Incredible Apple Customer Service (Phone Replacement)

[friedmud]

TLDR: Apple (in the Cambridgeside Mall in Cambridge, MA) went way out of their way to help me during a small crisis and ultimately replaced my iPhone 7+ when I just went in to repair a cracked screen.

This is a bit of a tale so bear with me...

I dropped my 7+ yesterday while on the beach and it hit a rock in _just_ the wrong way and cracked the screen. No biggie, I have AppleCare+... so today I made an appointment to do the $30 screen swap.

Showed up late to the appointment (unavoidable) but they made every effort to get me seen quickly. Once my phone went to have the screen replaced they told me it would be about 1.5 hours... so I went shopping.

Came back in 1.5 hours. Phone wasn't ready quite yet... new screen had failed some diagnostics.

While I was waiting my Apple Watch connected to the Apple Store wifi and I started getting iMessages: the first one to roll in was from my SO saying "Please call me". That's never good!

I grabbed a salesperson and told them I need to get my phone back so I can call her. He rushed into the back but came back saying that my phone was still hooked up to the diagnostic machine and the diagnostics weren't going to finish for another 10-15 minutes. BUT: He brought a loaner phone that he said I could use to call her.

I used Siri on my Watch to ask for her number (who has numbers memorized these days!?!?) and then used the loaner to call her: she had been in a car wreck (in my car) on the highway!! She quickly assured me that she was ok (the car is probably totaled... but who cares!) - she got rear-ended while sitting in traffic...

This was a huge relief! All made possible by the quickly working salesperson (his name was Javier... he was awesome!)... but it gets even better.

Realizing that I really did need my phone back pretty quickly... and it was still failing the diagnostics on the new screen... they decided to just give me a new phone! (It's a "replacement" phone... I don't know if it was remanufactured or what... don't really care). They helped me quickly set it up and get everything restored from iCloud and I was back up and running to help deal with the wreck!

Through the whole processes the whole team was awesome... they definitely came through for me when I needed it. These kind of stories are one of the reasons I buy Apple gear... and will continue to do so for a long time.

At the end of the whole thing I found a manager and explained what had happened and thanked them for their awesome customer service. She was also really awesome and was glad to hear my SO was ok.

 

[FunkyTang]

Note to self: use this story next time you need a screen replacement...

 

[OneMike]

This is a cool story. Glad your SO is ok.

 

[ray6712]

Apples customer service is second to none, a year or so ago my daughter broke her screen so I took her to the Apple store and made her go through the process of getting it repaired. She’s 14 and I was trying to teach her a lesson bout taking care of her stuff.

So as I made her sit through it and stay in the store while they repaired it the Genius helping us started talking to her and when it was all done he told he no charge. You can’t find it better anywhere

 

[friedmud]

Apples customer service is second to none, a year or so ago my daughter broke her screen so I took her to the Apple store and made her go through the process of getting it repaired. She’s 14 and I was trying to teach her a lesson bout taking care of her stuff.

So as I made her sit through it and stay in the store while they repaired it the Genius helping us started talking to her and when it was all done he told he no charge. You can’t find it better anywhere

Nice!

There aren’t many companies out there anymore that actually care much about their customers... but Apple really does seem to be one. I interacted with 10+ different employees at that store today... every single one was cheery, nice and helpful. How does Apple consistently hit that mark when so many other companies can’t even have “decent” service?

 

[Ad13]

Nice!

There aren’t many companies out there anymore that actually care much about their customers... but Apple really does seem to be one. I interacted with 10+ different employees at that store today... every single one was cheery, nice and helpful. How does Apple consistently hit that mark when so many other companies can’t even have “decent” service?

They are ‘cheery, nice and helpful’, but occasionally this borders on creepy, slightly weird and very forced. It’s a fine balance between being real and performing.

 

[mazdamiata210]

And yet I have to argue to get a lightning cable replaced cause I had to replace 2 and didn't have the iPad with me only my phone after driving an hour to the store.

 

[Ad13]

And yet I have to argue to get a lightning cable replaced cause I had to replace 2 and didn't have the iPad with me only my phone after driving an hour to the store.

I had a major issue with Bluetooth on my iPhone 6S Plus last year and I had to battle with them to take it seriously and it went on for around 3 months via AppleCare Support and the Store. Eventually they swapped it. However on my other iPhone, I had a screen replaced and they don’t charge me.

It’s good service, but it’s just inconsistent. As a customer, I like to know what I’m entitled to and what the course of action is likely to be. Good service shouldn’t be down to how the ‘Genius’ feels on the day.

 

[44267547]

And yet I have to argue to get a lightning cable replaced cause I had to replace 2 and didn't have the iPad with me only my phone after driving an hour to the store.

Sometimes attitude is everything and how you treat people to have a positive outcome, especially a Company like Apple that usually is very sympathetic towards the customer.

 

[Reno Raines]

I am glad to hear they took care of you and your SO is okay. That is by far the most important thing.

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

And yet I have to argue to get a lightning cable replaced cause I had to replace 2 and didn't have the iPad with me only my phone after driving an hour to the store.

I have got my cables replaced multiple times without any problem.

OP I am glad your wife is fine and you were able to reach out to her in time.

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

Sometimes attitude is everything and how you treat people to have a positive outcome, especially a Company like Apple that usually is very sympathetic towards the customer.

This is exactly what I was going to say. I have a buddy that was die-hard Android that I talked into the iPhone realm after a few years and now he's hooked. Over the years since he's had several issues with his and his wife's phones and I'm always like "Yeah just go to Apple and tell them what's up. Their customer service is great and you'll probably get a replacement." He's NEVER been given a replacement and I think it comes down to attitude. I've never gone in with him but he's always so angry when he comes to me with his problems so I'm wondering if that's not how he is at the store.

I, on the other hand, have never once been turned away when I had a legitimate problem. Having an amiable disposition and no expectations is the path to success at the genius bar.

 

[ilovemykid3302012]

And yet I have to argue to get a lightning cable replaced cause I had to replace 2 and didn't have the iPad with me only my phone after driving an hour to the store.

Pfft, I had a 6 Plus, which unfortunately got bent in the same spot they all do, had a case on it from day 1. Also, touch disease ended up killing it. Apple wanted 350 to fix. Some service huh?

 

[rocksyoursock]

I'm glad that your SO is okay. It's really the most important thing. I also hope the stress from getting your car fixed/replaced will go as smooth as your phone did.

Since those are out of the way, I do want to say Apple has the best customer service of any phone or computer maker. They tend to hire people who are outgoing and friendly which helps, and have great policies in place for when things go wrong. My work forces me to use Android as a work phone (they pay for it), and while I find some good things about the S8, the customer service through Samsung is terrible. Apple's service is a huge factor of using their products for me.

 

[friedmud]

Thank you everyone for the well wishes for my SO! Having a great community is just another positive aspect of using Apple gear

The car is pretty crunched up in the back but driveable. It was getting long in the tooth anyway (~10 years old) so I suspect it will probably be totaled. Oh well - such is life!

Now I get to start looking for a new car... this time it MUST have CarPlay! (My last car didn’t even have Bluetooth!)

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

Thank you everyone for the well wishes for my SO! Having a great community is just another positive aspect of using Apple gear

The car is pretty crunched up in the back but driveable. It was getting long in the tooth anyway (~10 years old) so I suspect it will probably be totaled. Oh well - such is life!

Now I get to start looking for a new car... this time it MUST have CarPlay! (My last car didn’t even have Bluetooth!)

i have Honda Civic, totally love it and it has CarPlay

 

[mazdamiata210]

Pfft, I had a 6 Plus, which unfortunately got bent in the same spot they all do, had a case on it from day 1. Also, touch disease ended up killing it. Apple wanted 350 to fix. Some service huh?

Funny cause I went to the same store with my dad's 6 which was bent. They asked why I was there and I just held the phone up sideways without saying anything. "Oh wow I've never seen that happen before. We'll get it replaced right away!" within 10 minutes I was out of the store.... So a 4 cent cable they will fight to replace, but a $700 phone they swap in 2 seconds. It's inconsistent service like this which drives me crazy and I'm sure other people also. I hate to say it, but Steve is turning in his grave from stories like that.

 

[bufffilm]

TLDR: Apple (in the Cambridgeside Mall in Cambridge, MA) went way out of their way to help me during a small crisis and ultimately replaced my iPhone 7+ when I just went in to repair a cracked screen.

This is a bit of a tale so bear with me...

I dropped my 7+ yesterday while on the beach and it hit a rock in _just_ the wrong way and cracked the screen. No biggie, I have AppleCare+... so today I made an appointment to do the $30 screen swap.

Showed up late to the appointment (unavoidable) but they made every effort to get me seen quickly. Once my phone went to have the screen replaced they told me it would be about 1.5 hours... so I went shopping.

Came back in 1.5 hours. Phone wasn't ready quite yet... new screen had failed some diagnostics.

While I was waiting my Apple Watch connected to the Apple Store wifi and I started getting iMessages: the first one to roll in was from my SO saying "Please call me". That's never good!

I grabbed a salesperson and told them I need to get my phone back so I can call her. He rushed into the back but came back saying that my phone was still hooked up to the diagnostic machine and the diagnostics weren't going to finish for another 10-15 minutes. BUT: He brought a loaner phone that he said I could use to call her.

I used Siri on my Watch to ask for her number (who has numbers memorized these days!?!?) and then used the loaner to call her: she had been in a car wreck (in my car) on the highway!! She quickly assured me that she was ok (the car is probably totaled... but who cares!) - she got rear-ended while sitting in traffic...

This was a huge relief! All made possible by the quickly working salesperson (his name was Javier... he was awesome!)... but it gets even better.

Realizing that I really did need my phone back pretty quickly... and it was still failing the diagnostics on the new screen... they decided to just give me a new phone! (It's a "replacement" phone... I don't know if it was remanufactured or what... don't really care). They helped me quickly set it up and get everything restored from iCloud and I was back up and running to help deal with the wreck!

Through the whole processes the whole team was awesome... they definitely came through for me when I needed it. These kind of stories are one of the reasons I buy Apple gear... and will continue to do so for a long time.

At the end of the whole thing I found a manager and explained what had happened and thanked them for their awesome customer service. She was also really awesome and was glad to hear my SO was ok.

That was nice of them. And glad for you.

Getting the AppleCare goes a long way sometimes.

 

[kazmac]

OP, glad your SO is a-okay and that you got a replacement phone.

 

[44267547]

It's inconsistent service like this which drives me crazy and I'm sure other people also. I hate to say it, but Steve is turning in his grave from stories like that.

And there were inconsistencies with customer service under Steve Jobs reign too.

Apple has some of the top rated customer service in the tech industry and has been for years. But the level of consistency across the board is rather likely more significant than not. But like any Apple store representative or store, It can depend on who you're talking to and how you are talking to them. I have worked with Apple many times over the years, and they have never failed me once on anything. Of course, everybody experiences will vary. Apple isn't perfect, but I don't so don't believe many other tech companies can touch their customer service they have. And I think many can attest to that on these forums for the most part.

 

[mazdamiata210]

And there were inconsistencies with customer service under Steve Jobs reign too.

Apple has some of the top rated customer service in the tech industry and has been for years. But the level of consistency across the board is rather likely more significant than not. But like any Apple store representative or store, It can depend on who you're talking to and how you are talking to them. I have worked with Apple many times over the years, and they have never failed me once on anything. Of course, everybody experiences will vary. Apple isn't perfect, but I don't so don't believe many other tech companies can touch their customer service they have. And I think many can attest to that on these forums for the most part.

I don't know when I had a samsung phone I went to an AT&T repair center and had my phone swapped in 5 minutes without a question. I also went into a best buy and went to the samsung display and had my phone swapped. They didn't have to do 9 diagnostic tests and pester me with a song and a dance of how they have to test this and check that to make sure it can't be fixed before they replace my phone like Apple now does.

I understand it's easier to do a repair on a device than it is to swap out a device, but what's easier for the consumer? Walking in, 5 minutes later walking out with a new phone and the problem is gone. Then you take the old phone and do hours of diagnostic testing on your own time, not the customer's.

 

[kazmac]

This is exactly what I was going to say. I have a buddy that was die-hard Android that I talked into the iPhone realm after a few years and now he's hooked. Over the years since he's had several issues with his and his wife's phones and I'm always like "Yeah just go to Apple and tell them what's up. Their customer service is great and you'll probably get a replacement." He's NEVER been given a replacement and I think it comes down to attitude. I've never gone in with him but he's always so angry when he comes to me with his problems so I'm wondering if that's not how he is at the store.

I, on the other hand, have never once been turned away when I had a legitimate problem. Having an amiable disposition and no expectations is the path to success at the genius bar.

I would agree polite is right, but when I noted that the iPhone activation screw ups I had were not my fault and I would not leave until this was fixed, the Apple rep got pissed off because she did not want to help me any more. I was firm, ultimately I had to write Tim Cook about this because it was the third iPhone activation screw up by an Apple rep at that store in 2 weeks. Never had those problems at that store prior.

Needless to say, after Cook's team received that letter, the store leader got involved and all was made right. I had a flawless activation the 4th time. I am always pleasant and that is the way to go. However, when stuff like this happens, you must assert yourself. So I can relate to the horror stories too. I also make sure I let Tim Cook know when I get great service too, so it goes both ways.