Genius Bar
Encyclopedia
The Genius Bar is a tech support station located inside every Apple Retail Store, the purpose of which is to offer help and support for Apple products. Ron Johnson
, the Senior Vice President for Retail, has often referred to the Genius Bar as the "heart and soul of our stores". Employees are specially trained and certified at the Genius Bar. Their role is to help customers with Apple hardware and software. All in-store repairs of Apple products are carried out by "Geniuses", formerly known as Mac Geniuses. In September, 2009 the Family Room Specialists were folded into the mix to handle iPod
and iPhone
troubleshooting. After its release in 2010, iPad
appointments also fell under the Family Room Specialists. Apple now maintains two Genius Bar queues: Mac and Mobile Device
The "Red Telephone" sometimes seen behind the Genius Bar was a direct line to Apple product specialists, allowing for problems and questions too complicated for the in-store employees to answer. This phone is no longer installed in newer Apple Retail Stores.
The employees can also be viewed as the local representatives of AppleCare
. They offer personal support when customers have problems or questions with their Apple products. Most services carried out at the Genius Bar are free. Non-warranty service (which is paid for by the customer when repairs are complete) is also routinely performed. Damaged laptop computers (or ones that need major repair) can be shipped to Apple's repair centers. All desktop repairs are done in the Store by Geniuses, usually within a few days.
Larger Genius teams are headed up by the "Lead Genius," who schedules workers, makes judgement calls, and handles customer service issues at the Genius Bar. The Lead Genius is assisted by the "Genius Admin," who is in charge of the administrative paperwork and other daily tasks.
Geniuses in training (referred to as "GYO," or Grow-Your-Own Geniuses) are not certified, but trained for iPod and iPhone issues, and help out where needed before going to formal training and certification at one of several training locations worldwide, including Cupertino, California
; Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; Sydney, Australia; and Ireland.
Pro Labs and Open Lab were introduced with the opening of the Apple Store on West 14th Street in New York City, while Pro Labs is also offered at the Sydney, Australia Apple Store and Pudong, China Apple Store. Open Lab to date is only offered at the West 14th Street location.
Apple has also branded features in their iTunes
application "Genius" that make musical suggestions based on your observed taste.
Ron Johnson (Apple)
Ron Johnson is the CEO of J. C. Penney and was the Senior Vice President of Retail Operations at Apple Inc. He pioneered the concept of the Apple Retail Stores and the Genius Bar. Ron joined Apple in January 2000...
, the Senior Vice President for Retail, has often referred to the Genius Bar as the "heart and soul of our stores". Employees are specially trained and certified at the Genius Bar. Their role is to help customers with Apple hardware and software. All in-store repairs of Apple products are carried out by "Geniuses", formerly known as Mac Geniuses. In September, 2009 the Family Room Specialists were folded into the mix to handle iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
and iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
troubleshooting. After its release in 2010, iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
appointments also fell under the Family Room Specialists. Apple now maintains two Genius Bar queues: Mac and Mobile Device
Store layout
The layout of a Genius Bar previously consisted of at least two 15" MacBook Pro computers, often mounted on "floating" stands. Currently, the Geniuses use iPads with similar software to check in machines for repairs. There may be other "floating" notebooks for iPod/iPhone troubleshooting. LCD screens behind the Bar play looped videos which offer tips to customers waiting to speak to a Genius. Stools can be found in front of the Bar for people to sit and chat with each other or with the Geniuses.The "Red Telephone" sometimes seen behind the Genius Bar was a direct line to Apple product specialists, allowing for problems and questions too complicated for the in-store employees to answer. This phone is no longer installed in newer Apple Retail Stores.
Staff
AppleCare
AppleCare is a service and support plan offered by Apple Inc. that extends the standard Apple warranty and phone support for its products to two years for iPods, iPads, and iPhones or three years for Macs.-AppleCare Protection Plan:...
. They offer personal support when customers have problems or questions with their Apple products. Most services carried out at the Genius Bar are free. Non-warranty service (which is paid for by the customer when repairs are complete) is also routinely performed. Damaged laptop computers (or ones that need major repair) can be shipped to Apple's repair centers. All desktop repairs are done in the Store by Geniuses, usually within a few days.
Larger Genius teams are headed up by the "Lead Genius," who schedules workers, makes judgement calls, and handles customer service issues at the Genius Bar. The Lead Genius is assisted by the "Genius Admin," who is in charge of the administrative paperwork and other daily tasks.
Geniuses in training (referred to as "GYO," or Grow-Your-Own Geniuses) are not certified, but trained for iPod and iPhone issues, and help out where needed before going to formal training and certification at one of several training locations worldwide, including Cupertino, California
Cupertino, California
Cupertino is an affluent suburban city in Santa Clara County, California in the U.S., directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 58,302 at the time of the 2010 census. Forbes...
; Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; Sydney, Australia; and Ireland.
Spinoffs/offshoots
The Studio and the iPod bar, two offshoots of the Genius Bar concept, are present in many new and renovated stores.- The Studio is staffed by "trainers" who serve customers with questions about many Apple consumer and pro applications, such as iLifeILifeiLife is a suite of software applications developed by Apple for organizing, editing, and publishing photos, movies, and music. The suite comprises five applications: iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand, and iWeb, all of which run on the Mac OS X operating system....
, iWorkIWorkiWork is an office suite of desktop applications created by Apple for the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems. The first version of iWork, iWork '05, was released in 2005. The suite originally bundled Keynote, a presentation program which had previously been sold as a standalone application, and...
, Final Cut ProFinal Cut ProFinal Cut Pro is a non-linear video editing software developed by Macromedia Inc. and then Apple Inc. The most recent version, Final Cut Pro X, runs on Mac personal computers powered by Mac OS X version 10.6.7 or later and using Intel processors...
, and ApertureAperture (photography software)Aperture is a photo editing and management software program that was developed by Apple for the Mac OS X operating system, first released in 2005 for $499 , dropped to $199, and now released on their App Store for $79...
. Third party applications are not officially supported. - The iPod Bar serves to separate out the customers with iPod-related questions to allow the Genius Bar to focus on customers with MacintoshMacintoshThe Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
-specific queries.
Pro Labs and Open Lab were introduced with the opening of the Apple Store on West 14th Street in New York City, while Pro Labs is also offered at the Sydney, Australia Apple Store and Pudong, China Apple Store. Open Lab to date is only offered at the West 14th Street location.
- Pro Labs consist of eight hours of training, spread across a series of four two-hour sessions. Much like The Studio, these sessions focus on Apple's "Pro Apps" such as Aperture and Final Cut Pro, as well as other third-party applications such as Photoshop, however, they are much more in-depth and focused than sessions at The Studio.
- Open Lab provides first-come, first-served assistance to customers with various applications, much like the early days of the Genius Bar, but with an emphasis on software as opposed to the Genius Bar's focus on hardware.
Apple has also branded features in their iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
application "Genius" that make musical suggestions based on your observed taste.
- The Guru Bar is Microsoft's spin on the Genius Bar. It is located inside Microsoft's new retail storesMicrosoft StoreThe Microsoft Store consists of fourteen retail stores and an online shopping site, and is owned and operated by Microsoft, dealing in computers, computer software and consumer electronics...
helping customers with technical issues from hardware to software.