When I first joined twitter back in 2007 I did what most people do, follow my friend, follow some of his friends then sit back and try and work out what the hell this crazy thing called twitter is.
After a few weeks of getting my head round it and realising that celebrity’s were a waste of my time (Due to them living on a different planet) I started looking for people that lived local to me. There was no Geotagging of tweets, no search.twitter.com so it was old school method of searching for peoples Bio locations.
I searched “Newcastle”, “Gateshead”, “Sunderland”, “North East”, “Toon” and I remember struggling to find that many people that lived on my door step.
When I seen the #NEFollower tag today I was amazed as to how things have changed. An almost endless stream of people that are embarrassing twitter to help promote everything from charity’s to Allotments and all living in the north east.
Well done North East tweeters, you are all over this shit!
When you work in retail and you are is passionate about Apple’s product there is no greater prestige than getting the opportunity to work for Apple retail. With only 20 stores in the UK jobs for the Retailer are few and far between and when living in the North East you have no opportunity’s available to you at all. Well that was until now. The only problem is that it doesn’t feel very “Apple”.
When you think about buying an Apple product you want to make sure you are getting the best advise available to you and heading in to an Apple store is always the place to get it. When you live in the North East of England you have to make do with the resellers; John Lewis, Fenwick of Newcastle, Carphone Warehouse, Currys and PC World to name a few. When you buy from a reseller you don’t get the same passion in the products that you would get from individuals that work in the Apple stores. Their product knowledge is reasonable but its diluted by the volume of other products that they have to focus on. Apple staff basically, live and breathe Apple. The Apple Stores surrounding environment match the company’s passion for great design and this rubs off on every person that walks through the doors of these stores.
My own passion for Apple products is so great that when a friend decided that when a job with Apple was not for them they thought of me for the role. I live in the North East of England, so with no Apple Stores to be seen; what was the job position?
Design for the planned Apple Concessions at PC World
PC World are going to be rolling out Apple Concessions into their stores that are in locations outside of the catchment area of Apples own stores. The difference in this compared to PC World’s normal Apple product displays is that they are going to be manned by Apple employees instead of PC World staff. These “Lone Rangers” are going to be masters of their own space within the PC World stores. Their role “bring new customers to the Apple brand and increase the sale of computers to users who currently do not own a Macintosh computer and first time personal computer buyers”.
I do think that this is a good move for Apple. Driving revenue and Brand awareness come hand in hand. Having a higher profile for the Apple brand can be nothing more than a good thing for Apple. These concessions will improve Brand awareness to people that may have not considered buying an Apple product.
So what about my application for the job? Well, I won’t be applying.
My reason for not applying despite Apple being one of the only retailers that I would consider leaving my current employer for? As one of my friends pointed out “would you take a job trying to sell fine wines in Lager World” The answer is no! Apple does have a need to increase their outlet locations but I don’t believe that this is the way to do it. People that shop at PC World, shop there because they want a bargain not quality. Apple is quality and although I see a need to encourage new people to buy the Apple brand and these concessions will help towards that; if you’re the person on the front line being paid a commission on selling a brand that you love, to a customer base that is focused on budget; it just doesn’t work.
In time I do hope that this changes the PC World customer base and open their eyes to the same passion I have for Apple and its products but for now I will continue to sell Apple products the same way I always have. Sharing my passion and excitement for Apple products to encourage my friends and family to make the switch.
Do you think I’m right in not applying?
Would you buy an Apple product from a PC World conssesion?
