Apple Store Genius Bar to Start 'Concierge' Appointment Process, Put Customers at Top of Line If Their Problem Is Priority

Getting service at the Apple Store can often be a tough process. Customers are encouraged to make appointments to see a Genius Bar specialist online, but with busy stores, getting an appointment is sometimes hard to come by. Now, Apple wants to fix customer wait times to see Genius Bar specialists with a new program called "Concierge."

According to 9to5Mac, Concierge will rank customer's issues by importance and send customers a text message at the exact time a specialist can see them. In the past, customers without appointments, or walk-in customers, were put at the bottom of the list, no matter what their issue was. Now, walk-in customers will be given the opportunity to explain their issue and be ranked in order of priority.

"Apple Stores will operate essentially like restaurants that provide diners with pagers and wait times instead of holding empty tables while people are waiting," 9to5Mac reports.

The current system at the Apple Store has customers going into the store and checking in with an employee who holds a colored iPad. They are then asked to sit (or stand) at an open table until a specialist is available.

Now with Concierge, customers will sign in at the Apple Store and explain their problem. Concierge's software will rank the problem and assign the customer with a priority ranking. The customer will be given a time when they can be seen.

The customer then receives a text message with the time they can be seen by a specialist and one more text message telling the customer exactly when the specialist is free and where they are located in the store.

The advantage of the new Concierge system is it allows customers to go into the store, explain their issue and receive a time when they can be assisted. This means the customer can leave the store and go shopping or run errands.

Apple employees are calling the new program one of the most significant changes to come to Apple Stores in years.

The new system is set to begin March 9 at Apple Stores and should reduce crowding and wait times inside the stores, Yahoo Tech reports.