14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is training its retail staff to provide customers with a way to wirelessly check-in to retail stores, a service set to become available soon, via an update to the company’s Apple Store application for iOS devices.
Macstories claims to have received word that Sunday night and early Monday morning saw Apple gearing up to introduce Apple Store employees to the new system.
Apple Store managers were reportedly flown in at a recent conference in Los Angeles, where they were showcased the initial location-based concept.
The report continues with Macstories claiming it now has “physical evidence” and additional details on the specifics of the new concierge services, beginning with the mentioning that the service went live for Apple Store employees on Monday morining.
Basically, staffers will have to use an app called Concierge that sends a push notification to the customer who made a reservation the Apple Store via their iPhone.
Employees then check an iQueue that lists the customers they’re waiting for to arrive, as well as the time they checked in.
Store managers then establish room by room locations within the store for accurate, close proximity check-ins, via a separate application called Scout, which is described by the source as “a one time use application for the initial set-up of Apple’s location based services.”
Although this remains to be confirmed, Macstories indicates, the Apple Store application is to receive an update to make it integrate with the new check-in system, so that customer are able to do their bit.
It makes sense, since the ability to make reservations is already set in place, therefore “you’ll receive a push notification as you enter the store asking if you’d like to check-in,” the source predicts.
Finally, customers will be notified of their position in the queue, and who they’ll be meeting up with. The site reveals that Apple’s iOS application will actually show customers a photo of the staffer in question.
The Apple Store application presumably in line for an upcoming software update can be found here (information and download link).