Page 135 - The Apple Experience

Every month, millions of customers walk into an AT&T retail store to
buy an iPhone, Android, or other phones that use the wireless carrier.

AT&T’s 2,300 retail stores have gone through significant changes in the past

several years. Some are physical—less clutter, cool colors, tablet innovation

walls, and much more. But the most important changes involve the way

customers are treated and how its 26,000 employees communicate with those

customers.

When the iPhone was first introduced in 2007, AT&T was inspired by
Apple to raise the bar on the customer service experience. The company

decided to differentiate itself around the experience. It was a smart strategic

choice. As phone networks moved toward parity, retailers had two choices: to

be the best price or have the best customer service in the industry. AT&T

chose to focus on the customer.

AT&T developed a six-step process dubbed the AT&T Retail

Experience. The steps are remarkably similar to Apple’s guiding principles.
3
These tactics will work for any retailer or any service company seeking to

improve the customer’s experience with the brand.

1. Greet and approach. AT&T store employees now greet customers within ten feet
and ten seconds of entering the door. I’ve challenged this tactic by entering

several stores, and as I mentioned before, even on Black Friday. Employees never
greeted me in ten seconds. They made it five seconds or less! AT&T retail staff

will greet customers and introduce themselves by their first names. Once they
know you on a first-name basis, they’ll have started to make a deeper, more

emotional connection with you.

2. Build value. An employee will ask customers specific questions to understand the

purpose of their visit. This is consistent with the “Probing” step of the Apple
experience. Every AT&T sales associate is certified in small business issues so

they can address individual questions or questions specifically related to