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Brian Clifford

macrumors regular
Oct 23, 2016
127
78
Very few "Genius Bars" here in my home Country, or I suspect many others Countries. :( In fact, we have very few Apple Stores nationwide. In my local City we can boast an Apple Manufacturing plant, but curiously only one Apple Authorized Re-seller. More Apple Stores including "Genius Bars" would be a very welcome arrival in my opinion. I can see how they would be invaluable after an owner's Apple Care has expired on their device. ;)
 
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Bostic

macrumors newbie
Feb 16, 2017
22
8
If you have a Joint Venture account, it's very handy. Get into work at 7am, user has issue with their Macbook Pro. Use Joint Venture to schedule a Genius Bar appointment that morning right at 10am when the store opens. Show up at store at 9:58am with the sick laptop. Cut in front of everyone after you tell the Apple worker you have a Joint Venture appointment. It tends to steam the others already in line but membership has its perks.
 

StyxMaker

macrumors 68020
Mar 14, 2010
2,043
649
Inside my head.
I'm not surprised by the name. Genuis is a description is that is over used these days. It has lost its meaning. If a millennial were in the room, they woud have called it the Awesome Bar.

I think a saw one of those in the snack isle at the grocery store. Awesome is even more over/mis used than genius. Remember awesome and awful are, essentially, the same word. They both mean 'filled with awe' but have come to be used with opposite meanings.
 

TomaxXamot

macrumors 6502
Jan 15, 2009
312
344
Vancouver, BC
Hate the name but for marketing I could see it's catchy. Was at a store getting a display fixed over the weekend and heard "just a minute and a genius will be right with you." Wanted to give a MEGA eye roll. A genius? Really, I'm going to meet a genius now? Come on.

Reminds me of Sandwich Artist at Subway and Happiness Expert at a Canadian payday loans company called Mogo.
 

Defthand

macrumors 65816
Sep 1, 2010
1,351
1,712
But I really hope they'll get someone back who loves technology and is passionate about it. Tim should be doing what he did under jobs, he is good at bean counting. But we need a passionate tech lover to show us the way to the future.

Yes, it would be great to re-experience meaningful uses of technology. But as I’ve noted before, the majority of Apple’s customers are consumers. They seldom create anything inspirational, useful or entertaining with Apple’s products (Well, maybe an occasional photo worthy of sharing). Apple seldom mentions iWorks, GarageBand, or iMovie anymore because customers aren’t interested. They want a front-facing camera for selfies, messaging, and games.

If their needs didn’t distract Apple from engaging the makers of this world, I wouldn’t care. After all, their money keeps Apple solvent. Yet, Apple isn’t using much of its profits to improve or promote its products for productivity and creativity—the patent applications are evidence of that.

Eventually, another tech company will exploit the situation. It occurred to me that Adobe would be a great brand to partner with a PC manufacturer to create an OS and hardware specifically for so-called creative pros.
 
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Glideslope

macrumors 604
Dec 7, 2007
7,887
5,326
The Adirondacks.
You don't need to be a genius to read off of a check sheet.

How true. It's mostly plug in and the Diagnostic Software does the rest. Many in here are Apple Geniuses and do not even know it. The true purpose of the Genius is to rule in or out malicious treatment of the device to void the warranty. ;)
 

xavi_db7

macrumors newbie
Feb 18, 2016
4
17
It is good too see a "Pro" section full of real "Pro" computers!...unfortunately we do not see that anymore
 

CedricT

macrumors member
Oct 23, 2015
30
19
Genius Bar is almost useless when you have one Apple Store serving an area of with a population 2+ million people. The Victoria Gardens Store serving the inland Empire in Southern California is miserable, and the Genius bar is completely booked continuously for 2 weeks. Last time I went there was a line stretching half way down the store for the Genius Bar.

Also, I wish it was named something else, because I know more than the "Geniuses" 80%+ of the time. I only even deal with it because of warranty.

Still better than not having one.
 

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
After watching that video it's amazing how the store can changed. Then: entire product line is in the first 25% of the store. Now: Phones, iPads, and MacBooks are in the first 25% of the store. Other 75% is tables for Genius appts. Bring a spy glass if you want to find the iMacs. Not even sure they put the MacPro out anymore. Yeah sure Apple still thinks Macs are important to the company.
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Well he was right in a lot of ways. Look at the Geek squad at best buy. Its pretty bad in my opinion.

Right but that is because it's, you know, Best Buy.
 

iamtheonlyone4ever

Suspended
May 27, 2016
334
174
the Genius Bar is like commissioner gordon office, if commissioner gordon can't solved the problem then he calls batman, the bat phone I mean the red phone sir

Cupertino head quarters is the bat cave
 

morcutt11

macrumors 6502
Jun 26, 2015
369
1,189
USA
Steve impressed me as a visionary that did a good job at seeing the application of technology in our day-to-day lives. He wasn't perfect at it, but he used his passion for it to build a huge corporation around it and affect a lot of lives today from using either his technology or technology it influenced. By his own admission, he wasn't perfect and initially objected to some things that turned out to be good ideas. Like anyone, sometimes he took convincing.
 

ApfelKuchen

macrumors 601
Aug 28, 2012
4,334
3,010
Between the coasts
So, what happens when the store schedule is overloaded and you need your computer and the next appointment is
2 weeks away?

For every good consumer experience with any company there is always a bad one which can be reported. It is the luck of the draw whom you get and how much they know.

The average consumer doesn't read MR or for that matter google even the simplest problems. I am sure that ties up a lot of time in the stores.

If you want to get things done, you have to be persistent, especially when you know what is wrong and you know what you want done.

Example:
Had a broken MBP screen from a drop and went to the store, just to drop it off any have it fixed. The "Genius" kept telling me that I needed an appointment , but the first one was 2 weeks away.
I told him , that I had tested the MBP with an external monitor and it was working fine except for the MBPs own display.
Also told him, I just wanted to leave it there to be repaired and they could call me to let me know when it was done.

He kept telling me that without an appointment NOTHING could be done, i.e. before two weeks. (I have to drive about 45 min each way to that store, so would have been 4 trips, 2 of them wasted) After I told him that it was obvious what needed to be replaced (showed the screen) and that this was very unApplelike, he kept repeating his appointment story.

Step 2: I asked for the supervisor. Mentioned to the supervisor that I just wanted the MBP repaired and that there has to be a way without an appointment when it is obvious what has to be fixed. (Showed MBP screen)
Supervisor arranged a phone call with Apple for 8 a.m. next day = a Saturday.
Apple senior customer rep called around 8, asked me a few questions and issued a repair order. Since it was unclear whether the MBP still had AppleCare (bought on eBay) I gave them my cc for a depot charge of $ 130 apr.
The rep appreciated that I was honest and told him the MBP had been dropped.
On Monday a FEDEX box arrived to pack the MBP into, and after sending it to where they fix things
Monday night it came back on Saturday, again via FEDEX. (At that point I would not even have had an appointment at the store)

Complete new top, everything looked like new.

Best part: Apple never charged for it!

I had other positive customer experiences and a few encounters with unknowledgeable reps.
Again, it all depends on how much a given GENIUS knows and what kind of a person one gets.

Great end to the story!

That frontline employee should have suggested calling AppleCare for a repair, right from the start. Sometimes people get hunkered down into a defensive position and forget there's a way out.

I brought one of my Macs to an Apple Store just a few weeks ago (I did have an appointment). It was an obvious repair, too (27" iMac with the broken display tilt spring). "Just let me leave it here," would have been fine with me, but (and I defend their need to do this...), they ran diagnostics to assess the condition of my system, noted the physical condition (scratches and dents), and produced a detailed estimate of the repair for my signature (in many places, consumer protection law insists on a full estimate before a customer can authorize repairs). That process protected both Apple and me - no claim/counter-claim afterwards.

If the people who do that check-in process are scheduled to help others, then making exceptions for the "quick 5-minute issues" that arrive throughout the day can cascade into extended delays for the people with appointments. So, first, honor the commitment to the people with appointments. The gatekeeper may have no choice but to be inflexible with the people asking for exceptions.

One quibble - "For every good consumer experience with any company there is always a bad one which can be reported." If that was true, then customer satisfaction would be 50%. Apple scores far higher than that in any customer satisfaction poll I've seen. What's more true is that, on the Internet, someone may repeat their tale of woe every time someone else has something good to say.
 

cardfan

macrumors 601
Mar 23, 2012
4,191
5,269
Back in 98, my first day on the job in an accounting firm. A senior staff told me if I knew Excel, I'd look like a genius to most of the partners. He was right. I was the kind of person back then that treated windows and office like people would line up for new iphones today. I was certified left and right in Office and knew windows like the back of my hand, excited about new versions, etc.

In 6 months, I was in charge of IT basically when the outsourced guy wasn't there. I couldn't code worth crap and never was interested in that. I'm still not. I rode that niche to partnership though :)

I guess the point is, it didn't take much to be thought of as a "genius." Especially to the older generation. Even today, the average person is not that tech inclined. I do think things like Office peaked and now it's on the downside in terms of people knowing these things. I still remember knowing how to burn music CD's when that was still a mystery to most. Today, burning a CD is still a mystery to most young people because they don't need to know that now. Perhaps tablets have influenced how much young people actually know.
 

HowieIsaacks

macrumors regular
Nov 22, 2013
142
153
Addison, TX
This story is well known. Nothing new here. Steve wasn't right about everything, and he admitted as much. Steve just didn't understand at the time that there are a lot of tech people who can connect to customers face to face. I've been doing it for 16 years.
 

Jimrod

macrumors 65816
Jun 24, 2010
1,199
659
Genius Bar is almost useless when you have one Apple Store serving an area of with a population 2+ million people. The Victoria Gardens Store serving the inland Empire in Southern California is miserable, and the Genius bar is completely booked continuously for 2 weeks. Last time I went there was a line stretching half way down the store for the Genius Bar.

Also, I wish it was named something else, because I know more than the "Geniuses" 80%+ of the time. I only even deal with it because of warranty.

I think that says a lot about the post-Jobs Apple product quality. Certainly the interface no longer "just works" it's gotten more and more convoluted with each new generation.
 

edoates

macrumors 6502
May 22, 2006
299
6



Genius-Bar-250x201.jpg
While the Genius Bar is the focal point of the Apple Store, it turns out the idea was initially panned by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

On the Recode Decode podcast, Apple's former retail chief Ron Johnson recalled the day he told Jobs about the Genius Bar.

Steve's initial reaction to the idea: "That's so idiotic! It'll never work!"Jobs went on to tell Johnson that the Genius Bar may in fact be the "right idea," but he was not convinced at the time that people who knew technology would be able to communicate effectively with customers.

"They're all geeks! You can call it the Geek Bar," he quipped.

Johnson, who left Apple in 2011 and now runs online retail startup Enjoy, argued that people who were in their 20s at the time--this was around the year 2000--grew up in a world surrounded by technology, implying the Genius Bar would not be manned merely by "geeks."

The following day, Johnson said Jobs instructed Apple's top lawyer to file a trademark for "Genius Bar."


In an earlier interview, Johnson said it took some time before the Genius Bar gained traction, but within three years Apple was forced to create a reservation system due to its popularity. Nearly sixteen years later, the Genius Bar and the newer, more open concept Genius Grove remain a mainstay at most Apple Stores.

Article Link: Steve Jobs Thought Genius Bar Was 'Idiotic' Idea at First, Said 'It'll Never Work'
Two thoughts:

1. Anyone under 20 is now considered a "digital native:" they've never know a world without digital access to nearly everything: information, music, movies, books. That sensibility is disrupting traditional intellectual property industries on a massive scale. But they are all connected and interact well with others, though often mostly electronically. So the "genius bar" was a master stroke. Instead of getting sales people to try to answer tech questions about the use of products or problem users are having (i.e., bugs), which was the "Fry's" model, Apple hired people whose sole job was to be the resident techies.

2. But as Sheldon observed when asked about the Apple Genius Bar: "Genius? Pshaw!"
 

stanhope

macrumors regular
Mar 25, 2015
161
53



Genius-Bar-250x201.jpg
While the Genius Bar is the focal point of the Apple Store, it turns out the idea was initially panned by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

On the Recode Decode podcast, Apple's former retail chief Ron Johnson recalled the day he told Jobs about the Genius Bar.

Steve's initial reaction to the idea: "That's so idiotic! It'll never work!"Jobs went on to tell Johnson that the Genius Bar may in fact be the "right idea," but he was not convinced at the time that people who knew technology would be able to communicate effectively with customers.

"They're all geeks! You can call it the Geek Bar," he quipped.

Johnson, who left Apple in 2011 and now runs online retail startup Enjoy, argued that people who were in their 20s at the time--this was around the year 2000--grew up in a world surrounded by technology, implying the Genius Bar would not be manned merely by "geeks."

The following day, Johnson said Jobs instructed Apple's top lawyer to file a trademark for "Genius Bar."


In an earlier interview, Johnson said it took some time before the Genius Bar gained traction, but within three years Apple was forced to create a reservation system due to its popularity. Nearly sixteen years later, the Genius Bar and the newer, more open concept Genius Grove remain a mainstay at most Apple Stores.

Article Link: Steve Jobs Thought Genius Bar Was 'Idiotic' Idea at First, Said 'It'll Never Work'
R



Genius-Bar-250x201.jpg
While the Genius Bar is the focal point of the Apple Store, it turns out the idea was initially panned by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

On the Recode Decode podcast, Apple's former retail chief Ron Johnson recalled the day he told Jobs about the Genius Bar.

Steve's initial reaction to the idea: "That's so idiotic! It'll never work!"Jobs went on to tell Johnson that the Genius Bar may in fact be the "right idea," but he was not convinced at the time that people who knew technology would be able to communicate effectively with customers.

"They're all geeks! You can call it the Geek Bar," he quipped.

Johnson, who left Apple in 2011 and now runs online retail startup Enjoy, argued that people who were in their 20s at the time--this was around the year 2000--grew up in a world surrounded by technology, implying the Genius Bar would not be manned merely by "geeks."

The following day, Johnson said Jobs instructed Apple's top lawyer to file a trademark for "Genius Bar."


In an earlier interview, Johnson said it took some time before the Genius Bar gained traction, but within three years Apple was forced to create a reservation system due to its popularity. Nearly sixteen years later, the Genius Bar and the newer, more open concept Genius Grove remain a mainstay at most Apple Stores.

Article Link: Steve Jobs Thought Genius Bar Was 'Idiotic' Idea at First, Said 'It'll Never Work'
Ron YES, Angela aw hell naw
 

ericwn

macrumors G4
Apr 24, 2016
11,817
10,396
I'm not convinced that the people who run Apple are able to communicate effectively with customers since Steve passed.

I'm sure there are way more people in the company than one person being able to communicate with the customers.
 
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