One Rotten Apple…
It Only Takes One
We have all heard that one rotten apple can spoil the bunch. As a big Apple fan I was really taken back today by the lack of diplomacy and tact shown by one Apple “genius” at the Kahala store.
The Story
When I bought my MacBook Air almost a year ago I blogged about how impressed I was with the salesperson taking me from a $1,700 “easy sale” up to $3,300 by suggesting several add-ons. One of those was their one-to-one coaching program. As I recall, I paid about $100 for a year’s worth of weekly one hour sessions to teach me about the Mac computer. The salesperson did the arithmatic, dividing 52 weeks into $100. How could I refuse? Well, I found out after the fact that “one year” meant “one year” and not 52 sessions. This meant that I got nothing for the weeks I did not take a class. I only went two or three times in the year and just discovered that I have only one month left. So, I signed up for an hour today to get some coaching on how to use iMovie.
“HELP!”
Because of my low skill level I invited one of my more “techie” clients to come along and observe in order to help me later. About 10 minutes into the session another employee in a dark blue shirt (I think that means “genius”) came by and told my client that he had to leave, because “one means one” and he could not listen. I argued briefly, but to no avail. I thought that there would be some empathy for my misunderstanding, and avoid embarrasment for both me and my client as compared to making us feel like we were stealing something that I had paid for. It would have been cool to say, “Hey guys, the rules are… so next time… okay?” That would have been the “Apple Way.” So here I am at home trying to figure out what I learned today and realizing that the session was a waste. I guess you get what you pay for. Will I still send people to Apple? Probably, but perhaps to a different store! As for me, I am going to hire a geek to teach me how to use iMovie, or maybe Windows Movie Maker.
July 19th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Morning Ron,
Uhhhh, how fast a superior outfit like Apple can get a “dent” from an experience like this….. The company may have rules and regulations, but surely the “Personality” and more importantly “Common sense” were left out on this one….
Myself just reading about it will think twice about buying a session from Apple….. Thankfully, there are what 3 Apple stores in Honolulu now, which gives us a little choice of salespeople….
Cheers, Peter
July 19th, 2009 at 10:51 am
I think the mistake was naming these people “geniuses” as it has given some of them a false sense of superiority. “Geek Creek” or “Geek Seek” would be a better term for the back of the store.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:24 am
Apple used to be really fantastic, i have noticed that applecare, their extended warranty pgm has slipped in terms of the people on the phone rendering assistance. the warranty is still great- they send you a box, ypu put the computer into the box and it gets fixed for free. i believe the problem with the people on the phone was apple could not train enough people fast enough for the explosive sales growth. Most people are pc literate. the people at the apple stores are generally pretty good, but i have heard of problems from time to time. nonetheless, i will stick with apple. i just say the mantra “windows vista” and my blood pressure rises and i appreciate apple all over again. every computer co changes technology too fast, apple is just as guilty if not more. you buy a computer and in 3 months things change on you. i bought the last apple power pc quad G5 and then they went intel and mine was obsolete in a heartbeat with the software being written for intel macs only overnght. oh well…