Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Adds Genius Bar Reservations to Product Support Options
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Do people actually make Genius Bar appointments if they have issues with iOS? I wouldn't do it because the issues I have aren't going to be fixed by a retail employee. Not much they can do about software bugs that need to be fixed in Cuoertino.
Oh boy calling Apple to reset my sister's ID was a nightmare last week. A full hour and a half. She forgot the answers to the security questions so couldn't do it online. I was transferred twice, but put on hold for crazy times.
That doesn't make sense. Apple said there was no way the NSA can get your data. Now it is a simple password reset to let anyone get access to the data.
Depends on the store. If it is jam packed, you need an appointment to say hi to someone. I was just listening to Chris Cooley(former redskins NFL player) recount his story at the reston, va store. On the iTunes Store, the a podcast by the name of "11-06-14 The Drive with Cooley and Czabe" starting at 19:45 describes an experience in a busy apple store. I've been to this store, and the Tyson's Corber store in VA. Both are very similar. If you have ANY questions, you should get them answered in here, versus the store.
My favorite part in the podcast is the request to have the machine ready for purchase, so he doesn't have to walk around the Reston town center with the machine. Upon returning, with promises being made to him, they had no clue what he was talking about. Yes, very typical. Unless it's a vanilla purchase, avoid the apple store at all costs.
Hmm...I'm not sure what this has to do with the NSA? It was a lengthy process and they needed all her information including the serial number of the iPad. It was far from simple.
I've been watching two Apple Stores by me like a hawk for a Genius Bar appointment, been fully booked for 4 weeks. I managed to get one slot a week ago to go next week, only been watching for 3 weeks. Can't do a Quick Drop any more.
rMBP with a dead fan.
Customer service is so terrible these days.
----------
It appears many appointments are taken up with iOS problems, dropped phone or people that have no idea how to do menial things.
rMBP with a dead fan.
Customer service is so terrible these days.
----------
One by me (Bullring, Birmingham) has got stupid. The Genius Bar has moved outside of the shop, two Genius staff now stand behind a temporary barrier giving iOS support.
It appears many appointments are taken up with iOS problems, dropped phone or people that have no idea how to do menial things.
Oh boy calling Apple to reset my sister's ID was a nightmare last week. A full hour and a half. She forgot the answers to the security questions so couldn't do it online. I was transferred twice, but put on hold for crazy times.
Call in the morning, when no one else does.
----------
Consider yourself lucky, as opposed to stores in Hong Kong and China.
Trick is to book when the stores close, and the server resets for the next day.
And use the Apple Store app.
And if you're waiting that long, a mail-in may have been faster.
its also crappy for consumers to expect service for products for eons. Especially tech which moves very very quickly. After 2-3 years the logic board etc in that computer you bought costs way more to make because they arent getting the bulk prices they were getting when it was the big bad item. This is why Apple limits their warranty to 3 years on computers. and due to various laws they still keep the parts for 5 years (7 in California) because that is what the lawmakers decided was a fair amount of time.
Sucks for someone that decides to keep a computer for 8-10 years but at that point you have gotten your money's worth, even at Apple's prices.
----------
that's part of the reason for thiz new system. make no mistake it is about keeping folks away from the Bar as much as anything. They dont want to have folks coming in asking for help with things they cant help with and denying time to someone that actually needs help from them. Things like "I forgot my apple id password" or "my yahoo email isnt working". These things either shouldnt need help from a genius or they dont have access to anything that can help that the customer can't get to also. sorry so not sorry if you are a self proclaimed tech idiot but maybe you shouldn't be using a smart phone if you cant figure out how to google how to reset your AOL email password etc.
Well in education they never known how long something will have to last, and a lot of businesses do cycle hardware or maintain older systems to support legacy hardware, which may cost many times what they paid for the computer. It varies. Overall though I tend to suggest against purchasing older Macs unless they're extremely cheap due to the service issues that can arise and potential difficulty obtaining service past a certain point.
Regarding component orders, they wouldn't order them several years out. They would have some extras earmarked for repairs upon discontinuation of a given model. The rest are refurbished parts. If you're approaching vintage status, repairs are likely to be done with refurbished components due to waning supplies. I can't find it right now, but it's mentioned in their repair policies.
Only tech support and repairs. If you want to buy an accessory, a hero product, ask a not-too-tech question, get a product set up, do a return, you can always come in. On a busy day the on-point/concierge will let you know if you have a few people ahead of you, and will keep an eye on you while the specialists bounce up to the front of the store to find out who if next from the concierge.
Occasionally you will have people zoned as well, so say you just want to grab a cable and go you may have a check out person, or a person who only assists with accessories because they are shorter interactions.
I made an appointment online once and the experience was great! When I arrived at the store it was packed inside and there was a line going out into the mall, but I just showed the security guy my appointment email and he walked me straight to an employee and I was helped right away. Turned out I had a bad battery in an iPad 4. The genius said they were out of refurbs of that model so he gave me a brand new one. I was out of the store in under 15 mins. The best part was the evil looks I received from everyone waiting in line...hahaha they were priceless!!
I just wish I could schedule an appointment more than two weeks in advance - the closest Apple store is over 2 hours from me, so I need to make appointments on the few days when I know I'll be visiting relatives in real cities (hoping to get dead pixels in my rMBP examined). It's tough living in the middle of nowhere!
I completely agree. I don't live in that populated of an area and it's a two week wait minimum to schedule a Genuis bar appointment. I really wish they would open another store here or expand their Genius Bar to match the demand.
Indeed. I waited for five days to get my Apple Care-covered MBP to be looked at because what was finally a faulty HDD cable (just the 3rd time!). I used to find that wait time to be so much worse than Apple got us used to, but some here have seen worse situations.
Luckily I was able to firmly direct the Genius to remove the HDD from its suspects list since it just had been replaced and the problem was repeating itself with a different drive. But I can't imagine what would have been done to a customer's MBP with less tech knowledge.
Given how iOS 7 and 8 broke usability, I am not surprised.
Even now I need to return for a read-only TM volumes, after exhausting all the advice I could find on the net to get it back into working order. And I couldn't find the Genius Bar "book an appointment" link. Instead, I was only offered two options: schedule a call back, or call Apple. The usual link was nowhere to be found, which came as a surprise to the Genius who booked it for me as I made the round-trip just for that reason. Helpfully, he also said that policies have changed, and that users can now book an appointment by phone.
This thread is shocking to read from my experience. Yesterday the graphics card in my iMac failed, I went online and made an appointment for two hours later, 6:30 PM (so I could have dinner) and all time slots were available. I got to the store and was recognized because I was the last iMac appointment that day. Got taken care of 10 minutes before my appointment time. Previous time I made an appointment (on a weekend) there was still no problem getting one within hours.
Might be that the Portland, Oregon area has three Apple stores, which has got to be the highest store/owner ratio in the country.
When I saw this thread I was going to post that the new website setup was making it harder to make an appointment -- it now requires going through more screens and sometimes ends up being circular.
Might be that the Portland, Oregon area has three Apple stores, which has got to be the highest store/owner ratio in the country.
When I saw this thread I was going to post that the new website setup was making it harder to make an appointment -- it now requires going through more screens and sometimes ends up being circular.
The last three times I've had an appointment, not only have I showed up 15 minutes prior and been checked in, but I've then WAITING ANOTHER 30-40 minutes AFTER my appointment.
And talked to three different people in the process. It's ridiculous. I miss checking in and getting end-to-end service by a single Genius.
Replacing components in iPhones instead of just swapping them has also added to the waits by a huge amount.
Oh, I experienced that more than once. Actually quite regularly until about 6 months. Now they're on time again, but with very few timeslots, all booked days before.
Got my Mac repaired. I only waited over an hour from my scheduled time to be seen by a Genius.
It was a lose screw trapped in the fan. Took the Genius all of 30 seconds in the back room to fix.
It was a lose screw trapped in the fan. Took the Genius all of 30 seconds in the back room to fix.