TechMan: Computer-support Genius Bar lives up to name
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TechMan recently had a positive experience with computer support, something so rare these days I thought I ought to write about it.
I recently bought a copy of Snow Leopard, Apple's operating system upgrade. When I got it home and attempted to install it on my iMac, it would not install.
So I went to the Apple store and waited in line at the Genius Bar, which is what Apple calls the support desks in its stores. (If it called them the Dummy Bar, they'd probably get a lot less business.)
After about a 40-minute wait (Tip: Make an appointment in advance on the Web), a technician checked my disk and found nothing wrong but he gave me a new disk anyway.
When I tried the new disk, it also would not work. Remembering that I had bought Apple Care for the computer (a three-year enhanced support and repair program that now sells for $169), I went to the Apple Web site at Apple.com.
There I was prompted to enter the serial number of my computer. When I did this, I got a message saying I would receive a telephone call from Apple within one minute. Thirty seconds later my phone rang and in about two minutes, a technician came on the line.
He understood my problem immediately (and our conversation was unhampered by a language barrier). After trying several things unsuccessfully, he said he thought I had a problem with my computer itself, not the software. I would have to take the computer to the Apple store.
I was the first person at the Genius Bar Monday morning. (I love the smell of Genius in the morning). The technician said tests would take more than an hour, but I had to get to work. So they said they'd call me, which they did about 2 p.m.
They had reinstalled the Leopard operating system on my computer, installed the Snow Leopard upgrade (instead of making me go home and get my copy, they installed one of their own) and found no problem with the hardware. I picked up the computer that evening. No charge.
So what's the point of this saga?
You've all heard of the "Apple tax," referring to the fact that Apples cost more than PCs. In general it is true. Apples do cost more. But my recent experience suggests to me that one of the things you get for paying the Apple tax is a higher level of service. True, I paid for Apple Care, and without it I would probably not have been treated as well. But I saw a lot of people coming to the store with problems and no Apple Care and being taken care of.
It costs Apple to staff stores and a Genius Bar. (Geniuses aren't cheap.) And it is true that Apple stores aren't as ubiquitous as Subways -- there are only two in the greater Pittsburgh area.
Everyone knows that the price of PCs has been under inexorable downward pressure. To stay in business, PC makers have had to cut costs. One of the ways they cut costs is to reduce service by trimming their support staffs and outsourcing support (often to India).
In the end, is this a good idea?
For business customers it probably is. Businesses want the lowest possible price on computers and have their own people to support users.
I am not taking sides in the endless, pointless Apple vs. PC war. I own more PCs than Apples. And good Apple-care-like enhanced support plans are available from PC makers as well.
If you are a seasoned user or a business, by all means go for price.
But maybe PC makers should offer a consumer-friendly computer with a pledge of good support for a higher price. They could include some well-written actual printed manuals. It would be part of the cost of the computer, not an add-on coverage plan. I'd be willing to bet that lots of people would pay for a better computer experience.
It's a simple matter of getting what you pay for.
First Published September 6, 2009 12:00 am
