Apple 名古屋栄 — Attraction in Nagoya

My iPhone 13 screen suddenly stopped working while travelling in Japan. There was no damage or software issues - it just no longer registered touches for no apparent reason. Since there aren't many Apple stores in Japan, I called to make an appointment took an hour drive to this Apple Store in Nagoya to figure it out.

When I arrived, the location was pretty business for a weekday. Although there was a mix up with my appointment, I was seen within minutes. It turns out my screen simply malfunctioned and it was just over a year old and out of warranty - figures.

It cost over 42,000 jpy (about $300 USD) for a screen replacement, which is double the price of a standard repair shop in Japan!

The entire analysis and repair process took about 2 hours in total. Although it costed a lot more than I expected to pay, it came with a 90 day warranty and the staff was very helpful, answering all my questions and making sure my family was comfortable throughout the process. One person also spoke English, which was a plus.

Overall, the service experience was very positive at this Apple Store, consistent with what you'd expect from the brand. But. If I have to pay for a screen repair again, I'll likely opt for a cheaper...

Salespeople are not knowledgable about Mac products. Do your own research on products before you go or you will be recommended incompatible products like I was. I asked about an adaptor to which they say "if we have it, it's over there." You don't know if you have the product? You won't even check but just say "go look over there"? Poor customer service.

I found a compatible adaptor but wanted to check with the man who directed me "over there" and he said "違います" and would not accept he was wrong. I found another smarter looking salesperson and he agreed with the me it is compatible. But even this man mistook FireWire 400 for FireWire 800. Good thing I know the difference so I didn't buy that wrong adaptor. I was even carrying a FireWire 400 cable for reference and he mistook it for FireWire 800. Just the nerve of people...

I trsut Apple as an international companywith such a wide spectrum of consumer base, they are very thorough with customers from all arouund the world. A problem I guess everyone would come across while you live abroad: the App store doesn't work as some App are not available in a particular region/country. So I went into the store and ask the staff. 1 have me to change the country setting of my ID. SO i stood there for 30 minutes tried to spend all the credits I have from the country I initially was(the staff said I must spend all of them before I can set another country). But another staff (a short Asian male) said it must be set through iTunes with a Macbook. The attitude is not good at all. Please...