The Genius Bar Experience

Apple’s widely praised retail stores still have a few kinks.

I thought I’d tell a tale about my Genius Bar experience today.

My current MacBook Air is a little over two and a half years old. For the past few months, when I’d click the battery icon in the menu bar for detailed battery information, I got a message that said “Service Battery.” Upon further inspection, this apparently means that my battery was not working to its full potential and while I could still use the computer, I should get it checked out at some point. Since battery life was pretty decent and I had no power issues, I put off getting it checked. I’ve been in college for two years already, but at the end of August will be my first time living on campus and I decided now might be a good time to get the battery serviced so it’ll be fresh for my new living environment. I scheduled my Genius Bar appointment for today at 2:30 p.m.

I walked in to my local Apple store at 2:30 on the dot. It’s a Monday, but it was still pretty busy as Apple stores usually are. While I’d been in Apple retail stores many times previously to play around with new gadgets or to make a purchase, I never actually journeyed to the Genius Bar so I didn’t quite know what to expect. After walking in, there was a slight awkwardness while I stood in front of those giant glass…