Editor's Note: Welcome to Tech Loop, a new blog on the Windy Citizen blog network edited by Blake Schnitkey.  Chicago's got a vibrant tech scene that deserves a look in on from time to time and is a great place to try out the latest gadgets, which is exactly what Blake will be doing.  Here's his first post.  -Brad

The Apple store on Michigan Avenue.

Photo by InfoMoto.

Most people think of personal shopping in terms of designer clothing, cars and jewelry. They think of stores like Macy's, J. Crew, and Banana Republic and their wares as the typical offerings for personal shopping - but what about gadgets? Don't geeks with fat wallets deserve the same treatment at their favorite tech store as a rich guy at a Lexus dealership or a girl with mom and dad's credit card at a designer shoe store?

Think of it this way - most of us wouldn't spend $2000 on a diamond ring without asking a ton of questions, looking at 30 different rings, and making sure the diamond was a fine cut and clarity? Why should a $2000 computer purchase be any different? You will, after all, be using it on a daily basis.

Looking for exactly this kind of customer care, the kind you'd expect at a 5-star hotel or a fine steak house, I set up a personal shopping appointment at the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue last week. I wanted rock star treatment and I'm happy to report that I found it, no jacket required and without taking out a second mortgage.

When I got to the store, it was busy. There was a band appearance going on, The Kills from England, and I wondered if the store's resources might be stretched thin. Every Apple employee was helping a customer, and every line was full...especially the line for the biggest tech-craze since the electric razor - the iPhone 3G. I approached the Apple store concierge (I know, a concierge at a computer store, how quaint) and told him that I had set up a personal shopping appointment online. Up until that moment, things seemed to be in cruise control for the concierge, but as soon as I told him I had an appointment, he was on his personal headset frantically making calls as if I were a foreign dignitary that needed immediate service.

At that point, two employees sprung into action and headed over to have the personal shopping duties delegated to them by the concierge - this was all in spite of the huge 5:30 after-work rush. I was then introduced to the Apple employee that was going to be helping me that day; we shook hands and started talking right away.

This is where the fun begins. I am an avid fan of Macs, but decided to go into the appointment under the pretense that I had never touched one, and was a life-long Windows user. Why? Because there are many people out there in this very situation who might be well-served by an appointment like this.

Also, I wanted the dirt. I wanted to get them to treat me like any other first-time customer while trying to get a sale out of me. I wanted to hear some Windows trash talking and Mac glorifying.

For over a half-hour, I asked the store rep all of typical questions a new or transitioning Mac user would probably ask. I was actually testing his working knowledge of OS X and Macs from a naïve Windows user angle to see if he would make any outlandish claims regarding Mac specifications or user experience in an attempt to lead me blindly into buying a Mac. I asked amateurish questions like: "I can't run MS Office on OS X, so how am I supposed to work?" and "How do I open an application and what is the ‘dock'?" I dumbed it down as much as was humanly possible without sacrificing my pride. The rep never grew tired of my unendingly boring questions and he gave me his full attention the entire time. I felt as though I had a helping hand in stepping into what is for some a completely unknown world aside from the iPod - the world of Macs.

The only real dirt I was able to dig out of the Apple rep was that the hand-held devices they use in the store run on a Windows Mobile OS (Ohh, THE IRONY of using your worst enemy's product to make your money...). He also told me that although we were floating in a sea of Apple reps, he wasn't one of the two normal Mac specialists on staff that they deploy to do the personal shopping appointments - they were busy with other appointments. The Apple rep that I got, however, was still very knowledgeable.

He was fair, too. I went in expecting my personal shopper to rag on Microsoft the whole time, instead everything that came out of his mouth was quite the contrary. I only heard a reserved respect for the platform. Because of my supposed background as Windows user, I was even shown the Mac's capabilities in running the OS in tandem with OS X. Any Windows bad-mouthing was backed up by harsh, albeit very true technical specifications.

The beauty of a personal shopping appointment at the Apple store was the simple pleasure of knowing that your questions, no matter how ridiculous, would be answered thoroughly. The personal shopping program at the Apple store is only about 18 months old, but they seem to have gotten it right. So check it out, ask stupid questions, play dumb, and make sure you are getting your money's worth. If you are, or ever were thinking about buying a Mac, give the personal shopping at the Apple store on Michigan Avenue a look. Be the king in a land of geeks. Go ahead, give it a try.

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Blake Schnitkey
As a graduate in Visual Communications Technology from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Blake was drawn into a love for technology via the biggest passion in his lif More