CompUSA/Apple rep contridicts the fourm?

[5r'driver]

I was in CompUSA on Suday. The Apple rep was there and he told me the Titanium case on PB was the new one that replaces the old Aluminum case.

From reading this forum I thought it was the oposite. I thought the AlPB was the new one?

Maybe I'm just on information overload, but someone please come back with the simple answer.

 

[Counterfit]

Nope, s/he mixed up. I can guarantee that the new ones are aluminum.

 

[oingoboingo]

I was in CompUSA on Suday. The Apple rep was there and he told me the Titanium case on PB was the new one that replaces the old Aluminum case.

From reading this forum I thought it was the oposite. I thought the AlPB was the new one?

Maybe I'm just on information overload, but someone please come back with the simple answer.

It's not just this forum that says aluminium:

www.apple.com/powerbook

"Housed in a sleek, lightweight aluminum alloy enclosure, the PowerBook G4 is resistant to stains and scratches."

 

[5r'driver]

Thank you very much. I thought it very strange that an Apple employee was telling me this and inisting that I was mistaken.

Told me how the "Old wireless reception problems (I asked about) were in the old Aluminum casing and that all the problems were now history with the NEW Titanium casing".

My O' My he needs to go back to Apple school

 

[kuyu]

I've had similar experiences in my local CompUSA. Their Apple reps know d!@k about Mac's. I think they push them because they get a big commission. They always neglect to mention that I get ~15% off on the online Apple store cause I'm a student, and want me to open a credit card and buy the new "5G and a huge monitor... Zero percent for a year!!!" For the last time compUSA employees, IT'S CALLED A G5. AHHH!!!

I guess anyone who knows about mac's works in the repair bay, not the sales floor.

One guy actually told me that a G3 ibook would barely run iTunes!!! "The G3 processor doesn't handle multimedia very well... Have you seen the vastly more expensive, and thus higher commisioned powerbooks?"

 

[Koodauw]

LOL, I don't know if the Apple Reps commissioned or not, but I've had problems too.

I went in search of an Airport Extreme a while back, and CompUSA only carries the higher priced of the two. The Apple rep told it was cause only the higer priced had Dial-up support, and USB printing. The later part was completely wrong, and I asked him if he sure. "Yup, that why it is higher priced, Dial-up alone wouldn't be worth the price jump."

Anyways, you would think they would get some people who actually know what they are doing in a job like that. Apple has such a strong following, I would think there would be lots of people in want of a job like that. Someone very passionate about it.

 

[Horrortaxi]

Just because they work there doesn't mean they know anything. That's a sad fact, but it is a fact. More than once I've taken the pressure off a Comp USA employee by answering a customer's Apple questions. Basic questions like "can I do so and so with this?" "what do I need to buy to do that?" Simple stuff that the employee just couldn't grasp. The Apple Store isn't necessarily any better, but you do stand a better chance of getting your question answered decently.

 

[Sayer]

Title misleading

To say Apple Reps in CompUSA are "Apple employees" is misleading. These are most likely ordinary redshirts who decide to get a job pushing Apple computers (and AppleCare) for whatever reason. Very few seem to be genuine Apple enthusiasts or users of any technical prowess (if they were, they'd be certified techs not sales people).

They technically work for Apple, but so did I on several occasions during Demo Days. I was not really an Apple "employee" though, I was merely representing Apple in the CompUSA and got paid by MarketSource on Apple's behalf, kinda like a temp agency gig.

The Apple Reps may get some kind of training, but they may start out being total Windows/Linux PC bigots. Garbage in, garbage out.

And yes I did "sell" some Macs. Of course not working for CompUSA I had to hand off the sales to a redshirt, who were literally grappling each other for the credit (and SPIFs). I witnessed firsthand the "hard sell" of CompUSA warranties, more points for the redshirt.

I even had one redshirt come over from the Windows side and tell a potential Mac computer buyer that "MACS" are bad because they can't run Linux, and the redshirt helpfully told the clueless consumer which distro he ran at home as if the customer even knew what Linux was. BRAVO!

I quickly changed the focus of the conversation and made a new Mac user. Morons. Apparently simply reading Slashdot or managing to install Redhat on a PeeCee does not actually make you any smarter, based on my personal experience.

If you get a bad Apple Rep, politely correct them or just smile and nod approvingly and get your stuff and get out. Maybe they will learn, but more likely they will quit and go work at Circuit City or BestBuy where there are no eeeeeevil MAC computers that can't run Linux or do any real work.

 

[kgarner]

Speaking as someone who works (part-time) at CompUSA I would just like to clarify a few points. There are two different types of people working in the Apple section. 1. the Apple Rep: someone employed by Apple and come in to educate a the other salesman and help them sell more Macs. And 2. the CompUSA salesman: noted by they're red shirt. The salesman are, admittedly, usually clueless and will say dumb stuff to make it sound like they know a lot. The Reps should know better, but are still blind in a lot of areas. They are essential salesman (i.e. not experts) with more specialized training. They do not have the same level of knowledge as the Apple Genius guys. Please make sure you assign blame to the proper party (not saying the previous posters haven't done so, just a pet peeve of mine), and have some realistic expectations as to what they may or may not know (another pet peeve).

 

[5r'driver]

Just to clarify. The rep I speak of was a "Rep" because I left the store and came back waiting for him to get there. "He comes in sometime on Sunday, not sure when".

I did have a long chat with a redshirt who actually turned out to be somewhat more helpful than the mac rep. But I went in there to get a close up look and comparison between the ibook and the PB, and they both refused to respond to questions about the ibook. Just dismissed it. Wanted to sell me that big 17" PB.

When I mentioned speakers. They both took me over to the "speaker section" and turned on these awful speakers that they called "awesome". Yeah, if all you want is base!

Funny neither one every mentioned "Applecare", but the rep kept including .Mac in with the prices. Never once mentioning what it was. Little did he know I knew, because I've been reading the forums.

It was a "wacky" experience but what really got me was that rep trying to tell me the Titanium was the newest PB and how superior it was over the "old aluminum model".

 

[g4cubed]

The Reps should know better, but are still blind in a lot of areas. They are essential salesman (i.e. not experts) with more specialized training. They do not have the same level of knowledge as the Apple Genius guys.

Wait a minute!!! An Apple Rep NEEDS to know better. If this guy was a Rep then he should be fired. Come on now, how long has the aluminium case been on the market. There is NO GOOD reason he should have not known this. Further more, as a sales person it's their job to know this stuff. How would you like to buy a car and the salesman saying it has brand new technology in it. Fuel injection. Wouldn't you be a little worried. Would you still buy?
This just isn't CompUSA but everywhere anymore. It's not everyone but it's getting worse.