Rave: the Apple Genius Bar

Or, the generic term in the computer industry: the service desk for all Apple products.

As much as we hated to do it, we had to take Morgan's iPod to Apple for repair because it wasn't working with anything: the iPod software updater, Disk Warrior, or Disk Utility. I consulted the Apple discussion boards with little luck. All signs pointed to Apple repair.

So in we went. We found out that you had to sign in on one of the computers to get a spot in line at the 'Genius Bar' [Link to QTVR]. While we thought it was rude that we were standing there for at least 5 minutes without anyone asking us if we needed help, then to be booted out of the way for some guy carrying an eMac into let him sign in before us...well, it put us off slightly, as the guy didn't even ask us if we were waiting for anything. And, he didn't let us in ahead of the guy, even though we had been there for a while already.

Anyway, we sign in on this eMac terminal, and it shows us when our scheduled appointment is. Then, you wait. Usually, they can get to you in 30-45 minutes. Once your name is called, you go up to the bar and explain your problem. Then the guy fixes your bug in about two minutes or it's going in for repair. For iPods, it's a black and white issue. Either your shit is dead or it's a fairly easy fix. If it's an laptop or desktop, it's probably about the same, but a little longer. The hard part is the paperwork, only because it takes a while. Our problem took the guy about three minutes to figure out that we needed a new iPod replacement, as I had already taken all steps to get it fixed on my own. Luckily, they give out new ones.

The only bad part is we had to wait over a 3 day weekend, then they called us on Wednesday to come pick up the new one. We signed in, waited about 45 minutes, then did a little paperwork and off we went with a new iPod.

All in all, it wasn't a bad deal. I think Apple is being pretty fair with their iPod issues. I don't think many people can complain about their fairly liberal policies with getting repairs or replacements.

As far as the idea of the Genius Bar...well, I think it's genius. How many other computer companies have a fairly simple sign-in process to see a service person in less than an hour? Or people on hand just to give one-on-one training? I think it's a great idea, much better than Best Buy or Circuit City could ever come up with, as all they are concerned with is the bottom line. They could care less about customer knowledge or any real help for it's customers. The more confused you are, the better.

My only complaint about the Genius Bar is maybe they could have one person doing simple tasks, such as paperwork. When we went back to pick up the iPod, it only took a couple minutes to do the paperwork and go, yet we had to wait for a while. Maybe this is more of a systematic problem than anything. I've just always found that it helps when you sign in anywhere, if you have a simple problem there should be someone there to take care of it quickly instead of waiting in line with other people who have more in-depth problems.