Page 211 - The Apple Experience

have a problem or need a repair, they are asked to make an appointment at
the Genius Bar, where someone with exceptionally high technical skills will

troubleshoot iPads, iPods, Macs, or iPhones. The Genius Bar was actually

Ron Johnson’s idea. You might recall from Part I that the Four Seasons

Hotels inspired the Apple Store customer service philosophy. That prompted

Johnson to send his first store managers to explore luxury hotels like Four

Seasons and The Ritz-Carlton. Johnson approached Jobs and suggested they

create something in between a concierge and a bar and staff it with the
smartest Mac experts. They could call them Geniuses. Jobs immediately

dismissed the idea, but Johnson learned the very next day that Jobs had

trademarked the name Genius Bar. Johnson fearlessly made his case, and it

worked.

Apple keeps a tight lid on its policies, techniques, and what employees

can and cannot say publicly. But it keeps an especially tight rein on Geniuses.

Very few Geniuses have spoken publicly. Those who have spoken have
revealed that each Genius goes through two weeks of intensive training and a

battery of certifications at Apple headquarters. The training includes role-

playing in an Apple Store mock-up.

According to confidential Apple training manuals published in the Wall

Street Journal, once the training is over, there’s very little they don’t know

about Apple products and they are all trained to offer emergency aid for

emotionally distraught customers. One excerpt from the manual detailed how

Geniuses at every store, in every country, and in every language should

handle distraught customers who bring in broken devices or who fear they
have lost all their data. According to the manual, Geniuses should do the

following:

 Look for the underlying cause of the person’s reaction. Is it frustration, fear,

confusion?
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