The Apple Store and Genius Bar are incredibly disorganized.

[Eug]

I went in today to exchange a USB charger under their September to October exchange program. I'm told to register, which I do, then I'm told to go by a big table at the back and wait, which I do.

And wait. Nothing.

And wait. Nothing.

I figure it's busy, so I wait some more, nothing. 25 minutes has gone by.

I'm killing time surfing, and then check my email, and notice I have an appointment for 40 minutes after I got there. The guy never told me I had a designated time. That irritates me, cuz if I had known I would have just left to come back later, but I figure it's only another 15 minutes so I decide to wait some more. I ask someone how the line is going, and they say I should get my appointment at my designated time. So I wait another 15 minutes. Nothing. My appointment should have started. Then I wait another 15 minutes. Still nothing. So I've been waiting for almost an hour. I ask the guy what's going on. He asks me why I didn't sign in. I'm like "WHAT?" I've been waiting an hour where he told me to wait. He said I should have signed in when I got there and because I didn't, and because it was then past the appointment time, my appointment was cancelled. I tell him again, I've been there the whole time and he signed me in then, waiting here he directed me to wait, and I even had an email confirming the time (which I found out after the fact).

So apparently, entering your email and name into their system is not signing in. You or he has to tell a second person that you're there to confirm you're not a no show. I was pissed. Maybe they think I should have known I had a fixed appointment, but I'm not an Apple n00b and I still didn't know I had an appointment initially, and they didn't tell me that I did either. I only found out because I happened to check my email. I guess I initially figured it shouldn't require an Apple "Genius" to swap out a USB adapter under an existing program, especially when there is no troubleshooting involved. All you do is bring in the adapter, and they give you a new one after confirming you own an Apple product that needs it, and you pay the $10 US or $11 CAD.

So, I wrote Tim Cook. I don't expect an answer, but IMO they've screwed up their Genius Bar. What a frickin' waste of time. In fact, the extra time I wasted negated the cost savings under the program, because I had to pay extra for parking.

Apparently it changed last week, and they also removed the queue list last year. Before, your name would show up on a list with the times, and you'd see exactly how the line is going. Now you have no idea whatsoever. You just hope they remember you and sign you in correctly, or else you're screwed. Hell, I've had a better experiences at government licence issuing offices.

In fact, I think their entire store's approach is irritating these days. It's a bloody nightmare in there when it's crowded.

 

[Eug]

BTW, I suspect there are two reasons they remove the queue-list.

1) Privacy issues. It used to have part of your name, and that might have annoyed some people. However, an easy solution to that is just to provide a number or something.

2) Form over function. Having a screen with a list of appointments is like an airport's standby passenger list, or perhaps like a government office. Well, it provides a real function, and it worked well for Apple before so perhaps they should have kept it in some form. Like I said, I've have better waiting line experiences in government offices.

Basically the Genius Bar in 2013 is almost akin to the no-button iPod. If it ain't broke, fix it anyway just for the sake of form, at the expense of function, and piss your customers off in the process.

 

[Rakehellion]

You have to make an appointment to use the Genius bar.
You have to sign in to inform them that you showed up for your appointment.

 

[Eug]

You have to make an appointment to use the Genius bar.
You have to sign in to inform them that you showed up for your appointment.

That's just it. He didn't tell me either of the above.

I walked in, said I wanted to get the new adapters, and was expecting just a regular rep, not a Genius Bar rep. (There's no troubleshooting involved.) Instead, he logged me into their Genius Bar appointment system, didn't tell me he had made a Genius Bar appointment for me, and didn't tell me a time for the appointment either and then just told me to wait for someone to see me.

So I waited. And waited.

About 25 mins later after I happened to check my email and was surprised to find out I had actually been scheduled for a Genius Bar appointment, I asked someone else how long the wait was going to be and she said I'd be seen when my appointment was scheduled. But that didn't happen either, because the original guy never checked me in. And that later person it turns out probably wasn't associated with the Genius Bar so she wouldn't know anyway, but I had no way of telling who was whom because they all wear the same blue shirts.

What he should have done is:

1) Tell me WTF is going on instead of just telling me to wait. Basically, he took my name and email, registered it into their system, and then told me to wait at the back of the store.
2) Tell me the appointment actually existed and that it was 45 minutes later, and given me the option to leave and come back later. But no, he just told me to wait.
3) Checked me in with his colleagues because he knew I was there waiting there.

It's like they're going out of their way to make it just so damn opaque, it's stupid. At least last year you'd have an idea what was going on, but the little information they provided before they've now completely removed.

Totally fscked up. If I had known, I would have just made the appointment myself online before I went to the store, and then checked in when I arrived.

 

[bearxor]

I've never had an issue with them not getting to my appointment. I'm going to think it was probably an isolated incident cause by communication issues.

I will, however, join you in lamenting the disappearance of the queue view. My store dropped it sometime in 2011. They basically just put in to the iPad what you're wearing and tell you to wander around the store. I hate it as opposed to the former more structured waiting system.

 

[Eug]

I've never had an issue with them not getting to my appointment. I'm going to think it was probably an isolated incident cause by communication issues.

I'm convinced it's not completely isolated. Yes, it's due to a communication issue, but on their end, probably because the store is so hectic. However, in that case it's still a fault of the store since they're not properly staffing this aspect of the store. Maybe they need two people handling this, because clearly this guy can't do it alone properly.

He just didn't bother to inform anyone including myself or his own colleagues. Now, English is my first language, and so I know for a fact how the conversation went. I can't imagine what it'd be like for the bazillion tourists that come through the store, esp. since some of them speak only broken English.

I will, however, join you in lamenting the disappearance of the queue view. My store dropped it sometime in 2011. They basically just put in to the iPad what you're wearing and tell you to wander around the store. I hate it as opposed to the former more structured waiting system.

I go into the butcher shop. It's crammed full of people before the long weekend, but EVERYONE knows where they stand because they take a number when they come in and the number in the queue is shown on a board on the wall. Simple, and everyone is happy.

Surely Apple can come up with a solution that works as well as some mom-and-pop butcher shop? Yeah, mom-and-pop butcher shops don't have online bookings, but what Apple had before worked better too, but then they got rid of it for who knows what reason.

 

[Printer Bandit]

the apple store app should have some kind of status notification.

 

[joshhedge]

the apple store app should have some kind of status notification.

In the UK we have a number of TVs above the Genius Bar which display the waiting line and approximate waiting time. I've always told them that I've arrived to be on the safe side. Seems to work well over here.

 

[Eug]

Are you still sure you have those displayed queue lists? We used to have those, but they got rid of them last year or something. Even the physical bar no longer is there, and the screens there just show ads and stuff like that. The replaced the bar with a bunch of rectangular tables people sit at.

 

[joshhedge]

Are you still sure you have those displayed queue lists? We used to have those, but they got rid of them last year or something. Even the physical bar no longer is there, and the screens there just show ads and stuff like that. The replaced the bar with a bunch of rectangular tables people sit at.

Yep, I had to go there earlier this year to get my SSD checked. Still got the physical bar, along with the rectangular tables. This is at two stores, one in Birmingham and one in Southampton - quite large and busy stores.

 

[dlock13]

Last year when I went with my fiance to get her iPhone replaced, we had to wait about 25-35 minutes extra even though we checked in about 20 minutes beforehand. It's ridiculous how long it takes.

 

[Eug]

Yep, I had to go there earlier this year to get my SSD checked. Still got the physical bar, along with the rectangular tables. This is at two stores, one in Birmingham and one in Southampton - quite large and busy stores.

So they're not even consistent across stores then. Nice.

 

[joshhedge]

So they're not even consistent across stores then. Nice.

Could be different management styles and guidelines between the two countries perhaps? I have yet to visit a smaller Apple store so I can't comment if this is purely for the larger ones.

 

[bearxor]

Are you still sure you have those displayed queue lists? We used to have those, but they got rid of them last year or something. Even the physical bar no longer is there, and the screens there just show ads and stuff like that. The replaced the bar with a bunch of rectangular tables people sit at.

Yep, I had to go there earlier this year to get my SSD checked. Still got the physical bar, along with the rectangular tables. This is at two stores, one in Birmingham and one in Southampton - quite large and busy stores.

Removing the bar is the way they're going moving forward. There will just be some long rectangular tables you wait at for your genius. They'll do all the work on the table, which has power and Ethernet in the middle.

 

[midwestfisherman]

And then you spent how much more time ranting about it on here. Relax and move on....

 

[MrX8503]

Sounds like a miscommunication issue. I haven't had a problem setting up an appointment. I've even set up a second appointment while on my current appointment and had two Genius employees helping me simultaneously for two different problems.

 

[MotionMan]

Yeah, sounds like a bad miscommunication on this occasion. Sounds like an isolated incident. Let's see if anyone else reports a similar event.

MotionMan

 

[mmntech]

The trick with the Apple Store is you have to go right when it opens. It really is a poor system though.

 

[MotionMan]

The trick with the Apple Store is you have to go right when it opens. It really is a poor system though.

I disagree. It is not perfect, and it does not work perfectly every time, but, in general, I have found it to work just fine. But, to each their own.

MotionMan

 

[dlock13]

Also, it definitely depends on the location of the store. There are 2 in Pittsburgh. One in a mall (Ross Park) and one in a ritzier area (Shadyside). They both are surrounded by a lot of people. When I went with my friend to the Genius bar in Shadyside, the store probably had 10-15 customers in it. When I went with my fiance to Ross Park, it was overloaded with probably ~50 people.

 

[smackababy]

I don't think it is a problem with the system, just a problem with the communication between the employee and yourself.

When you went in and they made you an appointment, the employee should have told you it was a appointment for x time, and if you were going to just wait until then, signed you in right there. Since you didn't know you had an appointment, obviously you couldn't check in for it. Any time I am going to the Apple Store, I make an appointment. You can do it online; it takes all of 30 seconds. That way, you know about the time you'll be helped.

The closest Apple Store to me is pretty good about not having long lines, but that seems to be because they have an equal number of employees to the number of people in the store at a time (which is usually like 30). There check in guy is usually right near the entrance as well, so he catches everyone coming in right away.

 

[jpeyton]

I hated my last experience at the Apple Store. I went there to buy an iPad Mini. I already knew the exact model I wanted, I didn't need to bullshit around with their employees.

But unfortunately, the design of their store FORCES you to wait in a queue behind everyone else simply to pick up and pay for an item. It took 15 minutes of waiting to get helped. I could accomplish the exact same thing at a Best Buy, Target or Fry's in about 5 minutes.

The store was also extremely crowded on a Sunday afternoon. Great for the bottom line, but the entire place felt like a zoo. The store was obviously designed in an era before their recent popularity, and it might be wise for them to invest in more square footage.

 

[mmntech]

I disagree. It is not perfect, and it does not work perfectly every time, but, in general, I have found it to work just fine. But, to each their own.

MotionMan

They used to have authorized Apple repair shops that would do this for you before they had the Apple Store. I think the big problem is they have such a big volume of people and too few places to service them.

 

[Subyman]

Sounds like you had a rare incident. It's hard to say the entire Apple Store and Genius Bar is "incredibly disorganized" from your one experience. I've been a few times and they've been fine. I'm kind of surprised you waited around for over an hour and only talked to them a few times. I would have been bugging them every 5 mins

 

[goobee]

Sounds like you had a rare incident. It's hard to say the entire Apple Store and Genius Bar is "incredibly disorganized" from your one experience. I've been a few times and they've been fine. I'm kind of surprised you waited around for over an hour and only talked to them a few times. I would have been bugging them every 5 mins

Why is it his responsibility to "bug" the staff to assure timely service?