Roger Fingas
Americans receiving their Apple Watch on Friday are being emailed an invitation to schedule an online Personal Setup session, guiding them through setting up and using the device without having to visit an Apple Store.
The email contains a link to a page on Apple's website, where visitors can schedule a chat with an Apple specialist in a morning, afternoon, or evening window. As of this writing appointments were completely booked from Friday through Sunday, leaving Monday as the first opportunity to schedule one.
Each chat is in fact a video session, allowing a specialist to both answer questions and demonstrate setup steps. These can vary in length from 10 minutes to an hour if necessary.
Apple has traditionally directed most Personal Setup sessions through Apple Stores. That remains an option, but the focus is consistent with Apple policy leaning towards making the Watch launch online-centric. People can arrange to try on a Watch at retail, but in most cases orders are being directed to Apple's website or the Apple Store iOS app.
An alternative to Personal Setup is Apple's Guided Tours page, combined with the company's official User Guide. Each Watch also comes with a barebones manual explaining basic facts.
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12 Comments
And it just keeps coming.
This is how you steamroll over the competition. Offer a superior product with world-class service/support.
This is an excellent idea, particularly for users who don't live very close to an Apple Store. Hopefully it gets expanded to other product lines in future rollouts.
I got this email last night.
It's bloody brilliant. It really ups the game.
Appointment availability will depend on your location apparently. PDT shows appointments still available for today, Saturday and Sunday. These slots will no doubt fill up as shipments are delivered.
I can understand why but the guided tours at Apple.com really walk you through most of it. This watch is all I hoped it would be.