Apple stores roll out revised One to One support & training program

I'm sad. I had one to one and was going to renew and now I cannot! I'd like to have that option again!!!!!

A major selling point to people who are buying their first Mac has been the availability of the One-to-One training. I had the training originally as part of the ProCare but didn't continue with it once it was split into its own service, but in my case primarily because the training was way too basic for me and the trainers couldn't answer the advanced questions I was interested in exploring.

However, I've recommended Macs to many people, mostly mature to senior citizen, as the easiest way to get into computing when you have no background. And I recommended that each of those people also purchase the One-to-One training so that they would actually learn how to use the computer (try THAT in the Windoze world).

Apple, as a corporation, has been gaining market share. At least a portion of that success has to be attributed to third-party retailers like (now defunct) Circuit City. And Apple, according to rumors, is busy signing up WalMart to sell Macs.

So it baffles me how Apple figures that Macs' popularity will gain if they take an important item like One-to-One training and make it available ONLY if you buy your Mac at Apple. Since Apple products are never discounted by 3rd party sellers, this leaves only DISadvantages to buying a Mac from a 3rd party retailer. Does Apple really believe that those retail partners will be successful, and continue to make Apple successful, when Apple changes the rules in a way that makes it clearly advantageous only to buy form Apple?

It seems like this move is going to be a big disaster; it remains to be seen how this may affect Mac market share growth in the long term.

I am a trainer at an Apple store and think the changes are great! (an unbiased opinion as we are pretty jaded and fairly grounded in reality) It's sad to see the option to buy at any time taken away, but it is great to know that we're gonna be dealing with new machines and new software instead of six year old iBooks running iMovie 6.
The quality of the training is great and is not limited to new users, we also teach every Apple Pro App!!

At 73 and just switched to Mac I need One-to-One. Shame on Apple that I can't renew for more than a year.

Sparky

My 60-something Aunt and Uncle purchased their first Mac and One-to-One last year after they retired. They've been have a lot of fun with it. They look forward to their class every week and often tell me about all the things they've learned and are doing with their Mac. My Aunt no longer calls me for support, which is awesome! If she has a question or problem, she writes it down and asks it at her next class. She takes amazing notes and has even taught me a thing or two. With their One-to-One expiring soon, they plan on renewing for another year. It's a shame that Apple has now alienated users who would renew for many years to come. I understand the program's popularity, but why do dedicated users need to suffer?

I forced my wife to get 1-1 when she got her new Mac. With it she's built websites--including shopping carts, manages her iPod, and helps the kids with their homework much better. She also started buying software, and getting training for it on site. And the educator discount made it an even better deal, knocking about 20% off the initial price.
It was helpful to note that the new system will limit renewals--got to make sure she doesn't miss out on that.
And as an ITpro, I can come home from work and not have to spend the night doing tech-support and training. Love it!

As a former One-To-One "Creative" I think it is a great idea that Apple is expanding the time allotted to spend with clients, as well as the idea of project work. Often times while working with a client we ran out of time, and a project would take weeks to complete. With this new policy, it may only take one or two sessions for someone to get that same project done!

It's also a great idea to only offer One To One with the purchase of a new computer. It eliminates the confusion and time consumption involved in trying to "backward teach" to an older Operating System or version (think iMovie 06 vs. 08).

As an Apple Authorized Reseller I always appreciate it when Apple makes it harder for me to sell computers. I used to be able to sell to a customer and only have to worry about the one-to-one program taking some of the consulting time away, now I lose the sale since computers purchased at Apple Authorized Resellers are not eligible for the one-to-one program anymore.

Thanks for sticking up for the little guys Apple!

Keep the one to one experiences coming.

My dad recently told me he was thinking about switching for iLife. He lives five minutes from an apple store, I think this would be perfect for him.

I switched two years ago, and my wife and I have both been avid users of on-to-one. I think it's one of the smartest things Apple has done, and am sad they are changing the program. My wife has gone from (with her PC) being a technophobe, afraid to open an attachment; to having built her own website and using her MacBookPro in ways she never imagined; largely through help via One-to-One. I think it's a great brand-builder for Apple, and worth the investment. I'll be sad when mine expires.