AppleInsider Staff
In a minor policy change regarding how customers schedule Genius Bar appointments via Apple's online support webpage, the company now requires users to sign in with a valid Apple ID.
When customers looking to make a Genius Bar appointment visit Apple's online reservations system, they are now met with the screen seen above, which notes that an Apple ID is needed to proceed. The new rule was reported by TechCrunch on Wednesday, though it is not clear when the shift in policy first rolled out.
According to the publication, Apple instituted the policy to ensure higher levels of control over support appointments, including payments. In addition, customer information tied to an Apple ID, like outstanding support tickets, can be accessed by the Genius Bar staff before a customer comes in, streamlining the process for both parties.
Apple has been busy revamping its customer support infrastructure over the past months, including a recent price hike to the AppleCare+ for iPhone deductible. While the plan remains priced at $99 and covers two incidents per device, the accidental damage service fee now runs $79, up from a previous cost of $49.
Wesley Hilliard
Marko Zivkovic
Oliver Haslam
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35 Comments
And that stops the scalpers. Doesn't stop being stupid enough to scalp appointments in the first place, but it stops the scalpers.
And that stops the scalpers. Doesn't stop being stupid enough to scalp appointments in the first place, but it stops the scalpers.
There are Genius Bar appointment scalpers? Is that...lucrative?
There are Genius Bar appointment scalpers? Is that...lucrative?
There were, at least. Those crazy Chinese will do anything.
While it would cut down on scalping, I think the true purpose is to draw more users into the Apple ecosystem. This benefits Apple in the obvious ways such as being able to sell content and improve loyalty, but also in a more subtle Google-like fashion. It shows advertisers (via iAd) there are that many more paying eyes/ears to consume their ads. iAd is a very small component of their bottom line today, but they have learned well from Google that it is an extremely lucrative business. Apple can’t compete with Google/Facebook for vast amounts of personal data, but instead can strike at the heart of what advertisers are after in the first place – user’s wallets (Credit Card Numbers).
While it would cut down on scalping, I think the true purpose is to draw more users into the Apple ecosystem. This benefits Apple in the obvious ways such as being able to sell content and improve loyalty, but also in a more subtle Google-like fashion.
It shows advertisers (via iAd) there are that many more paying eyes/ears to consume their ads. iAd is a very small component of their bottom line today, but they have learned well from Google that it is an extremely lucrative business. Apple can’t compete with Google/Facebook for vast amounts of personal data, but instead can strike at the heart of what advertisers are after in the first place – user’s wallets (Credit Card Numbers).
Um, what? This is for genius bar appointments.