Apple Store Geniuses are some of the most recognizable employees in the industry. Where as most retailers have moved to phone tech support, Apple takes pride in its in-store helpers.
So much so, in fact, that it’s starting to offer the personalized support to online shoppers as well, meaning customers can now get Genius-level help without ever leaving their house…
As noted by TheNextWeb, Apple has added a new ‘Ask Now’ feature to its UK website that will allow you to initiate a live chat with a Specialist who can help with a various of things.
Here’s how Apple describes the service:
“Expert advice. Personalized help. Every step of the way. Now there’s a whole new way to get help from the Apple Online Store. When shopping for a new iPad or iPhone, you can get answers to all your questions through a personalized, online guided tour. We can even help set up your new product after you get it.”
It’s pretty easy to activate the online chat. From the main Store page on Apple’s UK site, you’ll see the link on the righthand side of the page. Click it, and just follow the instructions.
The guided tour option seems pretty interesting. It serves up streaming video of your Specialist’s screen to your computer, as the two of you explore web pages and view apps together.
At the moment, it looks like the service is only available in the UK, Spain and Brazil. And so far, there’s no word on whether or not it will becoming to the US. Here’s hoping that it does.
What do you think of Apple’s new Specialist service? Good idea, bad idea?