Category: Mac

apple, business, corporation, customer service, Mac, technology

Now I really love those folks at Apple

Christa Avampato

I received a survey from Apple today about my experience at the Genius Bar. They wanted me to rate my experience and give them feedback. Perfect — I had called the store and tried to find an email address but to no avail. So I filled out the survey and one hour later, a Genius called me to follow-up, capture the info from my survey, and then is going to get the info to the stores so they can better service the next customer that comes along that has the same issue with iWeb that I had. How incredible is that?

It’s this kind of customer service that keeps people converting to Macs, iPhones, iPods. While a lot of companies are trying to copy the design and slick details of the devices themselves, what’s winning people over is the friendly, helpful service – a much more difficult business to copy. I like that I’m treated humanely with a sympathetic ear, that they go out of their way to help me, see if I’m satisfied once I’ve left the building, and if it turns out I’m in any way disappointed, they want to mend their ways.

Imagine if every business, big or small, regardless of industry, was striving to be the Apple among their competitors? Apple would be well within its right to set up a consulting arm to teach companies how to do business the Apple-way. And we’d all live in a better world thanks to their efforts.

apple, customer service, Mac, retail, social media, social network, technology

The Wisdom of Crowds on Apple Forums

Christa Avampato

At the outset, I would like to be honest that I love the Apple Store and the Geniuses that work there. Truly. I’d be interseted in marrying one. I get fantastic service every time I walk in the door, they’re kind, understanding, and go out of their way to be helpful. Plus, they have t-shirts with funny sayings on them.

I took my Macbook into the store on 5th Avenue on Sunday because I couldn’t get my iWeb-designed website to open on Internet Explorer. At the Genius Bar, I was told that’s just the way it goes – Internet Explorer can’t read iWeb properly; it’s iWeb illiterate. I walked away feeling very frustrated and upset by all of this – I bought my Macbook expressly for the purpose of easily creating a website in iWeb and uploading it to my own URL. Now, it appeared my efforts were for naught.

My friend, Ken, a fellow Mac lover, suggested I try the on-line forums. I was hesitant. I mean, who knows more than one of Apple’s Geniuses at one of their premiere stores? Well, it turns out that a lot of people are Geniuses in their own right, and they love posting advice and tips to those forums. One in particular had the exact same problem I was having and after much fiddling found an easy fix for it. My pictures had a reflection and shadow that I chose for stylistic purposes. Turns out that the code that creates those edits in iWeb makes Internet Explorer choke. I removed the reflection and shadow from each picture and now the pages load perfectly. My website was saved! All by the kindness of a stranger who posted to one of the forums.

Geniuses are everywhere…

apple, business, Mac, Steve Jobs, technology

What is Apple Without Steve Jobs?

Christa Avampato

I’m a little bit disturbed this afternoon. My boss sent me an article from today’s Fortune Magazine regarding the fate of Apple should Steve Jobs be hit by a bus. There are a myriad of comments flying around on-line about who would be best suited to take the reigns. And then I flipped through the candidates. I was surprised, no shocked, that one glaringly obvious problem with the article was never addressed. Every single one of the *11* possible replacements for Jobs is a white male, and 10 of those are middle-aged. (Jonathan Ives appears to be the one young face in the crowd). Out of 11 hopefuls, not a single woman, nor a single racial minority, and only 1 person who isn’t half way through his working life? How can this be? If that’s truly the case then I think Apple indeed has something to worry about.

And I’m not trying to stand up for some kind of quota system. I’m not even talking about what’s “fair” or “socially just”. I’m concerned that with Apple’s lack of diversity at the top, they are short-changing their future. And they’re putting their “cool factor” at risk. Who’s their biggest growth market? Hasn’t the success of Silicon Valley been driven by diversity of experience and thought, by people who “dared to be different”? If anything, that line-up looks like every other corporate board room of a company that’s struggling to get by in this crazy economy.

Before Jobs decides to exit, I hope he’ll take some time and really look at his A players, and then do something to build up those who don’t fit the same-old traditional brand of American CEOs. I hope he’ll be thoughtful about the experience of women as his team members and as his customers. I hope he’ll consider how a range of ethnicities interact with and utilize technology. And for goodness sake, I hope he bets on youth. His legacy depends on it.
apple, creativity, design, Mac, retail, technology

Meet Mac

Christa Avampato

My new love – my Mac. After months of trying to justify the cost of a new laptop, even though my current laptop works just fine (most of the time), I took the plunge. I’d done my research, I’d attended some workshops, and finally made an evening appointment with the Mac concierge service. They were waiting for me when I arrived and I was out of there in 15 minutes with my new Mac in hand, plus a free printer / scanner / fax/ personal assistant to make me breakfast in bed. 

Their reputation for excellent service is well-deserved. Paul, my Apple guy, was friendly, funny, and best of all, honest. I happily wrote him a note and one for his boss on his behalf as soon as I arrived home. It was the best retail experience I’ve ever had – and I am a very tough sell when it comes to service. In just minutes I was up and running. 
It is amazing what I can now do with photos, my music, personal websites. Even powerpoint presentations are a joy to build. This is the ultimate toy. And it’s so intuitive that I find myself having to unlearn all of the work-arounds I’ve had to learn over the years to operate a PC. I almost have to be re-trained to think naturally about how a machine operates.  
My Mac is also affording me the opportunity to learn design skills and expand my creativity to movie making and original music. I could go on and on, but I really need to get back to Mac. He’s got a lot to teach me. 
Mac, technology

Going Mac

Christa Avampato

Recently I’ve found myself considering the switch to a Mac. I am a PC person through and through. Though when I think about what I use my computer for – writing, blogging, pictures, music – and what I’d like to use it for – design – it doesn’t make sense to not be on a Mac.

The trouble with PCs is that they are not intuitive and lack an ease of usability for those of us who are not computer geeks. I need platforms that let me create without knowing how to code. I’m not interested in code; I am interested in expressing myself.

There’s something frightening about switching platforms. I’m feeling as much anxiety about it as I did about moving to New York. I know it’s the right thing to do, it’s just that making the leap into the unknown is tough to conceptualize.

So I’ve been hunting around on-line for articles that help easy my anxiety; ones that ultimately will help me make a better choice. Today, an article in USA Today’s Technology section was a big help on both fronts. If you’re making the switch, you may find it helpful, too. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2007-12-05-mac_N.htm

I also learned that something called Mac World happens in January and it is possible that the price of a Mac may drop shortly thereafter, or be significantly upgraded at the same price.