So I went to Apple Store today to buy myself my NEW iBook

[wako]

I'm very sorry to hear about the way you were treated. The PowerBook will certainly be something that you will enjoy. Hopefully you were there on an off day. I would recommend that you speak with the manager about your situation though. That is the only way that improvements can occur.

I was REALLY wanting to actually. Its not the first time where I had encountered these idiots. I have been there before and they did tell me some random BS. No matter, Im glad I been lingering around here for sometime to learn a few things before I went to the storem or else I would have been lied to buy something much more expensive that I would actually need.

Only problem about complaining is that I didnt get the guy's name. He wasnt wearing his nametag. That is the only reason why I got held back.

 

[PrOeliuM]

I had a decent experience at the only Mac store I've been to (Atlanta, where I bought my powerbook 12inch), but I did have to wait around for like 20 minutes before one of the guys that worked there ran out of girls with ipod problems to talk to so he came to me (after my parents came into the store). One of the things that annoys me concerning lots of retail places is this type of behavior. For instance, I'm 21 but some of my friends say I look kind of young like 18 or so and I don't really dress up to go shopping, so if I'm in a store like an Apple store or a Best Buy it seems like the salespeople just think I'm some kid playing with the toys instead of a legitimate consumer with the finances to actually purchase something if I want to. In this case it seemed like the guy saw my older parents and decided that they would be the ones doing the spending that day so he should come over. Sorry to rant, but stuff like that bugs me and it seems this is the place to get out people's apple store frustrations.

I will do all my Apple shopping online from now on.

Despite my experience I will only do my shopping at Apple stores because my first powerbook they brought out to me was a DOA (screen wouldn't turn on at ALL) and the included OSX DVD's were of Panther (not Tiger as it should have been) so after buying the first one I tested it in store and showed them and they quickly apologized and brought me a new one which worked. Had that problem happened to me with a shipped-to-my-house mac it would have been painfully frustrating to send it back and wait for a new one or to drive to the closest apple store 3 hours away.

 

[Mood]

they're getting paid minimum wage, what can you expect? if our companies paid them more instead of what is "efficiently" priced, or fire them every 5-10 years after they become a manager, then maybe their service would be better.

it's not like you're going to Soho to buy Versace.

 

[amin]

Congrats on your new Powerbook. Got mine two weeks ago =].

As for your treatment, I've had a much better experience at my local store in Towson, MD, where the Apple Store employees seem extremely knowledgeable.

 

[ReanimationLP]

Sorry to hear about the shotty service.

The Apple store in Towson was really knowledgeable and very nice to me and my mother on Tiger night. They even offered her some water and a chair to sit down on (shes handicapped)

 

[andiwm2003]

i also have to say you get a lot more information on this board than from an apple store sales guy. they told me the dual G5 2.3 GHz is watercooled, couldn't start pages and told me that all the core video filters are available in all programs already. when they couldn't find the filters in any program they said oh just install the developer tools and they will be there.
i have no idea which of the above is true and what is BS but i guess most is BS.

the genius guys on the other hand are really great. at least apples products are so good that the sales people don't matter anyway.

andi

 

[macmanmatty]

i also have to say you get a lot more information on this board than from an apple store sales guy. they told me the dual G5 2.3 GHz is watercooled, couldn't start pages and told me that all the core video filters are available in all programs already. when they couldn't find the filters in any program they said oh just install the developer tools and they will be there.
i have no idea which of the above is true and what is BS but i guess most is BS.

the genius guys on the other hand are really great. at least apples products are so good that the sales people don't matter anyway.

andi

All of it B.S. the dual 2.3 is not liquid cooled (only the 2.7 is), and developer tools have nothing to do with video filters. The rest makes no sense to me, start pages?

 

[FFTT]

The Tyson's AppleStore has a few really nice people working there and a few that are a bit too full of themselves.

I was dropping by every few weeks or so trying to make up my mind while waiting for the last PowerMac update.

This one grumpy old guy there hated to see me talking with other customers and actually asked me not to help one nice old couple that had a few questions while they were waiting for help.

I told the store manager that his employee just blew
a guaranteed PowerMac sale by being so rude to me.

I haven't been back since then and I'm glad that
I placed my order through Apple Education over the phone.

 

[Jschultz]

hey wako what best buy store you work at?? Do you sell computers?? I used to work at store 475 Brick NJ. Next week im moving to north carolina and im working at store 387 Wilmington NC. When i first started working at Brick we were one of the worst Computer departments in the company. As of yesterday we were 1, 1, and 24. Im pretty proud of that . Anyway
Best Buy can hire some pretty stupid people too. And in the next year Best Buy is gonna be alot more like an Apple Store as far as how interactive the store will be set up. Anyway im getting my 12" powerbook tomarrow, CANT WAIT!!!

I think you may be mistaken. 387 is here in the Chicagoland area, as I used to work there. It actually resides in Geneva IL.

But whoo! on the new Powerbook. I was all set on an iBook but ordered the the powerbook instead. Go figure!

 

[wako]

the genius guys on the other hand are really great.

If mean that they know what they are doing, I agree. Out of the whole freakin store, the only time I found someone knowledgeable are definately the geniuses. Everyone seems absolutely CLUELESS when Im talking about something technical. Its kind of sad.


As for the person saying "their getting paid minimum wage." Good point. But I still think Apple should find people are still more "qualified" to work there. Almost everytime I go there, the people I talk to seem to know the extreme bare minimum to get by. Don't they train them?! Maybe every single time I need something I should just make an appointment with the geniuses....

 

[GoCubsGo]

I had a similar experience in the Mission Viejo Apple Store. I never returned which is a shame because I would like to, but I can't stand stupid computer sales people. I assumed that it would be good. As for Best Buy. I get worse CS at BB. Their "geek squad" is full of crap and more importantly, nothing is ever personal at BB. If anything it is impersonal.

 

[smurphur]

they're getting paid minimum wage, what can you expect? if our companies paid them more instead of what is "efficiently" priced, or fire them every 5-10 years after they become a manager, then maybe their service would be better.

it's not like you're going to Soho to buy Versace.

hehe, what we expect is to get proper, friendly, and honest service when entering a store. You are right though, we are not going to Soho to buy Vesace... we are about to spend anywhere from $1000-$3000 on a computer that this guy makes commision off of (Apple computers actually cost more than a lot of Vesace accessories and clothing -- so that example doesn't seem fitting to go along with your point). Anway.... the point is just because you get paid minimum wage doesn't give you an excuse to perform poorly at your job.

 

[MacHarne]

Your BestBuy is most certainly the exception. I've been to ::counting:: 7 just in VA and have been approached by some very poorly trained and uninformed individuals. Further, when I really do have a question, it seems I always pick the pretentious one. Quite in truth, the only BestBuy blue-shirts I've had a good time talking to are the ones that I know, friends that I know from elsewhere.

I would have to say that my BestBuy and Apple Store experiences are very often the reverse of what you described. But big congrats on that PowerBook.

 

[tikibangout]

At my Apple store the employees were pretty dick. They thought they knew everything. Luckily my brothers friend works there and was there to help me out when we went so I didn't have to bother with the other ignoramuses.

 

[iGary]

Did I offend you or something? Seems like you are getting a bit defensive...

You might have been there before, its the one at Bethesda in Montgomery Mall (in Maryland of course)

Anyways though I bought many computers in my short life (18) and at CompUSA, Circuit City, and BBY I always recieved the same service procedures. I figured Apple who seems very focused on their customers would do the same in their stores. Thats all.

Im sure people have recieved better service then me, maybe it was just my luck.

I can really careless though, Im still definately going to return to the same store when I decide to buy AppleCare.

As for what BBY store I work at, I work at BBY 288 in Gaithersburg, MD. Im leaving though. I don't actually work at the computer department but the general way to sell things is to follow the customer throughout their "experience." My store is far from being on the top charts in the company, but then again we are transitioning out of being a labstore right now.

Again Im not saying that Apple store are bad, I just had a bad experience and I know that does not reflect all the stores. Since I only talked to one employee I doubt it really reflects the whole store.


Despite all this, I am really enjoying my new system. I had really thought originally the 12'' PowerBook would be too small and was thinking whether I should get the 14'' iBook or the 15'' PowerBook. Im very happy I didnt go down that path. It would suck to have to carry those mammoths between classes next year

One complaint is, IM ENTIRELY CLUELESS OF WHAT IM DOING right now. Mmm good thing I still have another two weeks to play with this thing before I leave. Hopefully by then I will know what Im doing.

Oh and what region code should I put iDVD on? I live in the US. Also how do i eject a DVD without opening up iDVD?

No, not defensive at all, most of the Best Buys in this area are staffed by kids who now jack squat about anything, much less where it is located. It took me 30 minutes to find out they didn't have a color laser printer in stock last week, so I ordered it online, and it's been "backordered" indefinitely. It took me about 30 minutes to buy an iPod shuffle as a gift last week because it was locked up, the supervisor was out back behind the dumpster smoking a joint or something, and then the kid couldn't unlock the register so he walked me over to the computer checkout where the guy tried for 5 minutes to get me to buy a warranty. Sorry, just never been pleased with the Chinese fire drill at the Best Buys in my area.

I'm glad you are enjoying your PB, and I'm seriously sorry you had a bad experience. The Apple Store in Clarendon sucks particularly bad, so I know what you are talking about.

 

[nms]

On a particular trip to the apple store in regent street i noticed that the security have almost exactly the same outifts as the employees! i ended up spouting all this spiel about my iPod an he let me finish before going "sorry, mate, i don't work here, i'm just security", ignored my humble apologies and waddled off. the only thing i noticed was different was his huge walkie-talkie.....damn.

 

[WeeShoo]

Sorry to hear that those guy's were idiot's, hopefully they will be fired, or something like that because behavior like that is unacceptable.

 

[chaosbunny]

I actually have had some terrible experiences at apple stores. It all started 4 1/2 years ago when I bought my G4 Cube and a Studio Display as my first mac. It was before the last term of graphic design college and I desperately wanted a mac at home to work for my diplom. The first day I had my Cube I was so happy finally getting rid of windows. But in the evening it suddenly shut down and did not react anymore. Next day at the store we found out that it was only the power supply unit that broke (the box between the power plug and the cube). They had new ones there, but refused to give me one and said I had to bring it myself to their support company. There they told my I'd get a new one within 2 days. It actually took 3 weeks! And they didn't even bother calling me!

My next mac was a 12" Powerbook a little more than 2 years ago. With that, everything was fine. But this winter I asked at the store if I could use that notebook with a 20" cinema display, and they said yes, of course. Ordered one and when it arrived I found out that, of course I can't because the rev A 12" pbs don't have dvi. The trouble I had returning it!

I ended up selling the 12" and getting a 15" pb.

2 months ago a friend of mine wanted an iMac. At the apple store they said they would give him a rev A cheaper since the rev Bs just came out. They promised to upgrade the hd and to give him 512 mb ram in one slot though. At home I wanted to help him setting up his machine, but none of the promised features where there. We gave it back and he had to wait 6 weeks for his computer, although he had already payed.

Maybe it's just that way in austria, but to me apple are excellent computers, but bad service at the store.

 

[AstrosFan]

Wako,
First & foremost, congratulations on getting the PowerBook! I think you'll be extremely pleased with your purchase - spend as much time playing with it now that you have free time.
At least for me, there were several resources I used to help me become more familiar with my PB/OS X.
The first (& probably most important) is this website - there is a TON of information here throughout the forums.
Also, I personally find MacWorld a useful mag - there are several threads with opinions on magazines. It's probably worth checking out.

Lastly, sorry to hear about your poor Apple store experience, as well as the other poor experiences echoed throughout this thread.
My primary Apple store experience is with the Houston, TX, Galleria store - I can say that the folks there have been excellent. The majority of salespeople are knowledgeable, and when I have asked questions they couldn't answer, they have been quick to acknowledge that & get someone else who could answer it.
As you said, it is a heterogeneous experience dependent on the exact employee you deal with.

Best wishes with your new PB - congrats again!

 

[Zman5225]

I've had a good experience in the Apple stores i've been to. One gentleman saw me looking at the powerbooks and comparing them to the iBooks and he came over and showed me some of the "feature" differences of the two and explained why the powerbook was more. He then showed me some of the accessories available for the notebooks and told me about the finance program they were running and said feel free to browse around. He stuck close to me though as I continued to look around the store just in case I had any questions which sorta felt stalkerish but it helped me a few times lol.

As for BestBuy, I use it as a window shopping experience as I normally have to help myself there as I find that store to be filled with some of the worst people in retail i've ever met. I can't believe they would ever hire some of those kids and then let them run rampart with no knowledge of the products they are selling.

So maybe your BB is an exception.

Jack

 

[mpopkin]

hey
from my experience and i have shopped at about 12 different best buys is that i have only met 1, as in a single person, who knows what they are talking about, in fact all they care about is getting you to buy the product, once just because i was in the mood to look at a digital camera because i am a tech geek , i asked the salesman to help me and i asked about which camera was the best made and best quality, and he went ahead telling all the facts about this hp camera and tried to tie its quality in with the ease of use when buying one of their specialized photo printers, first off, hp is bottom rung as far as photo quality and camera build goes(canon is top rung) and why waste money, he was just reading out of a book, i wanted personal opinions and such, he just wanted to peddle off the most expensive item. I have shopped at four apple stores(beacon hill and cambridgeside in Boston, SOHO in new york and Streets Of Southpoint in NC, dont ask i just get around, family and school and stuff) and each time i have had a good experience, while it is often hard to find a free apple sales rep, they are knowledgable, always have been willing to help and are able to answer a lot, if not all of my questions, even if i know the answers and just want a personal opinion, some even take the time out to tell you what they have and why they do what they do. all in all, the apple store sales reps are more personal, knowledgable and while i have only shopped in these few apple stores, they have been most helpful most of the time.

 

[Chef Medeski]

He ended up by a powerbook. I don't understand why computer stores of any kind (whether it be best buy or apple store), hire people who next to nothing about the things they're selling. Now I understand that many people who work there do in fact know what they're talking about, but come on! I would love to work there, and I know much MUCH more than him, and I'm just getting my first mac!

Just sounds like whoever's hiring people at that specific apple store needs to be alot more thorough. But hey, congrats on the new mac!

Its because they don't pay them off commission like normal sales man. If they were paid with commission then they would have to know soemthing or else no one would buy from them. Just like how it is at a auto dealerhip although often you only get good knowledge base at more luxurious dealerships where they get a bigger cut.

 

[Gmac07]

as for the person that said they worked at Best Buy 387, sorry i mixed it up, Wilmington NC is store 378. Anyway as far as Best Buy sales people, I'll be the first to tell you that they hire pretty stupid people who dont care about giving you good customer service. Ive had to clean up other employee screw ups countless times. But over the past year my old store has had pretty good leadership and has trained new employees pretty good. In matter of fact i trained every single person thats working in the computer department MYSELF. All retail stores will have complaints but that Brick NJ store has been receiving some of the best loyalty scores in the company. But as far as all these retail horror stories, HEY every single store in every company has them. I received some pretty bad service at the Menlo Park store in Edison, but hey i knew thats the way this business is.

 

[Gmac07]

Also do Apple sales employees make commision???? Because the kid i was talking to said they dont. Not only that he was trying to downsell me from a powerbook to an ibook. So i was under the impression they just had an hourly wage.

 

[dotdotdot]

Yeah, the Apple store's employees really are quite dumb, aren't they? But, unlike your story, whenever in a crowded store, they ALWAYS approach me and my parent.

However, the Apple Geniuses are all very smart. Guess thats why they're called "Geniuses."

In my life I have met NO smart Apple employees. Some really stupid ones, actually, that don't fully listen to you.