Poor service at Apple Store - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Jolt · 11-10-2004, 07:39 PM

Last week a new Apple Store opened in the mall here.
Last night I was trying to start up an old PowerMac 4400 that I had taken out of storage so I could pass it to a friend. It booted and ran, but did not put out any video signal. Having been a Macintosh enthusiast since the days of the Plus and SE, I knew that this most likely meant the clock battery had died.

I opened the machine and pulled out the battery. Only a minor inconvenience, and easily replaceable.

This evening I went down to the Apple Store, approached a smiling salesdroid, smiled in return, pulled the battery out of my pocket, and said "I need one of these."

"I don't think we'll have that" he replied.

I rejoined with "It came out of one of your machines."

"What kind?"

"Power Macintosh."

"What model...?"

"4400."

"We aren't going to have that...would you like to make an appointment for the Genius Bar and see if they can order it?"

He leads me over to one of the demo PowerBooks. "If you'll make a reservation, it'll probably be about 5 minutes."

I concede, and fill out the form on the webpage, cussing inwardly as it rejects my input since I didn't enter an e-mail address. I type in none@none.ok.geez and click the Submit button again. In about a second, it returns the message "We have scheduled an appointment at the Genius Bar for you at 9:00pm today. Please arrive about 5 minutes early yadda yadda yadda"

I look at my watch...it's 7:44. I suddenly become quite agitated.

I pulled the salesdroid away from the customer he had moved on to, and pointed at the PowerBook. "Your computer just told me it's going to be 9:00. I'm not going to stand around for an hour just to see if you can ORDER something. You just LOST BUSINESS." I then turned on my heel and strode out.

Lacerate them rectally, I say.

Church · 11-10-2004, 07:48 PM

Its really not his fault man. Me, working in retail, can probably tell you that that is company policy. He sounds like he did exactly what he was supposed to do. Although its not always convenient for the customer, that is the way things are set up. Maybe the order desk person wasn't in? My point is, don't get mad at the sales rep, he has a job just like you, and it really ruins his day to have to deal with customers like you. Be mad at the company, not the rep.

Jolt · 11-10-2004, 08:01 PM

I *am*.

Thank you.

brandon11983 · 11-11-2004, 10:26 AM

Did you ever think to go somewhere that stocks a lot of batteries? Like Wal Mart or Batteries Plus? I can't speak for Apple clock batteries, but the CMOS batteries for PC's are pretty standard CR032 batteries which are widely available. I personally would never think to go to an Apple store for a battery. I know what you are saying to yourself, "they should have the battery for their product..." you should know that that does not happen very often. You need a battery, you go to Wal Mart or something.

irseg · 11-11-2004, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jolt

"We aren't going to have that...would you like to make an appointment for the Genius Bar and see if they can order it?"

That's when I would have left. I assume the "Genius Bar" is a parts/service desk? I don't care if the wait was 10 seconds, there's no way in hell I'd go through the trouble of making an appointment to walk up to someone and ask them for a battery.

brandon11983 · 11-12-2004, 10:53 AM

There's no way in hell I would go to an Apple store for a battery either. Its almost common sense.

shakran · 11-12-2004, 11:31 AM

There's no way in hell I would go to an Apple store.

bal8664 · 11-12-2004, 12:37 PM

I believe this is what you need.

http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...Fid=960%2D0419

Keep in mind that computer is about 8 years old. Thats Ancient in computer terms, It'd be like expecting compusa to stock pentium 1 processors. Apple stores didnt even exist when that came out. So of course they would need to order it, not sure why it'd take them an hour, i assume the person in charge of ordering wasnt there at the itme and wouldnt be until 9. Either way a quick trip to radioshack should solve your proble

Didnt notice this at first but the radioshack site doesnt mention it is for the PowerMac 4400, but i'm pretty sure it is.

the_marq · 11-12-2004, 01:06 PM

I am with you all the way here Jolt.

If I needed some obscure part for an old PC that I own, the first place I would go is a somewhere that specializes in PC's. Going to Wal-Mart is asinine, the mouth-breathers there would be utterly useless to you, so I think you were on the right track going to the Apple store.

Second, calling you service department the "Genius Bar," is fucking ridiculous. But that's the "Cult of Mac" for you I guess.

Third, if the retail monkey working the floor couldn't answer your question he should have refered you to a PERSON, not an online form. Jesus, if you just wanted to fill in a form you could have stayed home and done that.

Finally, sure it's not surprising they didn't have it in stock but making you fill in some stupid form and they wait to talk to the "Genius" is just bad bad bad customer service.

PS: While I would never condone treating service employees like shit, expressing your displeasure to them is often the only way the company will ever change bad policies.

catback · 11-12-2004, 09:21 PM

Sounds like my gateway store experience except I wanted a stick of memory for a little over year old computer and I fortunately didn't have to fill out a form. What's the point of having parts for sale if you don't have parts. Really what kind of demand is there for parts on a brand new model apple. One can argue that they can only stock parts for models only so far back but it's just a battery, it's not as if many new models of battery have come out or that recent apples are battery-less. Apple store like gateway store in my opinion are a total waste, really don't see the need to have a store to sell a single brand of computer. Especially when they don't carry the parts I could want for a computer they make.

Jolt · 11-12-2004, 11:58 PM

I actually went to radio shack first...they did not have it, but immediately offered to order it for me...I declined thinking I could get it locally...and next went to the crapple store...bleah...the next day I went to a local Apple reseller, where I arguably should have gone first...they had it right there, same price as RS.

irseg · 11-13-2004, 01:23 AM

Knowing Apple, it's probably a special $50 battery that is hand-polished to a mirror finish, and custom-sized to be the exact diameter of oh, say, the Apple logo on the first-ever Macintosh. I wouldn't put it past those weirdos.

11-10-2004, 07:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
Jolt Insane Location: Over here	Poor service at Apple Store Last week a new Apple Store opened in the mall here. Last night I was trying to start up an old PowerMac 4400 that I had taken out of storage so I could pass it to a friend. It booted and ran, but did not put out any video signal. Having been a Macintosh enthusiast since the days of the Plus and SE, I knew that this most likely meant the clock battery had died. I opened the machine and pulled out the battery. Only a minor inconvenience, and easily replaceable. This evening I went down to the Apple Store, approached a smiling salesdroid, smiled in return, pulled the battery out of my pocket, and said "I need one of these." "I don't think we'll have that" he replied. I rejoined with "It came out of one of your machines." "What kind?" "Power Macintosh." "What model...?" "4400." "We aren't going to have that...would you like to make an appointment for the Genius Bar and see if they can order it?" He leads me over to one of the demo PowerBooks. "If you'll make a reservation, it'll probably be about 5 minutes." I concede, and fill out the form on the webpage, cussing inwardly as it rejects my input since I didn't enter an e-mail address. I type in none@none.ok.geez and click the Submit button again. In about a second, it returns the message "We have scheduled an appointment at the Genius Bar for you at 9:00pm today. Please arrive about 5 minutes early yadda yadda yadda" I look at my watch...it's 7:44. I suddenly become quite agitated. I pulled the salesdroid away from the customer he had moved on to, and pointed at the PowerBook. "Your computer just told me it's going to be 9:00. I'm not going to stand around for an hour just to see if you can ORDER something. You just LOST BUSINESS." I then turned on my heel and strode out. Lacerate them rectally, I say.

11-10-2004, 07:48 PM	#2 (permalink)
Church Tilted F*ckhead Location: New Jersey	Its really not his fault man. Me, working in retail, can probably tell you that that is company policy. He sounds like he did exactly what he was supposed to do. Although its not always convenient for the customer, that is the way things are set up. Maybe the order desk person wasn't in? My point is, don't get mad at the sales rep, he has a job just like you, and it really ruins his day to have to deal with customers like you. Be mad at the company, not the rep. __________________ Through counter-intelligence, it should be possible to pinpoint potential trouble makers, and neutralize them.

11-11-2004, 10:26 AM	#4 (permalink)
brandon11983 Stereophonic Location: Chitown!!	Did you ever think to go somewhere that stocks a lot of batteries? Like Wal Mart or Batteries Plus? I can't speak for Apple clock batteries, but the CMOS batteries for PC's are pretty standard CR032 batteries which are widely available. I personally would never think to go to an Apple store for a battery. I know what you are saying to yourself, "they should have the battery for their product..." you should know that that does not happen very often. You need a battery, you go to Wal Mart or something. __________________ Well behaved women rarely make history.

11-12-2004, 10:53 AM	#6 (permalink)
brandon11983 Stereophonic Location: Chitown!!	There's no way in hell I would go to an Apple store for a battery either. Its almost common sense. __________________ Well behaved women rarely make history.

11-12-2004, 01:06 PM	#9 (permalink)
the_marq All hail the Mountain King Location: Black Mesa	I am with you all the way here Jolt. If I needed some obscure part for an old PC that I own, the first place I would go is a somewhere that specializes in PC's. Going to Wal-Mart is asinine, the mouth-breathers there would be utterly useless to you, so I think you were on the right track going to the Apple store. Second, calling you service department the "Genius Bar," is fucking ridiculous. But that's the "Cult of Mac" for you I guess. Third, if the retail monkey working the floor couldn't answer your question he should have refered you to a PERSON, not an online form. Jesus, if you just wanted to fill in a form you could have stayed home and done that. Finally, sure it's not surprising they didn't have it in stock but making you fill in some stupid form and they wait to talk to the "Genius" is just bad bad bad customer service. PS: While I would never condone treating service employees like shit, expressing your displeasure to them is often the only way the company will ever change bad policies. __________________ The Truth: Johnny Cash could have kicked Bruce Lee's ass if he wanted to. #3 in a series

11-10-2004, 08:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
Jolt Insane Location: Over here	I am. Thank you.

11-12-2004, 11:31 AM	#7 (permalink)
shakran Tone.	There's no way in hell I would go to an Apple store.

11-12-2004, 12:37 PM	#8 (permalink)
bal8664 Crazy Location: Rochester, NY	I believe this is what you need. http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...Fid=960%2D0419 Keep in mind that computer is about 8 years old. Thats Ancient in computer terms, It'd be like expecting compusa to stock pentium 1 processors. Apple stores didnt even exist when that came out. So of course they would need to order it, not sure why it'd take them an hour, i assume the person in charge of ordering wasnt there at the itme and wouldnt be until 9. Either way a quick trip to radioshack should solve your proble Didnt notice this at first but the radioshack site doesnt mention it is for the PowerMac 4400, but i'm pretty sure it is.

11-12-2004, 09:21 PM	#10 (permalink)
catback Psycho Location: North America	Sounds like my gateway store experience except I wanted a stick of memory for a little over year old computer and I fortunately didn't have to fill out a form. What's the point of having parts for sale if you don't have parts. Really what kind of demand is there for parts on a brand new model apple. One can argue that they can only stock parts for models only so far back but it's just a battery, it's not as if many new models of battery have come out or that recent apples are battery-less. Apple store like gateway store in my opinion are a total waste, really don't see the need to have a store to sell a single brand of computer. Especially when they don't carry the parts I could want for a computer they make.

11-12-2004, 11:58 PM	#11 (permalink)
Jolt Insane Location: Over here	I actually went to radio shack first...they did not have it, but immediately offered to order it for me...I declined thinking I could get it locally...and next went to the crapple store...bleah...the next day I went to a local Apple reseller, where I arguably should have gone first...they had it right there, same price as RS.

11-13-2004, 01:23 AM	#12 (permalink)
irseg Junkie Location: Florida	Knowing Apple, it's probably a special $50 battery that is hand-polished to a mirror finish, and custom-sized to be the exact diameter of oh, say, the Apple logo on the first-ever Macintosh. I wouldn't put it past those weirdos.