Apple is planning an overhaul of how its GeniusBar works in a "giant leap forward" for its Family Room concept, according to MacRumors.
The changes are designed to increase customer access and satisfaction in the Family Room by employing something of an "all hands on deck" approach to ensure quick response to customer demand.
MacRumors believes that Apple will utilize active queue management to monitor customer demand for the Genius Bar from both reservations and walk-ins and reassign qualified employees from other areas of the store as needed.
Genius Bar technicians will now be asked to multitask by serving multiple support customers at one time, using downtime during appointments such as during reboots or while diagnostic tests are running to assist another customer. They will also be instructed to push overnight repairs and only offer "While You Wait" repairs when support demand is low.
Apple will also be using iPod touch devices loaded with Apple's MobileGenius software to help provide support anywhere in the store when possible.
While Apple is calling these changes a significant enhancement to support services, some employees don't see it that way.
One Apple retail store employee familiar with the changes noted that the company is trying to "do more with less", pulling in less-qualified Creatives and offering less personal attention through multitasking in order to deal with customer demand rather than hiring new staff. The employee also expressed concern about low stocks of parts available at retail stores and how without a change in how parts are allocated and delivered many repairs will not be able to be completed overnight as planned.
It's possible that these changes are related to an internal news bulletin that suggested something big will soon be introduced within its stores.
Read More
The changes are designed to increase customer access and satisfaction in the Family Room by employing something of an "all hands on deck" approach to ensure quick response to customer demand.
MacRumors believes that Apple will utilize active queue management to monitor customer demand for the Genius Bar from both reservations and walk-ins and reassign qualified employees from other areas of the store as needed.
Genius Bar technicians will now be asked to multitask by serving multiple support customers at one time, using downtime during appointments such as during reboots or while diagnostic tests are running to assist another customer. They will also be instructed to push overnight repairs and only offer "While You Wait" repairs when support demand is low.
Apple will also be using iPod touch devices loaded with Apple's MobileGenius software to help provide support anywhere in the store when possible.
While Apple is calling these changes a significant enhancement to support services, some employees don't see it that way.
One Apple retail store employee familiar with the changes noted that the company is trying to "do more with less", pulling in less-qualified Creatives and offering less personal attention through multitasking in order to deal with customer demand rather than hiring new staff. The employee also expressed concern about low stocks of parts available at retail stores and how without a change in how parts are allocated and delivered many repairs will not be able to be completed overnight as planned.
It's possible that these changes are related to an internal news bulletin that suggested something big will soon be introduced within its stores.
Read More