Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

The Apple store "Geniuses" have deceptive titles

L

LucidPsychosis

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 6, 2010
177
0
Knoxville, TN
I don't know whether it was ignorance or lying, but last Thursday I went to my nearest Apple store because I had a couple of questions and..well, I wanted to play with an iPad.

So, I went in, messed around with the various iPad-exclusive apps for awhile (and was impressed by the free books in iBooks, by the way), and then proceeded to the nearest Apple Genius. The first thing I asked him was about iPads and textbooks. He said something along the lines of "Oh, well they're on their way."

Okay. So, then I said something like, "Okay, here's another question: I'm not sure if you're allowed to answer this, but is there any news on the Macbook Pro refreshes? I'm looking to upgrade for college, but I'm waiting on the refreshes."

He replied something like, "Well, it's not that I can't tell you; it's that we have no idea. They don't tell us anything. Normally the refreshes don't happen until the Fall, so if you're willing to wait, check back around September or October, BUT, I could hook you up with a really sweet Macbook right now if you don't feel like waiting."

I simply said, "Oh, that's okay. I think I'll just wait it out. Thanks anyway, have a good day," and walked away.

Little did this Apple Genius know that just prior to talking to him, I hopped onto a nearby Macbook and went to Macrumors to find this article: https://www.macrumors.com/2010/04/0...d-possibly-macbook-airs-coming-on-april-13th/

I couldn't tell if he was withholding information from me or if he honestly had no idea, but still, "September or October" is a really bad guess if you know anything about the product cycles, of which I would expect an Apple Genius to have knowledge.

Oh, on a side note: While I was in there, I saw the multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0 announcement on Macrumors and cheered out (not too loudly). A nearby Genius (not the same one I asked about the MBPs) asked me why I cheered; I told him the news of multitasking, and he cheered rather loudly and proceeded to go tell other Apple Geniuses :p
 
LucidPsychosis said:
The first thing I asked him was about iPads and textbooks. He said something along the lines of "Oh, well they're on their way."
Click to expand...

...which is true. No problems so far.

Okay. So, then I said something like, "Okay, here's another question: I'm not sure if you're allowed to answer this, but is there any news on the Macbook Pro refreshes? I'm looking to upgrade for college, but I'm waiting on the refreshes."

He replied something like, "Well, it's not that I can't tell you; it's that we have no idea. They don't tell us anything.

...

Little did this Apple Genius know that just prior to talking to him, I hopped onto a nearby Macbook and went to Macrumors to find this article: https://www.macrumors.com/2010/04/0...d-possibly-macbook-airs-coming-on-april-13th/
Click to expand...

...which is just a rumor. Since the Genius doesn't get told when the MBPs will be updated anyway, there's no problem here either.

Oh, on a side note: While I was in there, I saw the multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0 announcement on Macrumors and cheered out (not too loudly). A nearby Genius (not the same one I asked about the MBPs) asked me why I cheered; I told him the news of multitasking, and he cheered rather loudly and proceeded to go tell other Apple Geniuses :p
Click to expand...

Ok? They work with Apple products all day. Can't fault them for not following every bit of Apple news, as they don't have to deal with multitasking iPhones/iPads yet.

I think you need to get a little perspective.
 
miles01110 said:
...which is true. No problems so far.



...which is just a rumor. Since the Genius doesn't get told when the MBPs will be updated anyway, there's no problem here either.



Ok? They work with Apple products all day. Can't fault them for not following every bit of Apple news, as they don't have to deal with multitasking iPhones/iPads yet.

I think you need to get a little perspective.
Click to expand...

Let me clarify: I wasn't criticizing the guy about the iPad textbook thing, and I certainly wasn't criticizing the Genius who cheered about multitasking; I thought that was funny and endearing. What did annoy me, though, was that the guy told me September or October when probability and logic suggest much earlier than that. I didn't expect him to know much, but that's just a very bad guess.

I'm not criticizing him for not knowing every little detail about Apple, but if you're gonna sell the damn machines for a living, you should probably know basic stuff about the product and its marketing.
 
I'm not criticizing him for not knowing every little detail about Apple, but if you're gonna sell the damn machines for a living, you should probably know basic stuff about the product and its marketing.
Click to expand...

I bet the Genius does know the basic stuff about the product. The Arrandale Macbook Pro is not a product that the Genius has to know about, because it hasn't even been announced yet (and therefore a customer won't be bringing one in for repair or troubleshooting). It's also not a Genius' job to worry about marketing.
 
I guess if you want to sell someone a computer the last thing you want to be saying is that an updated on is coming in the next few weeks. If the guy did that he'd never sell a thing then probably get fired. So you cant really blame him, i'd probably do the same if I were in his position, especially if on commission.
 
I believe that he was truthful about everything other than his "Fall" guess. He didn't know, but i think he intentionally guessed badly, after all, it is his job to sell these things...
 
Summary: A salesman attempted to convert an uncertain future purchase into a concrete purchase that day.
 
Geniuses don't work on the salesfloor answering questions or selling products. They work behind the Genius Bar (or in the Genius Room in back of house) repairing stuff.

Employees on the floor answering questions and selling things are called Specialists. They don't work on commission, they aren't told in advance about product refreshes, and very few of them are hardcore enough to even care about prior refresh intervals. They spend the majority of their time on the floor talking to people with no Mac experience looking to switch.
 
Most of you need to get off the thread starter's back. He's just making an observation about his trip to the Apple store. I understand what he's saying that you'd think Geniuses should know a little more about the products they service, especially if they're going to reply to his question with a time frame in the first place.

It's not about what their job is or what's a rumor. It's not about an employee trying to sell a computer either since he already told the Genius that he WANTS to buy a MacBook Pro. It's about an employee giving a time frame out which clearly is not likely.
 
Chozo said:
He's just making an observation about his trip to the Apple store.
Click to expand...
Right, it's just that the thread title and OP seem to focus around the term "Genius", and how the employee he interacted with was anything but that.

I was simply pointing out that he spoke with a Specialist, not a Genius. :eek:

If he wants to keep the irony of his thread title, perhaps he could modify it to "Some Apple Store "Specialists" are truly that". :D
 
Asking the wrong person

The job of the Apple Genius is to support Mac users, not feed the rumor mill. The analogy I would make is asking the guy who came to fix your cable about the pending Comcast purchase of NBC/Universal. Or your doctor about upcoming Medtronic products. If you'd already been reading up about expected updates, why did you think the Genius would know anything more?

MacRumors has a great page on if/when updates are expected on various product lines. [buyersguide.macrumors.com] It's the place to go, not the Apple Store.

BB

LucidPsychosis said:
I don't know whether it was ignorance or lying, but last Thursday I went to my nearest Apple store because I had a couple of questions and..well, I wanted to play with an iPad…
Click to expand...
 
I'm kinda with the OP on this one. Part of customer service is not only knowing the ins and outs of the widget in your store, but to a certain extent the market and industry you are in.

And remember I am saying to a certain extent, wall street insider speculator information is not needed here. But when a customer asks about a product and seems to know something about it that the salesman or "specialist" does not know, it doesn't look too good for them, does it?

This reflects a disturbing trend I've been noticing for a long time now and I call it "The Lost Art of Customer Service."

I can't tell you how many times I've been into a store to inquire about a product and I end up knowing more about it than the guy trying to sell me one!

Is it any wonder people are buying things online now? What good are brick and mortar stores if the people in them don't know what they are selling?

Look, there's nothing wrong with saying something along the lines as "Yes there are certainly rumors about when the next MBP will be announced but there is no official date yet." There. How hard was that? It seems a lot more intelligent than appearing as an ostrich with it's head in the sand and also connects with the customer better than a blind canned statement.
 
v66jack said:
I guess if you want to sell someone a computer the last thing you want to be saying is that an updated on is coming in the next few weeks. If the guy did that he'd never sell a thing then probably get fired. So you cant really blame him, i'd probably do the same if I were in his position, especially if on commission.
Click to expand...

Very true!
 
Genius is not so much deceptive as much as it is a catchy euphemism. Some people know their stuff, others do not. You may find a MG who knows of the "Waiting for Arrandale" thread and others who would look at you severely confused if you asked what MacRumors is.

The same goes for the "guru" at the Microsoft store in which they are as much a guru as Mike Myers was of love as the Mac genius is of Einstein.
 
You need more realistic expectations.

A genius is not a mac "devotee" (to be nice) who spends every waking minute of their life eating, breathing and sleeping Apple. Some do, sure, but they're the exception and not the rule.

Because the guy does not have the answer you had anticipated, you think he is not worthy of his "Genius" title... but instead, I think it just means you are more deserving of your own title... and not a "Genius" one either.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPod Touch 2G 8GB: Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7D11 Safari/528.16)

miles01110 said:
What did annoy me, though, was that the guy told me September or October when probability and logic suggest much earlier than that. I didn't expect him to know much, but that's just a very bad guess.





I'm not criticizing him for not knowing every little detail about Apple, but if you're gonna sell the damn machines for a living, you should probably know basic stuff about the product and its marketing.
Click to expand...

I think he was trying to stay on the safe side?!?! If he said June, and there was a major error or something, or lack of a decent video card, and the release date was pushed back even farther, he would look like he knew nothing!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back