Apple Bridgewater — Local services in Bridgewater Township

BAD EXPERIENCE with Apple Store! My son (16 Y) brought his computer at the Bridgewater (NJ) Apple store for repair. It needs to be mentioned that he takes great care of his computer since he bought it with his money (These are expensive machines to buy-1300$). He brought the computer to the store since the USB port did not work and some other features were also not working. The technician told him that the computer was in excellent shape and that it seems that he was taking good care of it. Then he asked him to leave the computer for repair since it seemed to be an issue with the hard drive. He also mentioned that the hard drive was damaged it would be under warranty. Then 48 hours later he got a call that the computer had water damage and the repair (1200 $) was not covered by the warranty - My son was astonished since the computer barely leaves his room and that no water came into contact with his machine. He was not given any alternative than paying the repair or picking up his computer during the phone call. I decided to follow-up with the same store on Monday on my lunch break at 2:30 PM. I called the store and talked to a sales person named Ryan. He articulated to me that the water damage policy is a clear reason not to honor the warranty. Following this answer, I requested to talk to a manager and was told that none were available until 3:30 PM. I did leave my phone number to Ryan. I also mentioned during the call that the water damage issue seemed impossible unless the water sensor in the computer was sensitive to room humidity (humidity in the house varies from 30% to 70% during the year) or that the computer had received water damage at their store. After a rapid google search, It also appears that water damage appeared in numerous internet user groups in reference to the Apple Macbook Pro which triggered my curiosity. I did report this to Ryan who responded that I should not believe what is reported on the Apple User Group website since statement from Apple Users may not to be trusted. This statement puzzled me. As a conclusion, this leaves three possible alternatives: 1- The computer water sensor is sensitive to variation of humidity in the atmosphere and, conveniently for Apple, changes color after a certain period of time voiding the warranty. 2- The technicians of the Apple store carry some responsibility in the process (the motivation would be unclear) 3- An unknown factor is at the cause of this issue. At 3:20PM I got a call from Aaron one of the manager of the Apple store. I articulated the possible reasons for the issue (listed above). I asked him for data on the reliability of the water sensor and he clearly stated that he did not have data on this issue. Therefore, I articulated that there was no way to assess the reliability of the water sensor results, thus for the reason for voiding the warranty. Finally, after 15 minutes of sterile discussions, Aaron repeated that the warranty could not be honored since the technician found water damage and referred me to 1-800-Apple-Care (after I asked for the phone number of their headquarters). I have to admit that the perceived lack of interest for providing any kind of technical help was clear as well as the lack of concern for the student’s hardship. I have been trying to call the 1-800 number provided, but the line has been busy for the last hour. I am not sure what conclusion to draw about Apple Customer Service and Warranty on this single experience, but I have no doubt on what my next computer...

Recently I had to visit the store due to a problem my air pods. Rico was the tech person assigned to take care of me and right away figured the problem was a known issue with the air pods that Apple policy entitled me to replacement at no charge. Rico told me a time to come back while he ran some tests so I went to play Pokémon Go in the mall to kill time (maybe 1 hour at the most). I went back to the store a few minutes early before my appointment.

An employee checking everyone in asked me to wait at a table until Rico was done. And then I waited and waited...what had happened was something was going wrong running the test on my air pods and Rico was trying to get somebody to tell me that there was a delay. Sadly the message never made it to me and I was getting impatient wondering why I was waiting so long. Rico was in the meantime running the test on multiple devices hoping that was it was showing was a mistake.

Rico came out eventually and explained the situation. While testing my air pods had shown the known error, another problem was occurring that the system detected. This problem was causing me to be billed for the repair, even though the known issue was also showing up (one which there was no charge to repair/replace the air pod). Rico was in tough spot because while it was true the known error was coming up in the testing, the report was also forcing a payment for the other problem it had found.

I wasn't mad at Rico but I was annoyed I had waited so long to find this out and now may have to pay to replace the air pod. I told Rico I was not happy with that but it wasn't his fault so I would just call apple customer service and get it resolved that way. Rico had an idea to ask the manger, Kirby, for help.

Rico explained it all to Kirby and they both came to talk to me. Kirby understood my frustration that I shouldn't be charged for the known issue, but because the system had detected another issue I would have to pay for that portion. Kirby wanted to split the cost with me, saying the store will cover half the cost to repair/replace the air pod.

While that was nice of Kirby I was not happy with that. I thanked her for the help, but was still going to deal with customer service about this since a policy issue was causing me to foot bill while the staff had done all they could to prevent that from happening. I was not mad at them, just mad at Apple's policy for not allowing them the ability to replace my device simply because another error was also showing up.

So Kirby went above and beyond to help me. Kirby said we will give you 2 replacement pods at no charge. That because of the delay and the fact that I was expecting to not spend anything that the store should honor that. She did the right thing because regardless of the second issue, the known was found in the testing and that entitled me to a replacement air pod set. So I left very satisfied with my replacement air pods, at no cost, which have been working great! I had forgotten how wonderful it was to have 2 working air pods!

Kirby and Rico went above and beyond to make sure I was properly helped. They deserve a lot of credit for their problem solving and working with me to make sure the issue was resolved to my satisfaction. They saved me hours of dealing with customer service and turned what would have been a bad experience into...

I traded in my iPhone 11 for an iPhone 16 pro a week ago and my experience was fantastic. I was greeted as soon as I entered the store and told a team member would come by shortly to assist. I only waited a couple of minutes before Larry showed up. Larry was super helpful, showing me the new features and answering some very specific questions I had. I am not a diehard Apple user, I had both an Android phone and an iPhone because there were pros and cons to both systems. Lately, I felt that the Pixel’s build quality was dropping and the software was not as swift. I had my Google Pixel 8 Pro for less than a year and already had to replace the glass back and then the battery started to swell. This is with a case and screen protector on it. I had my iPhone 11 for 5 years and as many times as I dropped it, it was still immaculate. There were lots of other issues with the Pixel I won’t get into but it was enough to drive me to the store and try to trade in both phones for a new iPhone. Larry understood my frustration and showed me the new features that made the iOS system even more cohesive (I also have a MacBook Air). He was very detailed, which I liked. We got down to the nitty gritty like the battery percentage (game changer! I loved that feature on Android, instead of just the bar). He also listened carefully. He didn’t push me towards anything, just offered information so I could make a decision. He even suggested getting a phone with the same capacity based on what I had before (I had only used half of the 256gb on my iPhone 11) instead of trying to upsell me. I appreciated that. Since my Pixel 8 pro had the swollen battery, it wasn’t worth anything for trade-in but Larry suggested getting it fixed as it shouldn’t cost too much and then I could trade it in for a gift card later and I would still make out on it. Well, it is still under warranty so as soon as that is done, I’m getting rid of it. Larry was warm and engaging, and I felt like we were old friends by the time my new phone finished syncing. He was an absolute professional and I wish that they got commissions because he totally earned his. I did fill out the survey but who knows if anyone actually reads that stuff? I tried to look for an email for the manager at the store but it’s not something Apple posts publicly. So shout-out to Larry and his love for pizza. You are the best and even though I work 2 blocks from the big Apple store on 5th Ave in NYC, I would totally drive out to Bridgewater again should I need to buy any more...