I had a very rare Saturday morning free, and since we’re one of two places that has a Microsoft Store, I went for a look-see. But I didn’t go inside. Even after driving 15 miles to see it, I just didn’t feel the need.
If you’ve seen an Apple Store, you’ve seen a Microsoft Store. It was a blatant rip-off. At least from the outside looking in. I didn’t venture inside for a number of reasons, most of them having to do with it being a blatant rip-off of Apple.
It was Bauhaus and chic and seemed designed for the ‘pretty people’ of Scottsdale. I lived in that area for many years, and know the ‘pretty people’ well. One magazine writer said it best. Watching the mommies and nannies pick up the school kids is like watching a Playboy tryout. He was right.
Microsoft, I’ve gotta ask . . . why the Apple envy? For all intents and purposes, YOU’VE WON. I know those “Mac/PC” ads sting a little bit, but you can almost buy and sell them in an afternoon with your spare cash. You dominate the desktop and office productivity software. They only thing they choose to compete on is image. They even switched over to YOUR hardware platform with the Intel move. Image, that’s it – ephemeral opinions, that’s all. So if you want to live and die by image – here’s the image you painted with me.
It is that image that turns me off about their stores, and now your stores. I’m not Bauhaus or chic. I’m middle aged, overweight, and decidedly unbeautiful. I don’t walk around like I grok the whole Apple image/mystique thing. When I look at the Apple store (and now the Microsoft store), I feel unwelcome. First it reminds me of Grandma’s formal living room, covered with plastic slipcovers that put you on notice that this room (and these products) are not ever for ordinary use – keep your grubby self out of there – you don’t measure up – this is for important people – and you ain’t it. Second it oozes that smug gnosticism that those inside are among the enlightened few. The fact that the Microsoft workers wore the minimalist uniform of pants and a colored t-shirt (colors taken from the Windows flag) didn’t make it folksy, warm, or inviting – just the opposite for me.
Microsoft, what about ditching the image thing and showing us what you really do – how the software is going to make my life as a small business owner or consumer all the better for using it? I’m guessing that a retail store is not to attract large businesses with giant I.T. staffs.
Show me your business platforms. I’d like to learn more about this Sharepoint stuff. I’d like to see how your Hyper-V technology will help me save money and do more with my meager server capabilities.
What about showcasing all the ways that Windows 7 will help the family with multiple PC’s? How about showing off in a decent way the wonderful Media Center you’ve buried inside but never really gotten around to showing the world. Don’t get me started on Windows Home Server and the ways it has saved my bacon countless times already with its backup feature, and how it can be used in the home.
Educators are the biggest sheep on the planet. Convince one of the braver ones that your products help schools save money and prepare students and they’ll beat a path to your door.
Sure, if I walked inside I would probably have been met by the super-friendly staff who could have shown all this to me – but I just didn’t want to run that gauntlet. The minimalist decor also made it possible for everyone to see everything that everyone was doing. That way the customer can also be treated to the experience of the car lot – something we all love – where you are seen approaching a mile away and can be descended upon like a gazelle in a pirahna pond while the manager watches through a minimalist monocle and sniffs disapprovingly.
Am I being fair about this? Probably not. Am I showing that I am a disturbed individual with obvious issues of confidence? Probably. Am I going back to the Microsoft Store? No.
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