Apple arranges online Personal Setup sessions to guide new Apple Watch owners

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Apple Watch edited June 2015
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.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    ericthehalfbeeericthehalfbee Posts: 4,486member

    And it just keeps coming.

     

    This is how you steamroll over the competition. Offer a superior product with world-class service/support.

  • Reply 2 of 12
    damonfdamonf Posts: 229member
    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.
  • Reply 3 of 12
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,404member

    I got this email last night.

     

    It's bloody brilliant. It really ups the game.

  • Reply 4 of 12
    dr millmossdr millmoss Posts: 5,403member

    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.

  • Reply 5 of 12
    anntickiannticki Posts: 5member
    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.
  • Reply 6 of 12
    anntickiannticki Posts: 5member
    Oh and thank you Apple for realizing we need longer charging cables!
  • Reply 7 of 12
    badbatzbadbatz Posts: 1member
    Been trying all morning to make my appointment and I keep getting the "We're sorry, something went wrong. Try Again later." :(
  • Reply 8 of 12
    gofortechgofortech Posts: 1member

    I am having the same problem after several tries at different times.

  • Reply 9 of 12
    hilarywmilhilarywmil Posts: 2member
    This would be great if it actually worked. It took me about 15 tries to schedule an appointment, as I got the same screen the people above mentioned. Finally, after wasting a whole lot of time I didn't have, I got an appointment for Sunday morning. Got an email and text message confirming it. Showed up at the correct time, clicked on the link, and it said the page couldn't be found. I tried a number of times, also sent an email and text to the original reminder emails and texts with no reply. This is not giving me much confidence in the quality of Apple support, frankly.
  • Reply 10 of 12
    hilarywmilhilarywmil Posts: 2member

    This would be great if it actually worked. It took me about 15 tries to schedule an appointment, as I got the same screen the people above mentioned. Finally, after wasting a whole lot of time I didn't have, I got an appointment for Sunday morning. Got an email and text message confirming it. Showed up at the correct time, clicked on the link, and it said the page couldn't be found. I tried a number of times, also sent an email and text to the original reminder emails and texts with no reply. This is not giving me much confidence in the quality of Apple support, frankly.

  • Reply 11 of 12
    selleringtonsellerington Posts: 93member

    I got my email offering this here in the UK.

  • Reply 12 of 12
    nadrynedrnadrynedr Posts: 1member
    I had an awesome experience with my personal setup session. My husband and I did it together on speaker phone. He is a bit of a grump but the setup rep was very patient with him and was able to turn my husband into a fan.

    I have to mention though, we booked in the wrong timezone so things got off on the wrong foot. The rep emailed us to let us know so it worked out ok.

    I didnt realize it was going to be so personalized. Our rep asked me a lot of questions about how I was using my watch and even suggested some great apps I didnt know about before.

    I love, love, love it! I hope Apple continues to do these setups for future products.

    Shout out to Tim in Austin for his patience and wealth of information on the subject. I've been telling all my friends to request you. <<hug>>

    Naddy
    Calgary, Alberta
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