 3 watches are cheaper in the US by about Rs.9000 and I was therefore inclined to buy one. My preference was the Cellular version that has a red coloured digital crown to distinguish it from the GPS only variant.
The sales associate attending to me was a man in his mid-fifties. He informed me that if I buy a cellular version, it won’t work in India as the watch uses an electronic SIM (e SIM) and doesn’t have a physical SIM. Only supporting carriers such as Airtel and Jio can provide the Cellular connectivity for the Watch.
To take advantage of the price difference, I chose the GPS version. All apple watches come with an optional APPLE CARE + extended warranty for an additional fee of $ 49. The latter covers accidental damage caused to the watch and is recommended as Apple spare parts are known to be expensive.
I asked for a discount and the sales associate said that he is not authorised to offer discounts and all the watch models are available at prices fixed by the company. He however offered me a discount of $7 as my daughter works at Intel which is Apple’s vendor partner.
I noticed that there was no cash counter or a cashier in the store. Each sales associate had a palm sized POS machine that could accept credit card payments and issue a receipt.
After making the payment, I was directed to a table manned by a service representative whose job is to set up the watch and sync it with the user’s i phone.
This took some time. As I had never used a smart watch before, I was overwhelmed with its features. In order to save the printing cost, the watch is not accompanied by a user manual. The service rep advised me to refer to the online manual available on apple’s website support.apple.com/ watch.
On browsing through the website I learnt that the company organizes classes at select watch stores.
I promptly registered for the following sessions:
1. Basics Apple watch: Join us for a tour of Apple Watch. Bring in your Apple Watch and iPhone and follow along as we show you how to navigate using the Digital Crown, Siri, and gestures. We’ll help you set notifications for information that’s most important. We’ll teach you how to set and customize watch faces and even how to find, add, and organize apps, so your watch is just the way you like.
2. In this 30-minute session we’ll explore how to use Apple Watch to keep you focused on fitness activities and on track with achieving goals.
The sessions were conducted by Michael, an enthusiastic youngster who welcomed questions and was prompt in demonstrating the watch features.
The fellow participants all aged 50 and above, were all eager beavers who wanted to learn to make the most of their apple watch.
The interactive session helped and I was enthused to try out the features. On using the watch for two days, I fell in love with it. I have started using the various apps installed, set fitness and workout goals. The activity tracker helps me keep a tab on the number of steps I have walked, my heart beats per minute, the calories burned etc. Timely notifications ensure that you do not sit stationary in one place for more than an hour at stretch.
The watch acts like a friend and advises you to walk for a minute by sending a notification. It also motivates you by sending a congratulatory message if you achieve your predetermined goals.
Most users have therefore found the apple watch addictive while a few of them have even considered it as indispensable.
The training session provided a personal touch that is an essential element in offline retail.
Many features offered by apple are similar to other wearable devices available in the market. However, what sets apple apart from the others is the spirit of innovation, communication and a wow experience at the retail level.