Buying a 13" rMBP with in-store pick up is the WORST experience in the world!

[AdonisSMU]

So today I tried to set-up and in store pick up for a new 13" rMBP. It was bar none THE WORST Apple experience EVER. I clicked the in store pick up button and all of the stores had them available already. In any case, I proceeded to checkout and by the time I was done some how Apple was going to ship the computer in the mail. I realized the error when I got the email stating that they would be shipping the mac to me when I clicked the in store pick up button and chose the store I wanted to pick up from. In any case...I cancelled the order and then they were telling me it would take them several days to put the money back into my account. Let me just say I won't EVER buy anything online with Apple after this.

I'm pissed. I did pick up an MBA but not before being denied by my bank twice despite the funds being in my bank account. I'm still debating on whether or not to take it back when the $1500 is put back into my account. Instead of Apple reversing the transaction by just debiting my account so it shows up immediately, instead they opt to hold $1500 out of my account for a week while it's processing forms and stuff that doesn't have to exist since they can just debit it back to the account. Not happy!

 

[Ploki]

Mac Pro is a desktop computer.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Mac Pro is a desktop computer.

Fixed.

 

[Nismo73]

There seems to be a few changes to the look of their web pages when you add something to the cart and when going to checkout. Maybe there's something screwed up with their redesign somewhere...

 

[Sean76]

If that was the case and it was too late then why didn't you just allow them to ship it to you?

I've done things with Apples in store pick up and never really had an issue, but then again I'm crazy and usually triple check stuff before I press send.

 

[AdonisSMU]

If that was the case and it was too late then why didn't you just allow them to ship it to you?

I've done things with Apples in store pick up and never really had an issue, but then again I'm crazy and usually triple check stuff before I press send.

Because I can't take off work to get the pick up. Plus, it's not even shipping to the right address.

 

[trigonometry]

I think you're blaming Apple for your mistakes.

 

[Alucardx03]

I think you're blaming Apple for your mistakes.

Yep.

And how is it Apple's problem that your bank takes a few days to process a refund?

 

[Brian Y]

a) Lots of people use store pickup every day and don't get it wrong.

b) Apple will return your money ASAP. Blame the banks for the 5 day processing time.

c) So it's Apple's fault your bank rejected the payment? Yeah, of course.

Damn you Apple!!!!

 

[Sean76]

Because I can't take off work to get the pick up. Plus, it's not even shipping to the right address.

Gotcha...

However, like a few others have said you really cant blame Apple for a mistake like this. As soon as you hit send Apple will process the information that you have put in, whether it's correct info or not is totally up to you...And that includes the shipping adress as well.

Initially just be a little more careful before hitting send next time. I happen to be in the camp of saying I think Apple has they're stuff together when purchasing from they're online store, not to say someone cant have a bad experience, that could happen to anyone. But after seeing how companies like Google handle they're online store, I'd have to say Apple is pretty much the best I've seen as of late.

 

[GammaRayToaster]

Yep.

And how is it Apple's problem that your bank takes a few days to process a refund?

That's my opinion, too.

 

[swerve147]

Ordered Ship to Store on 4 different occasions in the past 3 months, all of them went without a hitch (well except for the last time where I waited nearly an hour for an Apple employee to even acknowledge my presence (I did check-in on the store website and was passed over 3 times before someone located me). Like Sean though I don't mess around when I order online. I quadruple-check everything.

 

[NutsNGum]

OP has obviously never sat on a spike.

 

[AdonisSMU]

a) Lots of people use store pickup every day and don't get it wrong.

b) Apple will return your money ASAP. Blame the banks for the 5 day processing time.

c) So it's Apple's fault your bank rejected the payment? Yeah, of course.

Damn you Apple!!!!

It's been well documented that Apple's internet software and services have been bad. There was no reason to change me from in store pick up to regular shipping and to the wrong address no less when the correct address is listed on my account. That was the first thing I did was choose in store pick up and then it showed the stores in my area where it was available. Afterwards I went though what I thought was the normal process.

This is actually the first time I have had trouble with in store pick up. I used the app and not the website to make my previous in store pick up purchases. Either way I'll just go back and get the rMBP when they put that money back into my account and not a second sooner. I'm debating taking this MBA back to the store and just coughing up the additional $300 bucks now..... AHHHHHH....It just irritates me that $1500 is just lingering out there in bank purgatory somewhere.

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OP has obviously never sat on a spike.

Obviously you haven't either.

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Ordered Ship to Store on 4 different occasions in the past 3 months, all of them went without a hitch (well except for the last time where I waited nearly an hour for an Apple employee to even acknowledge my presence (I did check-in on the store website and was passed over 3 times before someone located me). Like Sean though I don't mess around when I order online. I quadruple-check everything.

I went through everything several times just to make sure everything was exactly as I wanted it.

Sure people & companies make mistakes all the time. However, it is how mistakes are corrected that makes or breaks people & companies. I just think if companies can debit your account for thousands of dollars right away they should be able to put it back just as fast.

The bank doesn't hold back debits and credits to your account. Those go into your account immediately and there doesn't have to be unnecessary paper work or process from the banks end because the vendor protected the customer and that really is good customer service.

I'm not even the first person that I've seen at the Apple store who had this problem or a similar problem. I'm really just upset that there is a -$1500 and it feels like a hole. There is unnecessary drama. To me $300 bucks is a lot of money let alone $1500.

 

[Kendo]

Self entitlement is strong in this thread. It's like me harassing an Amazon CSR for sending me an Xbox 360 game instead of the PS3 version, even though it was my fault for choosing the wrong one.

FYI, it is your bank holding the funds, not Apple. FYI, it is your fault for not carefully placing the order, not Apple.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Self entitlement is strong in this thread. It's like me harassing an Amazon CSR for sending me an Xbox 360 game instead of the PS3 version, even though it was my fault for choosing the wrong one.

FYI, it is your bank holding the funds, not Apple. FYI, it is your fault for not carefully placing the order, not Apple.

yeah but it's just strange to me that the first thing I click is the in store pick up and by the end of the purchase it's changed to shipping direct. My shipping address separate from my billing address has been listed on my account for ages... and has always been correct until this transaction. You can't automatically assume there isn't a problem.

The only company I've never had a problem with when it comes to cancelling orders is AMAZON even if it was that I simply changed my mind. Of course AMAZON and Apple are the only two companies I have ever cancelled an order with. AMAZON multiple times. Canceling on AMAZON was no problem that's why I don't have the trepidation when spending money with them that I have with other companies. With AMAZON The money was back in my account within hours after a cancellation. Ohhh wait Amazon's online store was rated higher than Apple's for customer service for the first time in awhile. Whoops! guess the little things do count.

And when I'm spending thousands of dollars of hard earned money on premium Apple products I DO feel entitled...

Let me reiterate.

When I'm spending thousands of dollars of hard earned money on premium Apple products I DO feel entitled to great customer service from every angle even if it is an online service. Heck I'm spending thousands of dollars. Why shouldn't I get the very best in customer service? Why should people buying crappy products get better service than someone who is willing and able to pay more for more?

I do think it's funny that everyone ignored my criticism of their process for handling online refunds. I guess that part of my argument was valid and everyone agrees with it. It's just like the Apple shills to blame everyone but Apple even when the criticism is a valid one. In this case, mistake or no mistake my criticism of their online cancellation process was absolutely valid. Even the bank told me how Apple could put the money back into my account immediately.

In my case, lesson learned. Don't spend large sums of money online when purchasing Apple products because your money will be tied up for a week in the event of a mistake on either end.

 

[e²Studios]

In my case, lesson learned. Don't spend large sums of money online when purchasing Apple products because your money will be tied up for a week in the event of a mistake on either end.

I'm certain you haven't read a word people have posted. Apple nor any vendor is responsible for the wait on a refund. Your bank is the holdup, its worked like this for ages, company processes a refund and 3-5 days later it hits your account. Call your bank they will tell you the exact same thing people are saying here.

You can't fault Apple for your mistake, nor can you fault them for your bank taking 3-5 days to process a refund. It's understandable if you need to vent, but before you start placing blame make sure the recipient of that blame is responsible for it.

 

[Asuriyan]

Damn you, Apple store, for not having an optometry shop!

 

[AdonisSMU]

I'm certain you haven't read a word people have posted. Apple nor any vendor is responsible for the wait on a refund. Your bank is the holdup, its worked like this for ages, company processes a refund and 3-5 days later it hits your account. Call your bank they will tell you the exact same thing people are saying here.

You can't fault Apple for your mistake, nor can you fault them for your bank taking 3-5 days to process a refund. It's understandable if you need to vent, but before you start placing blame make sure the recipient of that blame is responsible for it.

Like I said, I never had a problem with AMAZON and I've returned or cancelled items with them multiple times. I've done it sometimes 6 times in a day and never had a problem. With Apple I've never actually returned anything which is good in and of itself but their process for cancellations and returns is flawed. The bank said they only hold it up because of how Apple chose to handle the transaction. They said flat out that had Apple simply credited back the $1500 bucks it would've shown up immediately but since Apple elected to handle their cancellation as a request with unnecessary paperwork instead it takes a week.

Like I said, immediate funds transfers should go both ways and not one way. Why fill out paperwork when it's not needed. I guess I just prefer to keep things simple with the least amount of bureaucracy as possible?

I don't actually know if I made a mistake or not any more than any of you do. That's not what I am debating. I'm trying to say is that AMAZON handles online cancellations better than Apple does and why shouldn't Apple upgrade their process to make things easier on their customers who spend premium dollars? That's all.

 

[e²Studios]

Like I said, I never had a problem with AMAZON and I've returned or cancelled items with them multiple times. I've done it sometimes 6 times in a day and never had a problem. With Apple I've never actually returned anything which is good in and of itself but their process for cancellations and returns is flawed. The bank said they only hold it up because of how Apple chose to handle the transaction. They said flat out that had Apple simply credited back the $1500 bucks it would've shown up immediately but since Apple elected to handle their cancellation as a request with unnecessary paperwork instead it takes a week.

Like I said, immediate funds transfers should go both ways and not one way. Why fill out paperwork when it's not needed. I guess I just prefer to keep things simple with the least amount of bureaucracy as possible?

I don't actually know if I made a mistake or not any more than any of you do. That's not what I am debating. I'm trying to say is that AMAZON handles online cancellations better than Apple does and why shouldn't Apple upgrade their process to make things easier on their customers who spend premium dollars? That's all.

Amazon doesn't charge or authorize your card till it ships, Amazon returns take the shipping time back to amazon and then *wait for it* 3-5 days for your bank to process the refund.

If you order something from amazon and cancel it before it ships that not the same as ordering a in stock item from Apple and having a charge on your card.

This is not Apple's doing, they have NO control over it. I think you just either don't want to understand how transaction processing works or you are insistent on placing the blame on a company that has no control over your concern.

 

[AFDoc]

I think you're blaming Apple for your mistakes.

Agreed.

No way you're winning this one OP.... may as well have kept your whi I mean rant to yourself.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Amazon doesn't charge or authorize your card till it ships, Amazon returns take the shipping time back to amazon and then *wait for it* 3-5 days for your bank to process the refund.

If you order something from amazon and cancel it before it ships that not the same as ordering a in stock item from Apple and having a charge on your card.

This is not Apple's doing, they have NO control over it. I think you just either don't want to understand how transaction processing works or you are insistent on placing the blame on a company that has no control over your concern.

I'm sorry but I can see the AMAZON charges as they are coming on my account as pending transactions.

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Agreed.

No way you're winning this one OP.... may as well have kept your whi I mean rant to yourself.

I could be completely in the right here and you wouldn't know one way or another. Why would you know any more than me about the transaction I attempted to make? You nor anyone else was there. You guys don't know and are speculating at best. That's really the bottom line. You alls behavior was the same when it came to light that an Apple account could be hacked into simply by calling customer service.

I just pointed out and area that could be handled differently regardless of who's at fault. Why not make the experience as smooth and seamless as possible? Ohhh wait Apple is perfect as is... It wasn't like I said I wasn't interested in buying Apple products or I said anything super disparaging or hyperbolic about Apple.

I just feel when people are spending a ton of money and in many cases a premium over what others are paying for comparable products Apple should be interested in the customer experience from end to end. They are known for attention to detail. I presented another detail.

That's fine if you don't agree but don't shoot the messenger. The bank doesn't have any power here. Apple has the power here. They scanned for money immediately and then told me flat out it would take a least several days to fill out paper work and the bank told me flat out they(Apple) could just simply put the money back in my account directly and I would have it immediately.

 

[richorlin]

Would you like some cheese with that whine.

 

[Radiating]

I think you're blaming Apple for your mistakes.

Yep. You clicked the wrong button and you're blaming them for it. I've used the online store fur in store pickup today there are no issues.

Regarding the funds you don't seem to understand how large transaction processing works and are very poorly informed. There is a difference between voiding a transaction and processing a refund. Apple initiated a transaction refund instantly, your bank was responsible for the refund delay.