Core values
Service, patience, and time well spent
The guy was at least 75 years old (probably older) and had no idea how to access his phone.
Because he had no idea what his phone password was.
And he had no idea how to figure it out.
Dude was struggling. Phoning a friend (or family member) looking for help. Typing in different codes. Getting locked out and being put in iPhone timeout for a few minutes.
And this young dude just sat with him the whole time. Techie looking Gen Z-er (I think, honestly, I’m not totally sure which generation is which.) Anyway, he’s offering suggestions. Telling older guy it was no rush. Giving small encouragement like, “We’re gonna figure this out.”
After 30 minutes (that I saw, it had likely been going on for infinity time beforehand) a breakthrough.
Old dude figured it out. Said, “I got it. I’m in.”
To which the young dude yelled a simple, “HELL YEAH!” Followed by, “Let’s get to work!”
This is the scene I witnessed at the Apple Store last week while bringing my MacBook in for some work. Frankly, I found it incredible.
This young Apple dude (an employee) exhibited the kind of patience I only associate with monks or someone assembling IKEA furniture while their kid “helps”. Never rolled his eyes. Never suggested they were in any kind of hurry. Never gave suggestions that were outside of the older dude’s frame of reference. Kind of completely and totally crushed it.
And the whole time I’m thinking, “Man, no other customer experience—outside of maybe higher-end hospitality—would you see anything like this.”
I’m not a patient person. In fact, when I asked Breen for some examples of things I would be impatient about, she said, “You mean more broad or super specific? Because I’m thinking of a lot of things.” Which I think sums it up. And I don’t even think I’m so terrible on this front.
And in a world that is increasingly impatient, mostly because of IG doomscrolling, slow ass AmazonPrime that takes two whole FUCKING days to bring me my socks, UberEats in 30 minutes, and unlimited streaming options, combined with a seemingly strong conviction that everyone who isn’t us is an “idiot”.
So when we actually need help from a real human - tech support, a store clerk, customer service - we show up already annoyed and expecting the worst. And most of the time, we get exactly what we expect. Companies have learned to match our energy: impatient customers get impatient service.
The delta between what was on display in the Apple Store and basically every other customer experience in the entire world is pretty massive. Like think of a car dealership where they often want to rip you off with the least amount of static
Or tele-support customer service where they mostly want you to fuck off and go away (or die, whatever comes first).
There’s a strategic advantage to just being X% more calm and caring towards someone who just wants help.
When I was running DFSR, James (chess James from last week!) and I would get all kinds of shitty emails from mad customers. When you deal with fantasy sports, betting, and money, trust me, you’re dealing with a cohort who left rational thought and basic civility in their rearview long ago.
So some running back we liked wouldn't score a TD on Sunday, or an NBA injury would ruin the DraftKings lineup for the night and we'd get nasty emails calling us frauds and idiots. Some were truly terrible, including at least one death threat.
What I didn’t follow up with then, that’s relevant now, is how we would follow up with these emails. We had a loose “organizational” edict (it was just me and James) to reply with some form of:
“Thanks so much for reading/ subscribing. Sorry to hear about any issues. We are always striving to do our best. If there’s anything we can do to help further, please let us know.”
And you know what would happen a ton?
The very robo-tilt dude would respond…with an apology.
They’d say something like:
Sorry I sent you a shitty email. I was having a bad day.
Or
My bad about that. I was drunk (bunch of drunk guys emailed)
Or
Actually, never mind, it’s fine. All good. Thanks for responding.
When the baseline is terrible service in so many walks of life. And distrust is built in as a default setting, we’d somehow score bonus points just by not reacting, kind of being nice (or at least polite), and that’s about it.
And then, if you are the Apple Store, you completely lap the field because you go above and beyond, focus 100% on customer satisfaction, and also have kickass products to boot.
This is all to say, optimizing for patience and understanding isn’t easy. Maybe it’s not even practical. But it’s easily the best version of things.
Because in a world where everyone expects to be treated like garbage, just being human gives you a massive competitive advantage. The Apple Store kid wasn't doing anything revolutionary. He was just being decent.
Being kind and decent is worth tons. Will I remember this the next time I'm stuck behind someone ordering a triple-shot iced caramel macchiato with almond milk and two pumps of vanilla? Eh, maybe actually.
Let ‘em enjoy it (even if it’s stupid).
That Apple Store kid probably made that 75-year-old's week. Cost him like 30 minutes of patience. Not a bad deal.
Doug Norrie is the Boss and the Assistant to the Regional Manager of DN Creative, a writing agency working with creators and businesses to tell their stories.
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