Filed under: Retail, Cult of Mac, Apple
The inside story on Apple Genius training
As we all well know, Apple tends to be a rather secretive company and this extends to their retail operation procedures, etc. Nonetheless, many of us have wondered what it takes to become an Apple Genius, those black-shirted folks manning the Apple Store's most distinctive feature. Well, Apple employees are not supposed to talk, but one former Genius and one current Genius speaking anonymously have let MacLife pull the curtain back a bit for a look at what it takes to be a Apple Genius.To get your foot in the door you have to pass a test on diagnosing Mac problems, then if selected you're sent to Cupertino for two weeks of training en route to gaining three Apple certifications. Then comes some "real-world" training at Apple Retail headquarters, before finally ending with some on-the-job training at an actual retail Store locations. If you've ever been curious about how Apple makes their Genius quota, MacLife's look is worth a read.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Eric said 1:43PM on 6-02-2007
Well they really need to change something, because from my anecdotal evidence based on past experience, the "Genius" was not very helpful with anything beyond a basic problem.
But hey that's what online forums and google are for, right.
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SRS said 2:01PM on 6-02-2007
"To get your foot in the door you have to pass a test on diagnosing Mac problems, then if selected you're sent to Cupertino for two weeks of training in route to gaining three Apple certifications."
Shouldn't it be "en route?"
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Bob said 2:48PM on 6-02-2007
then why are the Geniuses at my store always so dim? i mean, i go in there and half the time the customers are packing up their gear saying they'll go home and fix it themselves. that's always good for a laugh! i haven't bought anything in one of the retail stores for over two years because the inventory is usually out of date and overpriced. and the staff is NEVER a help.
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Buckingham said 2:57PM on 6-02-2007
I believe that there's a five-day session on "Confronting Screen Nitpickers" and "Dead Pixel Denial".
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stefan K said 3:27PM on 6-02-2007
To be honest - I have not had a conversation with a Mac Genius yet, but the standard of normal Apple Store staff seems to be slipping. Many times I have overheard them give out wrong advice to customers - ("No, an MP3 in iTunes cannot be changed, you have to re-import from the original" - Well - it is better to re-import, but you can convert as well!), and when I need any answers myself, it is often quicker and way more reliable, reading any product descriptions on the website.
Recently an Apple Sales assistant struggled with helping me find a VGA(computer out) to DVI adapter - no, not a DVI to VGA... really not that dificult.
It just seems after the earlier top reviews of Apple staff, many now appear to be just plain normal computer sales people, at least in London.
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Leonard Nimrod said 5:02PM on 6-02-2007
Bob said, "i mean, i go in there and half the time the customers are packing up their gear saying they'll go home and fix it themselves."
• I imagine that may have heard that once. The likely answer was that the customers machine or what they asking for assistance with was not something with the Mac itself. For instance, they were having trouble with a 3rd-party app. I'm not usre how much the Geniuses are suppose to deal with.
Bob then states, "i haven't bought anything in one of the retail stores for over two years because the inventory is usually out of date and overpriced. and the staff is NEVER a help."
• The retail staff and Geniuses are not the same.
• The inventory in the retails stores is the same as on Apple's website and the same prices too.
• Why are you going into the stores if you are so hell bent on buying this overpriced merchandise? To check out your MySpace account? They stopped allowing that recently.
stefan K said, "Recently an Apple Sales assistant struggled with helping me find a VGA(computer out) to DVI adapter - no, not a DVI to VGA... really not that dificult."
• Apple has been exclusively using DVI or mini-DVI on their machines for years. They finally did away with VGA with the iBook and even that was a mini-VGA connector. Your usage was to connect a PC to a newer Display. Why exactly should Apple carry this adapter. They are not Radio Shack.
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ThunkDifferent.com said 5:20PM on 6-02-2007
The workers at the mac store often don't know man details, to many of them, i think it is just a hip job. The genius crew is another breed, no while the name genius is a bit pretentious, it's better than Best Buy's "Geek Squad" who really just seem to know a bit about networking and that is it. I have found the genius bar and Apple service to be pretty good, even if i have to return a second 1st gen shuffle in two weeks.
http://ThunkDifferent.com
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stefan K said 6:47PM on 6-02-2007
Leonard - I understand Apple don't use these connections any more. It was for trying an old Quicksilver G4 that I found, with my 23" Apple display.
Since I couldn't find the connector at the Apple store myself, I asked a Sales Guy... who didn't even know what was going on. the second one handed me the DVI - VGA... Then I decided to go to Maplins (like Radio Shack).
I am not saying they have to carry everything (but a few Dual Layer DVDs would be nice, since most of their machines have DL drives), but they should at least know what I am talking about, when I ask to connect a G4 (5years old) to one of their new screens. It's all Apple stuff, not even any other random computers.
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stefan K said 6:53PM on 6-02-2007
Don't get me wrong - I love the Apple Stores, love the design and cleanliness of the stores, the way everything is presented, I only buy my stuff from there.
I just hope they keep up their standard of staff helpfulness and knowledge, as they had when the first store opened here in the UK.
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Tristan said 7:07PM on 6-02-2007
Apple hires salesman for the Mac Specialist positions, not computer nerds. They are looking for outgoing, friendly, energetic people that can sell something over something that know every connection and adapter known to man. Some of the Specialists at the store I worked at had never even used a Mac before. They learn on the job as quick as they can, and if they don't know they ask someone who does and then they hopefully know that answer for next time.
I don't necessarily agree with that hiring policy, but that is the way it worked at my store at least. :-/
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tc said 7:30PM on 6-02-2007
Steffy...Buddy,
Let me help you out since you are a l'il bit turned around on the whole adapter thing.
Your not-at-all snide comments:
"Recently an Apple Sales assistant struggled with helping me find a VGA(computer out) to DVI adapter - no, not a DVI to VGA... really not that dificult." (Or is it?!?)
Here you go bud:
Nomenclature: VGA-to-DVI = -to-
You are trying to "upscale" an older analog technology - to magically make it newer and smarter - and connect it to a new digital tech. Uh..sorry but it doesn't quite work that way. You can dumb down a tech (DVI-to-VGA), even make it go sideways (DVI-to-ADC)
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tc said 7:54PM on 6-02-2007
That's an ADC monitor and yes, you will need an adapter that breaks out the combined power, video, USB connects. But you can't upscale your old VGA graphic card and connect a DVI monitor to it. OK, maybe you can, but not in the way that you were thinking:
http://www.gefen.com/kvm/product.jsp?prod_id=1435
Bottom line bro, please check your facts. I am quite confident that you were so worried about having to actually spend money that you convinced yourself that this was possible.
That Quicksilver rocks...er..rockED...back in ought-three or so! They LOVE you guys at the retail store. I bet the Genius Bar would be so boring for them if they didn't have to work hourly tech miracles to keep your 5 year long streak of not buying any new tech going! You keep the Geniuses in business...and ENTERTAINED!!!
Yeah, just maybe that's why they "struggled" so hard to find that "VGA-to-DVI" adapter for ya!!!
You are welcome.
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Reg Muffet said 8:06PM on 6-02-2007
Stefan K,
10 quid says you wear an anorak?
Seriously, tc is right: you're asking really obscure questions that even many hardcore Mac'ers would have trouble with, and judging Apple Store staff on the basis of these is unfair.
For 75% of inquiries, the Apple Store is okay. For the rest, there's Google, forums, macosxhints.com, etc.
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Reg Muffet said 8:08PM on 6-02-2007
Has anyone gone up to a genius bar and asked some of those questions in the Mac vs PC ads?
"What's π to 5 decimals places?"
(Tell them you'll buy a fully loaded Mac Pro if they get it right.)
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artifex said 8:22PM on 6-02-2007
I'd rather have someone come up and offer to give me a Mac Pro if I could recite it to 5 places. We learned that in junior high school geometry.
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jay said 9:29PM on 6-02-2007
As an ex-genius, let me fill you in on a little secret. Mac customers....we hate you. iPod customer we hate you double.
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JeffDM said 11:12PM on 6-02-2007
I am pretty sure that the current Apple LCD displays have no analog input (the analog pins are missing in the connector of mine), as such, there is no inexpensive adapter that can be made, it would have to be an electronic box with a digitizer built-in.
Converting a VGA output into DVI ruins the point of DVI, which is to stay away from a D->A and an A->D conversion, which is two conversion losses. You are better off buying an updated graphics card, I think an updated card would be cheaper than a digitizer box.
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punk said 12:31AM on 6-03-2007
"VGA(computer out) to DVI adapter"
ROFL freaking LOL!- user error accounts for 90% of trips to the genius bar.
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Evan said 12:33AM on 6-03-2007
I recently attended a group interview in New York for a sales associate position in the 5th Ave store, and, based on my impressions of the room, staffing at Apple (Genius or otherwise) has moved from computer-savvy specialists to your run-of-the mill summer part-time teens. The average answer in the room for why we wanted to work for Apple was "Well, I love my iPod, so I thought it would be cool to work for you guys." These came even from hopeful Geniuses.
Plus, the 5-minute test to qualify us for the second round interview included questions like: "Which of the following applications is not part of the iLife suite? iDVD, iPhoto, GarageBand, iCal, iWeb" and "What is the name of the company that provides the processors for Apple's computers?" Yeah...
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Quadrant said 7:06AM on 6-03-2007
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!
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