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Apple Prepping Genius Bar Changes: Focus on Shorter Wait Times, Multitasking, Overnight Repairs
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MacHiavelli
macrumors 65816
There's the new iFriend and personal/home-based iStore services as well:
http://technologme.com/apple-launch-ifriend-service/1622/
http://technologme.com/apple-launch-ifriend-service/1622/
If your current workforce can't meet demand, add some jobs, don't diminish the quality of service. Changes like multitasking would make the Apple Store experience much worse, I think.
And if a booming company like Apple won't add jobs, where are the jobs the economy needs going to come from? Bad news on more than one level.
And if a booming company like Apple won't add jobs, where are the jobs the economy needs going to come from? Bad news on more than one level.
Having to wait an hour - unforgiveable.
When I have my dell/sony/asus and I go to their stores with the genius bar, I have to wait - oh, hang on - that's right. This is a UNIQUE service not offered by the competition, and Micro$oft are only now copying and installing similar service levels.
Rooskibar03
macrumors 65816
Apple Stores are a victim of their own success. More products, more customers with more questions. Its a boutique store with big box traffic.
You cannot have large volumes of customers and maintain a high level of service without either adding more staff or making the staff you have better.
Bring back a checkout station so you can keep people moving who don't need any more help then someone to swipe a credit card. Most of my visits to the Apple store are to go in, grab something and go. I hate having to chase someone and wait for grandma to finish with silly iPhone questions just to give someone my money. Sure everyone can do a checkout, but for gods sake have a dedicate checkout spot. It could even be a self checkout like the grocery store. I don't care, just make it quick.
Make sure your roving sales people are near Genius level employees. Give them the ability to answer and address simple issues and questions. Give them a time limit they can spend on a issue before it must go to a "real" genius. That way you are not tying up sales staff for technical help.
Keep the real Genius (and have more of them) reserved for larger and more time consuming issues and repairs.
Bottom line, everyone in that store should be able to do what needs to be done to address customer issues. (With a cashier being the exception)
While I have never had issues with a Genius or a associate, other then not being able to check out, I still am hacked off by the idea of having to make an appointment just to talk to someone about something pretty simple.
I used to enjoy going to the Apple store to check out new products and 'geek out" with fellow Apple fans. Anymore its just painful to spend any amount of time in those stores. The level of knowledge of the staff has gone down over the years and the passionate people don't ever last long.
You cannot have large volumes of customers and maintain a high level of service without either adding more staff or making the staff you have better.
Bring back a checkout station so you can keep people moving who don't need any more help then someone to swipe a credit card. Most of my visits to the Apple store are to go in, grab something and go. I hate having to chase someone and wait for grandma to finish with silly iPhone questions just to give someone my money. Sure everyone can do a checkout, but for gods sake have a dedicate checkout spot. It could even be a self checkout like the grocery store. I don't care, just make it quick.
Make sure your roving sales people are near Genius level employees. Give them the ability to answer and address simple issues and questions. Give them a time limit they can spend on a issue before it must go to a "real" genius. That way you are not tying up sales staff for technical help.
Keep the real Genius (and have more of them) reserved for larger and more time consuming issues and repairs.
Bottom line, everyone in that store should be able to do what needs to be done to address customer issues. (With a cashier being the exception)
While I have never had issues with a Genius or a associate, other then not being able to check out, I still am hacked off by the idea of having to make an appointment just to talk to someone about something pretty simple.
I used to enjoy going to the Apple store to check out new products and 'geek out" with fellow Apple fans. Anymore its just painful to spend any amount of time in those stores. The level of knowledge of the staff has gone down over the years and the passionate people don't ever last long.
milbournosphere
macrumors 6502a
You make a good point. It is true that pay scale should reflect your job skills. That said, a tech help desk job or a retail job dealing with customers is a crappy job. I've worked both types of positions and wouldn't wish it on anybody.
You must have more restraint than I do, because there were many times when I thought (at least half seriously) that I didn't get paid enough for some of the **** that I had to deal with. I was always friendly, respectful, and put on a happy face, but there were times when keeping that smile on my face really tested my patience. I work in a position now that is insulated from the end customer. Yeah, dealing with bosses and some co-workers can be difficult sometimes, but it is nowhere near the difficulty level that a pissed off customer brings to the table.
charlituna
macrumors G3
Actually I doubt it. At least if my local stores are any sign. Because two of them have been doing this for the last 2-3 weeks (I guess they were test stores). And the geniuses love it.
Before, it seems, they were encouraged to focus on one customer at a time and if someone was, for example, restoring a phone that was going to take a half hour, they ended up behind. Now they have manager support to start it, send the customer off to play in the demo zone and take the next person while it works. One of the times I had to go in was for a laptop that needed more than a quick fix and the guy told me that they can't do any hardware repairs that are more than like 10-15 minutes cause all the repair staff comes in at night to work without interruption, which is better for making sure they don't screw up something being rushed. So I signed the paperwork and left it and about 9am the next morning I got the call it was ready to go.
Also on the walk in thing, I wouldn't count on that happening. At least at the stores I know, they only do walk in iphones that are totally bunked. If you can't make and/or receive calls, they will try to fit you in, but it can be up to an hour (I had to wait about 40 minutes myself). Otherwise, it's make an appointment. That said, it seemed like maybe they were holding back one tech until that morning and then turning on 'his' slots so there were same day appointments that could cover some of the walk ins or last minute emergency attempts from home. Which is still better than before.
I've only had to go to the Genius bar 2 or 3 times, all for one issue... an iPod Classic. Wasn't a good experience. Up until that point, I was really digging the Apple Store, and expected a much more pleasant experience.
Even then though, the "genius" multi-tasked on me. Although he did say "do you mind if I help this other person while we wait...?" (I was trying to reproduce some lock-ups on my Classic. So he did ask, but it made me feel like his care or attention was NOT on me and my little ol' Classic.
Even then though, the "genius" multi-tasked on me. Although he did say "do you mind if I help this other person while we wait...?" (I was trying to reproduce some lock-ups on my Classic. So he did ask, but it made me feel like his care or attention was NOT on me and my little ol' Classic.
charlituna
macrumors G3
Given that it's a free appointment and at most 15 minutes long you aren't going to get that much 'quality' anyway. You want that, go to some independent shop that will spend hours just on you and charge you for the privilege.
You might want them to spend 30 minutes with you if that's what you feel it takes but when you are the one that had a 4pm appointment and it's 4:10 and the guy before you won't shut up while his phone is restoring and let the genius talk to you, well you might feel different.
And that's what they are likely trying to prevent. I would imagine that their little survey has gotten more than a few "the kid behind the counter was just standing there chatting while the guy's whatever was doing something that didn't even need the kids attention. He could have been talking to someone else, especially since they were apparently way behind. Why the Frak are they so insistent that we are on time if they are going to be an hour behind. that's bull" and so on.
Will do good
macrumors 6502a
Completely agree. For all the whiners, stop using Apple products. We shall miss you.
PinkyMacGodess
Suspended
Why not hire more 'Geniuses' and stop making the 'stores' so damn small.
Both of the ones that I go to in Detroit are hole-in-the-wall one stall mall slots. Yeah, that many people in that small space? Sometimes the noise is deafening and the elbowing and bumping going on...
They need a B-I-G store in Detroit in the 'burbs... Or a store closer to me that's bigger.
You would think that with all of the issues mall developers have with finding tenants that Apple could get larger stalls and expand the dinky crowded holes they are in currently...
I guess I'll be checking out that 'fast' service soon as my old and almost out of Apple Care 15" MBP has a rather annoying dark spot on the screen that has grown slightly. I also did a hdd upgrade on it. Is that going to be a problem with Apple? Are they going to refuse to replace the screen because it's not quite 'virgin'?
Both of the ones that I go to in Detroit are hole-in-the-wall one stall mall slots. Yeah, that many people in that small space? Sometimes the noise is deafening and the elbowing and bumping going on...
They need a B-I-G store in Detroit in the 'burbs... Or a store closer to me that's bigger.
You would think that with all of the issues mall developers have with finding tenants that Apple could get larger stalls and expand the dinky crowded holes they are in currently...
I guess I'll be checking out that 'fast' service soon as my old and almost out of Apple Care 15" MBP has a rather annoying dark spot on the screen that has grown slightly. I also did a hdd upgrade on it. Is that going to be a problem with Apple? Are they going to refuse to replace the screen because it's not quite 'virgin'?
You don't know how to read corporate speak, do you? This isn't them improving the customer service, this is them trying to streamline the process so they don't have to spend more money on more employees when they are finding they don't have enough employees. The idea behind this is sold as "improving the customer experience" to make it look good to us customers, but it is more about "save money on labor costs".
I bet you dollars to donuts your experience (unless you are just trading off something quick like a broken cord) will get worse, not better.
This sounds like some one who has worked retail, is realistic, and actually has a plan that would work. Unlike Apple's solution which sounds like it comes from higher ups who have never worked a day of retail in their life so have no idea what it really is like (and what customers respond best to).
But those aren't the only changes. Those mostly (least the if something is loading up) sound like good efficiency (that I bet most genius's already practice if they are good at their job).
But what about if you have a detailed question you signed up to get answered, and that genius is also told to answer questions on the side or try to take a similar (but not same) problem as yours at the same time like the article mentions? His attention is now divided, he is going to get distracted between your issue and the other one, and you are going to get distracted as well from your train of thought.
Some things are fine to multi-task with. But they should leave the genius's ability to focus on problems that aren't just replace the cord cause it's obviously broken. The second perosn I responded to had a much better idea, hire more qualified people all around, let the sales people take care of simpler questions, but if it is something that requires more detail, move them up to the genius's and let the genius's actually focus on that problem rather than expect them to help that problem as well as random other things.
charlituna
macrumors G3
From what I have been able to tell over the years, most stores either have a set repair crew or people are assigned a 'bar shift' or 'repair shift' and that's what they are supposed to be doing.
My guess is that the late night/overnight is more an issue of the distractions of phones, folks walking in and out etc. Quiet is best when you want to do something like a computer repair.
I wonder how the Geniuses feel about this 'multitasking' i.e. will it overwork them?
I'd rather Apple introduced multitasking first on something I actually use, like iPad. 😀
I'd rather Apple introduced multitasking first on something I actually use, like iPad. 😀
charlituna
macrumors G3
And you base this comment on your scads of verified statistics that show that the strong majority if not all repairs are due to defects and not due to user errors and lack of knowledge (not all tech appointments are for actual repairs, sometimes it's someone simply needing help doing something)
Of course you do or you wouldn't have said it.
Glideslope
macrumors G3
Agreed. IMO, will degrade service quality simply to move faster. Personnel Time Management MUST be the focus of the effort. They had better have a dam good team to focus on:
Time management
Hourly Schedule
Daily Schedule
Weekly Schedule
Prioritize repair levels
Creating a to-do list
Prioritizing tasks
Managing by exception
If not I may have some new clients. LOL
I was an employee that was a part of the pilot program for this change, and it's unfortunately the reason I no longer work there.
Not because it was a bad thing - the Genius Bar and repair area was never more efficient - we always finished all the repairs we had parts for, and were always looking for extra work to do.
The reason I left is I valued spending time with my family, and didn't want to work until midnight multiple times a week doing repairs. It was definitely good for the store, but not so much for me.
Not because it was a bad thing - the Genius Bar and repair area was never more efficient - we always finished all the repairs we had parts for, and were always looking for extra work to do.
The reason I left is I valued spending time with my family, and didn't want to work until midnight multiple times a week doing repairs. It was definitely good for the store, but not so much for me.
Digital Skunk
macrumors G3
The only thing I think of when I hear, "Improvements to the Genius Bar" are even more BS that the Specialists have to do (and end up getting yelled at for doing) while the Genius Bar goes raving mad.
One of the biggest pet peeves I still have about working for Apple was the terrible way many of the Geniuses and Creatives treated the Specialists. You can set the customer's expectations according to policy, have the Genius fail to meet what the policy states, and it'd be the Specialists fault.
Or these changes would mean the Specialists need to do 75% of the diagnosing before even setting up a Genius Bar appointment that the customer wouldn't be able to make for the next few days.
Pushing the Genius bar to work better means pushing the Specialists twice as much just to support the techs.
I see an epic fail ensuing, one just as large as the useless Concierge position.
I doubt it. ProCare was a good deal a year or more ago. Now it's kinda lost in the sauce.
One of the biggest pet peeves I still have about working for Apple was the terrible way many of the Geniuses and Creatives treated the Specialists. You can set the customer's expectations according to policy, have the Genius fail to meet what the policy states, and it'd be the Specialists fault.
Or these changes would mean the Specialists need to do 75% of the diagnosing before even setting up a Genius Bar appointment that the customer wouldn't be able to make for the next few days.
Pushing the Genius bar to work better means pushing the Specialists twice as much just to support the techs.
I see an epic fail ensuing, one just as large as the useless Concierge position.
I doubt it. ProCare was a good deal a year or more ago. Now it's kinda lost in the sauce.
iWonderwhy
macrumors 6502
Yes, that is ridiculous and is a good example of the main problem with the way Apple handles repairs/warranties/exchanges: Every single issue is lumped together regardless of size, urgency, and the like.
There needs to be some kind of system in place to do quick, easy repairs and an entirely different system to handle large issues such as motherboard failures, etc.
This would get the simple issues out the door, and then more focus could be spent on customers with larger, more pressing issues.
I can completely understand that (I sure wouldn't want to do that either) One way around this is to just schedule several people per store to ONLY to such repairs at night, after the store is closed. Of course, Apple will have to bring on more, qualified people, and it seems like this is exactly what they do not want to do.
if you see 1 genius working on 4 different customers they blew it.
- Steve
Sent from my iPhone