A comprehensive offline store review of Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, VIVO, and Honor: Diverse and distinctive services, yet despite slow sales, these stores are indispensable.

In recent years, "buying a mobile phone" has become a rather convenient thing. You can follow the host's rhythm in the live - streaming room and place an order with the countdown "3, 2, 1". The fastest you can receive the product the next day. Search for a specialty store of a certain brand on the food - delivery app, and you can start using the new phone in less than an hour.

As a result, many consumers believe that physical mobile phone stores seem to have no need to exist. But when it comes to actually changing a phone, most people still want to go to a physical store to have a hands - on experience and try out the core functions. That's why the core function of physical mobile phone stores has changed from "selling goods" in the early days to "providing services".

Recently, Lei Technology has also come across many reviews about the services of physical stores. Some are praises, while others are complaints. Some people say that Apple and Huawei offer excellent emotional value, while others say that OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor provide free film - sticking and charging services. Which statements are true? Or perhaps there is no standard answer to this question?

With these questions in mind, the editorial department of Lei Technology decided to visit physical stores directly. We went to the physical stores of Apple, Huawei, OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor to see how their pre - sales, in - sales, and after - sales services perform.

Mobile phone brands have started to pay more attention to the renovation of physical stores in recent years and have successively opened some concept stores and flagship stores. For example, Honor has a store in Kuanzhai Alley, Chengdu, and vivo has one in Sea World, Shenzhen. The role of these stores is not just to sell products but also to showcase the brand image. Since Lei Technology is based in Guangzhou, we selected two large commercial areas to see what special services the stores of the six major mobile phone brands offer.

Apple Store: Experience "Freedom" and Get Your Every Need Met

Apple's first direct - operated store in Guangzhou is located in Parc Central on Tiyu West Road, Tianhe District. As Christmas was approaching, Parc Central had special holiday decorations. Even at noon on a weekday, there were still many passers - by taking pictures. Similarly, this lively atmosphere was also present inside the Apple Store.

(Source: Photos taken on - site by Lei Technology)

The staff at the Apple Store were quite considerate during the pre - sales explanation. During our visit, the salesperson explained the Apple Watch and the new iPhone to several elderly people and helped them choose the right model. However, since there were many consumers in the store, most customers mainly had a free - hand experience and only called the salesperson for help when they needed it. To some extent, this could avoid some awkward situations, which is very suitable for introverts.

(Source: Photos taken on - site by Lei Technology)

We went to the second floor, which is an area dedicated to services. The salesperson told Lei Technology that as Apple users, we can make an appointment through the mobile app to come here for "lessons", which are actually knowledge - sharing sessions on how to make the most of the products. The service area is equipped with a charging area, but the store does not provide chargers. You need to bring your own. If you really don't have a charger, you need to make an after - sales appointment on your phone, and the in - store after - sales manager will provide charging service after receiving you. This is actually a bit unfriendly.

There were also some users in this area who had bought the new iPhone and were transferring data. Lei Technology talked to one of the gentlemen, and he said "The service is good, but the data transfer is too slow. It takes three hours to transfer data from my old phone, and I can only wait idly." As we learned, currently, the Apple Store only provides free spare phones when the phone needs to be sent back to the factory for repair. If it's just for data transfer, you really have to find your own way to kill time.

(Source: Photos taken on - site by Lei Technology)

As a direct - operated store, the Apple Store has relatively complete processes for pre - sales, in - sales, and after - sales services, and the service attitude is also good. However, compared with the other stores that Lei Technology visited later, the Apple Store seems a bit too rigid. To put it bluntly, it lacks a "human touch".

OPPO Flagship Store: Excellent Service but Unfriendly Sales - Service Separation

The Zhengjia Square store is OPPO's first flagship store in Guangzhou, which opened in 2023 and was renovated this year. It is more fashionable and has a better sense of space compared to when it first opened.

During the pre - sales stage, a female salesperson at the OPPO store received Lei Technology. After learning about our phone - buying needs, she very professionally recommended and explained suitable models. She even directly compared the advantages and disadvantages of different models. All her recommendations were just "introductions" and would not make decisions for consumers like in the early mobile phone markets. The service quality deserves a good review.

(Source: Photos taken on - site by Lei Technology)

This salesperson also introduced in detail the current phone - buying discounts, such as how to claim the provincial subsidy and the conditions for it. She also kindly reminded us that if we don't know how to operate, we can come to the store and let the staff handle it for us. When we asked about data transfer, she also said that any OPPO store will provide this service and will also help turn off some system ads. This is a service that we haven't heard of before.

(Source: Photos taken on - site by Lei Technology)

However, after the renovation this year, the OPPO flagship store removed the after - sales service from this store, implementing "separation of sales and after - sales service". There are two official after - sales centers 500 meters and 1.2 kilometers away. If you need to repair your phone or detect abnormal functions, you have to go to these two stores for service.

In fact, although the after - sales center has been separated, the store space seems to have been used for more heart - warming purposes. During our visit, we saw several elderly people sitting in the sofa area. The salesperson explained that they were waiting for their children to pick them up after work. There were also children experiencing OPPO tablets. Even though they might not be consumers at the moment, the salesperson patiently helped them solve problems.