Personal shopping discontinued in Apple Stores

With personal shopping, customers could make an appointment up to two weeks in advance to have a staff member provide personalized assistance in picking out the right ways to spend money in the store. It's not clear why the service has been discontinued but customers can still get help with selecting the right Apple products. The only difference is that they'll now need to stand in line. Of course, good things are worth waiting for and who doesn't want to hang around the Apple store playing with iPads and Macs for a couple of hours?
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Apple retail stores are typically very busy places. While the staff are very helpful, customers generally have to wait around a bit...
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Personal Shopping was taken away partly because of fewer people using it. The main reason is that you are now able to reserve any Mac, iPod, iPhone iPad or Apple TV. Once you choose a time and arrive at the store, You can check in with the App and will be automatically be added to the queue where a specialist will arrive to help you out.
November 07 2010 at 10:17 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplySorry, I neglected to say that you can reserve using the Apple Store App
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/apple-store/id375380948?mt=8
Download Apple Store App. Request shopping assistance and then wait in a virtual queue.
November 04 2010 at 11:12 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI'm not such a fan of Apple shops. I always get told-off for something whenever I go into the London one... "don't stand there", "don't touch that" etc... :-(
November 04 2010 at 7:11 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyAmazing, isn't it?
Whatever happened to customer service at these retail outlets?
When you do finally find someone chances are they do not know the information you are asking them about.
Really makes online shopping more advantageous. No cues, no searching for a carpark, no trying to find unreliable assistance.
Sit in the comfort of your own home and shop at your leisure.
You can shop online at http://top-selling-christmas-gifts.blogspot.com
Solved, use the Apple Store app on your iPhone, etc to ask for help as soon as you walk in the door if it is very busy to be put on a queue
November 03 2010 at 2:19 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI tried to use this service once, as I had to run to pick up an MBP on my lunchbreak and get back to work. Really, all I wanted was the exact thing I needed sitting at a cash register, but of course that doesn't exist.
Anyway, I got to the store, and they looked at me like I was insane and they had never heard of a personal shopping appointment.
Apparently it's barely ever used.
Personally, I like it, it rewards people for calling ahead, much like making reservations at a restaurant. Apple's store model is more Restaurant- than Retail-based to being with, so I'm sad to see it go.
I second the notion that it's only for the holidays. Of course, knowing Apple, they may have something better in the works.
November 03 2010 at 1:22 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHaving worked at a Genius Bar personally, and having access to the scheduling system, it's more likely that the service was discontinued because of lack of use. The most personal shopping appointments I ever saw as 2 in a month.
November 03 2010 at 1:07 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyPerhaps Apple is simply discontinuing the service for the holidays. Most Apple stores I have been to now have more than a hundred (literally) staff members and still have trouble keeping up with in-store traffic.
With the holiday shopping season nearly upon us, perhaps preventing these types of appointments will help to provide a smoother, more affable traffic flow situation for everyone.
"The only difference is that they'll now need to stand in line"
no that's the problem there is no line you have to hang out a drink koolaid to just buy a new power plug.
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