On a shopping trip with my wife yesterday to Westfield in west London, we visited the Apple Store there.

Everyone visits shops. Some do it a lot. I know of no other retail experience quite like a visit to an Apple Store, though.

Apart from the obvious products and other cool things you encounter, all presented in such a compelling and inviting way, the key element is the people, the employees of an Apple Store.

These are people with passion, certainly the case in the ones I encountered yesterday. That passion wasn’t only about the Apple products you find in the store: I reckon it was as much about the sheer enjoyment they get in doing their jobs serving customers.

The one employee I spent time with certainly made me feel that I was his most important connection and nothing would distract him from serving me to my entire satisfaction.

Well, friendly employee at Apple Store White City – I wish I’d asked him his name: what I do know is that he’s not a new Apple employee even though he said yesterday was his first day in this particular store – you ensured I had a memorable experience. Thanks.

A nice touch: when you pay for your purchase – no traditional checkout, just employees with wireless credit card machines – you don’t get something as mundane as a paper receipt. Oh, no: if you prefer, Apple will email it to you. That’s what I chose. And with the email was a link to a survey where you could give Apple some feedback on your experience in the Apple Store.

What a great opportunity for Apple to make a connection with a customer, and it worked with me. Here’s the sum total of what I told Apple:

And yes, I would recommend this store to a friend:

A memorable experience indeed. Like no other.