Does Apple pay strict attention to how many phones you've returned/exchanged?

They should keep track.

they keep track on the sales side and on the genius bar side

TH55 said:

I know they keep a record of them but to what degree do they influence future transactions?

I hope I haven't jeopardized future returns/exchanges if necessary with all of the phones I've returned and exchanged so far due to indecisiveness and software/hardware issues.

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I think they do keep track. Someone last year posted they were banned from returning any further iPhone 5 due to scuff-gate. They returned and exchanged like several times.

TH55 said:

What's scuffgate?

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Remember when people were posting pictures of their iPhone 5 coming out of the box either pitted, nicked, or scuffed, which was why Apple changed the color of the 5 from black to space gray on the 5S.

ET iPhone Home said:

Remember when people were posting pictures of their iPhone 5 coming out of the box either pitted, nicked, or scuffed, which was why Apple changed the color of the 5 from black to space gray on the 5S.
Image

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This. While the slate looked awesome, it nicked so easily!

guyprivado said:

Coined from the term antenna-gate

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LOL! No, it's coined from the term "Watergate". The suffix "gate" is affixed to any scandal after the Watergate scandal, not after antenna-gate!

mattopotamus said:

This. While the slate looked awesome, it nicked so easily!

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I couldn't think of the actual color on the 5 - SLATE it was.
'
SLATE > SPACE GRAY

TH55 said:

I know they keep a record of them but to what degree do they influence future transactions?

I hope I haven't jeopardized future returns/exchanges if necessary with all of the phones I've returned and exchanged so far due to indecisiveness and software/hardware issues.

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Here's a thread where a customer was told she couldn't do any more returns.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1676160/

aristobrat said:

Here's a thread where a customer was told she couldn't do any more returns.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1676160/

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I know best buy does this exact thing. Too many people buy a device just to have it for a bit and then return it at the end of the return window. I'm not sure how much Apple actually loses here, but there are a ton of items that get "junked out" when returned to best buy (to be fair there are just as many that get sold open box or sent back to the manufacturer; a lot depends on the agreements the retailer has with the conoany)

They do on the Apple online store. I returned two iPhone 6s that were defective and that was the limit for purchases. I ended up ordering from AT&T.

Be careful, as they will catch on what you are doing, and it would be in the system. The sales management team will be notified and you will be told either that no more exchange can be made or that this would be your last one. Sometimes they will even make you open the box in front of them and to inspect your phone thoroughly before you walk out.

It also depends how often you go there, because if the same guy is there and see's you, that person may report it to the manager of what you are doing.

I observed this last September while waiting for a phone. They apparently do monitor returns for whatever they have determined is "abuse."

TH55 said:

I know they keep a record of them but to what degree do they influence future transactions?

I hope I haven't jeopardized future returns/exchanges if necessary with all of the phones I've returned and exchanged so far due to indecisiveness and software/hardware issues.

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I hope you have jeopardized your future returns/exchanges.

I hope Apple has a tripping mechanism that remembers the PIA customers and puts your online orders to the back of the line on launch day.

I asked my Apple Store manager sister and she informed me that yes they do and they're especially wary of a pesky customer who goes by the name of "TH55."

newellj said:

I observed this last September while waiting for a phone. They apparently do monitor returns for whatever they have determined is "abuse."

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What did you observe? Did they refuse the return?

jaylenochinimac said:

i asked my apple store manager sister and she informed me that yes they do and they're especially wary of a pesky customer who goes by the name of "th55."

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lol

Yes. If you've had more than two swaps the system flags it and makes the Family room specialist or genius aware to check your history and determine if you really need a swap or could have it repaired some other way. I.e. Some people want a whole new phone when they have a cracked screen when they really only need a new screen.