Be There For Your Customers

I'm guessing this isn't one of those “sponsored” blog posts. ;-)

Dude. I used to feel the same way. Until I befriended a Mac Genius. I'll tell you what, being friends with someone who works at the genius bar is beneficial beyond belief. Next time you go in, make friends. Then life doesn't suck so bad when your computer freaks out.

I'm a recent convert (switched from PC to MacBook a year ago and BB to IPhone 6 months ago), so I'm probably still in the blissful honeymoon stage. I've had nothing but great service from our store in the Lehigh Valley. They carry heavy stuff to my car. They never make me feel stupid (and, when it comes to technology, I AM stupid). The only time I was ever annoyed was when I asked a salesman if he knew whether Apple was developing its version of a Kindle and he said with a lot of snot factor, “We already have and it's called the Kindle app.” I forgave him later when I downloaded it and realized he'd saved me $200. One other time I complained and gave them really low marks on one of those surveys (long story about why). The store manager called me to apologize and asked if there was anything he could do to make me happy. Seriously. It was better than sex.

I think you should complain to the store manager or just fill out the web form if you are online. They seem to take complaints seriously. I'm sure someone from Apple has already seen your blog and is trying to figure out how to placate you.

Hah! No, not really. Wishing you the best. Was talking about you the other day. : )

Hey Chris,

Love your stuff,

My Mac Book Pro recently bit the bullet so I walked into the apple store and asked to see a Genus…. They were all booked but the customer service person in the apple t-shirt scheduled the appointment for me latter that day. When I came back the tech guy was cool. tested my laptop, Logic board went bad. I paid their flat rate fee $320 or so and had the computer back the next week. I thought that it was pretty good service. It is a pain that they wouldn't help you over the phone though.

I do think that in general Apple does a better job than most huge companies at customer service. I'm not a “disciple” and I don't work for them. Have you ever tried to get Dell to fix something??? WOW not that's crappy customer service.

By the way I think that I'm going to sell my MBP if you're interested? It's got a new logic board!

Phil

wow better then sex…. I think that you may still be in the honeymoon stage. If that continues they have pills that might help. :)

I had a similar telephone experience with CheapTickets.com that told me I had to go online to update my account before they could help me – while I was stranded without a laptop frantically trying to rebook a flight home because the airline I booked with had gone out of business. First I had to escalate to a manager, then I had to argue with her before she eventually caved and updated my account for me – by which time the price of the ticket I was buying had gone up almost 50%. Thanks CheapTickets. I'm still amazed no one immediately got that I was calling BECAUSE I didn't have access to the Internet.

I needed this! My first Mac crashed and I lost data. They replaced the hard drive but it is still slow. It is supposed to be the fastest, most maintenance free laptop ever. I'm striving to be a Mac lover like I'm supposed to be.

While I agree that there should be more than one way to make an appointment, Apple is often a victim of its own success. Many people have multiple ways of getting on the web–neighbors, libraries, schools, friends, additional machines, etc. So it's hard to fault them for making everyone use the web to make an appointment.

For example, there should be an iPhone application that allows you to make a Genius appointment. Huh–I think we just identified what Apple would call a “third party opportunity.”

But I get how inconvenient it can be when you're in a jam.

And this isn't just about Apple. I'm using them as an example. You have to be where your customers are.

I am right there with you. As an [almost] lifelong Apple customer, I am in awe of how much of a customer-ninja I have to be in order to get anything to work in my favor. Amazing.

I concur. Befriend a Mac Genius or someone who knows Macs inside and out. While I don't have a Mac myself, if I did and I had issues, I have a go-to guy who will be happy to help me with it.

so the perfect guy would be the guy who is where you are – and in a very perfect world, that guy would be an employee of Apple.

so as always, where else in our life is this kind of thing happening? And am I the one making it happen?

When I complain about something or someone else, I gotta take a look and see if I'm doing the same thing to someone else!

You know the old saying, you get what you give!

Loved the rant though, bet it made you feel a little better.

This is so comical to me for some reason I have never understood why companies do what is convenient for them. Just like doctors … when your sick you go to them, wait forever so they can make a chunk of change for the time you spend repeating your symptoms over and over again … to the receptionist (for the appointment) to the nurse (who for some reason never relays the info to the doc, why do they even ask?) and then to the doctor … who then treats your symptoms, but usually never the issue … You say GFY Apple? I say GFY to the American Health Care with no bedside manner!

CONSUMERS spend the money COMPANIES receive it is so backwards and you are so correct definitely be there for your customers!!!

Chris,
I hear you. I was at the Apple store in Natick (25 miles away each way) to ask them to replace my new Mighty mouse that stopped working while under warranty. They refused to talk to me since I did not have a Genius appointment. I documented my experience at http://budurl.com/applecustomerservice.

I couldn't have said it better myself 8 mo old iMac is spinning the SBOD and after the genius took an hour with it (I had to spend five hrs restoring everything also) guess what is visiting again? Yep, the SBOD! Not a big fan of Apple right now either…

You make total sense. Asking someone to go online to make an appointment to fix a computer problem (something you need to GET online in the first place) is like telling someone to walk to the gas station to get gas for their car. It's inconvenient and definitely does not have the customer's ease of use in mind.

I recently had an Apple Store experience where I was looking for a new battery and additional memory for my iBook. Yes, it's not the latest model, but it works awesomely for what I need. You should have seen the look on the Geniuses at the Genius Bar. It was as if I had brought in a Commodore64 into the store.

As flashy as the Apple store is, with their in-store tutorials, fancy Genius Bar and uber-friendly customer service reps who are only loyal to the latest Apple product and not ALL Apple products…it's things like this that make me feel like it's just a facade.

Chris-
While Apple products may in some cases be better quality I have routinely heard horror stories of their customer service. But you shouldn't be that surprised: look at how Apple wrangles every penny out of you with each xG of the iPhone and iPod. Look at the way Apple goes after 'rumor' sites and other legit 'news reporting' sites. Look at the way Apple has been treating developers and apps in their App Store. Look at the way Apple says you have to use only their products with their software or get support at their stores Look at the way Apple behaves in general and you can't really be that surprised how they are treating their customers.

Most recently I know someone who called the Apple store (30 minute drive) to confirm they had someone on site to swap the loaner they were given with the original LT- making it clear they could not be w/o a LT for any time- it was their only machine. Upon arriving at the store they were told they would need to leave the LT and come back and get it- in a day or two. It was literally the swapping of the HD, but now no techs were available. Needless to say they left and only returned when they were guaranteed a tech was there. 5 mins after arriving this time they left- however because of distance wasted almost 2 hours driving back and forth.

I am pretty sure if any other company pulled half the crap that Apple gets a pass on, there would be a mighty uproar.

LOL!

Mac. I had a mac once. It became obsolete 5 mins after I bought it. It was a sad time, full of pain, but now it sits in storage. Happy storage Mac.

Do not squander these precious days of happiness you have with your Mac, they will not last.

I understand your complaint but feel that it is unnecessary. Try owning an HP, Acer, or any PC and you won't even be able to sit down with anyone. Surely being the guru that you are you have some other means of acessing the internet, I know you do be because you stated that you have an iPhone. Suck it up, quit complaining, and be happy that you bought from a company that actually cares instead of being stuck with a PC.

Got to say, I had exactly the opposite experience. My iPhone stopped charging for no reason. Walked into the Apple Store here in Toronto with no appointment on a busy day, explained that the phone was my business line, so important.

Got sliced into the appointment line 10 minutes later, walked out of the store 20 minutes later with a brand new iPhone.

Thank you. Thank you. I converted just a few years ago, before Mac started sleeping with Intel. I had the honeymoon phase and was blissed out for a long time. They basically don't care, like every other business. Apple is worse because once you love a Mac, you have such limited choices. I, for example, don't like the new screens. Stuck I am. Anyway, why should a consumer, paying TOP dollar have to make friend with a genius to get service. What a great business plan that is. Hey, I'm not slamming the idea. I never thought of it, but it sucks that we'd have to do that. Besides, I'm old enough to be their mom. Speaking of the geniuses, some are geniuses with a little “g” and some with a capital “G.” I don't walk up to that bar expecting miracles anymore. Yes, they save a book I was writing after I spent a week at the bar when two, TWO, hard drives crashed. It's not the safe haven it once was. Okay, I'm not adding anything here and my old iBook battery is about to give up the ghost. Thank you again, I loved your post. If they do you that way, what hope do any of us have. I wish there was another viable option, but I'll stay in Mac hell rather than go back.

Of course he has other means of accessing the internet. He could taxi to a library for all that's worth. That isn't the point here. Our every man is pointing out a major problem and attitude that Apple has about its customers. Apple is supposed to be so customer focused, so cutting edge, but it's just another business. Most Mac users tried owning other computers and prefer this hell to that one. Nothing is perfect. I'm impressed with Chris for expressing these comments on behalf of so many frustrated Apple customers. Come on over to this less dark side. You too, can be a complaining Mac user. :)

The shame of it is, the Apple Retail stores sold iBooks when they were new. I can understand gawking at pre-2000 hardware, but the iBook shouldn't be anything a Genius hasn't seen before.