Today is the grand opening of the Market Mall Apple retail store. Having never visited an Apple retail store before, I decided to swing by. Apple definitely pulls out all the stops in the design and structure of their retail division. The store is immaculate, product is lovingly displayed, shelves are stocked, and the lighting is perfect.  Amid the buzz of all the people is in-store music, mixed with the music from the demo speakers and iPods. There must have been dozens and dozens of Apple staff on hand and they’re all super nice. I was especially pleased with the diversity of their team, consisting of people of every age, race, and gender. It’s a HUGE departure from the mono-chromatic world of consumer electronics staffing. Very refreshing. The store is very efficient in processing customers, even when they are completely swamped. Instead of point-of-sale tills, many “blue shirts” carry hand-held transaction machines. Credit card, email address, postal code: done! A receipt is emailed to you, no paper necessary. Awesome! With so many transactions happening on the sales floor, the line to pay with cash or debit is surprisingly short. Visit my flickr for more photos.

Today is the grand opening of the Market Mall Apple retail store. Having never visited an Apple retail store before, I decided to swing by.

Apple definitely pulls out all the stops in the design and structure of their retail division. The store is immaculate, product is lovingly displayed, shelves are stocked, and the lighting is perfect.  Amid the buzz of all the people is in-store music, mixed with the music from the demo speakers and iPods. There must have been dozens and dozens of Apple staff on hand and they’re all super nice. I was especially pleased with the diversity of their team, consisting of people of every age, race, and gender. It’s a HUGE departure from the mono-chromatic world of consumer electronics staffing. Very refreshing.

The store is very efficient in processing customers, even when they are completely swamped. Instead of point-of-sale tills, many “blue shirts” carry hand-held transaction machines. Credit card, email address, postal code: done! A receipt is emailed to you, no paper necessary. Awesome! With so many transactions happening on the sales floor, the line to pay with cash or debit is surprisingly short.

Visit my flickr for more photos.