The Mac store
 

Is it me, or are most Mac store employees pretty much inept when it comes to questions regarding FCS? I get it: these guys are there to sell iPods, but for a company on the frontier of everything pro, Apple is really lagging when it comes to servicing the pro side of the market at the sales stage. And I don't mean selling me a session with a Mac "genius" just to get a straight answer on your pro products. Don't get me wrong: I LOVE the Mac store. But its too bad one can get more insight into FCP from a forum than from a store employee. This isn't a local phenomenon either. I've gotten the "That's a good question..." or "Ask that guy, he's an editor..." (yeah, iMovie) at nearly every store from CA to NY.

Does Steve Jobs figure all pros have the answers?

I don't mean to rant... but the Mac store is just so cool & it's just too bad.

The Apple Store employees are generally a lot more experienced on the consumer side of things- i.e. iPods, iPhones, MacBook Pros, iLife, etc. You still can't beat going to an Apple Pro for training on Pro Apps.

Noah

The last thing I would expect from a consumer store is an employee (making little if above minimum wage) to have competent info on something as complex as FCS.

That's right. It's not a pro shop. It's like going into WalMart and asking the kid in the toy section about Staunton Chess boards.

You went to the wrong store. Go to a professional vendor... there are a few who even sponsor these forums (wink, wink).

to be honest, even the so called " pro vendors" can be pretty lacking. how do I know ? because I worked as a consultant / user support person with one of the largest dealers in the U.S.. I used to provide support to several national US network clients, and still do with one.

on another level, I was looking at a smoke and the dealer for the area was, to put it bluntly, a bit clueless to the point of getting discreet on a 3 way call to answer questions they should of had answers too. then there was the fact they treated me like I was an idiot with a pen & check book.....

you are far better off finding a good local expert who may or may not work with a local dealer, and shopping around on the gear.

forget the iStore for info: this forum seems to be the right place to come!

I don't want to sound harsh, but it's completely unrealistic to expect any Apple store employee to know anything at all about FCS.

Totally agree with you Don. Apple does have a business unit that has reps who would likely know more about the pro-apps side of things. They even have the authority to negotiate prices for the hardware itself. I know this because I was contacted by them at one time.

I think it would behoove them to have at least one in store employee who could deal with pro-apps questions before the sale. Beyond the sale, you have Apple Certified Instructors and local user groups as we have here in Dallas.

-gb-

Thankfully...
 

The FCP Trainer at the Apple Store in Salt Lake City worked at a local TV station using FCP. He knows his way around the software, thankfully.

Happy New Year!!
Steve