Apple Hillsdale — Attraction in San Mateo

I came in on May 8th with a 2017 MacBook Pro for a key replacement. The “T” key had officially gone the way of Crystal Pepsi. Kind of an important key, I’ve learned.

The employee who helped me was great. He listened, helped me out immensely, replaced the key on the spot, and explained that Apple admitted the keyboard design on my model was flawed. A full keyboard replacement would’ve cost me around 700 dollars. He saved me half a mortgage payment on a key popularized by Wheel of Fortune.

About two weeks earlier, I had a charging issue with my AirPods. One would charge, the other noped out like the Pope in 2013. Two employees went above and beyond to get them replaced. Music is very important to me, and my serotonin thanks you.

Shout out to the tall Genius Bar employee who told me I might be able to walk in and get the key replaced. That’s the only reason I came back, and he was right. Another helpful employee sold me a cord and offered extra advice. Great team.

Now for the honest part. Four out of five stars.

On March 28, 2025, I came in to look at computers. A newer employee, with a senior staff member nearby, was helping me. I made it clear I wouldn’t be buying that day. I always research big purchases first. Once I said that, her tone shifted. Smiles stopped, answers got clipped, and asking for a receipt became weirdly difficult. It was uncomfortable enough that I questioned if I did something wrong. But I chalk it up as a teachable moment, not a pattern.

Every other interaction I’ve had here has been positive. Back in November 2024, a female manager went above and beyond when I upgraded my phone. I even complimented her out at the end to compliment the store and her team at the time.

I’m also noting that a manager did call me about the March incident but never followed up. I understand life happens, but a callback would’ve gone a long way.

Overall, this store consistently exceeds my expectations. One cold interaction and a missed callback won’t stop me from recommending them to anyone looking for Apple help.

One small request. Please remind greeters to speak up during busy hours. Sometimes it’s hard to hear them...

Shout out to Romi, might have misspelled his name, for earning the one star! You deserve it, man.

Romi is incredibly inattentive, rude and passive aggressive. The weird thing is everything started off fine. I bought a phone case and it was brought out no problem. My wife need a screen protector so Romi requested one from the back and while we waited for it to be brought up he began helping other customers, not a problem. When they brought the screen protector I noticed he sent it back. I asked him if everything was okay and he mentioned he ordered the wrong one, not a problem but I did let him know we were in a bit of a hurry, he responded, "You could always come back another time." I let him know that we weren't doing that as we were already there... He proceeded to order the wrong screen protector TWO additional times for a total of THREE wrong requests to his teammates. After the third time I asked him to please pay closer attention to what he was doing.

A wonderful employee whose name I unfortunately I don't remember noticed the tension and stepped in (female/ Latina). She ordered the screen protector and was quickly brought out. The employee that brought it out unfortunately handed it to Romi and when the wonderful employee asks for it, Romi rudely throws it on the table instead of handing it to her. At that point I had had enough and let him know his behavior was unacceptable and rude. This young lady ordered the screen protector and installed it on our phone in less than 5 minutes. Give her a raise, fire Romi. As a small local business owner I would be horrified to have someone like Romi on my team. This all happened...

This place definitely has some discrimination issues with race. I have been to the San Francisco Stonestown Apple store, and I wouldn't feel so. I went to the Palo Alto University Ave Apple store and Stanford Shopping Center Apple store, and I felt that they were snobbish, but not in a discrimination way. An Apple store in Reno near Lake Tahoe, not such feeling. An Apple store in Utah, no such feeling. It is consistently this Apple store that gives me this feeling.

The store at San Mateo, I think a long time ago, there was a guy whose name was Adam who are like that, and these days, there is an elder lady, who appeared if you are of a race which is not the "owner of the land", then she gives you an attitude. I am not sure what is with San Mateo, as there are many Chinese people here or near here too. But one time I went to a Millbrae park, and there was a Chinese lady with her husband who was "owner of the land", her dog was not leashed, as the law requires. I said, shouldn't dogs be on a leash? She said, she lives in Burlingame, an expensive city nearby. I told her I also live in another city nearby, which is also an expensive city, but why doesn't it have anything to do with this? And then her "owner of the land"husband got closer, and asked, "if we put the dog on a leash, WHAT advantage have you gained?" and the lady added, "even if it is the law, we are not going to do it".  Maybe San Mateo is near Hillsborough, an expensive place, and the rich people have a "we are paying you lousy wages to serve us. You want to live like us? Perhaps in...