If you’re paying $20,000 for a watch, you should get all the special attention and treatment that you deserved from the retail store where you’re buying the timepiece.
While it is almost automatic for retailers of whatever kind of retail items to do the same for their high-worth customers, Apple has made it an important rule to retailers of its Apple Watch, particularly intended for buyers of its high-end Gold edition that is being retailed for $20,000.
The UK edition of the International Business Times has disclosed that the American tech company has actually hired sales and marketing staff from signature fashion brands including Yves St. Laurent, Louis Vuitton, and Burberry to position Apple as a seller of high-end fashion and consumer technology.
Apple has also gone on the extra mile of training some staff of its retailers in dealing with the demands of high-worth customers. In particular, the company wants buyers of the Gold edition of its Apple Watch to feel very special and that their purchase was really quite an experience.
Double standard
There will be an obvious double standard in treating customers of the Gold edition of the Apple Watch compared to those who shall be going for the aluminum and steel models of the smartwatch.
But in fashion, double standards have almost become norms to differentiate the really good brands from the pretenders.
Accordingly, every potential buyer of the Gold edition of the Apple Watch shall be given up to one hour of personalized time with a retail store staff, who shall be tasked to give the customer a full journey on the buying process.
The potential buyer shall also be afforded 30 minutes of trying on the Gold edition of the smart wearable and be given time to choose between at least three designs.
That is a far cry from the time to be allotted to potential customers of aluminum and steel models of the Apple Watch since they are only afforded between five to 15 minutes of retail store staff time.
Special station
Retailers of the Apple Watch Gold edition shall also have a special station and chairs in the store separate from the rest of the shop. The station shall feature a demonstration kit holding the watches as well as a try-on mat normally found on jewelry stores.
Once the customer has spent 30 minutes trying on the Gold edition, accessories shall then be presented to him or given the option of having the watch set up right there or through the online service called Virtual Personal Setup.
After purchasing the watch, and this applies to all models of the Apple Watch and not just the Gold edition, customers shall be given free 24/7 access to a dedicated phone line for two years where they can solicit technical support anytime. They can extend the service for three years if they purchase the AppleCare+.