One Bad Apple

Last week Friday, I visited my local Apple Store to do a little Christmas shopping . . . for me. I had planned on purchasing an iPad as early as February of this year. However, new program development, business travel, the care of an elderly aunt, even a hurricane, managed to thwart my best intentions. Having finally encountered a quieter than normal week, Friday seemed like the ideal time to traipse over to the Upper West Side and make my purchase.

In previous postings, I’ve sung Apple’s praises. Quite frankly, the technology is so dummy proof that I’ve told more than one client, “Steve Jobs practically eliminated my need for a tech help desk.” On top of that, the company seems to have hired or trained a bevvy of employees who demonstrate an amazing ability to effectively communicate with even the least technologically savvy among us.

Unfortunately, Friday’s experience was less than stellar. A member of the Genius Bar insisted she could not set-up my e-mail, which in my case is linked to my website. If I used Google-mail or Apple-mail, set-up would be a cinch. However, she assured me, no one at Apple could look at my laptop (a MacBook Pro) and configure my iPad likewise. She held onto this position even after I explained that the Genius Bar had successfully set-up my e-mail on not one but three Apple products that I own.

As I told her manager yesterday, the Genius Bar representative, by her demeanor and tone of voice, essentially communicated that I was stupid and a waste of her time.

I left the Apple Store concerned that I had made a bad purchase. If I couldn’t get e-mail to download upon it, an iPad would be a useless purchase. The day was saved by an AT&T store sales associate, who looked at my BlackBerry, then at my iPad, and within a matter of minutes had my e-mail up and running on both.

At the real heart of providing good service rests good manners. Those manners must be accompanied by a willingness to go the extra mile. Last Friday, one Genius Bar representative showed neither. For the company’s sake, let’s hope she’s a lone bad apple.

Full disclosure:  As I explained to the Apple Store manager, it turned out that I had brought to the Apple Store an incorrect password. Apple’s Genius Bar never broached this possibility. When the AT&T store rep could not immediately cause my e-mail to appear on my iPad, he suggested I dash home and double-check my password. I did, discovered my error, returned to the store, and the rest is history. 
 
 

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