I now had an opportunity, but it would require going out of character.
I would have to open my mouth and talk to the stranger next to me.
But here’s another thing about me — I hate waiting. And this guy, who walked in at the same moment I did, didn’t wait at all. I summoned the courage.
“How did you know that blue shirt was the right guy and get waited on so quickly?”
“I didn’t. But look around. What do you see?”
I just blinked. I had nothing.
“Every single person in this store has their face buried in their device. Even the people talking to a blue shirt. They’re all the same. Nameless and faceless.”
All you gotta do to get waited on is stand out just a little. So I walk in with my head up, immediately make eye contact, and smile at the first blue shirt I see inside the door. Without breaking eye contact, I walk right around the cloud of people milling about. If they aren’t the right person, they tell me who to see, and then I repeat that process.”
I asked, “But don’t you feel bad about skipping the line?”
“What line?
The Apple Store doesn’t have a line. On purpose. Those people are just standing there because they don’t know what to do. They don’t know how to stand out. So they fade into the background.”
Huh.
Sometimes it pays to keep your head up and your mind open.
