Lets do the whole thing start to finish, I wanted to document this
1) For my own memory
2) For others who had never used the Genius Bar before.
I went on the Apple.com/uk site this morning and booked a spot at the Trafford Centre Genius Bar, this was really easy, fill in a few minor details (Your name, email address and Mobile phone number) and select a slot from those available. These are in 20 Minute segments. I was aiming to leave work at 15:00, the store is about 40 minutes from work and knowing my record for leaving when I want, I booked for 16:40, this would allow me a leeway of an hour for holdups and getting caught on the way out of work. The webpage then confirmed the appointment date and time and had basic instructions. If I had any criticism of this process, it was that there was no email confirmation to both remind and reassure that the booking has been made, this would be nitpicking though.
I got to the Apple Store in the Trafford centre and Looked at the kit, but there's only so much looking and playing you can do, especially when you know the Operating system and equipment fairly well. I was early, the confirmation web page said that you should wait for your name to be shouted, and I didn't want to miss my slot. The time came and it quickly became clear that I could then go to the Bar and I would be dealt with as soon as there was someone free. From the look of the screen behind the desk, 8 people had booked into the 20 minute slot, I was there for the full 20 minutes and only three showed, maybe it's a common occurence for people not to show.
One of the Gents behind the counter (There were two of them working when I arrived) came to look at my Powerbook G4, I explained that there were white spots on the screen. He booted it to get a look and hummed and hawed before looking at his own powerbook behind the counter which I can only guess has technical documents on there. He asked me how long I'd had the powerbook, and then explained to me that the replacement program had finished last weekend, and that I should have brought it in earlier. I explained that I had looked at the documentation on the website on Monday and that it was still there then.
The Tech explained he'd have to go and speak to someone and disappeared into the back. I was left twiddling my thumbs for five minutes before he returned. He explained that the replacement program had finished, however for good customer service and because my PB's screen did seem to be spectacularly bad, that they'd replace the screen free of charge.
Now to be honest, if they'd refused to replace it, I would have kicked up a stink. That fact is that the screen was damaged due to a known manufacturing defect, and goods must be fit for the purpose for up to Six years in European law, but luckily I didn't have to stamp my foot.
it took the Tech about 10 minutes to book the laptop in, now I have no way of knowing if this was him or the system, but I strongly suspect that it's the system, he had to fill out online forms, look for parts online and fill out paperwork. To me it seems a waste of time to have someone who should be helping customers with problems filling out 'paperwork' But again this was completed and I signed for the work.
We had to fill out a sheet to mark any scratches on the PB, but I wasn't given a copy, which seems a little strange and I signed a bill for the work, the bill said that I would pay £0.00 for the work to be completed.
Everyone was extremely nice, nothing was rushed (Although it wasn't particularly busy) and I felt like I was a valued customer, which after dealing with Microsoft on a regular basis was a little bit of a surprise.
When I have my Powerbook back, I'll finish the story off, but so far I'm very impressed.
1) For my own memory
2) For others who had never used the Genius Bar before.
I went on the Apple.com/uk site this morning and booked a spot at the Trafford Centre Genius Bar, this was really easy, fill in a few minor details (Your name, email address and Mobile phone number) and select a slot from those available. These are in 20 Minute segments. I was aiming to leave work at 15:00, the store is about 40 minutes from work and knowing my record for leaving when I want, I booked for 16:40, this would allow me a leeway of an hour for holdups and getting caught on the way out of work. The webpage then confirmed the appointment date and time and had basic instructions. If I had any criticism of this process, it was that there was no email confirmation to both remind and reassure that the booking has been made, this would be nitpicking though.
I got to the Apple Store in the Trafford centre and Looked at the kit, but there's only so much looking and playing you can do, especially when you know the Operating system and equipment fairly well. I was early, the confirmation web page said that you should wait for your name to be shouted, and I didn't want to miss my slot. The time came and it quickly became clear that I could then go to the Bar and I would be dealt with as soon as there was someone free. From the look of the screen behind the desk, 8 people had booked into the 20 minute slot, I was there for the full 20 minutes and only three showed, maybe it's a common occurence for people not to show.
One of the Gents behind the counter (There were two of them working when I arrived) came to look at my Powerbook G4, I explained that there were white spots on the screen. He booted it to get a look and hummed and hawed before looking at his own powerbook behind the counter which I can only guess has technical documents on there. He asked me how long I'd had the powerbook, and then explained to me that the replacement program had finished last weekend, and that I should have brought it in earlier. I explained that I had looked at the documentation on the website on Monday and that it was still there then.
The Tech explained he'd have to go and speak to someone and disappeared into the back. I was left twiddling my thumbs for five minutes before he returned. He explained that the replacement program had finished, however for good customer service and because my PB's screen did seem to be spectacularly bad, that they'd replace the screen free of charge.
Now to be honest, if they'd refused to replace it, I would have kicked up a stink. That fact is that the screen was damaged due to a known manufacturing defect, and goods must be fit for the purpose for up to Six years in European law, but luckily I didn't have to stamp my foot.
it took the Tech about 10 minutes to book the laptop in, now I have no way of knowing if this was him or the system, but I strongly suspect that it's the system, he had to fill out online forms, look for parts online and fill out paperwork. To me it seems a waste of time to have someone who should be helping customers with problems filling out 'paperwork' But again this was completed and I signed for the work.
We had to fill out a sheet to mark any scratches on the PB, but I wasn't given a copy, which seems a little strange and I signed a bill for the work, the bill said that I would pay £0.00 for the work to be completed.
Everyone was extremely nice, nothing was rushed (Although it wasn't particularly busy) and I felt like I was a valued customer, which after dealing with Microsoft on a regular basis was a little bit of a surprise.
When I have my Powerbook back, I'll finish the story off, but so far I'm very impressed.
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