Page 175 - The Apple Experience

walked into the Apple Store next door and began playing games on the iPads
that were positioned in the center of the store.

While my daughters were proudly showing off their creations, I had a

chance to speak with one of the employees, and I asked about the philosophy

behind the interactive displays. “We’re all about providing an awesome

experience in the store because, (1) we want you to come back, and (2) we

want you tell your family and friends about us.” It didn’t surprise me that

LEGO employees were, like Apple, seeking a positive answer to the ultimate
question—how likely are you to recommend the product to others? When I

told the employee that the LEGO Store felt like the Apple Store, he said,

“It’s no coincidence that our locations are placed near or next to Apple

Stores. We’re trying to provide a similar experience.”

Once the LEGO employee told me they were trying to provide an

Apple-like experience, I began looking for other similarities. Sure enough,

there was one: workshops. The Apple Store offers classes and workshops for
groups of people who want to work on a project such as creating photo

books, editing movies, and so on. Prior to leaving the LEGO Store, an

employee told us about the free weekly building workshops held every

Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. The workshops are called building events and have

themes tied to the month in which the workshop is being held (e.g., rose for

Mother’s Day in May workshops, Santa for Christmas in December

workshops). The kids learn to build the piece, and they get to take it home.

Since we first visited the LEGO Store in November, my daughters wanted to

return the following week to build a turkey model and they wanted Dad to
take them. The LEGO experience had won them over.

If you really want to get your kids started early in the art of customer

service, get them a LEGO Apple Store kit. Actually, the store model is good

for kids and adults. Think about it. LEGO building is considered a great tool