Apple is working on a way to make sure customers visiting an Apple Store’s Genius Bar for support can get their issue resolved in one appointment, even if their visit goes over the allotted time, 9to5Mac reports. The current booking system provides 10 minutes for an iOS device appointment or 15 minutes for a Mac, and if a problem can’t be solved in that amount of time the customer is left to book another followup appointment so the technician can move on to the next customer. In the next few months, the company plans to let Genius Bar technicians extend an appointment beyond those time constraints if necessary, with employees speculating that the new system will rely on an algorithm to reassign that technician’s next appointment to other employees within the store as needed. To serve all scheduled appointments despite the new variable time limits, employees believe the change may require pushing back break times until an appointment is completed, but won’t change the break’s length once they can finally go.
Walk-in appointments are also poised for an overhaul. Last year Apple Stores started sending out text messages to walk-in customers, updating them with appointment time updates so they can continue shopping while they wait. The system currently only sends messages out, but will soon be improved to receive incoming messages from customers who want to reschedule or cancel their appointment. Sources said the replies will even allow for single-digit replies attached to commands, rather than requiring a full-length response.
