Even while they’re out of the store, One to
One members can keep learning. Apple provides an exclusive website
(onetoone.apple.com) where members can see their store’s current trainers,
change the primary stores they attend and make or edit reservations.
Additionally, Apple offers a breakdown of every available session members can
take, along with basic task checklists, a place for notes and related tips.
As a One to One member, you can book one
Personal Training, one Group Training and one Open Training session
simultaneously, but you can’t schedule more than one of each kind at a time.
That means you can have both a Personal Training and a Group Training session
on the books, but you can’t make two appointments for Personal Training at
once.
As soon as your appointments ends, you’re
once again allowed to book another session of that same type. Store employees
also frown upon ‘double sessions’ – using two One to One memberships to book a
trainer’s time from 9am to 10.50am, for instance.
Workshops.
Available to both One to One members and
casual customers, Apple’s workshops are for those users who don’t necessarily
need personalized training, but who want to know more about a specific subject.
Learning
something new by taking free workshops at an Apple Store
Workshops are limited to 12 people and
topics vary by store, as the staff select them. (If you and your 11 friends
want to petition your local store for a monthly workshop on Logic, for example,
it’s certainly possible to do so.)
Like One to One training sessions,
workshops run for an hour, although they’re not as personalized; usually they
revolve around several features within a program or the operating system, with
a short question-and-answer session afterwards.
Troubleshooting and rescues
Tales
from the Genius Bar
It’s all well and good to be excited about
your new Mac or iOS device when you’re taking it home for the first time or
about learning something new. But when it breaks, you don’t have to throw up
your hands in despair.
Apple first created the Genius Bar as a
place for Mac users to ask questions about their computers; if you stumped the
Geniuses on duty, they could even reportedly call Cupertino for an answer,
using a red emergency phone. As time progressed, the Genius Bar became the home
for many things: iOS device resets, stories about water damage, Mac repair
central and, yes - still a place to get reliable Mac hardware information.
Making an appointment.
You can’t just walk up to the Genius Bar
anymore and you haven’t been able to for a while. As is the case for the other
non-sales services Apple provides, you need to make an appointment, which you
can book through the Apple Store, through Apple’s website or on the Apple Store
iOS app (see ‘Book Early and Often’)
Before
you confirm your appointment, you’ll see a place to put additional information
Apple divides the troubleshooting of its
products into four categories: Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. (If you’re having
trouble with software or an accessory, choose the hardware it runs on.)
Each product has a different queue, so you
may see an iPad appointment available at 3.15pm, whereas no Mac appointments
will be free until 5pm.
Do not schedule an appointment for the
wrong category. Some Geniuses are only certified for iOS devices and can’t help
you with a Mac hardware or software problem; if you waste their time, they’re
likely to send you away and get you to rebook for another day.
Once you’ve selected your category and
appointment time, you’ll be asked to either sign in with your Apple ID or fill
in a form. Whenever possible, sign in with your Apple ID; doing so ties your
case records to it, so if you’re visiting a different store with a recurring
problem, they’ll easily be able to see what’s wrong.
Before you confirm your appointment, you’ll
see a place to put additional information. This is shown directly to the
Geniuses on deck when you check in and can often help them diagnose your
problem in advance. As such, we recommend that you fill this out your device’s
basic symptoms.
If you know the problem and just need a
part – if, for example, you have a broken CD drive – noting it in this field is
a good way to speed things up.
Book early and often
You need to schedule One to One training
sessions, Personal Projects, workshops and Genius Bar appointments in advance.
You can do so on Apple’s retail website (www.apple.com/au/retail) after
selecting your store or through the Apple Store iOS app. One to One members can
also do so on their personal portal (onetoone.apple.com).
If you plan to stop by the Apple Store for
any of these services, it’s advisable to make your appointments at least a day
in advance for workshops and one to two weeks ahead for One to One sessions.
There are only so many knowledgeable people who work at the stores and their
time fills up quickly.
If you’re looking to make an appointment on
short notice, we’ve found that sessions and Genius Bar appointments are usually
emptiest midweek, around mid-afternoon – most people are at work and the stores
also tend to have the fewest customers then. On the flip side, the worst time
to try to schedule an appointment is in the evenings, especially on the
weekends – if you need to see someone at those times, be sure to book well in
advance.
