Jeffrey Mincey, writing for Mac360:

A customer can be engaged by a product in many ways, but compare the basic customer experience of buying an Apple product at an Apple Store vs. buying any other product anywhere else, and then compare the customer experience when using the product.

Have you ever talked to a Google employee? Walk into an Apple Store and you’re likely to be greeted by an Apple associate multiple times before you leave. If not always technically proficient, they are friendly, courteous, and helpful. Google does not have an experience to match.

For the most part, you won’t have that face-to-face customer experience with Samsung, Google, HTC, Motorola, Dell, Lenovo, or any other tech gadget maker. Microsoft has their own stores, but they’re few and far between, and usually more populated by sales associates than customers.

Apple is not afraid to help customers face-to-face, whether through the initial purchase, personal setup, personal training on new products, or the Genius Bar for technical support. The experience is open and transparent.

This is a huge part of the modern Apple experience. And at its core is the fact that Apple makes the hardware and the software, something Steve Jobs insisted on from the very beginning. This gives Apple complete control over the customer experience.