Apple Mission Viejo — Local services in Mission Viejo

I was looking to buy a new iPhone, so I went to the Mission Viejo store. As soon as I entered the store, I went straight to an Apple employee to assist me in selecting me the best one for my needs. I was told to go wait by the iPhones and that someone would be there soon to assist me. I was waiting a while, looking at the new iPhones, but nobody was coming by to help. Then a white guy entrred the room and started looking at the phones close by me. As a bee to a flower, an Apple employee immediately approached him, engaging in a nice conversation with him about the phones. Hahaha! But wait, that ain’t funny! 🤨 I started thinking that because I’m a Latina woman, I get treated like this! I had to ask someone to help me. I was told to go wait by the phones. And still, nobody had showed up to help! I guess my dollars aren’t worth as much? 🤨 Dang! Maybe I should have worn better clothes? Put on a little more makeup? Done my hair a little better? Maybe I shouldn’t be looking like a poor and ignorant Latina? 😞 But wait a minute… that white guy is just wearing plain clothes. He’s not dressed out of the ordinary. WTH??? This is not right, dude! So finally an Apple employee approached me. Hahaha! So I decided to be bold and I told him what happened. I asked him why they treat people differently. He apologized and then used his iPad to probably text security and management, because wey soon, a manager came out to “help” me. He was super nice and knowledgeable. I started to ask him questions, which he answered very nicely and competently. However, another employee also showed up and sat behind near us, between us and the door. I noticed him sitting there, after he has been sitting there for a while, like a guard. Then after about 45 minutes, after I had decided on what items to buy and I had gone to see some cases, pickled up a couple of accessory boxes, and I was waiting for the employee to come out of the back with some paperwork, I noticed the same security guard sitting nearby me. Bold as I was feeling, I approached the guy and asked him if he was a security guard, since he was wearing plain clothes. He said yes. I asked him why he had been sitting next to me for the whole time before, and why he had followed me as I was looking at the cases. He said that he wasn’t following me, and that just be coincidence he had been sitting at those two random places. I told him that I didn’t believe it was a coincidence and I told him that he doesn’t have to follow me around, because I don’t steal. Hahaha. Funny, but not funny! Dude, this racism thing really happens! Good thing I have thick skin and I don’t believe their crap about me. Humans… when will we ever learn to co-exist harmoniously, not just with each other, but with everything else in the world? Let’s look around and see what we have made with our disrespect for the rights of others, including the animals and everything else in the planet. Let’s stop being so arrogant and selfish. Yeah, it’s all related. How we handle one thing is how we handle...

The absolute worst service and the rudest staff and managers. I have an iPhone X that has been giving me problems since August/September of 2018. The screen randomly dims and seconds later brightens up again. I went into this store is September of 2018 and after the "genius" checked my phone settings and was confident I did not have any auto dim features on, he proceeded to tell me he has never heard of such a problem. Then he asked me to prove it. I told him it was random and does not happen all the time. He then took my phone in the back for a good 10 minutes and came back basically telling me I was making it up. Then he told me to call apple support so they could remotely log in and see for themselves. I have been working with apple support since then, giving them exact times and dates of when it dims and after 5+ months, they cannot figure out what it is and said I could either go to an apple store and get a new phone, or I can give them my credit card number and they would send me a brand new phone in the mail, but needed my credit card number until they received my phone. I asked multiple times if the phone would be brand new, and he said yes. I have paid over $1000 for my phone and don't want a refurbished one. Anyhow, I made an appointment to go to the apple store at the ships at Mission Viejo today. As anyone who has been there knows, they are ALWAYS running late. So, they told me dit at a table and wait. As I was waiting, an apple support person was helping a couple. As I sat down, I could overhear them because they were right across from me. The apple guy spent at least 10 minutes discussing his Koi tattoo with them and how the red color was not aggressive or some such nonsense. He was literally talking about this bull while there were several people waiting. My luck, some 15 minutes later, the koi tattoo guy is my rep, and genius my foot. He proceeded to tell me they don't just hand new phones out and that they will replace my screen. Mind you, I was told on Thursday by apple support that I would get a new phone. Before I blew a gasket, I told him to get his manager who turned out to be even more clueless than him. I walked out of the store before causing a scene. One more word and I would've lost it. The folks at this store are horrible, unprofessional and rude. Having seen this woman manager, it makes perfect sense why her staff are as bad as the are. I have been an iPhone user since the iPhone was first released and have never had an issue with my phones. After dealing with these people, I have serious reservations that my next phone will be an iPhone. Shame on the management at this store for such horrific treatment of their customers. You deserve...

If you have an Apple product that is out of warranty, don't go to this store or any Apple store. Give the job to a local small business in your area. You will get a superior customer service and will not be fed with Apple sales scams.

My son, who is a minor, spent six hours of his and my life trying to change his iPhone battery in the Mission Viejo Mall Apple store.

The first day the sales person, after an hour of sales pitches, sent him back home to run his phone diagnostic by himself. During the appointment, the sales person was going back and forth between the back room and the table while trying to persuade him that there were more problems than the battery and sell him a new phone. It all took more than an hour.

According to diagnostics he ran, (surprise!) the phone needed a new battery. We came back the next day. This time, the next sales person pointed out a tiny 1 mm scratch in the edge of the phone, so tiny that nobody bothered to mention it during the first visit. He said, because of this scratch, they would not be able to change the battery without changing the screen that would be an extra $200. The whole appointment took 40 min plus an hour wait because we were slightly late to our appointment. While refusing to provide the service unless it was on their own terms ,they tried to sell my son a new phone again or a new screen. I understand that Apple exploits its sales people not paying them well, and they need all the commissions they can get, but there cannot be an excuse for taking an advantage of a minor.

I went to the same appointment the next day, now by myself. They tried to feed me with the same nonsense about changing the screen because it most likely would crack during the process of changing the battery (extra $200). The manager acted as if he was a superior authority, totally disrespectful and not willing to hear my feedback, comments or concerns despite probably being half my age and obviously far less educated. He was repeating his 'broken screen" mantra over an over, and didn't allow me to record the conversation that is very suspicious. If all the claims are legitimate, there shouldn't be a problem.

I turned around right away and went directly to a small repair shop, 7 min driving from Mission Viejo Mall. The difference in customer service was striking. It took a half an hour and $50 to change the battery and the screen stayed intact, no sign or even mention of it cracking.

To summarize, during these hard times, consider supporting small local businesses, not greedy corporations which scam people out of their money. It will do good to a local business and save you time, money and spare you from...