Apple Expert connections not very fast or personalized

I used the service twice without having to repeat any info already provided. The second time I had a case number and that contained all previous info and suggestions made previously. Worked as advertised for me.

I recently made a similar call and it sounded like the service rep got all of the things I typed into the form, just a few minutes into the call. (He commented on how clear my notes were).

And I thought the experience was pretty good. I clicked the "call me" button, my phone rang 30 seconds later, and I was on hold for less than a minute before I was talking to a very capable service rep. His interactions with me were appropriate to my knowledge on the subject (I don't like being treated like an idiot by support). Much better than a Dell or Verizon call.

I used the service too, and was dismayed to get the same result - until the initial person put me on hold for a few moments and returned with the equivalent of a Genius on the line.

My issue was a deeper one involving a goofy plist issue, but this guy solved it in about three minutes. I have to admit I was really impressed.

"Are you kidding me? You spoke to an English speaking American within 5 minutes of your appointed time and you're whining about it?" --J.G.

My sentiments exactly.

Are you kidding me? You spoke to an English speaking American within 5 minutes of your appointed time and you're whining about it?

It would have taken you longer to drive to the Apple Store than the 5 minutes (only 2 of which were on the phone) to talk to a person.

I remember the days when I had a Dell and the hours of hold time, after following absurdly long phone trees, just to talk to a non-English speaker.

They definitely should have had your info show up on the tech's screen. I would hope that they're working on implementing that.

...or why not hire a member of the Apple Consultants Network?

There are a few things going on here that you probably aren't seeing.

One, when you "get a call from AppleCare", you're actually being bumped to the front of the line, at your appointment time. So, you avoid waiting on hold for any significant period of time. And, at times, even AppleCare hold can take awhile.

(I remember multi-hour hold times back in the days of Gil... look how far we've come).

The lack of the Apple Expert not seeing your description could be a temporary problem... I suspect it is. Apple's backend software often lags in updating to reps/stores. So, that information will likely be seeded to the rep when they take your call in the very near future.

Fast? Yeah, compared to waiting 20-30 minutes, it sure is. Personalized? Stay tuned, it will be.

What's odd is that it didn't relay the information you had just entered to their data centers. I mean I could see you still having to verify your case number, but that should be sufficient.

Also, I would love to see some sort of VOIP implementation at Apple's expense. As most macs now have mics and webcams, this could be very effective in cutting the stress of paying your phone company for the 2 hours it sometimes takes to solve difficult problems.

Is this really all it is? A machine calling AppleCare for you?