No ‘salesperson’ to judge your pockets. No cash counters. It doesn’t matter whether you buy something or not. It’s perfectly fine if you haven’t used any Apple device ever. Or, maybe you just want to learn photography skills. Everyone is welcome at an Apple store.

Apple BKC– India’s first Apple store– is about to open to the public in April at Jio World Drive Mall, Mumbai. The Cupertino-based tech giant is clear about one thing: consistent customer experience around the world. This means you can expect the same experience irrespective of whether you visit the Apple store in New York, San Francisco, Dubai, Singapore or even Mumbai.

“At Apple, the customer is always our North Star. And wherever we are, our commitment is the same: to deliver exceptional service to our customers, exceed their expectations, and enrich their lives. Apple Stores are places where everybody is welcome, where you always get one-of-a-kind customer service and endless inspiration from our talented retail team members,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail to News18.

You can expect the same Apple retail experience irrespective of whether you visit the Apple store in New York, San Francisco, Dubai, Singapore or even Mumbai.

An Apple store is a place where the latest technology from the company meets the local art. While the product buying experience, layout, look-and-feel is similar across all stores around the world, Apple pays extra attention to the community they are serving by integrating local art, heritage and experiences.

[Apple Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. (Image: Apple)]

Singapore, which has less than half the population of India’s bustling city of Mumbai, has three Apple stores– Orchard Road, Marina Bay Sands and Jewel Changi. If you happen to visit all the three stores in Singapore in a day, you will notice that the experience is nearly identical yet each of them are completely different in terms of design, narrating a unique story. In Mumbai, the Apple BKC is inspired by the iconic ‘Kaali Peeli taxi’ art.

“We like to say our stores are where the best of Apple comes together. Our stores serve as centres for the community where people can come together, and get hands-on with all of Apple’s latest products and services. And in every one of our stores, we’re thoughtful about creating experiences that delight our customers,” added Deirdre.

[Apple BKC at Jio World Drive Mall, Mumbai (Image: Apple)]

How are premium resellers different from Apple Stores?

For Indian consumers, the experience is limited to Apple resellers only and are yet to know about Apple retail– the joy of buying something directly from Apple. And let’s be clear about one thing– you need not worry about snobbish sales representatives judging your pocket before showing a new Apple device. Also, it doesn’t matter whether you can speak in English or not.

At an Apple store, everyone is welcome and no one is going to force you to buy or make you feel bad about enquiring about new features or devices. In fact, Apple doesn’t even place large CCTV cameras around the store to make visitors feel uncomfortable.

You need not worry about snobbish sales representatives judging your pocket before showing a new Apple device. Also, it doesn’t matter whether you can speak in English or not.

“In every one of our stores, we’re thoughtful about creating experiences that enrich our customers’ lives. And we design our stores just like we design our products — by putting the customer at the centre of everything we do. We also work with a great range of partners who offer our products and help us reach even more customers wherever they are,” explained Deirdre.

The entire purpose of an Apple store is to attract people and make them experience products. The retail philosophy is more towards educating people than making them buy. And the attention to details is something only Apple can do. The height of desks, the angles at which devices are placed, the lighting and the entire setting is such that visitors can comfortably focus on the device they want to try out. There’s free WiFi, so visitors can thoroughly check out the device and spend as much time as they want to. And if they like something, there’s no need to queue at any cash counter, because there aren’t any cash counters inside any Apple store. You simply have to ask an Apple team member for the bill and make the payment.

There’s no need to queue at any cash counter, because there aren’t any cash counters inside any Apple store.

Buyers can also opt to order a product online and get it picked at the Apple store. “With Apple Pickup we make it easier for customers to shop online and receive their orders in stores or Apple Trade In where customers can upgrade their device at home or in-store,” added Deirdre.

After buying a device, there are technicians who help in setting up the device and also as part of after-sales support, there are experts to fix particular issues that users may face.

[Dedicated space for Today at Apple sessions at Apple Jewel Changi. (Image: Apple)]

Free training sessions with Today at Apple

One of the key components of an Apple store is the ‘Today at Apple’ initiative. Apple users can book free appointments as and when available using the Apple Store app to learn about using features and knowing more about Apple products. “Our Today at Apple program is a great example of how our teams offer dedicated skills sessions on specific products, features and apps that will educate and entertain our customers. For the artist, the creator, the builder or the first time Apple customer— there is a Today at Apple session for everyone,” said Deirdre.

Apple users can book free appointments as and when available using the Apple Store app to learn about using features and knowing more about Apple products.

Apple stores, over the years, have become a unique experience for people across the world and finally it’s here in India now. Just to give an example of the craze around Apple stores, a couple in Singapore included the Apple Orchard Road in their wedding photography itinerary!

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