So l apologize in advance for the long format of this post but I wanted to ensure my PSA is thoroughly communicated to you all. My right AirPods Pro earbud had fallen out of my ear while I was ordering lunch at a local store then I tried using my Find My app to try to locate it for a good 30 minutes. When unable to uncover the AirPods on the storefront floor, I assumed it may have fallen into the backpack I was carrying.
Upon arrival at home and perusing the backpack, I realized it had gone missing at the store and is probably lost forever (someone may have picked it up) and ordered the replacement part on the app around April 16, 2:47 PM. 15-minutes after that, my Find My app notified me that the AirPods Pro earbud had been found at a location, which happened to be at the store where I noticed the AirPod had gone missing.
I walked back to the store, and upon more careful searching, it was found wedged between the seams in a stool. At this point I immediately called Apple Support to try to cancel the replacement, which adds up to $104.07 with the AirPods Pro 2nd gen, Right, Replacement fee being $89.00, shipping charge being $6.95, and Tax at $8.12.
I was able to get in touch with a rep within 1 hour who told me after reaching out to the warehouse handling my repair request, I could no longer cancel the order but I can easily return the AirPod within receipt. I asked her if I could get an RMA packing slip from her but she assured me it would be in the package.
Fast forward to the next day, I received an email that Apple had shipped the AirPod and then it arrived at my house (no signature service) on 4/18/2024. I opened the package and noted that it had packing sealing tapes but no return address.
Due to work related issues, I was busy and was unable to get back in touch with Apple until 4/20/2024. When I reached a representative via text. I learned that what the first representative had told me about easily returning the AirPod was wrong and that I should have refused delivery of the item to receive the refund for the AirPod. At this point, I escalated the case to the rep's manager who expressed empathy for the situation given my experience of rapidly trying to stop the order within 1-2 hours and because I've been told that I could simply return the AirPod replacement upon receipt.
This morning I was called by Apple rep who was made privy to the situation and told me that once I had placed the repair request, there was no way of cancelling it as they try to ship the item out as soon as possible. I reminded her of my first interaction with the Apple app and I had called within 1-2 hours of placing the order. Then she read me a line about how because the item was personalized to me, Apple is unable to make use of the AirPod without recycling it. I asked her how is this item personalized for me unless it was somehow customized for my serial #, upon which she responded anyone else could use the AirPod. I also reminded her that I had not used the replacement at all and it remains in the smaller box, sealed upon receipt. To which she responded that the moment the AirPod had been shipped to me, the first two representatives have been incorrect that there was no way to stop the order from occurring and my ability to return the item had been voided. She also emphasized this policy is in place to speed up the fulfillment of the request as AirPods are unusable upon loss of one piece (which is not entirely true). At this point I expressed my disappointment with how this issue was handed given I could not think of any other customer service experience (retail and technical) when I had not been able to reverse a financial commitment within 1-2 hours of making it at which point she noted she'd consider the feed back but recommended that I wait 24 hours upon loss of the apple product prior to requesting a replacement. This advice is annoyingly contrary to her explanation, shipping out the AirPod as soon as possible because they'd be unusable.
TLDR, think twice about placing a replacement request for AirPod Pro, because it is permanent and binding even if you were to recover the lost AirPod within 1-2 hours. This customer service experience was probably one of the worst experiences I've had in trying to cancel a redundant order in general, and I've been a customer since the first iPod in 2001 and owned several MacBook Pros, iPads, and other items in the Apple ecosystem (HomePod, AirTags) and cannot help realize I've enabled this level of customer service over the past several years by being a loyal customer. This event weakens my customer loyalty substantially -- perhaps, I've been wrong in thinking I've been paying a premium partly for the customer service in case something like this occurs.
I typically do avoid making these sorts of posts on Reddit and/or review. But hey, there's a first for everything! Hope some of you can learn from my experience prior to placing a repair request or purchasing an Apple product regardless of whether you think I give off an entitlement vibe (1st world problems) for having this personal response. Buyers beware.
Timestamps for the repair order are as follows:
Apr 16, 2:47 PM
Thanks for choosing Apple Support.
AIRPODS PRO (2ND GENERATION)
Problem Description: Missing Item - Missing AirPods
Serial Number: L06DYT0LGK
Repair ID: A622272213
Track the status of your replacement
What happens next?
Shipping
We'll send you another email when we ship the replacement you requested.
Repair Cost
The total cost appears in the table below.
Part Request
AirPods Pro 2nd gen, Right, Replacement $89.00
Shipping charge $6.95
Tax @ 8.50% $8.12
Total in USD $104.07
Apr 16, 3:48 PM
We've shipped the replacement you requested for the following device:
Model: AIRPODS PRO (2ND GENERATION)
Repair ID: A622272213
We've charged your card for the item that shipped. An adult might need to sign for the package. Otherwise, the courier will return the next business day.
Upon arrival at home and perusing the backpack, I realized it had gone missing at the store and is probably lost forever (someone may have picked it up) and ordered the replacement part on the app around April 16, 2:47 PM. 15-minutes after that, my Find My app notified me that the AirPods Pro earbud had been found at a location, which happened to be at the store where I noticed the AirPod had gone missing.
I walked back to the store, and upon more careful searching, it was found wedged between the seams in a stool. At this point I immediately called Apple Support to try to cancel the replacement, which adds up to $104.07 with the AirPods Pro 2nd gen, Right, Replacement fee being $89.00, shipping charge being $6.95, and Tax at $8.12.
I was able to get in touch with a rep within 1 hour who told me after reaching out to the warehouse handling my repair request, I could no longer cancel the order but I can easily return the AirPod within receipt. I asked her if I could get an RMA packing slip from her but she assured me it would be in the package.
Fast forward to the next day, I received an email that Apple had shipped the AirPod and then it arrived at my house (no signature service) on 4/18/2024. I opened the package and noted that it had packing sealing tapes but no return address.
Due to work related issues, I was busy and was unable to get back in touch with Apple until 4/20/2024. When I reached a representative via text. I learned that what the first representative had told me about easily returning the AirPod was wrong and that I should have refused delivery of the item to receive the refund for the AirPod. At this point, I escalated the case to the rep's manager who expressed empathy for the situation given my experience of rapidly trying to stop the order within 1-2 hours and because I've been told that I could simply return the AirPod replacement upon receipt.
This morning I was called by Apple rep who was made privy to the situation and told me that once I had placed the repair request, there was no way of cancelling it as they try to ship the item out as soon as possible. I reminded her of my first interaction with the Apple app and I had called within 1-2 hours of placing the order. Then she read me a line about how because the item was personalized to me, Apple is unable to make use of the AirPod without recycling it. I asked her how is this item personalized for me unless it was somehow customized for my serial #, upon which she responded anyone else could use the AirPod. I also reminded her that I had not used the replacement at all and it remains in the smaller box, sealed upon receipt. To which she responded that the moment the AirPod had been shipped to me, the first two representatives have been incorrect that there was no way to stop the order from occurring and my ability to return the item had been voided. She also emphasized this policy is in place to speed up the fulfillment of the request as AirPods are unusable upon loss of one piece (which is not entirely true). At this point I expressed my disappointment with how this issue was handed given I could not think of any other customer service experience (retail and technical) when I had not been able to reverse a financial commitment within 1-2 hours of making it at which point she noted she'd consider the feed back but recommended that I wait 24 hours upon loss of the apple product prior to requesting a replacement. This advice is annoyingly contrary to her explanation, shipping out the AirPod as soon as possible because they'd be unusable.
TLDR, think twice about placing a replacement request for AirPod Pro, because it is permanent and binding even if you were to recover the lost AirPod within 1-2 hours. This customer service experience was probably one of the worst experiences I've had in trying to cancel a redundant order in general, and I've been a customer since the first iPod in 2001 and owned several MacBook Pros, iPads, and other items in the Apple ecosystem (HomePod, AirTags) and cannot help realize I've enabled this level of customer service over the past several years by being a loyal customer. This event weakens my customer loyalty substantially -- perhaps, I've been wrong in thinking I've been paying a premium partly for the customer service in case something like this occurs.
I typically do avoid making these sorts of posts on Reddit and/or review. But hey, there's a first for everything! Hope some of you can learn from my experience prior to placing a repair request or purchasing an Apple product regardless of whether you think I give off an entitlement vibe (1st world problems) for having this personal response. Buyers beware.
Timestamps for the repair order are as follows:
Apr 16, 2:47 PM
Thanks for choosing Apple Support.
AIRPODS PRO (2ND GENERATION)
Problem Description: Missing Item - Missing AirPods
Serial Number: L06DYT0LGK
Repair ID: A622272213
Track the status of your replacement
What happens next?
Shipping
We'll send you another email when we ship the replacement you requested.
Repair Cost
The total cost appears in the table below.
Part Request
AirPods Pro 2nd gen, Right, Replacement $89.00
Shipping charge $6.95
Tax @ 8.50% $8.12
Total in USD $104.07
Apr 16, 3:48 PM
We've shipped the replacement you requested for the following device:
Model: AIRPODS PRO (2ND GENERATION)
Repair ID: A622272213
We've charged your card for the item that shipped. An adult might need to sign for the package. Otherwise, the courier will return the next business day.