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It probably has more to do with Apple getting bigger than anything else. But been increasingly disappointed with the general level of product knowledge amongst
by CameronBanga 8y ago
It probably has more to do with Apple getting bigger than anything else. But been increasingly disappointed with the general level of product knowledge amongst Apple employees over the past ~2-3 years.
Undeniably must be difficult as you grow and have so many stores, etc. But on my last Apple store trip, I had interactions with 2 employees. One incorrectly told me that there was no Smart Battery case in stock for the XR (it was available on the Apple Store app?). And another made a mistake about the length of power cable that shipped with the new MacBook Air. Kinda a bummer.
- saagarjha 8y agoI think there's been a shift in focus in the retail segment to hiring employees who are better at interacting with customers rather than actual "geniuses".
- madeofpalk 8y agoThis has not been a shift, or at least recently. I started working there in 2012 and the focus was always on hiring people that can actually interact with humans, rather than nerds that know everything. Its much easier to teach product knowledge than team interaction skills.
- saagarjha 8y agoYes, this has always been a focus obviously, but now I feel you're getting fewer of the people who can tell you exactly what's wrong with your Mac/iPhone and instead getting people who tell customers that they should close all their iOS apps when they're done with them to "clear the RAM" (this was the Genius helping the person next to me last time I went there). I'm not a retail employee, but from my conversations with them there's less technical training.
- Despegar 8y agoIf Apple wanted to staff their stores with early 2000s Apple Store Geniuses, they'd have like 100 stores worldwide. Apple has way more customers, way more stores, and way more products for that to be realistic.
- saagarjha 8y agoYeah, this seems to be the unfortunate reality of the situation :(
- threeseed 8y ago> close all their iOS apps when they're done with them to "clear the RAM" Last time I checked this is technically correct. The point was that it is often unnecessary as Apple terminates apps in the background. But they will usually leave a few of the most recent ones active.
- saagarjha 8y ago> Last time I checked this is technically correct. It's correct, but manually managing the RAM rather than letting the OS deal with it is almost always a bad idea. iOS will kill apps when necessary, and by killing apps you're requiring them to be relaunched when you try to use them.
- ghaff 8y agoI don't expect "geniuses" at a store help desk. But (anecdote alert) I have found Apple Store employees to be far better techs, in terms of both technical knowledge and people skills/professionalism, than the retail norm. I would be far more focused on consistent, professional customer interactions than on random and hard-to-replicate insights into a problem. (Though, of course, diagnosing uncommon problems accurately is part of being a good tech as well.)
- threeseed 8y agoNot sure what you mean about stock availability. The Apple Store app doesn't show you what stock is available in each store. It shows what is available from Apple itself.
- BillinghamJ 8y agoWhen you're physically in the store, the Apple Store app does tell you whether specific products are in stock. If I recall correctly, there's even a way to request that someone brings you the item to a physical spot in the store so you can buy it.
- usaphp 8y agoI also wanted to purchase an external battery for my 2018 macbook pro and was suggested an item that had only half of the power needed for the MB pro, when I pointed it out, the "genius" did not say anything.
- SyneRyder 8y agoA couple of years ago now, I ordered a replacement battery through Apple for an older plastic MacBook - the user replaceable ones, where you use a coin to unlock the switch and lift it out. When I went to collect it, the Apple Store geniuses refused to give it to me unless I brought in my laptop and let them keep it for a week to do the replacement, as they were convinced no Macs have user replaceable batteries. (I declined & bought a battery through an Apple authorised service center instead, for cheaper than Apple was charging.) For those who don't remember, here's Apple's user manual for customer to replace laptop batteries themselves (PDF): https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/0/MA159/en_US/MacBook_13inch_Battery_replacement_DIY.pdf https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/0/MA159/en_US/MacBook...