Great Customer Service (or not) – The Apple Store Way

Contemplating… Contemplating… Still Contemplating… 9 hours later – Typing my experience…

Although a piece I didn’t want to write, I feel that I have no choice.  Consider this my therapy in dealing with a situation I wish never to endure again.

October 31st, 2012 – The Event – An Apple Store Nightmare

7:45am – My Macbook Air Case Cracked!  For those who know my family, you should be aware that any tech device I own needs to be protected with a shield of armor due to 2 very cute family members… Julia, my 4-year-old daughter, and Cooper, our bulldog puppy who has claimed every sitting area in our home his personal space.  Did I mention Cooper believes that his size is similar to our Chihuahua Rocky?  You understand, right?

Back to the crack… clearly, I need protection on all devices in my home (keep the peanut gallery comments to yourself please).  That said, I had a new laptop case in mind (I’ve been window shopping online again), and the Apple store just happened to be selling it (or so I thought).  After all our morning/afternoon activities, I made a quick call to the nearest Apple store.

The standard recording came on.  After pressing a button or two, I spoke to (what I consider) the male version of Siri and told him that I needed to check if a product was in stock.  ”Mr. Siri” transferred me to a store representative (that could supposedly help).

Here is the gist of how the VERY HELPFUL (insert sarcasm here) store representative handled my product inquiry call.

• Store Representative – “Thank you for calling Apple Store Legacy Place.  How may I help you?”
• Me – “Hi, I was wondering if you could check to see if you had an item in stock.”
• Store Representative – “Um, what is it that you are looking for?”
• Me – “It is a Macbook Air Portfolio Case for an 11 inch.”
• Store Representative – “Well, we have a lot of them.”
• Me – “Ok, is there a way to see if you have a specific one in stock?”
• Store Representative – “Um, no.  I can’t really do that because I am in the back.”
• Me – “Oh, well, I don’t want to drive to your store if you do not have it in stock.”
• Store Representative – “Yeah, well, I can’t really help you.  You should just come in and check.”
• Me – “Is there a way you can check on your computer to see if you have it?  I can give you the name of the Folio I am looking for.  The last time I was at your store you didn’t have any like it so I just want to make sure you do.”
• Store Representative – “Well, what do you want me to enter… Folio Case?  I really cannot help you.  Anyhow, if you come in and we don’t have what you are looking for, I don’t want to disappoint you by saying we do.  If you really want, you can go on-line, go to the online checkout and then choose in store pick up to see if we have it.”
• Me – “I am driving so can’t really do that.  You really cannot check on your computer?  I have the name of the item and don’t have a color preference.”
• Store Representative – “No, I can’t.  You will just have to come in.  We have a lot of what you are looking for.  I cannot check for you.  There really isn’t anything I can do.”
• Me – “Ok then, thank you.”
• Store Representative – Silence, followed by a click.  He Hung Up.  I was dumbfounded.

20 minutes later, I entered the Apple Store.  I searched for the various Folio cases he mentioned they had.  I found none.  I spoke with a manager.  She stated they did not carry folio cases in their store.  She mentioned, after looking on line, that they should have them on November 6th.  I told her about the phone conversation I had with the employee who answered my call earlier in the day.  She didn’t seem too disturbed, but did mention that she would find out who he was.  She did not say that he should not have done what he did or that he would be spoken to.  What she did say… “Well, you probably should have asked for a manager.”

My home is filled with Apple products.  Between iPad’s, iPod Touches for my daughters, 2 Laptop purchases in the past year, my 27 inch mac, an Apple TV, not to mention the amount of iPhones we have purchased through the years, I can say definitively that I plan to take my business somewhere else going forward. Apple products are still a favorite of mine.  I cannot deny that.  They provide incredible service (on the product end, that is).  I just wish they had a comparable staff.  I suppose we are fortunate that stores like Best Buy and AT&T carry the same products, and have considerate employees.  I know where I “won’t” take my business going forward.