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Apple Store/Genius Bar What's the deal. . . . .

P

Pauly 6 String

macrumors member
Original poster
May 3, 2015
31
0
with the ridiculous amount of appointments? Looking to take a MacBook Pro in and first available appointment is Saturday at 4:30. It is 1pm on Wednesday.

I believe the Apple Store support experience is fantastic and many companies are left in the dust when it comes to supporting their products. BUT, is Apple producing such junk that it is overwhelming its stores with support issues? What else could it be?

I had an iPhone 5 that required 3 replacements in a year and a half. Power button, battery, SIM issue. Still wanted to stick with Apple in spite of that. I see lots of sales going on in the store but see plenty of support issues as well.

Your thoughts?

Thanks
 
D.T. said:
I have a suspicion that many of the appointments are due to an IO problem.
Click to expand...

Not sure what that means. I have used the Apple Store app as that seems to be the only way to go straight to making an appointment.
 
Mac appointments are rarer because you need a full fledged Genius to have a look. A lot of the staff that work in the "Family Room" (back half of the store where you get product support) aren't Geniuses but "Family Room Specialists". The former are properly trained technicians who can work on your Mac, the latter being only trained to work on iOS devices.

Why Apple simply can't train more FRSs to become Geniuses is a mystery, there is definitely demand for it, and I'm sure employees would be psyched to take on a more technical, higher paying role, but there you go.

An appointment 3 days away is actually not too bad, usually my local store can't book anyone a week in advance, and even then they only have a handful of appointments.
 
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Pauly 6 String said:
Not sure what that means. I have used the Apple Store app as that seems to be the only way to go straight to making an appointment.
Click to expand...

Input, output? Some people, possibly many people go there due to not understanding how the product works or are not familiar with an at home solution. Last time I was there, was telling a lady how she should back up her photos with Time Machine. She had no clue... The MacOS and iOS are wonderful, but I think most customers operate them on a kindergarten level. The Genius Bar is a genius idea, and a free resource Apple customers readily make use of. I love the Genius Bar, technicians trained to deal exclusively with Apple hardware and software.

Regarding MacOS and iOS devices, we've owned a string of them, and overall have had few issues. We had one iPad replaced. My 2011 MBP, has had the hard drive and motherboard replaced on Apple's dime. The motherboard was after the unit was out of warranty but was subject to an Apple quality program. Also had my previous MBP's motherboard replaced at Apple's expense. They can afford it and this is the kind of customer service that keeps customers like me coming back. It would be interesting to know how PC hardware holds up in this regard, and what is involved in getting it fixed? Does the MS Store offer this kind of service, no? ;)
 
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I've been frustrated with this myself. Even in Boston with multiple stores around, it takes 3-4 days just to get an iPhone appointment. Then when you go in, you still have to wait 30+ minutes to be seen.

You always get stuck behind the person fighting with the genius about something that is the customers fault. You left the phone out in the rain. You cracked it. You didn't back up to iCloud or your computer, there's no way to retrieve your data. A 5 minute appointment turns into a 45 minute redundant argument.

The last time I went in a guy hadn't backed up his data and physically broke his phone. He was arguing with the genius and eventually became very rude. Finally, someone else waiting told the guy to **** and accept the reality his phone was dead and would have to pay $200 for a new phone.
 
Tsuchiya said:
Mac appointments are rarer because you need a full fledged Genius to have a look. A lot of the staff that work in the "Family Room" (back half of the store where you get product support) aren't Geniuses but "Family Room Specialists". The former are properly trained technicians who can work on your Mac, the latter being only trained to work on iOS devices.

Why Apple simply can't train more FRSs to become Geniuses is a mystery, there is definitely demand for it, and I'm sure employees would be psyched to take on a more technical, higher paying role, but there you go.

An appointment 3 days away is actually not too bad, usually my local store can't book anyone a week in advance, and even then they only have a handful of appointments.
Click to expand...

Are any Apple Mac technicians "geniuses"? Perhaps there are a few but it's probably much less than the sum of them all. But notice what Apple has managed to do to get people to call their technicians under a generic and sanitized moniker of "genius". They've manipulated us very well.
 
dogslobber said:
Are any Apple Mac technicians "geniuses"? Perhaps there are a few but it's probably much less than the sum of them all. But notice what Apple has managed to do to get people to call their technicians under a generic and sanitized moniker of "genius". They've manipulated us very well.
Click to expand...
I think most consumers understand that it's a job title and not a description of the person helping them.

You know, like how folks know you're really not dog slober that's somehow learned how to connect to the Internet and post on forums.
 
Pauly 6 String said:
BUT, is Apple producing such junk that it is overwhelming its stores with support issues? What else could it be?
Click to expand...
IMO, Apple every year Apple sells more Macs and iDevices than it sold the year before.

Even if the defect % stays the same, with the volume of devices being sold increasing, the number of devices with a defect would also increase, no?

Also, as mentioned, many appts involve user training issues, and not defective equipment.

Can't you always opt to call AppleCare and ship your machine in (at least for notebooks)?
 
dogslobber said:
Are any Apple Mac technicians "geniuses"? Perhaps there are a few but it's probably much less than the sum of them all. But notice what Apple has managed to do to get people to call their technicians under a generic and sanitized moniker of "genius". They've manipulated us very well.
Click to expand...

We're moving away from the point of the post :p
 
To everyone moaning have you tried getting this kind of service from Microsoft, Samsung or any other vendor? If you want crappy service try another company.

Two companies I will never fault for their service is Apple and Costco. Both put others to shame.
 
A.Goldberg said:
I've been frustrated with this myself. Even in Boston with multiple stores around, it takes 3-4 days just to get an iPhone appointment. Then when you go in, you still have to wait 30+ minutes to be seen.
Click to expand...
Sounds like the Cambridge and Boylston Street stores. I just go to Chestnut Hill at the later times. It's usually dead by then.
 
AutoUnion39 said:
Sounds like the Cambridge and Boylston Street stores. I just go to Chestnut Hill at the later times. It's usually dead by then.
Click to expand...

I've never gone to Chesnut Hill when that shoebox of a store hasn't been packed. I look forward to the opening of the new store a couple stores away. It looks like it will be 2-3x larger.
 
A.Goldberg said:
I've never gone to Chesnut Hill when that shoebox of a store hasn't been packed. I look forward to the opening of the new store a couple stores away. It looks like it will be 2-3x larger.
Click to expand...
Didn't know they were opening a bigger one. It is too small.

Also, the one in Legacy Place (Dedham) is pretty tiny too.
 
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