It's different when the tech lied to him, damaged his computer, downgraded it, and accused him of smoking and that he could "smell the nicotine on the machine" when in reality, nicotine is pretty much odorless unless you have huge quantities of it.
The guy used the wrong terminology. He smelled the recognizable aroma that indicates possible smoke damage. You can't mistake it. My question: Did the OP also take a whiff? Did he/she smell it as well and just not know where it came from? Because if that's the case then smoke damage was entirely possible even if he/she wasn't the smoker.
Well I had went in with the mentality that I was gonna take it as far as possible and really give the manager some grief and full explain my disappointment etc etc but honestly, the way the manager dealt with it, I feel I would have been a bit of a knob to give him grief for it. He acknowledged that there had been a serious mixup, and couldn't have helped any more. It's sorted now, but as I said earlier, any time I'm getting a repair from them I will be extra picky and make sure everything is perfect and if it's not, then I will complain rather than get angry over it.
My question: Why didn't you request to open it up, power it on and test it right there at the Bar to make sure all is well? I do believe they will do that if you ask them. If it's wrong you can get it pointed out right then and there.
I can't help but wondering... Are the Genius bar staff TRAINED to blame the customer for issues? I hear a lot of people who say the Genius bar staff tried to blame them for a problem; I can't imagine this would be so widespread if this weren't the case.
You'd think the Geniuses are paid just as much regardless of whether they replace components or not... What motivation do they have to be arseholes instead of making the customer happy?
I'm not entirely sure, but I wouldn't be surprised. The way they act, you would think that the money for the part is coming out of their pocket, and that it is such a hassle for them, and basically trying every option to get out of repairing it. I'm not sure if it's just a bad store as every one of my friends who uses this store has had the same treatment.
When I went in for the second repair, the genius said that it was more than likely caused by smoking, to which I answered "I don't smoke, never have, never will". He then had the cheek to reply "Oh it's just that it's got a yellowish tinge and I can actually smell nicotine off the machine" Those were his exact words. I don't see why the manager and sales staff are among some of the best in retail, yet when it comes to the genius bar, every single one of them has a chip on their shoulder and doesn't want to help if it means new parts.
There was one female who I dealt with before whose attitude was so bad I had to leave the store before losing my temper. It was regarding the bezel and I asked how long it would take, she was very snappy and I told her that this is my only machine and I need it for my work and she said "Well you can't just expect to come in and get it done straight away, there are other customers you know?" Absolutely shocking, and not what I expected at all from Apple employees.
I'm sure if u worked there, there would be customers who thought you were an idiot too.
Working as a tech like a genius is hard friggen work.
Working as a tech is actually easy. Dealing with customers is not. There's a significant difference. And by "customer" I mean anyone who asks you for help, family or otherwise.
Some customers are straight cool - they have a problem, they come to you as the expert and ask you to fix something. As a tech you then give your opinion about what's wrong and the solution your boss has given you the authority to employ. Customer agrees, the work is done (properly I hope), all's well with the world.
Some customers have entitlement issues. They mistreat their devices and expect you to work miracles no matter what, and come in pissy about the fact that their machine had a problem.
Some customers demand immediate results and don't seem to understand that they're not the only one you're helping, or that you actually have other work to be done. They think that their issue, whether small or large, is the only one that matters, and that they should be the priority.
Some customers don't seem to understand the basic fact that technology can fail, especially if you don't take care of it, and they take that fact out on you as if you're the one who made it fail.
Some customers are just cheap and refuse to buy a new machine, instead attempting to force their old machine to run stuff it's not wanting to, then yelling at you about why you can't make it go faster.
Some customers don't understand that even though there is a "Genius Bar", it's not an "Open" bar. They have the right to refuse service or make you wait if you don't have an appointment. They tell you this yet customers totally ignore it in their mad dash for their next i-Device.
Now, all that said, I've had to use Genius Bar once. It was quite a pleasant experience, and I work in IT. That was for the 2011 MBP issue with uneven backlighting, dead pixel, and heat issue.
First step (that a LOT of people seem to forget to do) is I booked an appointment online. That was very easy to do, took a few minutes.
Second step, I brought it in at the scheduled time. The Genius asked what the problem was, I initially got a little annoyed because I put that on the appointment form, but I still explained it calmly and showed him what was happening. While this was going on, another chick stomped into the store up to the Bar and said loudly, "My phone don't work, I need another one!" One of the floor reps asked if she had an appointment, the chick said "no, why do I need one, I just need someone to look at my phone!" It was a facepalm moment, ultimately, she had to wait, and kudos to Apple for not kowtowing to her.
Third step, the Genius agreed with the dead pixel, was skeptical about the backlight until I showed him in darkened conditions, I mean it was really bad. The floor model had the same issue, so he offered to just swap it out. Didn't even get to mention the heat issue.
Fourth step, he gets the new one and asks me to open it right there and make sure I'm satisfied with it before I leave the store. So I check it out, it's fine, 6 key backlight is still low but the rest were a lot brighter, no dead pixel.
Fifth he does it as a return and re-purchase and applies a corporate discount that I should have gotten in the first place, so money comes back on my card.
Dunno what the deal is with some of you guys' Apple Stores and their Genius employees. The one near me has been quite good. But then again, if I get something serviced, I also check it out before I take it home. Mistakes happen.
