What's really at the core?

I just took the leap and converted from Windows to Apple. In between the groans, the gulps and the pained sighs, I do hear the voices of reason that remind me of why I made this decision. I needed something really portable - portable enough for someone with a dodgy back and shoulders who needs to be more productive and takes a fair number of train trips.

I could have stuck with Windows and just bought a more portable laptop. But, my iPhone has been such a good experience, I thought I would look at the new MacBook Air. The sight of the Apple Store in London and the smaller but newer Apple Store in Cambridge was amazing. Its not a shop - its an experience. Apple have very cleverly made enough cool pieces of kit freely available that there are throngs of fans all lined up to play games, check emails and surf the web - and its a continuous stream.

When it comes to the actual buying experience - they have the slickest operation I have seen for a very long time. Its quick, its easy, its packaged to perfection and once you have parted with a pretty hefty chunk of your hard-earned wage, you'll have charming salesmen and women offering to help carry your new kit to your car for you.

Sadly, despite the absolute assurances of solid support 24/7 online and on the help line, and failing that, the services of one of the in-store 'geniuses' - the support I received did not live up to the same standard. Not by a long chalk. These assurances had been delivered when I specifically asked about any potential issues with converting from Windows to Mac.

Imagine my concern when I discovered that Outlook 2003 does not create mbox files, but Apple's mail programme only takes file imports in mbox format. Imagine my annoyance the first time I called the support line only to be told that this was a 'microsoft problem' and that I should therefore call Microsoft. Annoyance increased to irritation when I got exactly the same answer to a second call when the first 'Tucows' free download suggested didn't work. Then imagine the escalation to complete disdain for their assurances when I managed (after 3 hours) to get hold of one of their much talked-about instore Geniuses. Only to be told that he was busy and could not help me. And that all he could do was to wish me luck with my chosen solution. By this stage I had worked out a fairly torturous route to getting my mails across via Thunderbird.

I succeeded in the end, but not before feeling really disappointed in Apple. This is the iconic brand that promises the ultimate experience. What I got was extreme irritation. I was prepared to love their brand. In fact., I already loved my phone and was quite eager to have the same sort of relationship with the MacBook. The trouble with setting high expectations during the sales cycle, is that we expect the same level of service to be present in the support team. Somehow, the disillusionment is all the more intense for the positive build up beforehand.

It strikes me as a real lost opportunity - not only with me, but with thousands of Windows users who might dearly like to swap over to a Mac, but who won't take that step specifically because they dread the prospect of conversion nightmares. When the store Genius said that an Apple employee shouldn't have more than a very limited knowledge of the competitor's product, he was so wrong on so many levels. Competitor knowledge is a real asset to any organisation. In this case, it made all the difference between having a satisfied customer, and having a customer who is writing this blog entry. Worlds apart.
If Apple had Windows experts on tap to help customers make a smooth transition - how many more opportunities would they have to sell their very well designed products? Its impossible to quantify, but I'd stick my neck out and said that its probably many thousands.

Knowledge is the ultimate advantage in today's world of business. Know your market. Know your customers. Know your competitors. Without that, you can't possibly offer a world-class support service. Pity that beyond the shiny outside, I found a pretty rotten core.

PS. to be fair, I have tried their support 4 times in one shape or form. Today (number 4) I had the first positive result sine I bought my laptop. Perhaps people and things are looking up in the world of Mac.