A little tangent. My daughter “switched” a few months ago. Yesterday a Netflix DVD jammed up her iMac and rendered it inoperable. She telephoned Apple and in a few minutes they guided her through a few exercises and the problem was resolved. Complicated by the wireless keyboard the solution was fast and painless. She now thinks she was pretty smart with her decision to join “the rest of us”.

We had a very pleasant experience yesterday with apple phone support.

My daughter iPod Touch earphone and my iPhone earphone were broken. We stop by the local AppleStore sunday in case they could replace them. The Genius bar was busy but they told us to go online at depot.info.apple.com.

Mine was easy to do but her’s was impossible. She had already exchange in december her Touch. Somehow her serial number was not in Apple Database.  When i tried to register her Touch the system would reject it.

So we called Apple support. The support person couldn’t get it to work either. After about 15 minutes on the phone taking info, he said to my wife that he would work on it and call back. 20 minutes later he call back having sorted out the problem, gave my daughter a 6 months extension to her warranty and had already setup the replacement process.

Really nice support, my wife was really impress by this kind of support.

BillH - 07 July 2009 04:48 PM

Was at the Southdale store here in Minnesota about 1:30 today picking up three new iPhones.  The place was rockin.  I didn’t get a chance to see what was leaving the store but all of the Mac stations were busy with serious potential buyers.  They were out of white and black 16 gig and the 32 white after our purchase.  The Mall of America store is closed for renovation so that may explain some of the crowd but no matter how you look at it I’m stunned by the level of traffic being generated in this environment.

Picking up three new iPhones? Nice. 

I know the June quarter iPhone sales numbers will be impressive, but I expect the September quarter unit sales numbers to be an absolute blowout.

DawnTreader - 07 July 2009 10:05 PM

BillH - 07 July 2009 04:48 PM

Was at the Southdale store here in Minnesota about 1:30 today picking up three new iPhones.  The place was rockin.  I didn’t get a chance to see what was leaving the store but all of the Mac stations were busy with serious potential buyers.  They were out of white and black 16 gig and the 32 white after our purchase.  The Mall of America store is closed for renovation so that may explain some of the crowd but no matter how you look at it I’m stunned by the level of traffic being generated in this environment.

Picking up three new iPhones? Nice. 

I know the June quarter iPhone sales numbers will be impressive, but I expect the September quarter unit sales numbers to be an absolute blowout.

Hadn’t really decided what to do about our 1st gen iPhones due to the fact that they’re still like new and I really like that 20.00 dollars a month data plan.  That was before my son jumped in the lake last weekend with iPhone on board.  It wasn’t discovered until 20 minutes of lake nerf ball had come to an end. Once you get in the Apple Store and start browsing…it’s over. 

One thing I really love about the Apple store is that it’s so true to itself.  The kid that helped us today was a total geek/nerd who (so obviously) knew too much for his own good but was somehow very endearing.  I’ve seen the same kind of people populating the Apple stores wherever I’ve been.  Painted hair, pierced facial hardware,  tatoo’s galore but each one very engaging in their own fashion. 

One of my childhood friends was up at his cabin and wandered by.  He’s been a PC guy from day one but bought an iPhone about a year ago and is still wowed by it.  I asked whether he had bought an iMac yet and he replied something about an old dog’s difficulty learning new tricks.  He sent an email yesterday reporting that he had given further thought to our conversation and was now the proud owner of a shiny new iMac.  He expressed that it too was amazing.

As always I don’t have much of an opinion on how well they’ll do in any given quarter but I continue to believe that the world is totally unprepared for how thoroughly they’ll dominate their chosen sectors as time goes by. 

More addictive than crack cocaine but twice as legal.

Just got back from the Partridge Creek Store in Michigan.  Nice size crowd.  I was picking up a Macbook Air for the wife for her birthday.  Saw a few computers walk out the door as well as a number of Iphones.  The specialist I worked with said they’ve been busy.  All good signs for the economy and Apple.

When to the Ste-Catherine store today Good and bad points.

Good: On the first floor at least 60 to 70 peoples, saw 3 iphone and 3 Macbook sold for the 1/2 hour I was there. Lots of people also on the second floor buying accessories The concierge were taking names to put you on a waiting list to be served for buying a mac

Bad: After my 1/2 hour wait I stated I needed a 24 inch iMac with extended KB. Impossible to buy, you need to buy it online. They don’t have any spare to swap….

Since it’s for my work (I’m an accountant) i need the keypad… Kind of lame that they can’t have some spare ones or don’t say on the web site that extended KB are available only online

In Apple Store Providence, RI Friday afternoon. Fairly full but manageable. They have a mall security guard in there 100% of the time (actually, he might have been Apple-hired security) - not sure what might be going on there, other than the volume of people and highly desirable, small devices.

They have three genius bars: iPod which was pretty dead, Mac which was steady busy, and then the ‘training bar’ which was packed, lively and energized. People learning how to do things with their equipment. It was like a small conference break-out/party over there.

I went in for a 5:15 appointment, walked in to see my name at the top of the list. They said ‘who’s next’ and I was in within 30 seconds.  Black Macbook has audio and trackbutton issues, has since day 1. They didn’t have parts and said it would be 5-7 days in the shop: logic board and top case replacement. They put the notes into the system and gave me a case number so I could drop it at another store when I can spare the machine for a week. Gotta love Apple Care!

I passed by the newly opened (Saturday) store at Square One in Mississauga, just outside Toronto.

The store was packed!! Considering the Sherway Gardens store isn’t that far, this store was completely full. People were looking and many were in the midst of purchasing. As is normal, the Apple store was packed while other stores in the mall, not so much.

michelc - 15 August 2009 03:58 PM

When to the Ste-Catherine store today Good and bad points.

Good: On the first floor at least 60 to 70 peoples, saw 3 iphone and 3 Macbook sold for the 1/2 hour I was there. Lots of people also on the second floor buying accessories The concierge were taking names to put you on a waiting list to be served for buying a mac

Bad: After my 1/2 hour wait I stated I needed a 24 inch iMac with extended KB. Impossible to buy, you need to buy it online. They don’t have any spare to swap….

Since it’s for my work (I’m an accountant) i need the keypad… Kind of lame that they can’t have some spare ones or don’t say on the web site that extended KB are available only online

Ahh…nice to see another accountant on AFB.  It’s always bugged me that Apple, wanting to take some share in the Enterprise market, ignores the external 10 key pad for the notebooks.  Instead, we’re left with aesthetically boring aftermarket ones.  I think it’s high time Apple produce one that matches the MacBook Pro design.

My point. How could they even think of getting into business if you need to buy a separate KB….

HERE is a webpage with 4 pages of Apple store China photos.

The sponge was at the VG Store tonight.  I bought Snow Leopard and it has been installed and working just fine.

Talked to the security guard while waiting in line and then to the store manager who by accident ended running by purchase. They both said the store was not any busier then and regular Friday night. The store was packed.  The manager said that iPhone sales have remained steady since launch and they continue to see healthy volume of computer sales.

I asked if Apple would ever consider changing locations to make the store bigger since it seems so crowded.  He said Apple’s plans is to open more stores rather then make their store bigger. It is a very good plan.  Walmart and Target have done that for years.

So as I left tonight and saw a very busy mall with long lines at more restaurants, I felt good owning my Apple stock.

Walked two blocks to the Portland store yesterday on my lunch hour to get SL.  They had a line outside the store, but it moved right along.  I think I was in line about 90 seconds.  Once inside I lined up at the counter they had set up for SL sales, but after about 30 seconds was pulled out of line by a sales assoc with a hand held register.  Paid my $29 and walked out.  Probably spent 10 minutes total.  And yes, the store was crowded, and yes they validated my normal $8 parking stub.  SL cost me $21 net.

BTW, we got the self-direction option added to our 401k accounts at work Jan 1, and I immediately converted as much mutual fund money to AAPL as was allowed.  My account has recovered 89% of what it lost while locked into mutual funds last year.  I’m almost well in that account.

The Paris Louvre Apple Store will open on October 25.