iPad: Why does Apple still use appointments for fixing????

[sweetbrat]

Originally Posted by solsearchin

Not sure which apple store your at but here in Canada only time it's busy is at a product launch.

That's definitely not the norm. There's three Apple Stores reasonably close to me here in Michigan, and they're all packed, all the time. It doesn't matter how near or far it is from a product release, they're always busy. The Geniuses are always busy, too, not standing around doing nothing. Appointments are there to try to keep things moving along. With as many people as the GB deals with in a day, if there weren't appointments it would be even more of a madhouse than it is, and there would be a lot more frustrated, pissed off customers.

[gmanist1000]

You don't get priority over people have have an appointment.

[aristobrat]

Originally Posted by solsearchin

I agree with the OP, 99% of the time I see " genius " just standing around and twiddling there fingers, even the ones that do repairs standing around.

Out of curiosity, what city/store are you talking about?

You're likely seeing sales people (who are called Specialists, not Geniuses) twiddling their thumbs. Unlike the Geniuses (repair folks) and Creatives (trainers), Specialists don't work entirely off of a reservation system that typically books up 100% for a day.

If a Genius is standing behind a Genius Bar "twiddling their fingers", first off, take a picture. I don't think you'll find many people on MacRumors that have ever seen a Genius Bar that wasn't slammed with customers that made reservations in advance (plus the standby appointments for folks that just walked in, and didn't mind waiting indefinitely to be "squeezed in").

Second off, if that Genius truly was free because they didn't have a pre-booked appointment, then they were available to do simple fixes "on the spot".

[solsearchin]

Next time I head in ill snap a picture, and yes I know the difference between repair folks and sales, this isn't my first time there lol. Plenty of apple stores are always not busy, I'm even wanting to say everyone I've been to, but closest one to me that's never busy is in Waterloo,Ontario location. That's the thing, even when there doing nothing they require you to book an appointment ( 30 min later in my case) absolutely horrible service IMO.

Originally Posted by aristobrat

Out of curiosity, what city/store are you talking about?

You're likely seeing sales people (who are called Specialists, not Geniuses) twiddling their thumbs. Unlike the Geniuses (repair folks) and Creatives (trainers), Specialists don't work entirely off of a reservation system that typically books up 100% for a day.

If a Genius is standing behind a Genius Bar "twiddling their fingers", first off, take a picture. I don't think you'll find many people on MacRumors that have ever seen a Genius Bar that wasn't slammed with customers that made reservations in advance (plus the standby appointments for folks that just walked in, and didn't mind waiting indefinitely to be "squeezed in").

Second off, if that Genius truly was free because they didn't have a pre-booked appointment, then they were available to do simple fixes "on the spot".

[Ryan T.]

Originally Posted by solsearchin

Next time I head in ill snap a picture, and yes I know the difference between repair folks and sales, this isn't my first time there lol. Plenty of apple stores are always not busy, I'm even wanting to say everyone I've been to, but closest one to me that's never busy is in Waterloo,Ontario location. That's the thing, even when there doing nothing they require you to book an appointment ( 30 min later in my case) absolutely horrible service IMO.

You do realize how reservations work, right? Just because there's no one there that minute, they may have an appointment in 5 minutes with someone that they would be late for if they just took walk-ins like you.

It's the same reason you see "empty" tables at a nice restaurant on a busy night.

[PrayForDeath]

A common misconception is that Apple geniuses will fix your devices. In reality, all they do is check what's damaged and order a replacement. "Your MacBook Pro is not charging? Let's replace the MagSafe port. Oh you're covered by warranty? Then let's replace the ($500) logic board too while we're at it, you know, just in case." That was my experience at the last genius appointment.

[sweetbrat]

Originally Posted by PrayForDeath

A common misconception is that Apple geniuses will fix your devices. In reality, all they do is check what's damaged and order a replacement. "Your MacBook Pro is not charging? Let's replace the MagSafe port. Oh you're covered by warranty? Then let's replace the ($500) logic board too while we're at it, you know, just in case." That was my experience at the last genius appointment.

It depends on what's wrong with the device. There are some repairs that can be done on the spot.

[aristobrat]

Originally Posted by solsearchin

Next time I head in ill snap a picture, and yes I know the difference between repair folks and sales, this isn't my first time there lol. Plenty of apple stores are always not busy, I'm even wanting to say everyone I've been to, but closest one to me that's never busy is in Waterloo,Ontario location. That's the thing, even when there doing nothing they require you to book an appointment ( 30 min later in my case) absolutely horrible service IMO.

FWIW, as of 1:15PM ET today, the store you mentioned that's never busy:

* has no available Mac or iOS appointments for the remainder of today .. they're entirely booked

* has no available Mac appointments before noon tomorrow or Friday .. they're already all booked

* has no available iOS appointments when they open tomorrow AM .. they're already all booked

This is typical of virtually every Apple Store I've seen, which is why I'm amazed that you constantly see Geniuses twiddling their fingers.

[SR71]

Originally Posted by raremage

I agree with the OP, except I have admit I've had similar experiences at other businesses too. For example, I went to the airport the other day and Delta had the nerve to tell me I needed a reservation. So I gave them a piece of my mind and decided, screw it, I'll drive. So I went to Avis and they had the nerve to tell me all of their cars were reserved. I mean, WTF!?! So I walked down the street and decided I was tired, went into the Waldorf, and they asked me if I had a freaking reservation! What is going on with the world? Whatever happened to immediate satisfaction?

It never would have worked this way if Steve Jobs were...wait, what?

Simply outrageous, isn't it?!

OP you're being ridiculous, stop complaining.

[MattZani]

I usually find if you go in around 10am or 2pm you'll be able to see someone, but I always make an appointment anyway on my phone, not exactly hard.

[isephmusic]

why do you guys go to the genius bar for help. youtube that s***. its super simple. call tech support if you dont know how to hardware/software reset they guide you through it at YOUR HOUSE. get a tech friend do screen share over skype and have him click everything for you.

stop being such consumers and learn something

[aristobrat]

Originally Posted by isephmusic

why do you guys go to the genius bar for help. youtube that s***. its super simple. call tech support if you dont know how to hardware/software reset they guide you through it at YOUR HOUSE. get a tech friend do screen share over skype and have him click everything for you.

stop being such consumers and learn something

YouTube is zero help for hardware issues, and Apple telephone support is only free for the first 90 days, unless you purchased AppleCare.

[sweetbrat]

Originally Posted by isephmusic

why do you guys go to the genius bar for help. youtube that s***. its super simple. call tech support if you dont know how to hardware/software reset they guide you through it at YOUR HOUSE. get a tech friend do screen share over skype and have him click everything for you.

stop being such consumers and learn something

Software problems are one thing. If you have a hardware problem, and you're under warranty, you go to the Genius Bar. Why would you try to fix it yourself and risk damaging your device and voiding your warranty?

[Ryan T.]

Originally Posted by isephmusic

why do you guys go to the genius bar for help. youtube that s***. its super simple. call tech support if you dont know how to hardware/software reset they guide you through it at YOUR HOUSE. get a tech friend do screen share over skype and have him click everything for you.

stop being such consumers and learn something

Yeah when you drop your iPhone and the screen breaks I'll be sure to YouTube how to get a replacement from Apple.

[bogatyr]

Originally Posted by solsearchin

Not sure which apple store your at but here in Canada only time it's busy is at a product launch.

Metro Detroit, we have 3 of them around and they're ALWAYS packed. Doesn't matter what day or time, the stores are wall to wall people.

[tarasis]

Originally Posted by solsearchin

Not sure which apple store your at but here in Canada only time it's busy is at a product launch.

Where as the store in the center of Hamburg Germany is packed daily. Most genius appointments are book 4-5 days in advance. You might be lucky to get a cancellation. In contrast the other store in Hamburg (Alstertal) is much quieter in terms of genius appointments and you can usually get on for that day or the next. However it is 25 minutes north on the U-Bahn so people don't tend to make that journey from the Southern area of Hamburg.

[AlPlPlLE]

Originally Posted by Ryan T.

Yeah when you drop your iPhone and the screen breaks I'll be sure to YouTube how to get a replacement from Apple.

Stop being a smartass...he's talking about the probably more than 50% of people in those stores who bitch about password resets, plastic on screen and thinking the phone is broken because they can't hear anyone, voice over turned on, needing the phone updated, locking it with a password, needing email setup, needing contacts swapped, and the list goes on...more than half of their appointments are probably fixable on your own if people weren't too ****ing lazy to do something for themselves.

OP, get over yourself and next time you now know to make one in advance rather than walking in. So next time the choice is yours whether or not they have something available for your day. Problem solved.

[fizzwinkus]

I remember when my Samsung screen broke - no damage, a video cable was deteriorating or something weird. it was such a good experience compared to the genius bar.

First, I had to find the model number (something like SMDHJYFGHF-25784256FVJY347853), serial number (also SFBT24653DBHFC2354) and receipt, submit it to their website, wait for over a week for them to email me one, count em one shop that would do the repair, then I had to call that shop, get their email, then email them my model number, serial, and receipt, wait another three days, then have the shop quote me $900 for the repair. Not doing that. Then a month later getting an email from Samsung asking how I liked my repair.

Making an appointment at the Genius Bar for tomorrow, waiting in the store for a total of 30 minutes for my turn, them to get a replacement, and walk out with it fixed is truly an awful experience.

[Candykwan]

I've never had a problem booking an appoint within 5-15mins of me arriving at the store... I usually just book it befor I go to the store...unless its holidays or near a launch date...scheduling times just makes you waste less time waiting to be served since you'll be getting an actual time slot rather than eyeballing the people in the line to guess when it'll be your turn. If you don't like it you're free to go elsewhere for help...the Genius Bar isn't the only place you can get help for an apple product

[mcdj]

Originally Posted by hreyhrey

Why does Apple still use appointments for fixing????

Just go to Wendy's. They have a fixins bar.