[Macworld]

Post your comments for Make the most of the Genius Bar here

[frijole]

As someone who spent a fair amount of time behind the Genius Bar, prepared customers are always the best.
One more thing you should prepare for: to have the Genius end your appointment promptly at the 15 minute mark, regardless of the situation.
Overall, though, my recent experiences at Apple Stores in my area make me think that no amount of preparation will result in a good experience.
For example, I took in a laptop to get it checked out, and made an appointment ahead of time with my ProCare card. I got to the store only to be ignored for almost 20 minutes while customers with later appointments than my own were helped, and watched several other customers get sent back and forth across the store by clueless Concierges and Specialists.
The halcyon days of standout care from knowledgeable Geniuses is quickly fading into the past, and that's a shame.

[rab777hp]

God i HATE the genius bar, it sucks, the 'geniuses' really don't know anything, I actually know more than they do. They are rude, impolite, and will actually lie to customers, after a particular bad experience two weeks ago I will not be returning to a genius bar

[erictbar]

"If possible, have on hand all the hardware required to demonstrate your problem."
Right, but you forgot to mention that you do NOT have to bring in everything. If you have a desktop and you know the problem has nothing to do with the display, keyboard or mouse, you don't have to bring it in. Apple has plenty of displays, keyboards and mice to test. You only need to bring them in if you think they might be a part of the problem

[davebarnes]

I just had 2 recent visits to the Genius Bar at my local Apple Store (Cherry Creek Mall, Denver, CO) and both were very good.
1. Made the appointment in advance.
2. Showed up slightly early with my iMac.
3. Described my problem and gave the genius a printout of my diagnosis and attempts at corrective action.
4. He said: "your disk is [going] bad, we will replace it".
5. Took my semi-working computer home.
6. Received a phone call 2 days later that my disk had arrived.
7. On Thursday, made an appointment for Friday afternoon.
8. Showed up slightly early on Friday and bought ProCare for $99.
9. Saw the genius at 7 minutes after my appointment time.
10. Let the store with my receipt.
11. Returned 26 hours later to pick up my repaired iMac.
A. Was it perfect? No. Perfect would be that the original Western Digital hard drive never failed in the first place.
B. Was it an OK experience? Yes, it was. I don't paying for ProCare as my iMac is my business computer and I find ProCare to be worth it.

[Chris Breen]

rab777hp said:

God i HATE the genius bar, it sucks, the 'geniuses' really don't know anything, I actually know more than they do.

I'll bet you don't. I've had several encounters with Apple Geniuses and while some are "Geniusier" than others, most I've met know their stuff.

[rab777hp]

I don't think you understand just HOW traumatic this encounter was. And of all the ones I've met, they know two things and that's it.

[rab777hp]

But then again- maybe its just cuz its jersey ;)

[Chris Breen]

rab777hp said:

I don't think you understand just HOW traumatic this encounter was. And of all the ones I've met, they know two things and that's it.

I'd suggest your sample size was too limited to declare that all Geniuses are no-nothings. The people Apple hires for this position know a fair bit to begin with and then they're trained beyond that.

[rab777hp]

Perhaps you should see for yourself one day what the Apple store Menlo Park is like,
its not exactly your model apple store...

[mactechinfo]

If you are leaving your Mac for service at an Apple Retail store, make sure that you change the password for accounts as Apple list the password for accessing the computer in their case notes.

[fletc3her]

Don't go to the genius bar. It's WAY more convenient to trouble shoot over the phone and have them send you a box. You'll get your computer back faster and you don't even have to leave your house.
Best of all you don't have to deal with those "geniuses" who might decide that your computer isn't broken just because you can't recreate the problem on demand in the store. Mail it in and let the professionals FIX the problem rather than going through the hassle.

[AllmyPros]

Take it easy on the Genius Bar! First off my Macs are 99.99% trouble free! Second maybe the problem is the user. At least Apple cares enough to have a real live help center for the customers. Go try and find that for a p.c. from... Them!

[HvT]

Can't say my family's four Macs have been trouble-free, particularly the hardware. Exactly the opposite has been true of the local (Stamford, CT) Genius Bar. Have made about 10 visits with appointments, and in EVERY case,
1. Got service within 15 minutes of the appointment time, and
2. The problem was solved.
Twice, I had to leave the machine. In each case, I got it back the next day. All in all, this is remarkable, and is the reason my next computer will certainly be a Mac.
I do have plenty of basis for comparison. Neither IBM/Lenovo or Dell have been able to provide me anything like this level of service, even though the old IBM service reps were on the whole very knowledgeable and helpful. Dell service for consumers is a total disaster, although I must say their computers have been more reliable than IBM/Lenovo or Apple for me.