Apple Covent Garden — Local services in London

My experience at this store was extremely disappointing. The behavior of some staff was far from professional, and their body language was sometimes provocative and tense, giving no sense of comfort or respect to customers.

A lady on the upper floor who handles customer appointments had been moderately professional in previous visits; not perfect, but acceptable. However, this time, unfortunately, she gave me a negative impression. I felt that with her looks and unpleasant behavior, she seemed upset by my presence as a customer.

I have visited this branch many times, but this time it seemed that she deliberately scheduled my appointment with excessive delay, making me wait until 6 PM. She spoke with someone a few steps away from me and told them 45 minutes, and even a colleague with curly hair told a lady with a broken screen: “Minimum/Maximum 45 minutes.” Yet, the same lady who scheduled my appointment told me that I would have to wait over 1 hour and 45 minutes, or even longer.

Even if she was technically correct and it was due to a busy Genius Bar, her behavior and the way she communicated this to me created a very negative and upsetting experience. Another reason for this impression was that I overheard her speaking about me to a manager who had just joined Genius Bar. When I noticed she moved behind a column out of my sight, it felt very strange, because when I spoke to the manager for a second time, his tone became slightly sharp after speaking with her.

When a very young and inexperienced but polite engineer came to talk to me, I realized that due to a missed previous appointment, according to him, he needed to take a photo of my broken phone. Initially, he told me that the policy had changed and the broken, outdated phone had to be handed in for investigation, and a new phone would be given upon my next visit. Their approach during this process was really unusual and confusing.

When I explained that a few months ago one of your specialists had told me that my broken phone was outdated and should be disposed of, and that I had missed the previous appointment, the engineer went away and a few minutes later returned saying: “The policy has changed. You can take your phone now and receive a replacement upon return.”

This contradiction and policy change within less than three minutes was truly shocking. Looking at the situation as a whole, it seems that only one person was responsible for creating the disruption and disorganization of my experience; the same person who initially disturbed my sense of order and calm.

Overall, I felt very upset and, in a way, humiliated. I hope Apple Store Covent Garden reconsiders hiring individuals with such behavior and revises how they handle customer...

Customer service here is really bad and hurts me. I sent my phone to repair through this store and when I got my phone i discovered multiple scratches on the screen, which I strongly believe were not present when I first submitted the device. The another explanation from another staff and manager given was that “after cleaning, existing scratches became visible,” which is not convincing, since the protective film was still intact when I submitted the device. But they didn’t truly answer my question and just avoided it facing this logical problem.

This final step left me extremely dissatisfied and emotionally distressed, especially after already enduring weeks of inconvenience.

I also felt that I was treated unfairly which made the whole experience extremely uncomfortable. I raised my concerns in the store, but the manager’s attitude was dismissive and unhelpful. The store manager insisted that the scratches had existed earlier and refused to acknowledge any responsibility. Just saying with a poker face repeating “ but you signed it” and didn’t give any solution. It made me uncomfortable. His attitude is like a racist. I felt sad and panic facing his uncomfortable attitude especially when I was alone, a woman, a minority. No one helped me. I told the staff and the staff said he will find manager. I saw them coming far away saying something secretly. In that big apple store no one helped me I felt helpless. Although there are many staff of color but I still find when the white manager came to me this apple store is a big the field of white supremacy especially next to me is a white girl customer who was treated friendly. I don’t know what will the manager do when he meets the case from a white person. I can’t stop to think if at that moment I said “ look at your attitude are you racist”. I fall into a whirlpool of regret. This torments me. I don’t think it’s a right attitude and customer service of apple culture.

This situation is unacceptable. I trusted Apple with my device, and instead of receiving professional service, I left with additional damage and poor treatment.

Apple has built its reputation on trust, innovation, and care for its customers. I believe my case deserves urgent attention and fair resolution in line with those values. I try to solve this problem which is not only for me but also for more customers from minority. I don’t want to be a minority customer who looks like an easy target and appears to be easily taken advantage of. The manager believes me will give up but I will not. Im here speaking loud fighting for my...

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A Frustrating Visit at Apple Store Covent Garden - AVOID!!!

I'll never set foot back into this store again, I even told my fiance when entereing the store, that I would intentionally wait for the first person to address me, before buying the phone that I wanted, so that it was earned based on effort.. but I didn't think we'd be walking around and waiting for 20 minutes or so! We must have circled this huge store around 3-4 times!

We were literally being ignored by at least 7 or 8 different staff-members in different locations of the store, who even made eye-contact with me! And then, they'd just look away, as if I wasn't good enough to buy from there, or im dressed or appear like someone who just likes to walk around staff aimlessly for fun..? Completely bonkers

I expected more from a flagship Apple store, but what I got felt like I’d walked into a "blue t-shirt club" where staff seemed more focused on chatting with each other than helping customers. I wandered around the store numerous times, what felt like a lifetime, whilst being ignored by staff who either made eye contact and looked away or, even worse, they walked away from me entirely.

The only saving grace? Eddie Sharkey - the one staff member who actually addressed me. Unlike the rest of his colleagues, Eddie listened when I told him I wanted to trade in my old phone for a new one, a simple SE, 128GB in black, and I bought it immediately. It shouldn't take that long to get help in a store that prides itself on customer experience... well apparently they do, I wouldn't ever know that based on my experience.

If this was any other business, besides a blue-chip giant like Apple, half of the "sales" staff would be fired, bankrupt, or broke with the service and effort made that I saw. It’s unacceptable for a brand of this stature. Hugely disappointing, but not at all suprising.

It's a little like that arrogance we feel about Apple try to gatekeep their customers from using other companies technology, due to minimal cross-compatability.. but that's another story.

Just go elsewhere or order online, you'll be happier that you saved yourself a headache.

If it wasn't such an urgent trade/purchase I would have just...