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frequentmouse
2007-08-30 11:58 pm UTC (link)

Yeah, right, re the comment by Rob, the Portland store ignores customers.

For values of "ignores" which includes having a sales person talking to you (listening to you, which is a nice change) within a couple of minutes of coming in the door.

Every Apple Store I've been in seems pretty much ADA compliant, within the usual expectation of a retail enviornment- which does notinclude having every product within unassisted reach of wheelchair users or short people, as long as it's not exclusively self-service.

(OK, I just bought the sixth Mac to come into our houshold, to replace the first one to ever break, an eight year old iMac. I'm pro-Apple).

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vigilanterodent
2007-08-31 01:00 am UTC (link)

Weeeell, it depends on the people working in it. The last time I was in an Apple Store I had to deal with a spectacularly rude salesperson who had no idea what the hell he was doing, so it's not like Apple manages to screen out all the douches from its potential employment pool. I'm sure there are lazy/incompetent/rude/insensitive people working for Apple, just like anywhere else.

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	frequentmouse 2007-08-31 02:09 am UTC (link)
	Oh, no doubt. 90% of everything, and all that. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	sharps 2007-09-06 05:50 am UTC (link)
	Apple employs nothing but douches in the UK and Germany. Trendy hair, but oh-so-fucking stupid and unhelpful. I may just be bitter because I bought a MacBook 6 months ago, and for at least a quarter of that time it's been either broken or in the repair shop because it just can't take tasks like having two FireFox windows open at the same time. Piece of junk. (Reply to this)(Parent)

ryuutchi
2007-08-31 01:14 am UTC (link)

The Apple store closest to my house looks like it would be hell for anyone disabled to use. ADA complaint, yes, but small and packed with tables and samples in such a way that would make it difficult for someone in a wheelchair to maneuver. Not to mention trying to talk to someone at that really tall Genius bar, while in a wheelchair? I can't see that being particularly pleasant.

Don't get me wrong, I love them-- they're generally as helpful and friendly as can possibly be. They're just not terribly disabled-friendly.

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	frequentmouse 2007-08-31 02:11 am UTC (link)
	Thing is, ADA doesn't guarantee absolute convenience of access, just "reasonable accomodation"- if you can get a wheelchair into the store and there is somebody to help you get productsto a level where you can see them, that's always been considered "reasonable accomodation." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	ryuutchi 2007-08-31 03:32 am UTC (link)
	I just said that the store was ADA compliant. But hell to use. (Reply to this)(Parent)

*agrees*

risha
2007-08-31 02:48 am UTC (link)

I've never seen an Apple store that has anything but high counters and tight aisles. And that's not even counting how they're usually so packed with people that it's hard even for the non-disabled to get to stuff.

On the positive side - the last time we bought something there (two iPod Nanos for Christmas gifts), we walked in the front and an employee standing right there asked if he could help us. We told him what we wanted, he went into the back and grabbed them for us, then checked us out and printed out a receipt using a handheld device. Took us less than five minutes and no standing in lines. I'm a big fan of that device.

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iwanttobeasleep
2007-08-31 03:19 am UTC (link)

I certainly think it's just as complaint as 99% of the other stores in the area. As hard as it might be to navigate their thin aisles, the department store racks can't be much easier.

Of course, our Apple store constantly packed to the point that it's hard for an able bodied person to move around in. And although the people working there are happy enough to help, you get to wait a half hour for them to work through everyone else who was already waiting.

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	nevadafighter 2007-08-31 01:19 am UTC (link)
	I had a hard time getting the attention of one of the employees last time I went there, but that's because they were insanely busy. Once I did he checked me out in two minutes and I was on my way. I'm still using the at least six year-old Powerbook G4 I got used back in '02 and despite a chipped casing and one non-working USB port it works as well as new. (Reply to this)(Parent)

sluggirl
2007-08-31 01:46 am UTC (link)

Coincidentally, just the other day one of my coworkers was telling me about how she went to the Portland store, stood at the counter for ten minutes waiting for a salesperson to show up, and eventually gave up and left. I can't speak from personal experience, because I've always just gotten everything through the mail, but it would it would seem it's not an isolated incident.

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	pfeffermuse 2007-09-01 06:47 am UTC (link)
	You're just the person I need. It looks like my G3 PowerBook's motherboard may have finally bitten the dust. (I'll know better when I can get to TekServe next week.) If the PowerBook can't be repaired, then it's time to consider a MacBook. Any recommendations? Thanks. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	frequentmouse 2007-09-01 05:49 pm UTC (link)
	So, what are you using it for and how much jouncing around does it get ? (it was my old iMac's power supply that went, and only rebuilt ones areavailable, so I was forced, forced I tell you to get a new iMac with a twenty inch screen). (Reply to this)(Parent)

inalasahl
2007-09-02 09:00 pm UTC (link)

For values of "ignores" which includes having a sales person talking to you (listening to you, which is a nice change) within a couple of minutes of coming in the door.
You've clearly never tried to return a defective iPod without an appointment. I had to argue with three different people before they would agree to put me on *stand-by* at the Genius Bar despite the fact there was no one else in the store. Then I had to wait while they called out the ten names of the people who supposedly had appointments, yet *weren't in the store.* I still don't even understand why the heck I needed a consult to replace a defective product.

Every Apple Store I've been in seems pretty much ADA compliant, within the usual expectation of a retail enviornment- which does not include having every product within unassisted reach of wheelchair users or short people, as long as it's not exclusively self-service.
But does include being able to talk to the customer service staff, and how is someone in a wheelchair even going to get up to the Genius Bar to talk to someone?

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