Apple South Coast Plaza — Attraction in Costa Mesa

F- FOR THE SERVICE AT THIS STORE- Scheduled an appointment online, arrived ontime, waited 1 hour, accidentally skipped and apologized, still waited another 15 minutes. Our family owns many apple products and have always loved apple products. The service at this store is changing our mind. The worst example of customer service from their regular employees to their managers. We had a problem with one of our Ipads, it was still under warrantee, but because the ipad had a small damage on the side, they said it would void the warrantee, we would have to pay $419 to get another "refurbished one". We tried to explain that we understand that there's a damage on the side, but it also has a warrantee issue with the circular button not working and properly going back to the home page. They explained that they will take care of the warrantee issue after we pay and they replace it, now that makes sense doesn't it?, we'll fix things under warantee after we replace it for another and you pay $419. They were clear that this is company policy. I contacted the apple headquarters and they told me that it is not company policy and the store manager can make the decision it's at the discretion of each store, they suggested I call back and speak to the store manager. While my husband was at the genius bar, I called the apple store and asked for the manager "Nick", I explained the situation, I also told him that I have confirmed that decisions are made by the store managers based on what the corporate office told me. They can take care of our issue if they choose to do so, he very kindly asked me if he can place me on hold while he went out and took care of the situation with my husband. Instead of him going out to do as he promised. My husband called me and explained that this "Nick" went out and was aggravated as to why I have called and there's no need for him to deal with multiple people. When my husband tried to explain, he shut him down and told him he would rather speak with the apple employee "Christine". Meanwhile, I was waiting on hold to see what this manager "Nick" had promised me he would do and come back to the phone. He actually never came back to the phone, but he sent the worker in his store to tell me that my husband has left. That's nice, "the purpose of my call wasn't to keep track of my husband was it?" It's astonishing to me that in this day of advancements and training, managers and workers are hired to not value the customer or give them enough respect to at least come back to the phone after they've placed someone on hold. I decided to call again because I never received a response from the nick that placed me on hold and asked for him. He answered the phone and I had a simple question "did you have an issue with at least responding back to me when you placed me on hold, his response was as bland as his service "No". I asked him if he relayed my message to the manager assisting my husband "It's at the discretion of the store to replace an ipad under warantee even if it has small damage", he said "NO", so basically my entire phone call and conversation with him was a waste of time. I will follow up with the store manager Steve Jones to see if he is able to correct the utterly disappointing service this store is providing and will update you on my situation, but my suggestion would be to find another place that's a little more...

I wanted to share a positive update regarding my experience at the Apple Store in Costa Mesa. Justin, the store manager, reached out to me and completely turned things around. In my opinion, his professionalism, problem-solving skills, and ability to handle the situation with care make him deserving of a regional manager or corporate leadership position. Justin looked into the matter at hand and resolved it with a solution that worked out perfectly for both sides. His leadership and dedication to ensuring customer satisfaction are truly commendable. Thank you, Justin, for stepping up and taking control—you’ve restored my confidence in Apple’s service, and I’ll continue to bring my business and future purchases to this store. Apple Corporate, if you review this, please acknowledge Justin for his outstanding efforts and exemplary management skills

Update on My Experience with Apple Store Costa Mesa:

I wanted to share an update regarding my ongoing issue with the trade-in promotion for the iPhone 14 Pro at the Apple Store in Costa Mesa.

After my initial concerns, I received an email—not a phone call—from a representative named Tam Nguyen requesting the serial number of my device. Today, I received his response, which stated:

"Hello, I submitted the case to our corporate team. They informed me that at the point of the transaction, the phone was not qualified for the carrier promotion deals. I don’t have the details on what was missing in that transition to make you qualified for it.”

This response has left me incredibly frustrated. If I hadn’t reviewed my cell phone bill closely, I would have never discovered this discrepancy. It’s deeply upsetting that I had to uncover this on my own, with no proactive communication from Apple.

To make matters worse, the employee who sold me the phone back in October provided misleading information, promising that the trade-in would qualify for a $999 promotion toward a new iPhone 16 Pro Max. Despite their assurance that they had spoken to AT&T to confirm, this clearly wasn’t the case. Why would anyone trade in their device expecting a $999 credit, only to settle for $400? This lack of clarity and accountability is unacceptable.

Last week, I visited an AT&T store, and they honored the promotion on 2 upgrades (separate transactions) without any issues. This makes it even more evident that the fault lies with Apple’s process and communication.

Apple, I urge you to address this matter with urgency: Properly investigate why the promotion wasn’t honored at the time of the transaction. Take appropriate action with the employees involved—whether through additional training or otherwise. Ensure better transparency and communication for future customers to prevent similar issues.

I trusted Apple to uphold their promises and deliver a seamless experience. Unfortunately, this incident has severely diminished my confidence in...

The word “Disrespect” sums up my experience at this store. It is absurd that they allow their employees to be such poor representatives for the store and Apple as a whole. I had a reservation for the evening. I step foot into the store, and there’s no greeting whatsoever. As someone who rarely has to go into the Apple store, it should be understandable that I’m not familiar with the process of who to check in with. From my perspective standing by the entrance, there were blue-shirts scattered throughout and tending to other customers. All the workers look the same, so I have no way of knowing who the check-in people are. The fact that it’s not clear should be an indication that the employees are incompetent because the check-in people are described to be “standing at the front.” There were no workers standing by the entrance. I had to ask a security guard who the check-in people were, and he kindly pointed one out to me, and the worker was standing in the middle of the store—more in the back half of the store if anything. I walk up to this guy, explaining my situation of not getting help because it is difficult to differentiate between the workers, especially if they’re not standing in the spots that they were described to be located. He checks me in—fine. Then proceeds to be condescending by saying that typically I would not be allowed to proceed with my appointment because of the time that has passed. It had been 10 minutes. I was not able to intervene and ask any worker for assistance because they were all pre-occupied with other customers looking to buy a product. Not only does this guy display incompetence in not standing more towards the front, he decides to have an ego as well, mentioning how HE is making an exception and allowing me to proceed with being seen for help with my macbook. The sheer disrespect was ridiculous, especially because he was not standing or being attentive as he should have been. The condescension does not need to happen, especially with a customer who is not familiar with the process. The smugness in essentially implying that I wouldn’t be able to have my appointment without his exception is ridiculous considering that he is the one who is not doing his job properly. The implication that it was my fault for not knowing who the check-in person is, despite no one being obviously stationed at the front is nonsense. Absolute garbage service and the arrogance is uncalled for as well. Tone it down. I have worked in customer service in the past, and I would never fault someone for not being familiar with the operations of the store. Have...