Soviet Akihabara

Better today. The sunlight doesn't bother me, and the black dog seems to be at bay. For now.

Took my broken Mac Mini down to the Apple Store, and ran into a brick wall, with the chipper but helpless iClerk completely unable to do anything, as imprisoned in his script as any bishoojo shopgirl I met in Tokyo, his faintly panicked smile exactly like those I saw when some hapless teenager was wondering what to do with the crazy crazy Gaijin who just kept wandering all over the invisible lane markers on the highway of shared cultural assumptions, always wanting to know why. Asking those horrible, horrible why questions. The staff are wonderful, the service friendly, but they literally cannot do a thing once you jump the tracks of their little customer service script. And the script requires you to make an appointment online to get your machine serviced.

What the propellerheads at Apple never seem to have contemplated is:

1) If someone's computer is not working, their internet access is likely to be nil.

and

2) Even if you let people use the store computer, if your store refuses to see anyone without an appointment, it may be a good idea to let people book an appointment more than 48 hours in advance.

not to mention

3) Some computer problems really do not require a half hour appointment. They just need 5 minutes, as in: Hi, my computer's RAM is bad, I already ran a diagnostic using your tools, it's under warranty, here's my proof of purchase and my contact info, call me when it's ready. byyyeeee!