Apple Products are Sooooo Awesome!

I try not to go on and on about how I love my Mac and Apple products in general, but there are times that I just have to "stand up." This is one of them.

Butch just got the iPhone---everyone (except Mindy) that has it says they LOVE it. Butch decided to go with the iPhone so that he could sync everything---especially his calendar. It was easy enough to figure out---except Butch wanted the emails to delete from his phone when he deleted them from his computer. We found out that in order to make that happen, he needed to upgrade his computer to OS X Lion so that he could take advantage of iCloud. I had already updated mine last November. Butch isn't so good with change, so I didn't upgrade his.

Anyway, since he was out-of-town this weekend, we decided that this would be a good time for me to do the upgrade---it takes a couple of hours for the computer to do it's "thing." When I went to get it started, I couldn't figure out how to get the Lion download again. When you purchase software from Apple, it allows you to use it on 3 different computers for the same price. Since I couldn't figure out what to do, I decided I'd go in to the store for a "one-on-one" appointment. That's another thing I LOVE about Apple. For $99 per year, you can have a "one-on-one" session once a week to learn or work on anything. One of the experts will walk you through any project or answer any questions you have about anything.

Back to my story. When I clicked on the "one-on-one" to make my appointment, I got a message that said there were no appointments available in my store. I about freaked. I thought that meant they had quit doing the program. On the website, there was another option---phone appointments. I was in the area of the "one-on-one" training, so I don't know if that's available to every Mac user or just if you purchased the "one-on-one."

The choices for phone appointments were---call right now, call at a specific time, or have Apple call you. I chose to have Apple call me at 7:45 a.m. today. They were "right on" the time. The "guy" walked me through the process of finding where to download the software to Butch's computer. So simple. It's downloading as we speak.

I then asked the "guy" about that message I got. Did it mean that my store was no longer doing the "one-on-one?" He said, "no, that just means there are no appointments available at the moment." He said that calling the store was the best way to make an appointment as sometimes the website isn't always up-to-date.

What I've learned by this experience:
1. I'll still use the website to make an appointment at the store and then call if I can't (you know I hate getting on the phone).
2. Apple support is everywhere when you need it! I can get the help I need without even leaving home.

Apple products are just plain awesome! I knew it all along.

A little side story.
I have a friend who just bought a new pc. She was having trouble with downloading photos, so she called me. I tried to help her over the phone and couldn't. Later in the day, she brought her laptop over and I tried again to figure it out. Her husband is a "die-hard" Mac user. In fact, he owns an advertising agency and Macs are all they use. Nearly 20 years ago, when I was all alone in wanting a Mac, I went to his office to discuss it with him. I have never regretted my decision. With our bad experience with Dell a couple of years ago---I told the family that we would no longer purchase any computers unless they were Macs. Little by little, my family and friends are converting.

I asked my friend why she didn't just get a Mac. She said she didn't want to have to learn something new. Huh??? So she has a pc and has to learn something new anyway? Seems like it would have been a "no-brainer" to me. She has live in tech support!