I had a disappointingly un-Apple-like experience buying a new system last week, and of course I had to share. I would put the rest below the fold, since it's so long, but Typepad doesn't seem to support summaries anymore, or at least I can no longer figure out how to make one. So you're all stuck with the whole thing, sorry!

Last week I decided that my aging iMac was due for a replacement before it died completely, and with a little nudging from Wayne I decided to upgrade to a Mac Pro. (for those who know or care, dual quad core Xeon "Nehalem" CPUs :) Typically one might order this from the online Apple Store, but I needed to write a check for it (the price tag is well over the daily limit on my business debit card) so there was no choice but to buy it at a local store.

I wasn't even sure that a retail store would stock the high-end Mac Pro; it's not the sort of thing people usually buy at the mall. So I called the store at Bridgeport Village (from here on out, BV) and asked if they had one in stock. At first the kid who answered the phone, who sounded all of 16 years old, was confused… I said Mac Pro but I think he heard MacBook Pro, and what's this about dual quad-core what's that now??? We got it straightened out and he went off to check, reporting back that yes, they had them in stock.

When it was time to head out to buy the system, though, we needed dinner and for some reason we wanted to go to the Cheesecake Factory, which is at Washington Square (WS). So we decided to try that store first to see if they had them.

We walked in and the store was full (as it always is), with every salesperson busy. We saw one conversing with a customer about a Mac Mini, which are set up next to the Mac Pros, so we went over there and waited. And waited. About 20 minutes went by, during which we never saw a free salesperson, no-one acknowledged us at all, and the guy we were standing next to seemed to be in no hurry, letting his customer ramble on and tell irrelevant stories. Just when I thought they were done his family showed up and the entire sales pitch had to be replayed for his wife, who then dragged him outside to talk about this purchase (which she seemed pretty clearly opposed to).

At that point we thought we'd get some help, but without acknowledging us *at all* the guy turned to a girl who had been standing to his other side, who he had apparently talked to earlier, and walked her up to the genius bar to check her in. And then he vanished. We saw him a few minutes later, in street clothes and heading out the door.

I know that getting help in an Apple Store is always feast or famine; either they are bored and you get greeted all over again every 10 feet or they are all busy. But this seemed beyond the pale. This is far from the first time I've had bad service at the WS store but it was by far the worst, and I like to spend my money to reward good service, not bad. So we walked out and headed for BV.

This time the store was almost empty, but we still didn't get greeted; I had to go interrupt the conversation between two salespeople to get some help. When I said "I'd like to buy a Mac Pro" his eyes just about bugged out of his head, and he said something like "that's not something you hear every day!". He seemed stunned. He asked if I wanted to upgrade disks or RAM and I said I'd like to bump up from 6 GB to 8 GB, mainly to switch from 1 GB to 2 GB SIMMs, all the better for adding more RAM later on if I need it. He had to go back and ask if they could do that (that is what they will do if you order a system online, but apparently in the stores it is more usual for them to just stick in two more 1 GB SIMMs. Not a good deal for the customer at all). He came back and said yes, they could, but it would have to wait until the morning. We both recall him saying it would be worked on first thing in the morning and they would call me as soon as it was ready.

The next day I went out running errands. At noon, when I had run out of other things to do, I called the store. After putting me on hold the person came back and said they were working on it now and would be done in about 30 minutes. Since it's about a 30 minute job, I have to assume that they didn't start on it until I called. *sigh*

Picking up the system was uneventful, and everything worked out fine. Except I realized that with all the confusion about the RAM upgrade I had forgotten to ask for an Airport wireless card; it has been a long time since I purchase a system that didn't come with one built in. So back to the Apple Store I had to go… this time I had other things to do at WS so I went back there, figuring that not even they could screw this up. Close, but not quite! They sold me the card, no questions asked, but when I got the plain white box home and opened it up, I discovered a big warning about this not being available for retail sale, to be installed by Apple techs only. And no installation directions whatsoever. Yikes!

I did a Google search and found this site, which seems to be the only place on the Internet that helps us mere mortals with this task:

Meandering Passage

The inside of the Pro has changed a lot since the site was written, but I was able to modify the directions to make it work. I posted a comment about the changes but it still hasn't been approved. Maybe he wants to look at one for himself before believing me. :)

I have mixed feelings about this part of the adventure. On the one hand, I'm grateful that the WS store was willing to sell me the card and didn't force me to pay for installation. But I'm also annoyed that the kid didn't warn me it was going to be difficult and ask if I wanted to have it installed. It turned out to be ok for me; I'm comfortable with hardware and have been doing things like this for a long time. But your average graphic designer or regular code monkey? They would have had a very hard time with this.

I did get a nice email from the "business" guy at BV and he has followed up with me a few times, so that was a plus.

<rant mode on>

Am I the only one who remembers when Apple Stores first opened, and they were staffed with adults who knew what they were doing? Sure, they were 20 somethings, but they had the maturity to give good customer service and the experience to really know their products. It seems to me over the last few years that the quality of people in the stores is dropping all the time… it seems like they get younger and less technically savvy every time I go in there. I don't know this for a fact but it seems like they must be paying them less and less, and getting what they pay for.

As if to confirm my impression, when I picked up the system at BV the kid asked me if I had talked to the business rep and I said no. He said that I should do that when I was ready to buy another system, because they really know the products and could help me choose the right system – "I'm just a college student and don't know all that much", he said. Well, glad to see we agree on that….

Unfortunately, not even this trend excuses the rude guy at WS… he was easily in his late 30s and should have known better.

</rant mode off>

The story ended well; everything is working and I'm loving the dual-monitor setup. But next time I need a new system I'll be a lot more tempted to order it online and save myself the hassles.