My AppleCare experience

[dark_knight177]

Last year I purchased iPhone 6 Plus with AppleCare+. A week ago, the home button got stuck and wouldn't work. So the first thing first, I tried to make a Genius Bar appointment at my local Apple Store. Unfortunately all three Apple Stores in my area are completely booked one week out. So I called AppleCare support and explained the issue in detail. The AppleCare representative told me that I have to pay the deductible to replace the phone, but again I tried to explain to the rep that I have AppleCare+ and that it extends the manufacturer's warranty by 2 years for which I don't have to pay the deductible.

The AppleCare representative had to escalate the issue to the senior advisor, and the senior advisor told me that she can see that I bought AppleCare+, but because of some system glitch, the system is not picking up the extended warranty. She advised that I go to a retail location to have the issue fixed.

So I made the appointment and patiently waited one week for my appointment. Despite having a Genius Bar appointment I had to wait 45 minutes before the genius was able to see me. The Genius told me that he has to replace the screen to have the button fixed, since apparently the screen assembly comes with the home button attached. The Genius told me that it would take an hour to replace the screen and that I should wait there for them to do the job.

One hour later the Genius comes back with my iPhone home button fixed, but my screen was replaced incorrectly and now appears misaligned. I can literally run my thump on the edge of the screen and catch the edge of the case. I explained that my screen is misaligned and I told him that he should just replace the whole phone like they used to do with previous iPhones. The Genius explained that they no longer replace iPhones starting from iPhone 6 and will fix the issue instead. So he takes the phone back and tries to align and reposition the screen again. One hour later the Genius comes back with my iPhone, the screen is indeed aligned perfectly, but the back of my iPhone is now badly dinged and scratched after all the "fixing" they did. I pointed out to the Genius that they have scratched my iPhone badly, the Genius told me that scratches are "normal" when fixing iPhones and there's nothing he could do.

The takeaway from this experience is this:

1. Apple no longer replaces iPhone's starting from iPhone 6 and up and will attempt to "fix" the issue by opening the phone. They still replace iPhone 4S, 5, 5S for any issues though.

2. Never buy AppleCare+

3. Customer service has gone downhill.

4. Starting from iPhone 6 and up they will attempt to fix your phone and will most likely scratch it in the process of opening the case.

 

[PortableLover]

Uhhh, no they replace if they need to. Havent had any issues yet with mine, but my friends have, in some cases its bern fixed and no scratches. Contact tim cook, since they should not have damaged it at all.

tcook@apple.com

 

[EDH667]

I have had two broken iPhone 6 Plus screens replaced by an Apple store and they have not scratched the phone and the screens were perfectly aligned. I would escalate your repair with Apple. Scratches are not normal or acceptable during the process of a screen replacement.

 

[Newtons Apple]

I would not accept that the scratches are just part of getting your phone fixed. That is BS and if this is what Apple's service has gone to, they will suffer hell from it's customers.

 

[Shadowbech]

If I was you, I would have asked the genius specialist that you need to talk to the manager in charge as it is not acceptable for your device to come scratches and dinged up.

 

[RadioGaGa1984]

Takeaway from your experience is. This is not the norm.

 

[Repelle]

Bad experience but totally believe it. It pisses me off to no end when I've taken my phone in previously, and had the back scuffed to all hell because the genius has placed (and then moved) it on the counter top.

 

[jasie02]

Not sure one time experience could represent the whole company with hundred/thousand Apple genius, if not more.
There is always bad apple in the bunch.
Escalate to store manager, demand to see him. If that does not work, make sure you document person's name and manager's name if possible who "help" you in the store, call online support for continue escalation.

 

[cerberusss]

But how bad exactly is it scratched?

 

[Goatllama]

It all depends on the person you get. And again, as others said, get that manager out there. This is not normal.

 

[Applejuiced]

Lets see some pics.

 

[dt808]

Tbh, I'm not surprised.

I went into the apple store about a month after I purchased the iPhone 6S and was complaining about reception issues. They blamed it on my carrier, said I need to do a hard reset, etc. I explained to them that I had an android phone on the same carrier(Verizon) which is actually one of the best carriers in my area and I had no previous issues for a year and a half. I did the reset, but the issue was still the same. I got a new sim card(my idea) and all was good.

Second, I went into the apple store two weeks ago because my phone kept dying randomly at 18%, 20%, and showing the charge screen with the cable. You plug it in for 2 seconds and its back up and running. But, it really thinks the phone is dead. I told them that having my phone just die on me and having to plug it in to get it going isn't going to work for me. She runs some tests, says everything is fine and to "hard reset" the phone again. I was about to yell at this girl. She said, well the system says its fine.. there is nothing I can do. I tell them that I bought applecare+ and she doesn't care, says I need to repeat this 2-3 more times before they will replace it. Btw, the issue has come up again and the magical "hard reset" didn't do anything. I love the generic response they give now that everything is software related.

Apple in store support has been pretty awful lately. I have some horror stories from friends as well. Not that impressed anymore. I really love having an apple store 1 mile away from my house/work, but now it doesn't seem to matter because they don't even help.

So confused..

 

[boomhower]

I wouldn't have left the store without getting the manager to refuse to do anything and then escalate with corporate. Damaging property to repair is not acceptable at all. They should replace the phone.

 

[C DM]

Interesting, and then there's completely opposite experience when it comes to replacing vs. fixing that someone just mentioned at https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ble-a-working-iphone-6.1951240/#post-22479479

 

[dark_knight177]

Interesting, and then there's completely opposite experience when it comes to replacing vs. fixing that someone just mentioned at https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ble-a-working-iphone-6.1951240/#post-22479479

He had a different issue. The Genius told me they will "NOT" replace the whole phone for :

1. Screen issues
2. Home button issues
3. Touch id issues
4. Top speaker issues
5. He mentioned something else which I don't remember

They fix all of these issues with a screen replacement, since the screen assembly comes with all the above components included. Granted they will probably scratch your phone during the process of screen replacement, or misalign the screen.

For all other issues they still replace the whole phone ONLY if the genius can replicate the problem. Apparently scratches caused by Geniuses themselves do not warrant a phone replacement.

 

[C DM]

He had a different issue. The Genius told me they will "NOT" replace the whole phone for :

1. Screen issues
2. Home button issues
3. Touch id issues
4. Top speaker issues
5. He mentioned something else which I don't remember

They fix all of these issues with a screen replacement, since the screen assembly comes with all the above components included. Granted they will probably scratch your phone during the process of screen replacement, or misalign the screen.

For all other issues they still replace the whole phone ONLY if the genius can replicate the problem. Apparently scratches caused by Geniuses themselves do not warrant a phone replacement.

Seems like the issue mentioned in that thread was "creaky"/"squeaky" screen, which would seem to fall under "1. Screen issues".

Seems like it's all likely more related to what was mentioned in a few of the earlier replies:

Not sure one time experience could represent the whole company with hundred/thousand Apple genius, if not more.
There is always bad apple in the bunch.
Escalate to store manager, demand to see him. If that does not work, make sure you document person's name and manager's name if possible who "help" you in the store, call online support for continue escalation.

It all depends on the person you get. And again, as others said, get that manager out there. This is not normal.

 

[dark_knight177]

Seems like it's all likely more related to what was mentioned in a few of the earlier replies:

But then again you could apply the same excuse to just about any other company with bad CS. You could also say that Comcast jacking up my bill by 200 is not a representative of experience of all users, or that a doctor should be excused for overdosing a patient, because that one patient does not represent all his customer base.

I know that you are very Pro-Apple and that's fine, however it doesn't help to shove issues like these under the rug. You and other Apple users will actually benefit from threads like these, especially if somebody at Apple notices and takes action to make the customer service better.

Please tell me how is this a good thing for you that Apple will open up the case of your brand new iPhone and will "attempt" to replace the whole screen assembly instead of replacing your whole phone?

 

[imlynxy]

I haven't had any problems with them. I must admit that their stores are really busy now and Genius Bar is overloaded. That's why I use only phone service. I also don't understand this waiting time. Why should I kill a valuable hour of my lifetime?!

But: you never want to use Samsung CS. I bought their top model TV with defective One Box (very noisy fan)this black Friday season. It took almost 4 hours ( 3 hours 52 minutes to be exact) with their customer service to get a replacement. Only after I opened complaint with headquarter and BBB it was resolved.

 

[C DM]

But then again you could apply the same excuse to just about any other company with bad CS. You could also say that Comcast jacking up my bill by 200 is not a representative of experience of all users or that a doctor should be excused for overdosing a patient, because that one patient does not represent all his customer base.

I know that you are very Pro-Apple and that's fine, however it doesn't help to shove issues like these under the rug. You and other Apple users will actually benefit from threads like these, especially if somebody at Apple notices and takes action to make the customer service better.

Please tell me how is this a good thing for you that Apple will open up the case of your brand new iPhone and will "attempt" to replace the whole screen assembly instead of replacing your whole phone?

Who is sweeping anything anywhere? People are just pointing out that what you had seems to be more of an exception than the rule. No one is saying that it doesn't happen, or that it was a good experience, or that it should have gone the way it did, or that something shouldn't have been done to rectify the situation or avoid it all together, or that it shouldn't be discussed or anything of the sort. Seems like the bias of some will just spin pretty much anything anyone else says into whatever it is that fits with their agenda.

 

[scaredpoet]

But then again you could apply the same excuse to just about any other company with bad CS. You could also say that Comcast jacking up my bill by 200 is not a representative of experience of all users

It's rare that I defend Comcast for anything, but even with Comcast's notoriously poor customer service, it's still not the norm for egregious errors of that magnitude to happen. The majority of Comcast customers don't have their bills messed with. But when Comcast DOES screw up, they screw up pretty badly.

or that a doctor should be excused for overdosing a patient, because that one patient does not represent all his customer base.

An iPhone is not a life or death situation.

That said, in ALL of these examples, the customer still should raise hell, make a stink and get the issue resolved to their satisfaction. In your case, you need to escalate this matter up the chain. Take your service paperwork, including the multiple repairs, and shoot an e-mail to Tim Cook for resolution. Pictures will help too, though taking photos of the phone before it went into service would've helped even more, to compare with the state of the phone after the repairs.

It's unfortunate that anyone should have to document the state of your device before you bring it in for service, and the hope of course is that you won't have to use them and can just discard the pics when you get your stuff back. Still, if something goes wrong, you have the proof and can make your case strongly.

Please tell me how is this a good thing for you that Apple will open up the case of your brand new iPhone and will "attempt" to replace the whole screen assembly instead of replacing your whole phone?

If it's done properly - and the majority of the time, it IS done properly - then there is absolutely nothing wrong with the phone being repaired instead of replaced. The alternative is to get a remanufactured phone... essentially your phone gets repaired somewhere else, and then once fixed, it's put in a white box, shipped out to an Apple store, and later issued to some other person who has a problem and needs a swap out. Meanwhile, in your phone swap, you received someone else's previously-broken-but-now-fixed phone in exchange for yours.

The end result is usually a wash: either way you end up with a repaired phone, albeit in the case of a swap, it's one that has been deemed to be in "like new" condition.

The ONLY time you're guaranteed a new replacement phone is when a particular model of phone was just released, and there haven't been enough returned phones in the pipeline to supply the repair chain. We're long past that point for iPhone 6/Plus, and even the 6S/6SPlus. More likely than not, any replacement you get right now is a refurb.

Lastly: I can also say that the iPhone 5 and 5s models have been repaired in-store.

My iPhone 5 was a particular lemon: scuffs out of the box, bad home button, bad battery, blown speaker. And then later, I dropped it and cracked the screen. All of these were separate Genius Bar appointments covered under warranty or AppleCare+. And all except the scuffs resulted in repairs in-store, NOT a replacement. Each time it was done right, and I came out of the store happy.

Anyway, I'll re-iterate: if an Apple Store screwed up your phone, upper management needs to hear about it. You won't get satisfaction if you don't complain DIRECTLY up the chain at Apple.

 

[Applejuiced]

Is it possible to show us those scratches?
You got another device to take a quick picture?

 

[dark_knight177]

Is it possible to show us those scratches?
You got another device to take a quick picture?

I have just used my 1 out of 2 accidental damage claims covered by AppleCare+ and paid the $79 deductible to have my phone replaced, because I just couldn't deal with the scratches. I explained everything to the customer service rep over the phone but they said they can't waive the deductible because scratches are not covered by warranty even though they were caused by "Geniuses". I just didn't want to make a fuss about it and come back to the store and make a scene about it. I paid $79 and moved on, life's too important to waste my time to deal with bad CS. I wasted too much already and couldn't deal waiting another week for a a second Genius appointment.

I will never buy AppleCare+ again though

 

[Applejuiced]

You never said above that after they replaced the screen you just paid the fee and got a replacement for the scratches.
Weird story but if someone badly dinged, scratched and damaged my device like you said above I wouldn't pay $79 for something I didn't cause.
Something doesn't make sense with your story...
I never heard of an official Apple Store screen replacement to cause dings, dents and scratches on the back of the phone. And then Apple to tell customers that those damages are normal.

 

[dark_knight177]

You never said above that after they replaced the screen you just paid the fee and got a replacement for the scratches.
Weird story but if someone badly dinged, scratched and damaged my device like you said above I wouldn't pay $79 for something I didn't cause.
Something doesn't make sense with your story...

I expected you would spin it exactly as you did. Nothing surprising that you are trying to discredit my post. Not trying to prove anything to anonymous poster.

Maybe it just didn't occur to you that I had this experience a week ago, and had received my AppleCare+ replacement today.
[doublepost=1453157700][/doublepost]

I never heard of an official Apple Store screen replacement to cause dings, dents and scratches on the back of the phone. And then Apple to tell customers that those damages are normal.

I can't believe how biased some of the posters are, even go as far as to try to discredit posters. What do you get in exchange for defending Apple no matter what?
Ok, I am done here.

 

[Applejuiced]

I expected you would spin it exactly as you did. Nothing surprising that you are trying to discredit my post. Not trying to prove anything to anonymous poster.

Maybe it just didn't occur to you that I had this experience a week ago, and had received my AppleCare+ replacement today.

Not trying to spin anything. Just your story doesn't make much sense and obviously there's 2 sides to every story.
Nobody would pay to get a replacement for damages that Apple supposedly did to your device.
The reason you didn't contest it with management or higher up Apple support and just paid sounds to me like the physical damages were there before. And you were just trying and hoping to get a phone replacement for that home button issue. And are not happy that they just replaced your screen and not the whole phone for free. Just my opinion from what I read and pieced together.