2006-06-05
You take it back to the Apple Store where you bought it, drop it off, and pick it up when it's fixed. Right?
Wrong. You can't drop it off.
You have to make an appointment for the Genius Bar, only on the same day, and you're out of luck if the appointments are gone. (You can make the appointment on the store's web site.) Not knowing this, I dropped into the Apple Store, went to the desk at the back, and got the strangest looks from the manager and a salesperson.
They asked me if I had an appointment. No, I said, I have a broken iMac. I don't want an appointment, I just want to drop it off. I'm in no rush to get it fixed.
You can't do that, the manager said. This is like a Doctor's office. You have to make an appointment. So I made an appointment for 3 hours later.
I could have paid $99 for ProCare, which gets me time at the Genius Bar without an appointment. Hmmm... Pay another $99 to get my almost brand-new iMac fixed? No way, I thought. (The problem is that it won't read any CDs or DVDs... ejects everything inserted in the slot. Yes, I tried a hardware reset, running Applejack while booted in single-user mode, and updating the firmware.)
So, I left, iMac in hand.
Thinking about it on the way home, I decided that they had me. The iMac needed fixing, and they make the rules, so I will head back for my 7:45PM appointment. And, next time, I'll fork over $99 for the privilege of dropping in. (I need to ask my Doctor if he offers ProCare.)
This Genius Bar thing is either the worst approach to customer service, or the best. I suppose it's the best for most of the general population, especially as many problems are most likely not even with the hardware. Assuming these people have lots of time to spend getting their Macs fixed. For me, it's terrible. If I want to watch a genius at work, I'll drop in on one of my friends and watch them. For my computers, and for my shoes, cars, tennis rackets, and everything else I have other than my body, I just want to drop them off. Wait a minute... I just figured it out. A Mac is part of your body!
And all this time I thought the Linux guys were the crazy ones. Wouldn't it be ironic if it turned out that only Dell, Intel, and Microsoft were sane?
(I'll post a follow-up later tonight about the Geniuses at the Bar. If they pop out the CD drive and replace it while I'm waiting, or do something to the firmware I didn't know about, I will post a full apology right here.)