Apple repair consultants upset over changes to Apple Retail referral policy
Apple has begun working with computer repair service provider OnForce to setup a new support structure for contracting non-Genius Bar repairs to certified Apple consultants, TUAW reports. Existing members of the Apple Consultants Network (ACN) are reportedly unhappy with the move.
Previously, Apple Store managers would create a referral list by interviewing consultants who had completed Apple's certification process and paid the annual ACN fees. Customers at the store whose issues could not be resolved by the in-store Genius Bar were provided with business cards of eligible consultants.
This method, however, has reportedly "rubbed Apple Retail the wrong way," as it gave Apple little oversight of pricing, quality and service.
According to report author Steven Sande, in 2009, "Apple began testing a new support structure that used an existing organization, OnForce, to distribute support calls to ACN members who wanted to sign up as part of the program." After initial testing in the LA Basin and Boston areas in 2009 and the Denver/Boulder and Detroit markets in 2010, Apple is now rolling out the system on a nationwide level, the report noted.
The new system relies on OnForce to receive work requests from customers, categorize the requests, set a price for the work and then send an "open call" to participating consultants. After the job is finished, customers rate the quality of the work.
However, Apple consultants have expressed concerns about the new program because of its "my way or the highway" solution, said Sande. Though consultants aren't required to join the OnForce program, those who decline will be unable to receive referrals from Apple Retail. ACN members are also unhappy with rules prohibiting them from representing themselves or their companies during site visits contracted through OnForce. Also bound to draw criticism is the fact that OnForce quotes are generally lower than what most consultants are used to charging for comparable work.
The report also notes that consultants have complained of excessive paperwork and increased competition from uncertified consultants with no Mac or iOS experience.
In response, some consultants are planning to discontinue their Apple Consultant Network memberships and may even band together to create their own alternative certification group.
Apple's recent changes to its third-party repair policy, however, don't reflect a lack of emphasis on in-store repairs by the Mac maker. Apple Retail mastermind Ron Johnson has called the company's Genius Bars "the heart and soul of the Apple retail store experience." Last year, Apple made several changes to its Genius Bar service in order to improve wait times, overnight repairs and Genius multitasking.
The rise of Apple's retail stores has been a remarkable success story. In the first quarter of fiscal 2011, Apple's retail sales nearly doubled year over year to reach $3.8 billion in the quarter. Half of the record 851,000 Macs sold in its stores last quarter were to customers who had never owned a Mac before.
International store volume now exceeds U.S. store volume, with Apple's retail stores in China leading the way with the most traffic and highest revenue. Apple is reportedly planning new retail stores in Shanghai, Palo Alto and New York's Grand Central Terminal.
27 Comments
Hello Craigslist.
Not sure how I feel about this one, but one thing is for certain -- Apple sure is doing its best to piss off existing software developers/partners in the past few weeks.
I'm a little conflicted by this move. They are essentially outsourcing to a middle-man agency that will (in the end) do nothing more than take a cut of a consultant's pay for the service/"honor" of working on Apple products.
Oh, the agency will say in typical marketing-speak that they "strive to ensure the highest standards of quality and expertise to the customer", they themselves will provide zero services but make it look like they do.
I've worked side-by-side with (not for) agencies for the past 20 years and they are simply a sham. They charge $200/hr to a client and the folks doing the actual work (and they pay for their own benefits) will get $60/hr. In countless cases, the "consultants" know next to nothing about the field of expertise and usually end up causing more problems than what was originally there. It's a joke.
Really good folks I think will still do okay. Word of mouth travels fast and with proper marketing and exposure, guys that really know their stuff will be generally unaffected by it. At least, I hope that's what the end-result is.
Oh, and for the trolls and Apple-haters that will immediately compare this to the 30% cut Apple takes on iOS business, not the same thing.
Competition is good.
SpamSandwich, yes competition is good and that is why OnForce will fail. This is a classic case of Apple "eating its' young". People who've worked with Apple for years will know what that means.
I have been an Apple user since 1979. I even worked at Apple as a Business Partner at a Flagship store for over six years so I know a little about what is going on at Apple. While at Apple, I used to spend a significant amount of time interviewing and working with ACNs. Keyword: working with them in partnership. They would drive me business by bringing me sales and I would drive them business where I needed a little help closing the sale or making sure the client was getting advice which I couldn't give. I could not leave the store to visit the clients office in order to give proper recommendation for their IT needs. That's what the ACN did. They made for a more complete sale and my relationship with the various ACNs ensured that I could match the proper ACN with the client. It was a service that really helped propel Apple Retail Business to the next level. I gained nothing from this relationship monetarily and I knew I was getting my customers taken care of. When a new manager took over my store, he wanted to get rid of the ACN list and just recommend one ASC(Apple Service Center) that he had a good relationship with i.e. his BFF. He also said we could use the consultant locator but not give personalized referrals. I totally disagreed with this means of referrals since it was no better than telling your client to look in the "Yellow Pages". My customers relied on me to give referrals based upon relationships and trusted me for this service.
So herein lies the hypocrisy at Apple. Apple says it's trying to drive down cost for the customer. Apple is trying to play down favoritism. Well, when I made a referral, I always gave at least two options and also showed the customer the consultant locator. I also told my customers that if you want a $50 per hour consultant, then you will get $50/hour expertise and service. Free Market Capitalism generally illustrates this. What Apple is doing is eating its' young alive. They did this to the majority of its' reseller network which had been in place before Apple Retail came about. It put many of those resellers who directly competed toe to toe with Apple out of business. The resellers that survived had to create a niche and focus on things that Apple could not provide like a "mom and pop" atmosphere or specialized service. Also, lots of the resellers focused on non-warranty repairs and the ability to perform service on site. Yes, Apple will perform on site service for your business??.if you are Enterprise level. All the small to medium sized businesses are left out! By the way, the initial Site Inspection for an Enterprise Rep and Engineer just to come to your business was $6000 in 2008. And if you even balked at that price, I was told by an Apple Engineer that they viewed that customer as, "Not Apple Material".
OnForce is getting a piece of the action from the consultant. Apple is probably getting some kind of participation fee from OnForce. Ultimately, it's the Apple Consultant who gets screwed. And I say Apple Consultant because the most important thing you have to understand is that OnForce consultants don't have to be Apple Certified. It could be a High School student who is looking to make some money on the side. Of course they can underbid an experienced consultant! Also, if you've ever done consulting, it can be very difficult to "estimate" your time for a job. OnForce determines what "should" be the time to complete a job. Well, with IT, it's never quite that easy. There can be so many unforeseen circumstances that can complicate a job. Let's say you're getting a job to do a quick and easy setup which includes installing MSFT Office, getting on the Internet and setting up printer on a brand new iMac you just purchased from the Apple Store. Sounds like a job that should take about an hour or two? Generally yes. But any good consultant who is worth his salt will also run Software Update. As of today, a brand new iMac sold at the Apple Store needs about 1.5GB of downloads, including Flash(which is no longer included). Well, if you have a fast 5mb/s internet connection, that should take about 40 minutes. If you have a slower connection, it could take much more!
In this case, you would have to rebid the client and stop what you're doing. You'd have to contact OnForce and then go through the paperwork. OnForce would have to call the client directly with a new bid and get permission to continue the work. Sounds like a major headache and this is just a very basic example of how things can go wrong. (A good consultant would have anticipated this download and downloaded the updates before going onsite, maybe)
Ever since leaving Apple, I have joined an ACN which has been servicing clients for over 10 years in my area. We are one of the top ACNs and are growing quite a bit. We charge $160~$185 per hour and we are all very busy. When I say we, I mean all five of our technicians are booking at least 25 hours/week each! And we're looking for more consultants to join us!! Once we heard about the OnForce program, we laughed at it. We do not compete on price and the first thing we tell potential customers is that we are not the cheapest but we are one of the best at what we do. Our customers love us because we are passionate about what we do and they see it. This is one of the luxuries of servicing Apple customers: they are not always focused on price. They are focused on quality, relationships and getting things to just work. What Apple Retail is doing is trying to hoard all the relationships and not share. They want all the toys on the playground.
At MacWorld last month, Mimi, one of the ACN liaisons who works for Apple addressed the crowd of ACNs and ASCs. Nobody in the crowd seemed to be pleased about OnForce and Mimi kinda implied that she wasn't really putting a lot of faith in it. Not sure if she was placating everyone in the crowd or if she was genuine. Getting mixed signals here from Apple.
I feel really bad for the Apple Service Centers. Apple is really sticking it to them with the "Get to Yes" program. They are not following the rules that they set. Apple forces the ASCs to charge certain amounts for certain types of repairs. Yet, Apple and their Genius bars are not following the same rules lately. They are performing repairs below cost in order to "Get to Yes". What's next target in Apple's sight? Looks like the ACNs!!!