Apple Store: All Business and a Lot Less Fun

Apple people standing around, but Apple can afford it.

We made an appointment at the Apple Store to fix a 2-year-old Mac.

A security guard took our temperature and told us to wait outside. A masked Apple employee entered a brief description of our problem into his iPad. When the technician was ready, we were allowed to go inside, 15 minutes after our scheduled meeting. The broken screen will be fixed for $99. The cost would have been over $400 if we had not bought AppleCare.

Customers were escorted in and out efficiently. They picked up their merchandise, got their technical problem handled, and shopped under the watchful eye of an Apple salesperson. There were fewer tables displaying Apple products for "just looking" customers to touch.

It was all business, and a lot less fun than it used to be.

Note: San Mateo is one of the few counties that hasn't been shut down--though it could happen at any time--so there's really no complaining here.