Curious student visitors and Mac owners gathered around a new counter in the Norris bookstore Monday as the ASG-sponsored Apple Store made its grand opening.
The counter held a display case of Apple products that the store is selling at a discount “below normal education pricing,” according to Andrew Hamer, an employee and the only certified Mac technician at the store. The sale lasts until Friday. The store also advertised workshops and seminars available to students.
But more ambitious plans are in the works, and the store will have a repair shop open by May 1, according to Hamer. Students and faculty will be able to “check in their machines, and we will repair them with certified Apple parts,” Hamer said. He will do all of the repair work himself in a workshop he is currently building in the back of the bookstore.
In the meantime, employees arranged appointments for Northwestern students in other Apple stores. “They were very helpful, and even though they don’t have tech support yet, they set me up with an appointment in Chicago,” said Emily Roskey, a Weinberg freshman.
Paul-David Shrader, a Weinberg senior and ASG clerk said he was impressed by the number of employees. Hamer said that there were several Northwestern students working at the store already.
The store, while a work in progress, seemed to satisfy the students who came to browse its selection. “It’s cool they put this up and got it running so quickly,” Shrader said.