The inside story on Apple Genius training

stefan k

im new to macs myself so maybe this idea is total crap, if so please feel free to tell me

if you want to see whats on the disk, can't you start the G4 in target disk mode and attach it to your mbp with a firewire cable?

okay, time to jump in.
first of all, no the inventory of the 5th avenue is not the same as the online store. neither ar the prices.
go check out the portable harddisks, i'll even photograph the pricetags on the 5th avenue store, if you dont believe me.
i wanted to go to get a harddisk i've seen on the internet, but when i asked the genuis where it is, he said that they dont always have the same prices.
i think the geniusstuff is cool, they are nice, but not always that smart. ;) i am a mac nerd, and i trickquestioned some of these guys.
like "can i transfer the unprotected music from my ipod to my computer" and he said "no", i then asked if there is absolutely no possible way, he again said no.
i also asked (another genius) how to modify a widget, and he's answer was that they are compiled and you cant modify them. okey, partially right, but i asked then if none of them can be modified, again "no, you cant edit any of them unless you have the sourcecode". jeeez, it's like this guy never heard that many widgets are plain HTML/CSS/JS
some are smart, true, i overheard a conversation of one teaching a woman how to setup a cronjob, for what reason ever (i've just heard some words, and seen the terminal window).
but some are just not that "genius", and know only the total-basics about mac os x.
and as far as it looks for a customer, sales staff, and genius are the same, cause all have a tshirt with "genius".

any ideas for question i could ask them ;)

Right. so, to put this to an end.

I do not wear an anorak.

I am not THAT computer literate, but do know my way round Macs quite a bit.
I have a brand new MacBookPro, and was given the old G4 Quicksilver, to do as I please, which is probably to sell it on.
I did not know the state the machine was in, and since I only have a 23"ACD, trying to connect the old machine to that was my only idea of actually being able to look, what's on that machine (better ideas are welcome).

Since there is no way that I would buy a graphics card for a 5 year old machine, without knowing what's still working, the logical choice was to find this adapter. Please correct me if that is a stupid idea.

No, I did not search Google for what adapter I need, the connections speak for themselves, the only problem was finding it.

But some knowledge from an Apple guy, to tell me, that they don't have what (I knew) I was looking for, or to tell me it will / won't work would have been great. That's all I needed.

It's not the best or the worst Apple Store experience, it was only meant to display that staff can't always help and are not as all-knowing as sometimes described.

I wonder how many call the local mom and pop shop that sells Macs and might even be authorized an Apple Store. I know here in the Champaign-Urbana Illinois area some call a local store an Apple Store but it's far from it.

Any idea how much the Apple Genius earns? What is the range?

Thanks!

Obviously Jay #16 is not, and should NEVER be, in customer service again. Nice attitude. Thank God you found another line of work.

Why is everyone getting on the guy who asked about a DVI to VGA adapter? If the "geniuses" wanted a challenge, then they should know how to use the internet to query his problem and present him with a viable solution, such as (maybe) this one:

http://www.lindy.com/us/productfolder/04/41223/index.php

The power of Google is quite astounding and since Apple seems to be getting in bed with the big G, shouldn't they teach their employees how to best use their resources at hand for those obscure times they have no idea what to do?

Some geniuses, IMO are knowledgeable and helpful, while others are arrogant and idiotic. I'm not a "genius", but I expect customer service above and beyond if I'm paying a premium for a product. I also expect that product to be free of cosmetic flaws (I mean, a Mac has GOT to look good, right?) and other unnecessary quirks.

The keyboard on the Macbook Pro bothered me to no end. Really tilted keys? On a high end notebook? The genius I went to popped one of the keys off with his fingernail, then pressed the plastic down and popped the key back on, proclaiming it fixed. I was shocked. He seemed bored by my concerns, though and treated me like I was a pesky fly.

Others replaced the top case when the clips started yawning, then gave me a guilt trip when I questioned why things weren't lining up still. I may be too much a perfectionist when it comes to the MBP. I sold it. It just seemed like a poor design if it had all those cosmetic flaws. I hope the iMac is better put together and I don't have to see the "geniuses" much, if at all.

On the othe hand, I'll never call the Geek Squad. What a joke.

@ Quadrant

I couldn't agree with you more. The iPod is killing the Genius Bar. I recently left after 4 1/2 years. The last 2 years of swapping iPod was friggin unbearable. The store went from delivering great customer experiences, to how much dot mac or procare can you sell or how many iPods can you swap in an hour. All the good managers left and were replaced with a bunch of middle management types from Target and Kohls.

Stefan K:

There is no adapter that is going to make that work for you... If you are so computer literate, why werent you asking for a graphics card that supported DVI?

and who was it saying that the inventory was out of date and overpriced... Uh... Apple sets the pricing, and it is the same industry wide... and the products in the retail stores mirror those online. They actually ship older products out of the stores after a certain amount of time...

You guys can bash the stores all you want... and maybe you have had a mediocre experience there at some point, but they didnt become the #1 volume retailer per sq / ft in the US becuase they sucked! Give some credit where it is due.

Maybe if you were going to the store to find help making a purchase instead of to test the knowledge base of the sales staff, or to whine about Apple's pricing policy, or just to play "stump the genius" with obscure questions about legacy products, you might find your visits a little more productive and evtertaining.

Just a thought.

Most of the talented Geniuses leave Apple as it dawns on them over time them they are nothing more than glorified iPod swappers. I know, I was one. You think you'll be working for the coolest company on the planet, pfft! You get treated like s**t, given no useful information whatsoever, it's a waste of a techie life being a Genius, shame, cos if Apple's retail God's (you listening Ron J ?!!) realised the talent pool that is leaving the Bar, well, it would be a bit of an eye opener to say the least. No wonder customers are getting fed up with idiot Geniuses, all the good ones have left!