These are all little, nit-picky things that have come up in the past week or so at work. None of them are really Apple-specific, so I could call the post something like “How to Live Life 101″ or “Shopping 101″ – but since they have all taken place at work, the title stays.
As a disclaimer: Everything in this post is of my own opinion. While I am employed by Apple, none of what is written expresses their views or beliefs on any given topic. Please refer to www.apple.com for The Truth, should you seek it.
Appointments.
I really appreciate people who make them. It generally makes for a better customer experience than waiting for a standby. However… please remember, you made an appointment for a reason. Committing yourself to a 5:20 appointment when you really can’t show up until 6:10 is a bit optimistic.
I know traffic sucks. Our store is in the middle of the Beltway (I-495), Route 50, Route 66, and a major parkway. If you’re driving in rush hour to get to our store, I’m sorry. I’ve had to commute in rush hour to get to our store, and I can get in trouble for being late. Plus, I drive a stick-shift. My left leg gets sore. Point is… if you think you’ll be late, call ahead, reschedule, or cancel. We’ll help you out.
On the other hand, if you schedule an appointment for 10 AM, blatantly disregard it (I’m looking at you, teenage-girl-who-did-this-two-weeks-ago) and want help at 3 PM, we can’t really help you beyond a standby. You had the appointment, we gave you a grace period, and we cancelled for a no-show.
Real life: Meet your commitments. Leave early for everything. Be nice.
Returning Things.
It is wonderful that you purchased X product for Y dollars at our store. We’re really happy to have you as part of the Mac family! However, if you aren’t 100% sure you’re keeping X product, you really should hang on to your receipt and packaging until you’ve made up your mind.
Really, the receipt isn’t a huge issue. We have our ways. Our managers are able to take your credit card, wave their magic wands over it, and produce a duplicate of your receipt if the need arises. It’s pretty awesome. The packaging though… we just can’t take back a product sans box.
Picture this. A customer comes into the store holding a MacBook Air and power supply. She claims it’s two weeks old and she wants to return it. Well, okay, but without the box (and associated power supply, adapters, etc.) we can’t do anything. It’s like returning clothes without the tags. Or taking a new couch back without cushions. Or something. If we don’t have everything we need to re-sell the product to a new customer, we can’t take it back.
Oh, and the return policy is 14 days, no open-box software, yadda yadda. Just like the back of the receipt says.
Real Life: Shopping 101 – keep receipts, don’t cut off tags or toss boxes if you might return things. Be mindful of the return period. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
MacRumors.com.
It’s a great site. They concoct stories from bits of posts on blogs, and make inferences based on trends. Occasionally, blurry and/or Photoshopped photos appear in their posts.
However.
What they write is not the truth, or the gospel, or in any way definite. I know your friend’s cousin’s third step-sister told you that The New iPhone is coming out yesterday, but if it’s not in our store or on Apple.com, it’s not legit.
If everything MacRumors posted was true, we’d have a device with a 10″ touch screen, 17G data speeds on every major cell network, with 128 GB of solid state storage, running nine operating systems, unlocked for use overseas. It would be -0.22″ thin, weigh approximately two feathers, and be made from pure iridium. Oh, and cost? $39 with a two-day contract, again, from any major cell carrier.
Real Life: We know iPhone OS 3.0 is coming this summer sometime. It’ll be free for iPhone users and probably cost $9.99 or less for iPod Touch folks. Should be a sweet update.
Tags: Apple Store, appointments, returns, rumors
[...] day after Christmas, and retail was booming all day. I wrote an earlier post (way long time ago, click here) about how to act in public. Consider this post a follow-up, social behavior training for the [...]