The Apple Store Checkout Process

Have you shopped at an Apple store recently? I love the place. Firstly, there are almost always more employees in the store than customers, which means if you have a question, there are 10 people who would be willing to help you. And, they are all very knowledgable with the items they sell. But what struck me the most was their amazing checkout process. If you are paying by credit card, simply walk over to an associate with the item(s) you want in your hand and tell him you are ready to checkout. He will pull a PDA out of his pocket, scan the items, swipe your credit card with the swiper attached to the PDA, and - here's the kicker - offer to e-mail you the receipt. That's what really amazed me. An e-mail receipt! That's a genius idea! No longer do I have to save receipts in a shoe box and hope they don't get lost. Now, if I ever need to return that item, I don't even need to print out the receipt at home; I can just pull it up on the screen at the store.

Apple's products may be expensive, but they are good. And the store layout and features are absolutely amazing.