In a long, detailed thread posted on Twitter, a former Apple customer adviser explains why appointments at the Genius Bar rarely start on time.
Although Apple launched its self-service repair program in April 2022 (it is possible to buy spare parts for certain iPhone models to carry out repairs yourself), the best thing is still to go to the Genius Bar in case of problems.
Indeed and if Apple’s online assistance has not been able to find a solution to your problem remotely, the technician will generally give you an appointment at the Genius Bar of the Apple Store closest to you. . Nevertheless and there is a problem reported by many users: appointments never seem to start on timeforcing customers to wait for long minutes while waiting for an Apple technician/advisor to finally free up.
Yours truly witnessed these systematic delays, after a visit to the Genius Bar during the summer. Here again, the appointment was not honored at the time fixed by the assistance. Now and in a long thread posted on Twitter, the user “Dr. Bread Pitt”, a former adviser at Apple, gives several elements of response concerning this phenomenon.
The Genius Bar, an internal organization to review
It finally details how Apple’s Concierge system works, details the strengths of the Genius Bar, and unveils how the system can collapse under pressure from customers and other factors. First of all, he specifies that Apple has the annoying tendency to book appointments en masse, since the Apple brand considers that between 20 and 40% of applicants will not be present.
This tendency to want to overfill the appointment book of a Genius Bar can have significant consequences on the waiting time. It is sufficient that customers are all answering the call to undermine the capabilities of an Apple Store. A situation that can worsen due to a lack of staff (holidays, sick leave, delays) or in the event of an emergency.
Also Read: Apple Stores No Longer Repair iPhones Reported as Lost
Apple technicians overwhelmed and not helped by the system
Otherwise, a customer’s need may be misdiagnosed by online support. In fact, an appointment that requires more intervention time necessarily leads to delays. The ex-employee also denounces the fact thatApple requires its technicians to be multitaskingin the sense that they must both:
- sell apple products
- lead to the subscription of Apple Care contracts
- discuss Apple’s educational offerings
- keep appointments at the Genius Bar
We must add to this errors related to the concierge system. For example, a customer just needs to enter an Apple Store and specify that they are there for their appointment at the Genius Bar. If by misfortune, the technician does not add it to the internal planning of the Apple Store, this person will be able to reach during 20/30/40 minutes a help which will never come because the system does not know that it is there.
The former employee concludes his thread inviting users to be lenientrecalling that Apple technicians “are doing the best they can with limited resources and an overwhelming amount of waiting customers”. As a reminder, Apple recently increased the salaries of its employees by up to 45% to prevent resignations.