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Caution: Student iPod User
from the pt-barnum's-laughing dept
Huge iPod sales have spawned a booming market for accessories, but surely this is going a little too far: a London department store is offering lessons on how to use the iPod, charging about $115 for a 40-minute one-on-one session. The store says it's responding for customer demand, particularly from older buyers and, surprisingly, children. While resisting the urge to repeat some comment about fools and their money, these people could always just walk the few blocks over to the Apple store and get help, for free.
Reader Comments
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Greed is good
I love capitalism.
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Re: Greed is good
"I love capitalism"
Me too. I see nothing wrong with what these people are doing. If people are dumb enough to pay for lessons when they could get them for free then that is there own issue.
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Re:
The market is perfect.
http://economics.uchicago.edu/
University of Chicago, '03
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Wonderful idea
The iPod is so successful becuase it is so easy to use. I thought anyone could figure it out, but this story has inspired me. Ergo, I am offering the following classes if anyone is interested:
Using scissors: $115.00
Tying shoes: $150.00
Watching paint dry: >SPECIAL! Only $89.95
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Re: Wonderful idea
lol...scissors. Its exactly what they are doing. But hey like he said...if people are stupid enough to pay for lessons when they are already ree then hats their own damn fault!
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Re: Wonderful idea
This is hillarious.
If they charged 10 bucks that would have been tolerable, but over $100 they should be reported to something or somewhere, especially since what they sell is free.
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Re: Wonderful idea
You should let people know that the tying shoes is a 2 part series which explains the higher price.
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Re: Wonderful idea
I got to admit that your courses are very interesting! (lol I´m still laughing! Thanks!)
We should tell those guys to implement these ones too!
;-)
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Too bad
Too bad they don't have apple stores in the UK.
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Re: Too bad
"Too bad they don't have apple stores in the UK."
http://www.apple.com/uk/retail/regentstreet/week/20060115.html
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Re: Too bad
they do. there's one round the corner from Selfridges where these lesssons are taking place.
The thing is - the kind of shoppers that go to Selfridges want the personal service *now*.
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No Subject Given
Ooooooo Can I take 2 lots of watch paint dry ? Why not treat your self once in a while ? Thats what I say, After all its only about 340 days till christmas!
-Fools
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No Subject Given
I dont know about everyone else, but I find it hard to belive this could be successful marketed to children (or successful at all). I have never met anyone under the age of 25 that had issues with using some type of technology as simple as an ipod (or other, better MP3 players).
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No Subject Given
In Soviet Russia, iPod listen to you!
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No Subject Given
Well, there's certainly nothing wrong with capitalizing on the mentally feeble, but it's time-wasting like this that's keeping our society from progressing and maturing.
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Re: No Subject Given
Are you kidding? The phrase "There's a sucker born every minute" couldn't be more true!! And what better way to advance society than by parting a fool and his money for cheap entertainment? Fools pouring money down the throats of dishonest and sleazy car salesmen and mechanics? That sucks. Pouring it down a dept. store's throats because the dept. store keeps getting requests to do so? Great! If you're that stupid to ask people to treat you like a moron, then by all means they deserve to indeed take your money.
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Re: No Subject Given
Keeping our society from progressing and maturing? Really? I think our society has been progressing and maturing fairly well. Capitalism and the free market are not perfect, but they are the best thing we have. It's time wasting if someone wants to pay for it.
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Re: No Subject Given
Man. This is funny... How to use iPod for over $100! Can't they read the instruction manual or get at least a guidebook?
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incredible patience required
let's look at it from a different perspective.
has anyone here done tech support? if you have, can you imagine trying to help someone who's SO dumb they can't figure out an iPod in 5 minutes, or iTunes in 10?
if that's the kind of customers they're dealing with, the money's got to cover psychology counselling each evening after work!
remember, if breathing required conscious effort and wasn't a brain-stem function, there'd be many dead people around!
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Seems to work
Well now we all know that you can buy an iPod at Selfridge's!
(but my kid's school recently got a new photocopier and had to schedule a training session on how to use it. So people are easily intimidated by technology, I think because they've been taught to be).
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Re: Seems to work
Believe it or not, some people out there have trouble setting up their iPods. Not everyone is tech gadget savvy!
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mechanics only charge...
60-80 dollars an hour for labor done on your car..
and these ipod people only get a 40 minute lesson!
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No Subject Given
This article properly represents the average intelligence of the iPod customer base.
They overpaid for a closed-DRM music player because of marketing hype and a cute form factor. Why wouldn't you expect the same people to overpay for accessories and technical support of that same product?
iPods are for sheep.
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you what say now?
I worked in selfridges for a large part of 2005; I never witnesssed these 'ipod training sessions'. Rumours I believe.
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