[NPMUG] TechMan: Computer-support Genius Bar lives up to name - By Ced Kurtz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[Dave Sevick]

TechMan: Computer-support Genius Bar lives up to name
TechMan recently had a positive experience with computer support,  
something so rare these days I thought I ought to write about it.  
(Yesterday)

Read more:   http://www.post-gazette.com/technology/#ixzz0QTAuOKTQ

Sunday, September 06, 2009
By Ced Kurtz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
TechMan recently had a positive experience with computer support,  
something so rare these days I thought I ought to write about it.

I recently bought a copy of Snow Leopard, Apple's operating system  
upgrade. When I got it home and attempted to install it on my iMac, it  
would not install.

So I went to the Apple store and waited in line at the Genius Bar,  
which is what Apple calls the support desks in its stores. (If it  
called them the Dummy Bar, they'd probably get a lot less business.)

After about a 40-minute wait (Tip: Make an appointment in advance on  
the Web), a technician checked my disk and found nothing wrong but he  
gave me a new disk anyway.

When I tried the new disk, it also would not work. Remembering that I  
had bought Apple Care for the computer (a three-year enhanced support  
and repair program that now sells for $169), I went to the Apple Web  
site at Apple.com.

There I was prompted to enter the serial number of my computer. When I  
did this, I got a message saying I would receive a telephone call from  
Apple within one minute. Thirty seconds later my phone rang and in  
about two minutes, a technician came on the line.

He understood my problem immediately (and our conversation was  
unhampered by a language barrier). After trying several things  
unsuccessfully, he said he thought I had a problem with my computer  
itself, not the software. I would have to take the computer to the  
Apple store.

I was the first person at the Genius Bar Monday morning. (I love the  
smell of Genius in the morning). The technician said tests would take  
more than an hour, but I had to get to work. So they said they'd call  
me, which they did about 2 p.m.

They had reinstalled the Leopard operating system on my computer,  
installed the Snow Leopard upgrade (instead of making me go home and  
get my copy, they installed one of their own) and found no problem  
with the hardware. I picked up the computer that evening. No charge.

So what's the point of this saga?

You've all heard of the "Apple tax," referring to the fact that Apples  
cost more than PCs. In general it is true. Apples do cost more. But my  
recent experience suggests to me that one of the things you get for  
paying the Apple tax is a higher level of service. True, I paid for  
Apple Care, and without it I would probably not have been treated as  
well. But I saw a lot of people coming to the store with problems and  
no Apple Care and being taken care of.

It costs Apple to staff stores and a Genius Bar. (Geniuses aren't  
cheap.) And it is true that Apple stores aren't as ubiquitous as  
Subways -- there are only two in the greater Pittsburgh area.

Everyone knows that the price of PCs has been under inexorable  
downward pressure. To stay in business, PC makers have had to cut  
costs. One of the ways they cut costs is to reduce service by trimming  
their support staffs and outsourcing support (often to India).

In the end, is this a good idea?

For business customers it probably is. Businesses want the lowest  
possible price on computers and have their own people to support users.

I am not taking sides in the endless, pointless Apple vs. PC war. I  
own more PCs than Apples. And good Apple-care-like enhanced support  
plans are available from PC makers as well.

If you are a seasoned user or a business, by all means go for price.

But maybe PC makers should offer a consumer-friendly computer with a  
pledge of good support for a higher price. They could include some  
well-written actual printed manuals. It would be part of the cost of  
the computer, not an add-on coverage plan. I'd be willing to bet that  
lots of people would pay for a better computer experience.

It's a simple matter of getting what you pay for.

Read TechMan's blog at post-gazette.com/techman. The TechTalk video  
podcast is at post-gazette.com/multimedia and the audio version is at  
post-gazette.com/podcast. Follow PGTechMan on Twitter.com.
First published on September 6, 2009 at 12:00 am

Read more:http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09249/995697-96.stm#ixzz0QTBVQ6KE
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