Page 1 of The Apple Store

So im in vodaphone getting a top up for my iphone, im changing the sim over and when i take the phone out of its case the bloody volume control metal whatsit comes off :(...very pleased i am, then i realise im in the city center minutes away from the store...so i put off my train rush to store....must be at least 18 staff milling about the store and 8-10 in the repair department upstairs. anyway im headed off at the pass by a polite young lady , explain the problem and am told its a 2 minute job but they cant fit me in until 4pm...no good says i, i will be in newcastle can u book me an appointment there...sure and she does..
in newcie i toddle into the store..again....smaller store..at least 15 staff there and 4 or 5 in repairs..i met again by a polite chappie explain i have appointment etc and he checks but i need to wait 20 minutes till my appointment time...while there i get my laptop out and sync and backup my phone (had some photos on it from weekend) and surf a little while i wait....and watch while 7 staff members have a gab together...in one corner..and 4 in another..interupted by the odd (in some cases very odd) customers...eventually guy comes up..i tell him the problem...ahh ok says he, how long have u had phone..ebay says me..he checks and tells me 34 days out of warranty....fanbloodystastic says I (ready to use the fit for purpose line) but the guy continues ill wave that and we will replace the phone....:):) happy bloody days for me...I needed to wait 10 min or so....

then in comes John....now i know his name is John because every single staff member hailed john...it was like Norm from cheers....John was middle aged...geek squad type chappie..obvious apple fan boy...and was bringing back his iphone 4 white.....he was the center of attention and in the middle of every conversation..including the manager who told one of the staff to get a new one for john..then he asked him what was wrong with it.....well says him having a problem with the volume..cant hear anything...guy comes out with my phone i activate it...john is surrounded now by male and female staff like hes apples no 1 buyer lol..im thinking if i get attention like that from some sexy young women ill be back weekly.....strange..love to know what sales per person they get from their staff...and what they do all day...but all in all the replacing the damaged phone rather than sending it away is a godsend...not a line i normally trumpet but go apple :)

The "Genius Bar" is a very ironic name for the Apple Store repair center.
In the 3 times I`ve had to use it (it`s the only way to get stuff repaired without sending it off)...I`ve dealt with `muppets` every time.

In dealing with Macbook issues, I had one guy who kept trying different DVDs on my laptop (when I told him the drive was faulty). He went through around 10 different DVDs before he admitted there was a problem with it - because it didn`t show up on the fault investigation software he didn`t believe there was a fault.

After buying my latest Macbook (I know I`m a mug, but I wanted a 15" fast laptop that had a decent battery life, backlit keyboard and was well built...I still haven`t seen a comparable Windows based laptop on the market), I found an issue with the wireless connectivity.
Poor reception, low connection speeds and horrific ping rates (network stability was very very poor)...whereas the 3 year old Macbook sitting next to it had no issues at all - so I figure either hardware or software problem.
Booked an appointment, had to explain to the `genius` how to measure network speeds and pings etc. Had to then explain that pinging Google was very different to pinging a local host...then had to explain how to find out what the IP address of the local router was!
After all that I gave up and found that it`s a widely reported issue and that it`s software related as it doesn`t happen in Windows. So awaiting a fix.

Whilst there I`ve also had discussions with them about how you repair the iPhone 3G & 3GS...the stock answer from each time was "you can`t".
I then explain how I`ve replaced the screens (digitizers & LCDs), the sensor bar (including ear piece), the dock connector etc. and then had to explain to them how it`s done. All they know is how to back up and restore to a new iPhone.

I also went in to the store when wanting to buy my latest Macbook, and asked a number of people where the Hi-res (1680x1050) glossy 15" laptops were. Was taken to the 15" Macbooks and told "here they are". I looked and said, "they`re not Hi-res"..."yes they are"..."the resolution is 1440x900"..."yeah, that`s Hi-res".
I gave up and ordered online.

Nice one Chris :D

miles :) i almost forgot, did you get my reply about that remote on google chat ? :)

Nope! Drop me a mail mate.

Don`t know if anyone saw Secrets of the Superbrands? Very entertaining and interesting series about the big brands. Any road up, the guy showed the opening of the new Apple store in Covent Garden which really just illustrates what controlling arsewipes apple are - equates them to a religion - and rather makes the fanboys look pretty sad. Approx 6mins in for ridiculous, hyped up store opening.

This item was edited on Saturday, 28th May 2011, 16:38

Love to know where the geek job club is they hired that lot from.....bloody scary if you ask me :(