[johnnie518]

I have a few minor problems with my MBP and I was told by AppleCare to go to the Apple Store to fix it. After looking on the website at the Genius Bar, appointments are for VIP only? and it costs $90 some dollars to be a VIP member.

So how hard is it to have someone take a look at your computer at the Apple Store? If I bring my mbp in will they even look at it?

Let me rephrase. How likely am I to talk to a apple 'genius' about my problems at an Apple Store?

[Cottonsworth]

You don't have to be a VIP. You can make an appointment online, just go to apple.com, pick the store you want to go to and click on the icon to see an Apple Genius.

[johnnie518]

Hmm... I went to the Pasadena store page. Clicked make a reservation under Apple Store Concierge and I got this.

Unfortunately, there are no more reservations available today. Please check back tomorrow.

I tried that a few times and I kept getting the same message. Anyway I could just walk-in and get help?

[fisherKing]

Originally Posted by johnnie518 

Hmm... I went to the Pasadena store page. Clicked make a reservation under Apple Store Concierge and I got this.

Unfortunately, there are no more reservations available today. Please check back tomorrow.

I tried that a few times and I kept getting the same message. Anyway I could just walk-in and get help?

well, in ny...
you walk in at 9am & they schedule you for 3pm (something like that).

chance it, but bring a book, or figure something to do in case you spend half the day waiting..
(may be better in pasadena, of course...)

[JKT]

The VIP thing lets you book things days in advance. As a normal grunt, you have to book stuff on the day (and possibly, in person, but I forget if you can do it online as well).

[Cottonsworth]

You probably shouldn't just walk in if they tell you online that they are full. I've seen them turn people away at the store when the person didn't have an appointment. I would just book an appointment for tomorrow or given that you are in the LA area, just try a different location.

[Film Prof]

I booked a noon appointment in Chicago at 8AM the morning of, and online.

By 8AM, noon was the earliest I could get in.

I was seen around 12:25, I think.

[brokecollegestudentF04]

I had problems with my mini, I drove to troy which is over 2 hours from here only to be turned away

[johnnie518]

sorry to hear about that brokecollegestudentf04, since they only let you make appointments online, i guess i'll do it one early weekend morning. an apple store is about 40 to an hour drive for me, so hopefully i can book something. thanks for all your help.

[buddy1065]

Man, hope nothing goes wrong with my C2D. Thinks seem to have gotten so bad it's worse than waiting at a hospital emergency room. Wonder why things have gotten this way? Seems like it started when the first core duos came out or am I wrong?

[Film Prof]

I think they're releasing products before they've been fully tested. The sheer number of problems indicates a quality control issue to me.

If I had been able to, I probably would have waited a few months after the C2D release to give them time to iron out the bugs.

[quattrokid73]

i had my first genius bar appt today with no probs! around 12 noon i booked an appointment for 545pm. arrived at 530 and played with motion on an imac for a while, then met with the guy at 545. he was helpful and gave me plenty of time to ask many irrelivant questions, such as the importance of passwording my computer at all times so that my dorm buddies dont put fetish porn on the desktop while im gone. this is at king of prussia in PA. dont even need applecare to get an appt.

[quattrokid73]

oh and what some of you are saying...the majority of issues ive seen people take to the genius bar are due to inexperienced users and people wondering why their ipod is broken...ive spent hours in the apple store on various occasions and its rarely faulty hardware issues...usually client caused.

[trevj]

Also, keep in mind that as Apple's marketshare and user base increase, so too will the number of visits to the Genius bar.
__________________________________

Trevor Johnston
Illustrator / Infographic specialist

Illustration by Trevor Johnston
__________________________________

[romeosc]

I used a trick, it may work for you......

1.Go in and register on a computer in store

[romeosc]

I used a trick, it may work for you......

1. Go in and register on a computer in store

2. Pick up at least 9products off sales floor. (Tech tool. external hard drive, etc)

3. Carry them to Genius bar and ask if they called your name

4. Even though it is way down on the list, when they call a few names eho aren't there,
they will probably call you over.... it has worked for me several times!

Then put items back on shelf

[johnnie518]

hahah... i'm glad it worked out for you romeosc. i made an appointment at 1AM for 3PM so hopefully all things will go well. what i need to fix is my trackpad button. it seems to be loose and has a double clicking sound everytime i click down.

does anyone know how long a hardware issue takes to resolve? i really hope i don't have to keep it there for a day.

i also wanted to address a semi-audiable humming sound coming from the bottom left speaker area (it sounds like a fan... but not...). it sounds like the gpu or the processor. its driving me insane... it didn't have it before i got a new logic board... very odd.

[mduell]

My Genius Bar strategy: Wake up at 5am, make an appointment for a convenient time, and go back to bed.

[kylemacr]

Originally Posted by johnnie518 

hahah... i'm glad it worked out for you romeosc. i made an appointment at 1AM for 3PM so hopefully all things will go well. what i need to fix is my trackpad button. it seems to be loose and has a double clicking sound everytime i click down.

does anyone know how long a hardware issue takes to resolve? i really hope i don't have to keep it there for a day.

i also wanted to address a semi-audiable humming sound coming from the bottom left speaker area (it sounds like a fan... but not...). it sounds like the gpu or the processor. its driving me insane... it didn't have it before i got a new logic board... very odd.

I can almost guarantee you that you'll have to leave it there for more than a day. In fact, they will probably try to ship it away for you as well.

[brokecollegestudentF04]

I think the geniuses at the apple store dont like me, I have the mini to have the home folder stored on an external drive, so i take it there due to the fan problem and they see that the users folder is missing, I just kept my mouth shut.. And they wanted to reformat my hard drive, both the lead genius and the other one spent an hour trying to figure it out, they were lost, It seems like it dont require much training to be a genius

[Film Prof]

One thing I will say and that's that the geniuses seem to know jack **** about the newest products. They were of little help with the MBP C2D, and in the end, it seemed like I knew more about the machine than they did.

I think this is in part caused by Apple's secrecy about new releases. If the geniuses are also kept in the dark, they have little time to become experts on a product that, when I took it to the Genius Bar, had only been released a couple of weeks prior.

[romeosc]

Originally Posted by brokecollegestudentF04 

I think the geniuses at the apple store dont like me, I have the mini to have the home folder stored on an external drive, so i take it there due to the fan problem and they see that the users folder is missing, I just kept my mouth shut.. And they wanted to reformat my hard drive, both the lead genius and the other one spent an hour trying to figure it out, they were lost, It seems like it dont require much training to be a genius

"Genius" is relative.... compared to the uninformed casual user, they seem like a .. ah "Genius"

Most users are not as informed as MacNN users!

[brokecollegestudentF04]

Well they failed the test miserably that I set forth on them...