Walking into an Apple Store Genius Bar appointment even two short years ago was an exciting and fun experience. I knew I wouldn’t have to wait more than five minutes to talk to a Genius, and I knew my problem would be fixed.

In between waiting for an update to install or a diagnosis to finish, I was able to make conversation with the Genius. We’d often talk about things that were of mutual interest to us, and as a customer I appreciated this personal interaction. It’s one of the many things that the Apple Store is known best for.

The past many visits to the Genius Bar unfortunately haven’t been this enjoyable. Half of the time when I walked into the store, I had to look around for a staff member in order to check-in for my appointment, for which I arrived five minutes early for. After checking in, it was at least another 15-20 minutes minimum after my scheduled appointment time until I was able to talk to a Genius.

Since Apple typically overbooks the Genius Bar, the Genius that was helping me was also helping two other customers. This made me feel rushed and pressured, and there was no time nor opportunity for even a quick personal chat with the Genius.

Today’s Genius Bar verses the Genius Bar of two years ago is one that is a lot less personal, and a whole lot more rushed and overbooked. I don’t like it, and nor does anyone else.

I understand that Apple is experiencing a major growth period right now, but that’s no excuse to let the service in their retail stores to dramatically decrease.