While we usually spend our time posting funny videos, writing acerbic commentaries and promoting naked ladies, there are times when we've used YesButNoButYes as a personal soapbox to complain about bad customer service, most notably in aquaman's open diatribe to Sprint. So it's only fair that we redress the balance where necessary with examples of outstanding customer service (even though they are few and far between).
in a way, it's no surprise to me that it comes from Apple. Specifically, the people manning their Genius Bar at the Prince Street store in Soho, New York. At this point, I should openly admit to you that I'm a die-hard Mac guy, having started with an LC 13 years ago, and with an unbroken string of Macs since then - probably 9 or 10 altogether between work and home. But while there are many things in my life where I love the product and hate the Company (Sprint being a good example, where i recently had to teach one of THEIR reps how to get their OWN wireless modem working), Apple always seems to get it right.
Still - naming your customer service reps "Geniuses" takes some balls and gives them a lot to live up to. So, here's what happened...
My Macbook developed a faulty trackpad, probably through wear & tear and me pounding on it. It's about 14 months old, so I was upset, but figured I probably deserved it considering the hours of use it gets every day at home and work, plus with me schlepping it back and forth on the bus. So I walked into the local Apple Store to see if they could help.
So the first thing to note when you visit a Genius Bar is the automated concierge service, that took a minute to fill out a form, and then my 'appointment" was displayed throughout the store, so I could keep shopping while I waited. Nice. Ten minutes later, I had this conversation with my assigned Genius, Josh.
Him: "Hmm looks like the whole top of your computer needs to be replaced. Is it still under warranty?"
Me: "Not sure" (A lie, of course. I knew full well it wasn't.)
Him: "Let me check.....No, it ran out in November, and you didn't take the extended warranty. Did you bring it in before your warranty ran out to show us the fault?"
Me: "Umm, no" (no point lying about that one)
Him: "You probably banged it or put pressure on the case. These cracks here..." (me noticing for the first time) "...are due to excessive pressure on the top".
Me: "Ahh, OK" (Seeing $$$$ passing before my eyes)
Him: "Well, you're only a couple of months past your warranty, so we'll just go ahead and replace the whole top of your computer for free anyway."
Let's pause for a moment and consider this. They had absolutely no need to offer this up - I was out of warranty, I hadn't extended it, the malfunction was due to excessive wear, and it was probably all my fault. And they offered to give me probably a couple hundred bucks in parts and labor for free. And fix it there and then.
Genius Bar turns out to be a pretty apt name. Not because those guys are probably doing anything other than following Company policy, but the Genius is in recognizing that customer service isn't about a faulty product, or a complaining customer, or even a revenue opportunity. If it's done right, it's about the maintenance of what could be a lifetime relationship with me that extends decades and could see me spending maybe up to 100k with them over the course of my life.
Congrats to Apple, the Prince Street store and to Josh at the Genius bar. They just gave me that extra incentive never to switch loyalty. And now I'm thinking - jesus, if customer service really is that simple, maybe I should just get the iPhone and dump Sprint's ass.
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We had a similar experience with Dell a few months back. We bought a laptop a couple years prior with a one year year warranty. The screen started to develop a problem so I called them up about it expecting it to be in hundreds to replace. They offered to replace it for free onsite without any coaxing. Two days later we were up and running. Oh yeah, I purchased it in the states and was living in New Zealand at the time or replacement. Very nice.
I would point out two things:
1) it is ridiculous to call them "geniuses"
2) you have to have an appointment to do anything. Recently, my daughter's ipod quit. It is a video ipod and the battery life on those is about a year. I have replaced mine twice and hers once before. Applecare told me that, since it was out of warranty, I would have to take it to the store and talk to a "genius" then they hung up on me. Problem is, you go there, and the next appointment is many many hours away. You "can" get an appointment on-line, but it is like trying to get concert tickets--gone seconds after they are available. Finally after a month, I went to the store and threw a fit. Turns out you can get an appointment if you insist loudly enough. Took five minutes for this poly-sci major with unfortunate facial hair to confirm the obvious and arrange for a new unit to be sent to me via the battery replacement program (50 dollars). Took, from failure to getting the replacement, about 6 weeks. As I told the genius, buying my house was quicker than that.
My experience with Dell has been mixed at best, but I've always had good experiences with Apple in regard to my iPods, etc....guess where I'll be getting my next laptop, it rhymes with Snapple....