So from a Macintosh standpoint, you think the Best Buy sales experience generally leaves a lot to be desired, do you? Heck, we'll go further than that-- it stinks. Frankly, we're hard-pressed to see what all the fuss was about with Best Buy leaving the Mac market and then returning to sell the iMac; if anyone can tell us how, exactly, Best Buy of today is any better than Best Buy from the Performa days, we'd really like to know. Okay, we see mild improvements: for one thing, the iMac is actually on display in a somewhat visible section of most stores, as opposed to the Performa which would be buried on the shelf in the back corner. And the iMac is typically actually on, too, which is a switch. But the sales experience itself hasn't changed a bit, as far as we can make out; unless you get very lucky, the sales staff don't know anything about the iMac, and don't care; ask a question, and they'll have to look up the answer-- and it'll probably still be wrong.

But Apple's playing Henry Higgins to Best Buy's Eliza Doolittle, according to MacNN. Reportedly they're "moving aggressively to improve the Best Buy experience" by requiring a minimum of two hours' worth of mandatory training for all Best Buy computer sales personnel. That's a good start. In addition, Apple's trying to bribe said salesfolk with the prospect of free t-shirts and fabulous cash prizes if they correctly answer questions about the iMac. (Rumor has it that all answers must be given in the form of a question, but as of yet that's still unconfirmed.) While Apple's efforts are commendable, four words immediately spring to mind: "silk," "purse," "sow's," and "ear." String 'em together however you want.

Well, we'll give it more time. After all, CompUSA had a very rocky start with its Apple store-within-a-store, and while things there still aren't even close to perfect, we've got to admit they've been improving over the course of the last fifteen months or whatever. The odds of talking to a CompUSA salesperson who actually knows something about Macs-- and who won't instead try to steer you toward a Wintel-- seem to be rising slowly but steadily. Whether or not Best Buy is willing to get its act together is anyone's guess. But, hey! Few problems in this world can't be solved with free t-shirts!