Happy Battery

This is a follow-up to my previous entry on my bloating MacBook Pro battery.

Recall that I was flying into San Francisco from Ottawa on this past Monday, scheduled to arrive at 2:45pm local time, and that AppleCare had arranged a 4pm appointment for me at the Stockton Street Apple Store location.

My flight did arrive very close to the planned 2:45pm arrival time, and after a short ride on the SFO AirTrain I rode the BART to the Powell St. exit. I exited the BART station beside the Apple Store at 3:45pm. Given that I was carrying a rolling suitcase and my computer bag, I decided to risk a dash to the hotel and drop-off my luggage — hoping I’d be able to make it back to the Apple Store by 4pm.

I returned to the Apple Store very shortly after 4pm, and walked up the glass staircase to the Genius Bar.

Above the Genius Bar were several large displays listing the first initial and last name of each person with an appointment — a high-tech equivalent of a traditional “now serving” display. The first name listed was “G. McKenzie”. Let the grinning begin.

See, typical customer service experiences have reduced my expectations to rock-bottom. A typical experience would unfold like this:

• I would go into the store, and there would be no visible sign that I had an appointment
• After searching for several minutes I would locate an employee
• The employee would have no record of my appointment, or my service issue
• I would have to explain my issue from the beginning
• After explaining the issue, I’d either be denied service, or some other complication would arise, such as the part not being in stock
• No grinning would follow

But, I was not having a typical experience.

The concierge at the Genius Bar told me that, despite showing up on the display as the next person to be served, I was a few minutes late and wasn’t #1 in the queue; but, they’d put me back to the top of the list and I’d be called in a few minutes. Sure enough, five minutes later a “genius” shouts “Gavin McKenzie?” and I put down my MacBook Pro in front of him.

I explained that I had an appointment to have the battery replaced. He removed the battery, scanned the serial number barcode inside the battery compartment, retrieved my service history, and apologized for the defective battery.

A moment later he returned from a back room with a cardboard box containing a shiny new battery, snapped it into place, and put the old battery in the box. After signing a form confirming the service, I was on my way.

The silly grin on my face likely lasted the rest of the day.

Consider that I placed a service call on a Sunday from Ottawa, made an appointment for a battery replacement at a location in San Francisco, walked in to see my name displayed on several large displays, and walked out a few minutes later with a new battery, and at no time did I need to coax, plead, or negotiate for service, nor did any money change hands.

Amazing.

I don’t doubt that there are cases of people who have had less than stellar AppleCare service, but my AppleCare experience completely eclipsed any other customer service experience I’ve ever had.

This, is how Apple customers become a little crazy about Apple.