Apple Annapolis — Local services in Annapolis

The short version (see below for long version): come here if you want to be treated like a a piece of garbage unless you "have an appointment". You will wait 3 hours to be told to wait 2 more hours only to come back the next day and be told to wait again while people who barge their way ahead of you are helped by the idiot check in person.

Long version:

Went to the Apple Store Annapolis yesterday around 4:25 to get a cracked iPhone 6+ screen fixed. Now, this screen cracked on its own, no dropping, etc, a lot of people probably say that but it's true this time.

So, we try to get any indication of sympathy from everyone we talk to: nothing. If you google "apple training manual" you'll find some very interesting info on how they treat you (banned words, don't admit fault, etc. it's like an insurance company). Anyway, I digress.

We were told the earliest appointment they had was 6:50. Ok, so we get on the list and waste time at the mall until 6:50. Come back to apple and wait another 10 mins; tech comes and looks at the phone and says it can be fixed tonight! Great! Oh, it will take a minimum of 2 hours, do we want to wait? No, no we do not. They'll hold the part and we can come early tomorrow.

Talked to the manager who again Apple talked me, he was "sorry for the miscommunication" and "understood I was frustrated" but made no attempt to help.

Fast forward to today. We get to the store at 10am (Opens at 11) stand and wait, wait and stand, finally the check in person opens the door to ask if anyone has an appointment: Cue the a-hole who just walked up to shout before anyone can talk that he has an appointment. A-hope must be on the same wavelength with the check in guy because he's ushered away VIP style as he has an appointment. Ok, we get the drill. Next time check in person comes out I say we had an appointment last night and that we just need to drop off the phone. Nope, doesn't care, curtly told to wait until the stores opens. This is a bad start.

Wait 5 more minutes of people being brought in ahead of us because they have appointments. Anger building. There are approximately 7 of us standing outside the door because we were told to wait. Cue a-hole couple...They had walked up earlier well after most of us were waiting and then went to get some Starbucks, they walk straight through the group of us waiting the extra 1 minute for the store to open, like good little sheeple.

Well, now I'm at my breaking point, I open the door and walk in along with a few other people, the a-hold check in person turns and literally yells at us like children "You're not allowed to be in here! Wait outside until 11!"; not to be a stickler but it's 11:02 at this point. So I start to argue with the guy, but am convinced to walk back out the door. In the mean time a-hole check in guys helps the a-hole couple that barged in. Another couple walks in through the bunch of us who were scolded and just start looking around. Nothing is said to them. This is too much. They finally open the doors and luckily we're helped quickly. Turn around in the phone is quick, so that's nice.

Let's put it this way, if you are an a-hole you probably will feel right at home in the Apple...

Today: Worst Retail Experience Ever.

Short Story: Bought an iPhone online. Made an appointment to pick it up. Arrived at my appointment. 45 minutes waiting in vain to pick up iPhone. Cussed out manager, canceled order, stormed out of store.

Long story:

Bad Experience #1: Finding the damn store.

It should not take 10 minutes to find the store. But they recently moved within the mall. But nobody has changed the mall directory. After searching around, I finally find a little sign saying that they've moved a few doors to the left. So I walk down the corridor, expecting to see the store a few doors down on the left. No store. I look down the side corridor to the left. No store. I walk back the direction I'd come. No store. I walk halfway to the other end of the mall. Finally I heard my wife yelling at me... I'd walked past the store twice.

You'd think that they would put a sign in front of or inside the store saying "Apple Store". But evidently you're supposed to "just know" that its an Apple Store, despite the fact that nothing visible from the mall corridor says "Apple Store".

Bad Experience #2: The greeting, or lack thereof.

I had an appointment for 10:30-11:00. Despite the 10 minutes finding the store, I managed to get there at 11:00. So, looking for a guy to check in with. Nobody obvious. Finally find the guy-to-check-in-with. Its the guy staring down at his iPad doing god-knows-what who refuses to make eye contact with customers until they shout "Hey there" at him.

Finally he says, OK, I've put you in the queue. Should be 15 minutes.

Bad Experience #3: The next half hour

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick goes the clock. Half an hour goes by. I finally go back up to the front of the store, find the guy staring at his iPad, get him to acknowledge my existence, and ask him where I am in the queue. Answer: There are three people in front of you. Someone should be with you shortly. I ask him, in an obviously angry tone of voice, "What is the point in making an appointment if you have to sit around for half an hour to be seen?"

Bad Experience #4: The next fifteen minutes.

At this point I'm pacing around the store, complaining in a loud voice about the horrible service, "What is the point in making an appointment if they make you sit around for 40 minutes"? Did any of the employees in the store notice that a customer was ready to blow a fuse? Nope.

Outcome: I walk back up to the guy with the iPad, get his attention, ask him what is up? The best he can do is "someone will be with you shortly." At that point, in a rather loud voice, "I made an appointment. I've been cooling my heels here for 45 God Damn minutes. Why the HELL do you tell people to make appointments when it CLEARLY doesn't mean a God Damn thing? How do I cancel my order? I am PISSED OFF with your lousy service and I'm done with you guys.

At that point, a manager finally notices my existence, absorbs some well-deserved verbal abuse, and cancels the order.

Way to go Apple! If anyone needed convincing that you've become arrogant, self-absorbed, surrounded by armies of devoted fans who you can abuse without consequence... Awesome, now I...

After reading all the negative reviews, I can honestly say they are all completely accurate. My experience was a nightmare from start to finish.

I initially went in with a camera issue covered under warranty. After a diagnostic, they told me that the camera was the only issue, but that the back needed to be replaced because it had a crack. The crack had no holes or shards, but I was told I’d only be charged for the back repair since the camera was covered. I declined the back repair, but when I left, my phone went haywire. I couldn’t access email, my texts turned blank, and the phone was making random calls to my car.

Frustrated, I returned a second time and asked them to investigate further since the camera and the software issues weren’t related. The employee said the crack in the back was causing the problem because it supposedly affected the phone’s pressure. The issue had been there for 10 months with no problems, but I reluctantly agreed to proceed. Now, here's where it gets really bad: they tried to charge me for the camera repair, even though I was told it was under warranty. I argued with the employee, and after a manager (Perrish, I believe) stepped in, he agreed the camera should be covered. He confirmed I’d only be charged for the back repair—$200.

I was told to just walk in the next day,- even after I asked to make an appointment. When I arrived at 11:30, I was told the phone wouldn’t be ready until 2:30. since I live an hour and ten minutes away, I left to grab lunch, wasting time, and returned at 2:45, only to be told by one employee it wouldn’t be ready until 4:30. When I asked another employee, he claimed it was ready. This kind of inconsistency is maddening. How can two employees at the same location give such different answers?

I was instructed to go wait for my pick up, only to have the employee at the counter tell me my phone wasn’t ready, despite the other employee saying it was. When I questioned her about the conflicting information, she couldn’t explain it, just shook her head. This same employee who had never greeted me earlier started chatting with other customers, complimenting them on their clothes, completely different interaction than with me.

The whole experience was a mess. The staff was disorganized, unprofessional, and unhelpful. They couldn’t answer simple questions, and when they did, their explanations made no sense. The customer service was awful, and the lack of knowledge and communication was astounding. I’ve never encountered such a frustrating and incompetent group of people. They need an overhaul of new employees who actually are knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. Don’t waste your time with...