Apple has had a personal setup service for iPhone purchases made at Apple retail stores for some time now. Since Thanksgiving, Apple has offered the same personal setup service for iPad and iPod touch purchases. Apple has not had a true personal setup service for Mac purchases, but come Tuesday, in some markets, personal setup for Mac will be available. Traditionally, Apple Stores have allowed you to ask a few questions and take a few pointers but this new personal setup for Mac service takes points from the iOS device version of the service.
When you purchase a Mac at an Apple Retail store an employee will help you setup your e-mail accounts, walk you through the Mac App Store, setup an iTunes account for you, and show you the basic pointers of owning a Mac. Some stores will even have dedicated Mac setup stations. This is minor news for Mac aficionados but will be very helpful for people new to the Mac and for the wider range of consumers. The service will go live in some stores as soon as Tuesday but we’ve heard that other stores will be launching the service in the next few weeks. The new service is very similar to the “setup room” that is currently featured at Apple’s Covent Garden store in London.
This new service at Apple retail stores is truly a major shift in the retail experience and it really will set Apple farther apart from competing computer retail stores. This is really the ‘full service’ concept and Apple truly wants to get this right. Apple is picturing personal setup for Macs as being as notable as the Genius Bar. Most people know Apple prides themselves on having something as convinient as the Genius Bar, and Apple wants the same thing to happen with the new personal setup for Macs service.
