Let me go on record saying that I have wanted a macbook forEVER. Ever since I first saw someone with a white laptop at Atlanta Bread I thought, “so pretty.” As I learned their power and the ease they handle graphics, video, and music, I thought, “so very pretty.” I always appreciated the superiority of the macbook simply because my windows laptops had annoyed me on many levels and I liked to think that sleek macbook wouldn’t let me down.
Well - for work I have one to use now and I have been very pleased with the experience. It takes some getting used to (did you know there’s no right-click?) but I have enjoyed it tremendously. However, I’m still very new to this “mac” thing and have frequently asked the guys at work questions about it.
So - I did the memory video this weekend in iMovie and it was very easy to use and made a fantastic product. However, I needed audio and an adapter to use with the projector so I decided to brave the ONLY mac store in town. And let me tell you, if I hadn’t already aquired a love for my macbook, he and I would have broken up immediately after that trip just to keep from ever having to deal with “Mac People” again.
Evidently there’s two types of “Mac People.” There are the ones who joined after years of using Windows and are happy to help others transition as well. And then there are those who have used ONLY Macs since they came out of the uterus. The latter group tends to have a high percentage of what I like to call, “MacHoles.” They look down on anyone NOT using a Mac and roll their eyes if you don’t know about the wonder of the Mac. The first group looks at Windows users as lost souls who need guidance, the MacHoles look at Windows users as people who need to be scorned and mocked.
I went to the Mac store and was immediately greeted with attitude when I said, “I’m new to Macs so I made need a little help.” He rolled his eyes an changed his tone to, “Great - stupid chic just walked in. Waste of TIME.” I needed him to sell me a set of speakers that would work with my laptop and with an iPod. I told him it was essential I leave the store with everything I needed because I was heading straight to the presentation. He sarcastically and bitterly helped me with several huffs and puffs along the way. I tried my best to ignore his attitude and got out of the store after making sure he gave me everything I needed.
WELL - I got to the presentation and realized I was missing the audio cord that connects the speakers to the macbook. I thought, “Surely it was supposed to come with the speakers since I told him I needed EVERYTHING before I left.” So, I called the store and he said, “Well - I just assumed you’d have one of those cords because everyone with a mac would have that.
I had two choices at that point. (1) Curse him out for being a giant jackass and cry over the fact that his annoying attitude was going to ruin my presentation or (2) hang up on him. I opted for the latter and ended up just using my father-in-law’s USB speakers which I luckily grabbed as backup.
But let me tell you - I will NEVER go inside that store again. NEVER. Not that my measly money will make a difference, but I refuse to pay money at a store that doesn’t prioritize good customer service. As a matter of fact, since then, I’ve heard several people talk about the wide variety of MacHoles that place hires.
They should be supportive of newbies, not judgmental. Bah. Those jerks can go the way of the condescending coffee people who roll their eyes when I want flavoring in my coffee as well as the snotty wine store people who seem offended when I buy White Zinfindel. All three of those type of assholes should be taken outside and pelted with PCs, Hazelnut syrup, and wine in a box. That would make me feel better.
I am so big on customer service, after spending 8+ years in that industry, that if I am not treated with some ounce of respect, I never return, and I also let everyone know about how awful the place is. I swear if I hear one more time someone tell me to get a Mac? I am going to bitch slap em. They do crash….evidence of almost everytime I have used one? It has crashed.
I am the third kind of mac person. I grew up using macs (Apple IIe, baby!) but in college, the campus was mostly PC’s, so I switched. I still used a mac for my graphic design classes and windows for everything else. I use a mac now for work and I love it, but I also use windows and I can switch back and forth without blowing a gasket like so many other mac people.
I actually bought my current mac at an apple store because I got a floor model that was discounted, and at this particular store, everyone I’ve ever dealt with was nice, but for someone to roll their eyes at you like that and treat you like less than human? That calls for bitching to the manager, in my opinion. Can you return any of the stuff?
Also, while I’m on the subject, those “Macs are superior” commercials drive me INSANE. Macs crash. Macs give you stupid error messages. Get over it, Apple.
Even as someone who only learned about right-clicking at the age of 24, I think you should call the manager of that store and complain about the guy who “helped” you. That’s completely inappropriate and rude, not to mention bad business. If the manager gives you guff, call Apple directly.
And please don’t let one dickhead stop you from loving Macs.
I’m so sorry you had a bad experience. I’m a converted mac user for over 10 years now and hate having to deal with PCs at work. I just can’t believe you had rude service at an Apple store. The store in Atlanta at Lennox always has super nice people and as stupid as I feel going in there sometimes, they always treat me with respect. I would file a complaint and get that guy out of there, so that he doesn’t do that to other people, especially people who are thinking of switching to a mac.
Eek - I’m sorry you had such a bad experience. At one of our stores, I had a bad experience, but at the actual Apple stores, I’ve only had stellar experiences with service folks.
Hopefully, your next experience will be a good one. Although, honestly? We’ve had our Mac for 2.5 years and have had to deal very little with customer service because nothing ever goes wrong!
i love white zin…down with the macholes!
I HATE THAT MAC STORE. I know the one that you’re talking about.. my mother is one of the “from-the-uterus” mac people, but she is a tad more forgiving. She bought something like $3000 of equipment there and then had it shipped straight from the warehouse to her home. TWO YEARS LATER, they tried to come back and SUE her for state tax. She said, “Um, A) you don’t get any for shipped items and B) you should’ve rung that up.”
They’ve been snotty with me every time I go in there. Problem is.. they are the only game in town. (CompUSA actually has quite a bit of MAC stuff, but they don’t offer support.)
I agree with EJW. Call the store and complain - and yess, if the manager is a MacHole as well, call Apple directly. Since others here have complained about that store in particular, perhaps the manager is a jerk as well.
I NEVER used to complain about stuff like this because I hate being seen as a whiner, and I hate confrontation. But, I got over it - and let me tell you, it’s worth it. Sometimes you get nowhere, but much of the time the manager/company wants to make good. Just keep telling yourself, “I’m a customer, and I deserve to be treated with respect!”
I worked in customer service for years, and now, as a librarian, my main responsibility is serving our patrons. I work very hard to give the best service I can, and I get pissed when I see my colleagues act a fool, because it gives ALL of us a bad name.
So, call them up, send a letter, send an email with a link to your blog post, whatever. But don’t take crap from some snotty “Mac Genius!” (Want me to do it? I’ll put my Queen Latifah on and you may end up with a new computer. Seriously, I’ll call.)
Want to right click? Hold down the Fruit key and click. Or tap the touch pad with two fingers at the same time (no extra keys necessary). Or use an external mouse with a right-click button.
And for the record, speakers are speakers. Headphones, iPods, the input jack on the back of your stereo, computer speakers, (the list goes on)… they all use the same type of cable, and there are 2 sizes: the big one, the little one. The big one hasn’t REALLY been used in at least a decade.
Not trying to be a MacHole (can I be as someone who switched in the last year?) - but rather just trying to help educate you.
I will admit that this is a large part of the reason I’m reluctant to try a Mac. When iMac’s first came out, I was tempted. But I knew that being a longtime Windows user, I would be scorned more often than not and I wasn’t interested in pursuing the learning curve required. Plus I don’t buy into the whole, you know, idea that Macs are inherently so much better than PC’s. But that’s neither here nor there.
I’m so disillusioned now! The mac store looks so shiny and pretty and fun! (Of course I’ve never been inside it…)
I’m really rather happy with my new PC laptop, even though Vista’s security features are very much like the mac/PC commercial (Are you sure you want to allow this program? Really? You could still change your mind… gah!).
Have you seen this website: http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=macs_cant
Perhaps a small bit of comfort.
please call someone and tell on that dorkwad.
please.
You should had told the manager! I know it’s hard, I probably wouldn’t have either. But no one should work customer service unless they are willing to be helpful!
I’m a newbie Mac user too, it’s fun but hard.
Ctrl + click = right click on a Mac.
I’m a big Mac girl and would be happy to answer any questions. Just email me. I’ll even do it with a big ol’ grin.
I bet a quick call the MacHole’s boss would resolve things/make you feel better. Do it for the next person who wants to spend money in that store, but isn’t a teenage gamer.
Please call and complain, I hate douchebags who are jackasses for the pleasure of being an asshole.
My favorite thing to do on the phone to customer service and in stores is to simply pause and ask if I can ask a question, no amount of rudeness in my voice or scorn on my face and ask, “So, are you having a bad day or do you enjoy giving people bad attitude and acting like a jerk?”
It’s worth doing just hear them pause and gasp or the look of shock that comes across their face.
People do it because they can.
Sorry you had such a bad experience, I hate people that are just rude for no reason.
It has been my experience that MacStores will only hire MacHoles.
Apple store employees do seem to have large sticks up their asses. I love it there… but I can’t stand the employees.
I love my Mac, but I definitely know what you mean. I feel like everytime I go out in public with my Mac, I should wear a sign that says ‘I am not a MacHole!’ since so many people these days seem to either be Mac snobs or people who hate Mac snobs. It is just a computer, after all!
I’m the fourth kind of Mac user - a NON mac user LOL. I have a cousin who works with computers for the school system, and a Nephew who works for computers for a large business. My cousin perfers Macs and thinks that they are the next best thing to God. My Nephew perfers PC’s.
My newphew is the first one (even though he’s only 21) to come to my house and help me with anything I need absolutely free of charge even though he gets paid to do the same thing both in work and under the table - he’s installed stuff and has given us TONS of advice and free products through out his working career.
My cousin is a stuck-up machole who charged his own GRANDMOTHER (my grandmother as well) for my wedding video, a year AFTER my wedding, when I told him that *I* would pay for it even though he declined. He’s never once helped anybody in our family with computers and has stated that he would charge when he did.
Can you tell why I like PC’s better?! I totally and completely relate attitude to computer-preference now.
My husband and I are lucky in that, between the 2 of us, we have a decent experience and knowledge of both Macs & PCs (he’s a graphic artist, thus the Mac expert).
But that doesn’t mean that either of us knows EVERYTHING about either system, and you shouldn’t have to in order to purchase what you need. You should be able to explain what you’re trying to accomplish to the customer service people at the store, and it is then their job to make sure you leave with what you need (whether you really knew what you needed when you walked in the store, or not–part of their job is to figure that out!). In other words, YEAH girl, you got crappy customer service. And if I were you, I’d call up and/or write and let ‘em have it. And definitely let Apple know if you don’t get satisfaction from the store.
Lucky for us, the Apple store in our area is great, and the folks there have always bent over backwards to help us when we’ve needed it–even when we had a crappy secondhand Mac laptop that we’d bought off eBay without a warranty. As a result, after the eBay Mac finally died, we spent a boatload on a new system at this store, and we feel that it’s money well-spent because we know we’ll get the service we need. Other stores we could mention *cough, cough* should take note of that.
Good luck. But don’t let this impact your love for the Mac–I’m not saying it’s the second coming or anything, but they are awesome for the artsy stuff.
please PLEASE write a letter to the manager of that store and complain.
I’ve worked in retail most of my adult life. If someone gets good service they tell no one. If they get bad service they tell EVERYONE they know. I would make sure to get the name of the person helping you and write a letter to the manager, district manager, regional manager, etc.
Zoot, seriously. You need to contact that store’s manager. They need to know how their employees are treating their customers. The MacHole should NOT have given you that kind of attitude.
Thanks for the warning. I will observe salespeople before I choose one to help me with my Mac (when I get one, which is supposed to be sometime this fall).
And I’m with everyone else; PLEASE tell the store manager about the MacHole you had to put up with!
I agree. You KNOW that we are Mac people, and it sounds to me like you have a crap Mac store, which pisses me off. The majority that I have been in are AWESOME and I think you need to make a call. Speak to the GM of the store, accept no substitutes.
You should totally call the manager. I would hate to think that they know that it’s going on and are not doing anything about it. They probably have no idea.
Feel free to ask me for help!
Re: No Right Click: On your macbook in the mouse settings (under system preferences) you can set it so that if you tap the trackpad it equals a click. Also you can change it so that if you tap the keyboard with two fingers it is equal to a right click. Additionally, holding control on your keyboard while you click with your mouse is a right click.
I so hear you! I HATE stuck up people, no matter what the subject is. Don’t they realise that their snobbiness impresses NO ONE? We’d be so much more impressed if they were incredibly helpful.
I will never patronize a store that treats its customers poorly. Never! I said this to my mother recently regarding a local store that her friend recommended. The store is the “only game in town” so be warned that they have attitude problems. Pass! I will order online.
You’re right — it’s inexcusable for employees to act like that. I wouldn’t want to go back there, either.
I know exactly what you mean. I work with a MacHole (great term, by the way!) and spend many days wanting to punch her in the face when she goes into patronizing, i-am-so-superior-to-you-stupid-pc-people mode.
I wrote a whole post about this awhile ago. Unfortunately, it focused on a hilarious video that was on YouTube making fun of those new Mac commercials with the Mac Guy and The PC Guy, and apparently the video’s not up anymore. But if you feel like checking out my rant, feel free: http://www.sangrialover.com/?p=453
Thanks, Zoot, for being so cool and for not being a MacHole!
Oh, Zoot. I’m sorry you ran into these people. I’m a die-hard Mac user (graphic artist) but I hate the people who look down on PC users. And the manager of that store ought to know better. Please post if you call to complain and let us know what happened!
For the record, most externals with a USB connector should work just fine, if you’d rather just patronize the big box-type and avoid the Apple store. And if you hold down control and click, it works like right-clicking. I didn’t read the rest of the comments, so someone else may have mentioned that.
I know what you mean. I have three Apple corporate stores in my town and every one I went into the employees there think they are holier than thou. I explain I need some assistance and they look at me like “you sure do!” I even stopped in the big store in Chicago and was treated the same way. I guess I am just stupid.
bummer dude