Steve Jobs Didn’t Like Genius Bars At Apple Stores Initially

If there’s one thing that you’ll always find at an Apple Store no matter where you are in the world, it’s the Genius Bar. It has become an integral part of the Apple retail experience. Customers can book a time with a Genius when they need some help with their Apple device or just want to get it repaired. It certainly makes life so much easier. However, according to a new report, Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs wasn’t too thrilled about the Genius Bar idea initially.

The former head of retail for Apple Ron Johnson said in a recent podcast that when he first brought up the Genius Bar idea in front of Steve Jobs, the chief said “That’s so idiotic! It’ll never work!.”

Jobs went on to say that “Ron, you might have the right idea, but here’s the big gap: I’ve never met someone who knows technology who knows how to connect with people. They’re all geeks! You can call it the Geek Bar.”

Johnson stood his ground, though, and explained to Jobs that most of the people who would be tasked with running the Genius Bar would actually be in their 20s and would have grown up using the technology that they were providing support for. This was apparently enough to convince Jobs as he told the company’s general counsel to trademark “Genius Bar” the following day, says Johnson.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Apple
Tags: apple store, Steve Jobs