Page 258 - The Apple Experience

CONCLUSION

The Soul of Apple

Just make it great.

—Steve Jobs

The Apple Retail Store does not sell products. It enriches lives and, by
doing so, has become the most profitable retailer on the planet. Apple’s

customer service scores are the envy of the industry because its employees
(Specialists, Creatives, Experts, and Geniuses) strive to make customer

experiences memorable and magical. Jobs once told former Apple CEO John
Sculley that it’s better to be a pirate than to join the navy. In other words,

break away from convention and what’s ordinary. The ordinary is to sell
products. The vision behind the Apple Store is to enrich lives. That’s

extraordinary.
While I was researching this book, people close to me would ask, “Who

are you writing this book for? Retailers?” The answer soon became obvious.

This book is for anyone who has a business that deals with people. Sure, it
includes retailers in any category. But it also includes small business owners,

entrepreneurs, managers, CEOs, lawyers, accountants, doctors, sales

professionals, department supervisors, and anyone who sells a service or a

product. It’s for anyone who is serious about reimagining the customer

experience, because at its core, this book is not about Apple. It’s about the

soul of Apple—its people.

Most people don’t know why they feel good in an Apple Store, they just
do. But it’s people who elevate the customer experience—people who are