Apple Deer Park — Local services in Deer Park

Firstly, I have been an Apple user since 1990. I buy AppleCare for every Apple product, and 80-90% of the time it's free money for Apple, as I care for my tech, and it goes unused. I am also an early adopter, one of fewer and fewer willing to take the plunge with today's Apple experience.

I bought the very first model M1 MacBook Pro CTO max specs around launch. With AppleCare, before tax, it cost over $4,000 4 years ago. The computer has lived safely on a desk its entire life and I am its only user.

While using my Mac this morning, its touch bar started strobing bright white. It was easily reproduced at the Apple store in EFI. I also provided the attached video of graphical distortion visible on the built-in display while simultaneously outputting the same graphical distortion to a TV display via AirPlay.

The computer will randomly freeze, with the display (which was replaced once at an Apple store) turning pink, rebooting, hanging, rebooting, and so on. When my display was replaced by Apple, the webcam in the replacement display had the camera capabilities of a potato, and still does today.

My $4100 MacBook's battery lasts only 2:30-3h off the charger under any mild to moderate workload.

I brought the computer to the store desperate for a solution that would let me use it for my work and my passion, live music performance. I had finally earned an opportunity to headline a career-boosting live performance the next day, and I needed a solution, temporary or otherwise, that made sure I made that commitment, my dream, a reality.

Unfortunately, Apple does not sympathize with their users under Tim Cook. The money-grubbing bean counter has reduced the retail stores to industrial Best Buys, emasculated and neutered by corporate, preventing unique solutions for unique customer needs.

Joey, who identified himself a manager, put on the most half-assed attempt to give a damn when it was revealed by the tech that EVERY part of my computer was at fault. I was worried-- how would I play my show? Surely a company worth more than a trillion in cash wants customers like me-- promoters who have turned more people onto Apple tech than anyone else I have known through my IT career.

Nope-- Joey did not "think different," outside the box, nor showed any empathy for the hit my dream would be taking due to my dead MacBook. He just told me I would have to miss my gig.

Steve would be rolling in his grave to see the retail business today-- heartless, cold, lacking in understanding for their customers' investment in Apple and its values.

Now, it's "how fast can I interact with this person to enact Apple's policies unrelentingly and stringently," as not even a temporary solution could be suggested besides an Apple credit card to purchase a replacement computer instead.

I will remember that it was finally Apple who left me hanging hopeless (that's yours to own, Joey) on the edge of my dream, and I will think twice about just sticking with Apple next year when I review our internal hardware standards.

The hardware has turned to trash despite the impressive horsepower increases. The formerly strong serviceability strategy deprecated in lieu of salesmen and credit-card hawkers forcing $5K new computer purchases every couple years to stay on board with macOS, and in my case Logic.

My Apple Watch battery exploded while it was on my wrist for goodness sake. They DAMN sure figured out a solution when a lawsuit was on the table and replaced my OG watch with a gen 6 if I agreed not to sue for damages. Which was stupid on my part, but I treated Apple like family, and as a fiercely loyal customer.

Formerly modular and easily repaired, they have switched to an iPhone-style build quality & refresh cycle for the Mac. They no longer demonstrate care about retaining Mac clients individually, nor as a Fortune 100 company-- I can share I have experienced the poor service I had today as both.

Their hardware products are as disposable as a $450 Acer PC now. Macs only look great and have...

I bought a new computer from this store and the store employee deleted all my data without my authorization and then told me to go F myself. Nice service. The details are below but long. Stay away from this place. A true rating is zero.

On October 28th, 2021, I went into the Deer Park, IL Apple Store to purchase a new MacBook Pro to replace my 3 year old MacBook Pro. At that time the sales associate told me if I trade my old computer in within 2 weeks I would get a $950 dollar credit. He (Sales Associate #1) said just bring it in to the store within two weeks with all the data removed and I would get a refund. He failed to tell me that price changes daily and when I returned with the computer, I was only offered $910. After spending approximately 8 days transferring all my data from my old machine to my new one, checking and rechecking to be sure I had all that was needed, I returned to the Deer Park, IL Apple store on Sunday November 7th, 2021 at approximately 1:00 pm CST. to complete what I thought would be a five minute transaction. When I arrived at the store a different, younger, associate (sales associate #2) assisted me. I informed him I would like to return the old machine. He asked if the machine was wiped clean and I responded yes. He said he was having trouble locating the machine and asked me for my Apple ID and password. Being I was in the Apple store with an Apple sales associate, I assumed this was safe and gave him the information. I had to call my wife to get the password and while on the phone with her she noticed all the data on the new machine, the one at home, being deleted. She also received an email stating this was being done which I can provide if necessary. I immediately informed the associate and told him to stop what he was doing. He did not. As it turned out the sales associated remotely deleted all of my data, photos, music and videos from the new computer which again, was at home. Thank you, Sales Associate #2. I do not know why he would delete any data at all when I informed him the machine was clean also, I have no idea why he would delete data from a computer listed as “MacBook pro 2” without first checking to make sure it was, in fact, the computer he now had in his possession. Now at this point I was very upset and requested to speak to a manager. Alexander, the store manager, came to assist. Alexander and Sales Associate #2 both admitted to me they made a mistake locating the machine on Apple’s “find your machine” software and deleted data from the wrong machine. Alexander told me there is nothing they (Apple) could or would do and basically said I made a mistake and trusted Apple employees and said I was out of luck. Amazed by this brazen lack of responsibility, for clearly an admitted Apple mistake I left the store and called Apple support. Apple support connected me with a gentleman named Kerry who appeared to be sympathetic to my situation. Kerry called the store manager, Alexander, to confirm the story and said he would like to make it right and offered me a $200 store credit to which I responded if he wanted to make it right (nothing can replace all the memories, data, music), a Kerry said he would review the case with his superiors and get back to me. A few days later I received the following email from Kerry.

Hi again Jeff, I spoke with my management and the store’s management and it is something the apple store would be working with you regarding this issue where the new device was erased. Kat at the store is the person I spoke with and they are certain nothing happened at the store since they would need your password to do any remote erase so it may have been at the new computer’s location where the issue occurred. Erasing remotely is not something we or the apple store would do if the computer is in hand. Sorry.

Kerry

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I WAS RACIALLY PROFILED, CORNERED, AND INTERROGATED BY A DEER PARK APPLE STORE EMPLOYEE. I came in today after my sister scheduled an appointment online to have our mom’s phone looked at since it wasn’t turning on. But my one star has nothing to do with the service appointment, the two gentlemen who checked me in and looked at the phone were nice and provided great customer service. But I can’t say the same for their older female coworker. I was waiting for the employee to come back with my mom’s phone and inform me what’s wrong with it, and I was getting bored just sitting looking at my phone. I got over and went over to the iPads to look at them since I’ve been debating getting one and finally retiring my 2012 MacBook Pro. I had put my moms phone case down on the counter to zip up my hoodie. The case was in a plastic baggie cause I am germaphobic about certain surfaces as a result of traumatic events during the pandemic. And before I even had a chance to go past the lock screen, this old woman with skin that looks like a raisin and brown hair that looks like it was pulled straight from dead grass, and the blue apple employee shirt, comes up to me and gets right in my face. She asks me if I need help with anything. I say no I’m just looking while my phone is getting serviced. I expected her to leave me alone or even start asking if I’m interested in an iPad. But no, she starts prying into what I came into the store for, when I dropped it off, who I dropped it off with, what is wrong with the phone, and she repeatedly kept asking when the guy said it would be done. And I kept telling her, the man did not give me an ETA. He just said he was going to take it to the back and mess with it for a bit and see what’s wrong. And she kept getting closer in my face and I am someone who gets anxious with confrontation, so I’m looking around seeing if anyone sees what I’m seeing and if they’re going to intervene. And I just uncomfortably say “okay?” And this entire time she had a fake smile plastered on her face. And she just goes “Okay! Let me know if you need anything!” And she walked away leaving me feeling violated and like I’m under a magnifying glass. There was a white couple next to me, and they were given me a side eye and looked guarded as if they were assuming I would rob or steal. After that, the last thing I wanted to do was continue to look at the iPads, let alone anything else in the store for fear of that woman approaching me again. Feeling extremely uncomfortable, I go back to the box seats in front of the giant screen, and on the way, I say to the female employee who approached me, “Clearly I’m not allowed over there so I’ll just go back to my seat.” And she enthusiastically said, “Yes that would be best!” And I just sat on the seat in shock and wanted to cry but I held that in until I left and went to my car 10 minutes later. This woman, this Apple Store employee, racially profiled me and made me feel so uncomfortable in my own skin. I felt so out of place. Like I was on a watchlist as long as I’m in there. I sincerely hope this store looks into getting rid of employees that made what could have been a good experience, into a bad one that left a...