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 Retail Ends Genius Training in Cupertino, Moves to In-Store Web Seminars
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
This actually makes perfect sense in view of the fact that Apple doesn't really, you know, make computers anymore.
Dear MBA type at Apple that made this decision:
The trip was not about training, it was about learning the Apple way of handling customers from the folks at the mother ship. It was also a way to get folks excited about joining the company and becoming evangelists for the brand. This is a classic example of bending over a dollar to pickup a dime.
My only hope is you stay around long enough to see the true costs of this exercise. Of course unless somebody can use the flashy thingy to wipe out most of the nonsense you learned in the MBA program, you'll never get it.
The trip was not about training, it was about learning the Apple way of handling customers from the folks at the mother ship. It was also a way to get folks excited about joining the company and becoming evangelists for the brand. This is a classic example of bending over a dollar to pickup a dime.
My only hope is you stay around long enough to see the true costs of this exercise. Of course unless somebody can use the flashy thingy to wipe out most of the nonsense you learned in the MBA program, you'll never get it.
Yeah, it's part of Apple's (Cook's) "green" initiative meaning more green for Apple. The bean counter had to find a way to pay for Angela's bonuses. Obviously, she's not going to counter the counter.
You're absolutely right...There are a lot of different learning types, and with 7 kids, the humility I've experienced with "Just watch how I do it, and do it that way!" and a kid looking at me like I was Atilla the Hun, and not "getting it."
I was trying to go into the permutations with the mixing, but having a thesis on this page seems a bit much.
I think that's why grandparents are easier. They've seen more on how people learn, and start teaching kids in their best way.
You wont be moving there when Apple finds out youre posting on rumor sites LOL
I think you are missing a simple point. If something works for someone then mission accomplished, can I deconstruct it and present it to the scientific community as fact, who cares, it has already worked for someone
And how are those repairs ------ replacement making thier journey ? Hardly a green initiative when your constantly transporting goods. How much power is wasted recycling or refurbishing these units for minor issues that could be resolved instore.
It has worked well for me in my training courses, just not the rigid, "Click here. Click there. Look for the IP Address. Put the IP address there" for the kinesthetic learners, and a video of someone doing it for the visual ones. I use a more Socratic method of delivering the different four methods handy, and asking those that I'm teaching how things are going, and adjusting as necessary.
It's a two-way process.
The idea is that the video training is sufficient for the items that can actually be fixed in the stores. As for other repairs, each store makes a consolidated shipment of every notebook that came in that day to the repair center.
My question is, do you need those daily shipments of notebooks? The less you transport the smaller the tranport, the better for the environment .
Either way, I think those "geniuses" are being robbed of a great experience , further dividing HQ from retail
I was there roughly the same time frame as you. As a Genius (always hated that moniker) I left because the company was awful. They cared nothing about their employees. It got worse and worse every year. I remember having to cut time out of the week to discount allotted time for the dumb ass meetings they'd force us all to attend. Cheap asses couldn't even pay us overtime for the meetings. I hated that place. Still do. Though I have fond memories of going to Cupertino for training.
"And then there's Support. Apple has really good Support, they're very friendly on the phone, they speak your native language well whatever it may be in your particular Country you're watching from, and they have a 'Customer is right' kind of attitude. With HP just like Dell and the other Companies, you know, people are not so well trained, they might have accents you find difficult to work with, and they're not usually trained to say 'You're Right', they think they're right most of the time. So, you've got to convince them when your having a problem."
Lisa's concluding comments above are from a "Smackdown" comparison featuring HP's very fine example of increasing competition for Apple out there. Please do be careful,
Apple. Enough said!
13" MacBook Pro vs. HP Spectre x360 Late 2016 Smackdown. "Lisa Gade, MobileTechReview Nov. 2016.
Lisa's concluding comments above are from a "Smackdown" comparison featuring HP's very fine example of increasing competition for Apple out there. Please do be careful,
Apple. Enough said!
Last edited:
I have ben to a number of countries around the world, and where I can I find a local "Apple Store" and get my picture taken outside of it. I have only bought items from them about twice (not including the store at 1 infinite loop where I bought t-*****, coffee mugs, caps, pens, etc etc), once at Grand Central in NYC and once in Sydney Australia oh and my 12" G4 laptop from Soho NYC with a RAM upgrade installed, Now days there is nothing there I want. I can buy all those items online, or locally or get 3rd party stuff from multiple sources cheaper.
I have sat inside them, used the wifi at most of them, especially for doing system updates while overseas (Vegas, Paris, London, Hong Kong, Sydney).
I used to go to the stores to buy software, but I can do that on the App Store or from 3rd parties as you no longer get physical media anyway.
The USEFUL thing is buying extended warranties in the USA from the store, they are MUCH cheaper (less than 1/2 the price) of buying them locally, I have a friend who does that, photographs the card and emails me the registration code. I only do this for hardware I import (mac Mini, iPad) as locally the local consumer guarantee is far superior anyway.
Makes sense if they're phasing out the Mac.
Let's be honest. They're phasing out the Mac.
It's time to stop pretending this isn't happening. The Mac Pro is nearly five years old. The 5K iMac was last updated in October 2015 with a spec bump. Even the friggin 4K iMac STILL only ships with a 5400rpm drive.
Nothing would make me happier than to be proven wrong. Prove me wrong, Apple!
Let's be honest. They're phasing out the Mac.
It's time to stop pretending this isn't happening. The Mac Pro is nearly five years old. The 5K iMac was last updated in October 2015 with a spec bump. Even the friggin 4K iMac STILL only ships with a 5400rpm drive.
Nothing would make me happier than to be proven wrong. Prove me wrong, Apple!
I see. So me noting the environmental impact sending people cross country for training means I don't actually care about it. Hmm. Interesting logic you have there. And not sure what I may have said in the past that would indicate I don't care about the environmental impact of decisions. I'm sure you will tell me since you are as you say... judge, and I'm guessing jury too.
[doublepost=1489092068][/doublepost]
That is my point. If someone like me with no technical training can figure out how to disassemble a PowerBook from a how-to manual or video then anyone can. The difference between a Genius and anyone else interested in computer repair is that the Genius is an Apple employee. Geniuses don't need physical hardware to learn how to disassemble or reassemble. A well illustrated and written manual or video can do that easily. Again, we are talking about consumer devices not rocket ships. This isn't NASA level repair.
Last edited:
""This means that many customers who check their computers in for repair may have their device serviced by someone who has never physically worked on their model of computer before," said a person familiar with the matter. "
Typical. Short sighted opportunity to save a few dollars... for the richest company on the planet.
[doublepost=1489092972][/doublepost]
One could come up with a dozen "reasons," but the bottom line is that the customer misses out on a certain level of expected experience, and the Genius misses out on the bonding opportunities and improved training at headquarters.
I pay $599 per year to be part of the Joint Venture program, which gets me first in line to see a Genius. The last thing I want to hear when I get a dead MacBook Pro up to the bar is "oh, I've never actually opened one up before, but I saw video about that...."
Next iteration: DIY using YouTube videos and the parts FedEx'd to your office directly from China.
Typical. Short sighted opportunity to save a few dollars... for the richest company on the planet.
[doublepost=1489092972][/doublepost]
One could come up with a dozen "reasons," but the bottom line is that the customer misses out on a certain level of expected experience, and the Genius misses out on the bonding opportunities and improved training at headquarters.
I pay $599 per year to be part of the Joint Venture program, which gets me first in line to see a Genius. The last thing I want to hear when I get a dead MacBook Pro up to the bar is "oh, I've never actually opened one up before, but I saw video about that...."
Next iteration: DIY using YouTube videos and the parts FedEx'd to your office directly from China.
Makes sense. Employee satisfaction (and consequently their performance as professional and representative for the brand) as well as qualifications, customer satisfaction in retail and so on are all KPIs which are very hard to see in a fancy, executive-level controlling dashboard.
Expenses and assumed ROI on training, however, are very easy to extract and display. Go figure.
Also, why repair? Just throw it all away, all Apple products aren't designed to be repaired anyway.
The majority of the work is most likely on their precious iPhone anyways, so if the tiny demographic that still uses these horrid... what are they called again... Mac? machines is not happy with the service because someone with a lack of training messes something up, they could just go somewhere else. /s
But in the end, stock prices will go up, Tim did a good job and those who matter (shareholders) are happy.
Expenses and assumed ROI on training, however, are very easy to extract and display. Go figure.
Also, why repair? Just throw it all away, all Apple products aren't designed to be repaired anyway.
The majority of the work is most likely on their precious iPhone anyways, so if the tiny demographic that still uses these horrid... what are they called again... Mac? machines is not happy with the service because someone with a lack of training messes something up, they could just go somewhere else. /s
But in the end, stock prices will go up, Tim did a good job and those who matter (shareholders) are happy.
Lol... "ends genius training"
Did not know genius is a trainable skill ...
Just having fun with this... nevertheless. I think the use of that moniker at the stores is silly .
Just like the use of the word PRO in the recent years.
Did not know genius is a trainable skill ...
Just having fun with this... nevertheless. I think the use of that moniker at the stores is silly .
Just like the use of the word PRO in the recent years.
