Since some people seem to think I’m simply complaining about not getting my phone replaced, some clarification: I am angry simply because I was treated so poorly by the employees at this particular Apple Store. I asked for a replacement, yes. Because if you don’t ask, you have a 100% chance of getting “no” as an answer. I only asked once with each person I spoke with. I DID ask why I wasn’t being offered one when others were. I was not rude to any of the employees. I asked questions to clarify what I was being told and WAS NOT GIVEN ANY ANSWERS.
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My issue is plain and simple: Customers should NOT be treated like I was at the Mall of Georgia Apple Store.
A chain of events has occurred which I wish I could completely erase from my memory. I just got home from the tail end of it and I’ve got a headache and feel nauseated from the stress. Tears have been shed and angry words have been spoken.
All because of my iPhone.
It all started yesterday afternoon. I came upstairs and plugged my iPhone in to charge and set it on my nightstand. I went and took a shower. I had somewhere to be at 6pm. I wanted my phone charged before I left so I could keep in touch with SuperDad, who would be staying home with our three girls. He kept the girls downstairs with him so I could bathe uninterrupted. Not a common thing around here these days.
I got out of the shower and came into our office, which is right off the bedroom. I sat down at the computer and pulled up Facebook. A friend from high school had posted a funny picture of her daughter and I commented on it. So did a bunch of other people. I could hear my iPhone vibrating from the notifications from all the new comments. Since I was at the computer, I was reading them from my browser. After a few minutes and many new comments on that photo, I heard a slight thunk in the bedroom. I got up and walked in to find my iPhone on the floor. I went to go pick it up and that’s when my stomach dropped. The screen was shattered. Not just cracked. The glass looked like I had decorated it for Halloween with a massive spiderweb. There were tiny chunks of glass missing and I even got a shard in my hand just by picking it up. There were slivers of glass on the laminate floor of our bedroom.
I screamed. Loudly. SuperDad thought I’d seen a huge rat or something. I was sick to my stomach. How could this have happened? I took the phone downstairs to show him. I took HIS iPhone and took a picture, which didn’t even begin to capture the true damage to the screen. I posted the picture to my Facebook. I got a bunch of comments and messages from people who were trying to help me figure out what options I had. I heard from three different people who had something similar happen and they all told me to make an appointment at the Apple Store and take it in. They had had their phones replaced at no cost when they accidentally dropped theirs. One of those people dropped theirs off a 7th floor balcony. Seeing as how I wasn’t even touching the phone when it happened and it was a function of the phone itself that caused it to fall, I thought it would be covered by the warranty.
We made a 3:40pm appointment at the Apple Store at the Mall of Georgia. We got up the next day and chaperoned a field trip for CityGirl’s class. After school, we took an hour drive to the Apple Store and even got there a little early. I checked in and waited. And waited. I was told they were running a little behind. I finally got called up to the Genius Bar, where a guy whom I believe was named Chad, shook my hand and then immediately started looking at his computer screen. I explained what happened with my phone when I checked in and they put notes in the system. Chad didn’t even look at my phone when I sat down. He just looked at his screen and said, “Oh, good news, I can offer you a reduced price on a replacement, it will only be $149.” I looked at him and said, “I’m sorry, you haven’t even looked at the phone. I wasn’t touching it when it fell. I wasn’t even in the same ROOM with it when it fell. It vibrated off my nightstand. As far as I’m concerned, that’s normal usage, which should be covered under the warranty.” That is when he finally looked at my phone. LOOKED AT IT, mind you, he never touched it. “I can tell from looking at it that there are multiple points of impact.” I said, “Well, unless it hit the floor a couple times after it fell, maybe. But I wouldn’t know since I wasn’t in there.”
That’s when he looked at me and said, “That does not look like damage caused from falling off a nightstand.” I looked him straight in the eye and said, “Are you calling me a liar? I’m not trying to pull a fast one here. I have spoken with THREE people who have had their screens cracked by their OWN NEGLIGENCE and they had them replaced. I set my phone on a flat surface and the vibrate feature in your product caused it to shimmy off my nightstand. There has got to be another answer.” He then started the broken record treatment, “The best I can do is $149. The best I can do is $149. The best I can do is $149.” At this point, SuperDad was at the front of the store with the girls. I couldn’t text him, obviously, as my phone was sitting on the counter and a simple swipe of the screen would get me splinters of glass in my fingers. Chad then said, “So, are we going ahead with the replacement? Let me get that started.” I said, “No, we are not. I am not paying $149 to replace a phone for which I paid $75.” This is when he lost me completely. He laughed and then scoffed, “The iPhone 4 has never been that price.” I said, “Again, you are calling me a liar?” I got up, took my phone and walked out. I was livid.
(Point of fact: I upgraded to the iPhone 4 in December of 2010. Radio Shack was offering a trade in of $75 for an iPhone 3G with a $50 instant rebate, bringing the price down to $75. So yes, I did pay $75 for my iPhone 4. It was my Christmas present from SuperDad. I had to be put on a wait list for it and got it on December 31st.)
At the front of the store, I asked to speak to someone else as I was very unhappy with the treatment I received from Chad. The young lady asked me if I had an appointment. I said yes and she said, “Did you miss your appointment time?” I told her I had not, I was there early and they were running behind and I had already spoken with the Genius. A guy in a black shirt was called over and I explained the situation and the treatment I received. He just said, “Well that’s not covered by the warranty.” I said I understood that, but knowing that people have received replacements for instances that were their fault, I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t being offered any kind of assistance and was being treated so rudely. He said, “We’re not saying this is your fault.” So I asked, “Who’s fault is it then?” He repeated, “We’re not saying this is your fault.”
I despise the broken record treatment. DESPISE IT. I looked over at SuperDad and said, “Let’s go, this is ridiculous. I don’t want to sit here and continue to be treated like this.” We walked away from the store and I sat on a bench and called Apple. After a 15 minute hold, the representative on the phone asked me how I was doing and I said, “Well, not good after just spending the past hour in one of your stores.” He said he was sorry to hear that and asked me to explain what was going on. I told him and he said he was sorry for the rudeness and repeated that the damage isn’t covered by the warranty. When I mentioned the people I know who have had a free replacement, he said, AND I QUOTE “Well, maybe you just got someone who was having a bad day.” I couldn’t believe my ears. I asked him, “So, basically what you just said is that because one of your employees is having a bad day, it’s ok to treat me with disrespect?” He said no, but maybe that’s why I wasn’t getting more help and maybe I could try to come back another day. Seriously. So if I had come in and Chad had seen a double rainbow on the way to work that day, I might have gotten my phone replaced? What kind of customer service is that?!
SuperDad had gone to talk to AT&T (our carrier) while I was waiting to see Chad and they told him I was eligible for a discounted upgrade to a iPhone 4s. After discussing it, we decided to go ahead and do that. So I went BACK into the Apple Store and told them I wanted to upgrade. I waited again for someone to help me. The young man who helped me asked me how I was doing and I showed him my phone and said, “Not very good.” He laughed and said, “Oh that sucks.” I cut my eyes at him and said, “I’m really not in the mood for jokes, I am not happy about spending this money.” He put in the request for the phone and then said someone would bring it out to us. He continued to make lighthearted comments about my broken phone and said, “Guess you’ll be more careful with this one, huh?” Again, I said I wasn’t in the mood for jokes. It was at this point that he told me that Apple Care made some changes recently and NOW it covers accidental damage. About 10 minutes later, another employee came up and that’s when I was told they were out of the 16GB 4S in both black and white. Would I want to go ahead and upgrade to the 32GB for $100 more? Uh, no. He laughed AGAIN and said, “This day keeps getting worse for you, huh?” At this point, I started to cry. He kept poking fun at all the misfortune I was experiencing and I had enough. He AGAIN laughed and said, “Well you can always reserve one online, but you have to do it at 9pm or else they’ll all be gone.” I was in shock at this point. I just walked out.
I was called a liar twice and laughed at on multiple occasions. I just can’t understand how so many people told me how great Apple customer service is and this is the treatment I received. I was willing to pay money to upgrade and then felt ridiculed while trying to do that! Ridiculous and completely unacceptable.
16 comments
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October 25, 2011 at 3:55 am
Really?
Um, really?
You knew the phone vibrated, correct? Did you think it wasn’t possible to fall off the nightstand from vibrating? Do you think it is Apple’s fault that you put it on the nightstand? If the phone didn’t have a vibrating silent alert feature, would you have purchased it?
Also, you paid more than $75 for the phone. Whatever you paid for the phone that you originally traded in should be included in that price.
How rude of you to think that some poor Apple employee that probably makes about $10/hr as it is should risk his job to give you special treatment. And, the poor guy that tried to help you with the upgrade! What should he have said? It does suck! You made a poor decision and now you have to buy a new phone.
I hope you aren’t raising your kids to act this bratty!
October 25, 2011 at 4:44 pm
The Funny Sister
How is it special treatment if they have done it for others before? My issue is simply with how they treated me. Chad could have simply told me it wasn’t covered under the warranty. Questioning how the damage occurred wasn’t necessary. The guy helping me with the upgrade shouldn’t have continued to make jokes after I said I wasn’t in the mood for them. I was never rude to ANYONE I spoke with at the store. I asked questions to clarify what I was being told and was not given answers. It’s hard to convey in a blog post how I was being spoken to by both Chad and the guy helping me with the upgrade. Their tone of voice and body language had a LOT to do with it.
And thanks for the concern about my kids. I actually used the experience as a chance to teach them that you shouldn’t be rude to people even if they are rude to you, but you should stand up for yourself when you feel you haven’t been treated right.
October 25, 2011 at 4:01 am
Guy
You are the reason they will stop making exceptions for iPhones that have accidentally broken. “The Broken Record” treatment is you saying, “well I’ve heard of people getting free swaps”. You don’t think they hear that everytime? You have a device that’s made out of glass & it broke, you paid $75 for a than $699 iPhone. $149 is more than reasonable.
You are a consumer; A mushroom, a maggot. You cry over broken glass.
October 25, 2011 at 1:52 pm
The Funny Sister
I didn’t say I EXPECTED it. I hoped they would. If I didn’t ASK for a replacement, I was guaranteed not to get one. Simple lesson in life you learn as a child: you want something, you ask for it politely. I got a “no” for an answer, and if that was the end of it, the entire experience would have been chalked up to “live and learn”. I’m angry at being called a liar. I’m angry that while I was FULLY WILLING to pay for an upgrade to the 4S, I continued to be mocked. How is that expecting something for nothing? I never said, “You did it for all these people, you should do it for me.” I just said I knew people who’d gotten replacements. I’m so glad you were right there with me and know exactly what I said. I’m simply upset with the TREATMENT I received, not the fact that they wouldn’t replace the phone.
Name calling on the internet is so 2000.
October 25, 2011 at 3:46 pm
guest
I agree with everything “guy” said, minus the name calling. Apple no longer does things like that because of situations just like this. Additionally, I think its humorous to think someone was “poking fun” at you trying to make light of an obviously tense situation that YOU caused because of your negligence. All phones vibrate, if it was a smart phone or a flip phone, it would’ve still fallen off the nightstand with alerts. Your reasoning to them is a fallacy. Your reasoning behind your argument is like complaining to an auto manufacturer because the cruise control caused you to crash while you weren’t paying attention. Unfortunately for the rest of us, you made a stink and we will all suffer less generosity because of it. Thanks!
October 25, 2011 at 4:26 pm
The Funny Sister
I’m not quite sure how I made a stink. I asked questions. I didn’t cause a scene. I walked in, waited for my appointment, got treated poorly while asking for assistance and then left. Apple recently changed Apple Care to cover accidental damage. So they knew they needed to change things. I’m glad they did this, it shows they are paying attention to their customers. Doesn’t help me any because when I purchased my phone, that wasn’t covered.
I do not care that they didn’t replace my phone. I care about the treatment I received. At no point during my time with Chad did he ever say it wasn’t covered, he simply called the cause of the damage into question. I graciously accepted that answer from the second person I spoke to after that. I’m not a rude person. I don’t have a sense of entitlement. Did I hope the phone would get replaced like they had done for others? Yes, who wouldn’t? Did I demand it? No. Did I expect to have my questions answered and to be treated with respect? Yes. And I won’t apologize for that.
And thank you for not name calling. 🙂
October 25, 2011 at 12:41 pm
motionblurred
I’m sorry to hear about what happened. I’ve never encountered a situation like this in an Apple store. My kid sister broke the screen on her iPod touch, which she purchased secondhand, when a friend sat on it. She was given a new one at the Apple store in Roosevelt Field in Long Island. I guess not all Apple stores are made alike.
I’m glad you posted the location of the store and the name of the ‘genius’. I picked up your story on a tweet @ifostore which is a 3rd party Apple store twitter feed. I can assure that they will be listening to this feed though it should not have come to this.
October 25, 2011 at 2:09 pm
The Funny Sister
Thank you for actually getting the point! It was the treatment I received that I’m upset about, not that I didn’t get a new phone. I was upset when I wrote this blog post, and I know I could have done a better job conveying just how rude they were to me and what the real issue was, but I thought it was pretty clear.
I ended up selling the cracked phone on eBay for more than it will cost me to upgrade to the 4S, so I found a solution that worked for me. I still like Apple products. This store just needs to take a look at how their employees are treating customers. Calling someone a liar and then making jokes about a customer who is trying to pay is NOT good service.
October 25, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Steve
Buy the phone from that store. Respond to the survey (‘to tell us about your experience, click here’). Management takes them seriously as long as it’s important feedback.
October 25, 2011 at 5:25 pm
The Funny Sister
Thank you. I do want them to know about the treatment I got. I’m hoping to be able to reserve my 4S this evening and if it’s available from that store, I’ll consider getting it there.
October 25, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Matthew
If your interested in support this store actually has an amazing leadership team that will help you. Call the store and ask for a manager and they will go above and beyond.
October 25, 2011 at 5:28 pm
The Funny Sister
Thank you. Not sure what all they could do now. I just want them to know how their employees treated me and make sure no one else gets the same. If it turns out I have to reserve my 4S at their store, I’ll try to speak to a manager in person.
October 25, 2011 at 6:00 pm
Matthew
Please call and ask for Matthew and he will take care of what you need.
678-288-3400
October 25, 2011 at 6:28 pm
The Funny Sister
Just called and left a message!
October 25, 2011 at 6:32 pm
FRS
So I am an Family Room Specialist (the guys who do phone support at the stores) at an Apple Store in the south east; not the store you were at. While I don’t agree with the manner in which “Chad” handled this matter, I’d like to give you a little insight “from the other side of the bar” as we say.
First of all Apple’s warranty has never covered accidental damage, such as physical damage or liquid damage. While you may feel that it was not your fault, you cannot argue that it was accidental damage and not a defect in workmanship or materials. Second, I can’t tell you how many times a day I see a similar situation. At my store alone we swap out HUNDREDS of phones a day for physical damage. In the past Apple had an unwritten policy of a “one time exception”. Now keep in mind this does not mean that everyone gets one free phone, no matter what. This exception was at the technicians discretion. Now imagine that you are a technician and you have seen 40 appointments today, some of which the customers are not nearly as calm and courteous as you said you were. Many of the customers demand that they be given free phones and throw tantrums when they don’t get them. When you look at the damage to a phone most of the time it is fairly obvious whether it was a simple accident or if the phone has been abused. I say most of the time because there are the one offs where the phone hit in just the right way to cause serious damage. These phones can take a lot of abuse under normal circumstances, trust me, we like to throw them around in the back to test the glass. With the type of damage you described I probably would have been a bit incredulous of your story as well. However, I wouldn’t have handled it quite the same way as Chad did.
Moving on, technicians are more likely to give you a free replacement if you don’t ask because asking makes it look like you were careless with your phone because you thought you could work the system and get a free one. So in this case the “if you don’t ask the answer is guaranteed to be NO” doesn’t hold up.
However due to the fact that so many customers abuse the generosity of the company and the “one time exception” Apple has done away with it. The new policy is Apple Care +. You can buy this protection to cover accidental damage. This is not a “break your phone as many times as you want plan”. You pay $100 dollars to purchase the plan and then you have 2 “incidents” of accidental damage. For each incident you will pay $50 dollars to have the phone replaced. Seeing as how you had your incident after the launch of Apple Care +. Chad no longer had the option of giving you a one time exception. And the broken record as you call it, is sometimes the only way we have to communicate to the customer. Because Chad couldn’t tell you that there is no longer a one time exception like your friends got (because it never really officially existed), his only option is to tell you what he can do to replace your phone which is to sell you a $600 phone for $150.
While I don’t think Chad handled this interaction very well, he was merely doing what his job allows him to. I doubt he meant to be rude. I also think that your emotional state at the time might have made you a bit more sensitive than usual. (I would be a little touchy if i broke my phone too).
And as for the specialist who was going to sell you the new phone. It sounds like he was merely trying to lighten the mood and not make fun of you. Most of us are Apple customers as well as employees and we know what its like to have to pay to replace a broken device.
I hope this look from the other side of the Genius Bar helps you to understand a bit more where the people you worked with were coming from. But mostly I hope you really enjoy your new 4S. ( ITS SWEET!)
October 25, 2011 at 6:57 pm
The Funny Sister
Thank you for acknowledging that there was an issue with the way I was treated. I see where you are coming from, definitely. Your response here is exactly how I wish I had been treated while in the store. You explained things without talking down to me. I’ll have to tell my mom that her life lesson about asking didn’t work this time. 🙂
And, for the record, I wasn’t emotional until after Chad questioned my honesty. That is one of my hot button issues. I think feeling like you’re getting called a liar would ruffle anyone’s feathers. And as for the young man trying to help me with the upgrade, I really wish I could do a better job conveying the tone of voice and body language that made things much worse.
I’m sure I’ll love the 4S, just like I loved my 3G and then my 4.