Steve Jobs initially blasted Genius Bars at Apple stores, says former retail head
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was originally resistant to the idea of the Genius Bar, now a signature feature of every Apple store, former retail head Ron Johnson said in a recent podcast.
"I remember the day I came in and told Steve about the Genius Bar idea and he says, 'That's so idiotic! It'll never work!'," Johnson explained to Recode Decode. "He said, 'Ron, you might have the right idea, but here's the big gap: I've never met someone who knows technology who knows how to connect with people. They're all geeks! You can call it the Geek Bar."
Johnson countered by pointing out that many of the people who would man Genius Bars would be in their 20s, and have grown up with the sort of technology they'd be supporting. Jobs told Apple's general counsel to trademark "Genius Bar" the following day, according to Johnson.
The latter noted that while he and Jobs "clicked from day one," he was given a homework assignment during the interview process.
"He said to me, 'It's Thanksgiving weekend coming up. Why don't you write down what you would do? How would you approach retail? Tell me about it,'" Johnson commented. "So I went back and I wrote this 10-page thesis of why Apple should do stores, what they should be like, blah blah blah."
Jobs reportedly rejected Johnson's thesis after inviting him back to Apple's offices, but said it didn't matter, and later the same day offered him the job.
The Genius Bar has sometimes been described as a linchpin of Apple's popularity, since people who need to get a Mac, iPhone, or iPad fixed can take it to a local store for official support, instead of having to find a third party or put their device in the mail.
Apple is nearing 500 stores worldwide. Recently the company announced its second store in Cologne, Germany, and rumors emerged that the first Argentinian outlet will open next year.
"I remember the day I came in and told Steve about the Genius Bar idea and he says, 'That's so idiotic! It'll never work!'," Johnson explained to Recode Decode. "He said, 'Ron, you might have the right idea, but here's the big gap: I've never met someone who knows technology who knows how to connect with people. They're all geeks! You can call it the Geek Bar."
Johnson countered by pointing out that many of the people who would man Genius Bars would be in their 20s, and have grown up with the sort of technology they'd be supporting. Jobs told Apple's general counsel to trademark "Genius Bar" the following day, according to Johnson.
The latter noted that while he and Jobs "clicked from day one," he was given a homework assignment during the interview process.
"He said to me, 'It's Thanksgiving weekend coming up. Why don't you write down what you would do? How would you approach retail? Tell me about it,'" Johnson commented. "So I went back and I wrote this 10-page thesis of why Apple should do stores, what they should be like, blah blah blah."
Jobs reportedly rejected Johnson's thesis after inviting him back to Apple's offices, but said it didn't matter, and later the same day offered him the job.
The Genius Bar has sometimes been described as a linchpin of Apple's popularity, since people who need to get a Mac, iPhone, or iPad fixed can take it to a local store for official support, instead of having to find a third party or put their device in the mail.
Apple is nearing 500 stores worldwide. Recently the company announced its second store in Cologne, Germany, and rumors emerged that the first Argentinian outlet will open next year.
Comments
That's why they staffed the so-called "Genius" bar with mostly non-tech people. As long as they understand basic operation of the products, they're initially helpful to end users. Anything complex needs higher level support.
Steve understood that most techs do not have patience when it comes to explaining everything to someone who does not understand or cares to understand how a product works. He had the same problem when he would ask his engineers to make something a certain way. They would ask him why and he didn't have the time to explain every little thing.
So in a sense he knew that most "Geniuses" would end up upsetting a customer by pointing out their stupidity and in the beginning of Apple retail they did. I used to see it happen. I felt sorry for both the Geniuses and the customer because I remember what it was like to try to learn how to use technology, and I remember how difficult it is to try to teach to someone who wasn't very savvy when it came to technology.
Also, at least anecdotally, I can say I've never seen a customer at the Genius Bar throw a fit, much less cause a scene that clears out the sales floor. I'm sure someone somewhere gets angry every once in a while, but clearly the benefits of the operation vastly outweigh the risks.
Take a simple example: whether an incident is covered by warranty or not. No salesman can tolerate such a dispute occur in the presence of a potential buyer.
Apple store blend the two in ways I haven't seen elsewhere. When I had to get my iPhone battery replaced (for that odd recall recently), I never actually got within 20 feet of the genius bar. I talked to people on the floor and the techs came to me. Anywhere else I would have been waiting in a Customer Service line for quite some time before anyone knew or cared why I was there.
I agree with this, techies often do not get it. It gives a techie guy who does get it en edge. My personal motto/sig has always been:
"The greatest challenge in software design is to bridge the gap between technology and the people who use it."
...Technology is not enough. This is the crux of Jobs' "intersection of technology & the humanities" thing. Liberal Arts are a feature, not a bug.
No. Jobs was being sarcastic and said you may as well call it the "geek bar" because they would be alienating to customers. He was skeptical of the idea, not the name.
I was going to say the same thing, Steve was right techie and geek do not interact well with the rest of the world. But the fact that Apple does use people with better social skills than tech skills it the exact reason I tend not to use the genius bar. The few times I gave it a try I have gone in and told them exactly what I did and what I know not to be the issue, and most time they repeat everything I have done and waste about an hour of my time only to conclude it was broken and need to be replaced. However, I do recommend others go there since I too get frustrated trying to help someone when they have no clue or care to learn. Apple for the most part stuck a good balance.