My AppleCare experience

[dark_knight177]

And are not happy that they just replaced your screen and not the whole phone for free

I give two hoots what you think. It's easily worth it to pay $79 than spend countless hours escalating with higher-ups.
Now go ahead and tell me that I stole that iPhone too. Please also tell me that I am an alien from Mars trying to bash Apple just for fun

 

[Applejuiced]

It shouldn't take countless of hours fighting or trying to get Apple to do the right thing. They do it usually without having to fight with them.
Excuse me can you get me your manager is all it should take if your "story" is accurate but personally I highly doubt it.

 

[adamhenry]

This "story" reminds me of a certain SNL skit.

 

[zachlegomaniac]

I have to disagree about not getting AppleCare+ @dark_knight177 . I've become one of those people most members here disdain because my experiences have been exceptionally terrible over the last couple of years (and I was playing Reader Rabbit on my family's Mac in the 80's as a kid).

I'm on my third iPhone 6... soon to be my fourth. The first and second were replaced due to dead pixels immediately upon the genius seeing the phone. The third was due to "a hardware issue" that made the phone lag and act wonky (they tried everything at the Genius Bar, but were ultimately perplexed), and the soon-to-be fourth would be due to Siri only functioning in conjunction with some applications exclusively.

They've elevated the Siri issue after working on it at the store, and I have a follow up appointment this week. I would prefer they just get Siri to work on this phone, and I keep it until it's time to upgrade to whatever type of phone I get next.

Unfortunately, the alternatives to Apple phones suck (or so it seems). It's become Pepsi or Coke. Reminds me of what I see on the ballot here in the US whenever a presidential election comes around.

If I didn't have Apple Care + I'd be big time SOL. No wonder Apple has to charge such high prices considering they're handing me new phones like they're candy on Halloween.

It's been a good 25+ years if I do, ultimately, move away from Apple. Sad face.

/rant

 

[C DM]

I give two hoots what you think. It's easily worth it to pay $79 than spend countless hours escalating with higher-ups.
Now go ahead and tell me that I stole that iPhone too. Please also tell me that I am an alien from Mars trying to bash Apple just for fun

So instead of taking it up with Apple which would or at the very least could actually mean something, the better alternative is somehow just to take it to online user forums to complain about it and spend hours on it there where nothing could result from it at all?

 

[scaredpoet]

I will never buy AppleCare+ again though

Well... that's certainly your choice. Though, if you hand't bought Applecare+ in this instance:

1. You would've had to spend upwards of $200 to get it fixed the first time.
2. They still would've screwed it up.
3. Then you'd be stuck with a phone with scuffs. Wanna fix the scuffs? That'll be another >$200, please.

Not that I think the way it was handled currently was any better, but you definitely would've been worse off without Applecare+.

I give two hoots what you think. It's easily worth it to pay $79 than spend countless hours escalating with higher-ups.

To each his own, but ensuring this doesn't happen to anyone else AND getting my $79 back would've been worth it to me. *shrug*

Now go ahead and tell me that I stole that iPhone too. Please also tell me that I am an alien from Mars trying to bash Apple just for fun

Now you're just going over the top.

All that's being said is, the situation could've been handled better by EVERYONE involved.

Unfortunately, if you get screwed over, the only way to get un-screwed is to put in the effort to get the situation resolved. If you roll over and pay cash to make the problem go away, well, that doesn't lend a lot of credibility to your issue, especially if the very thing that solved your problem ultimately (Applecare) is the thing you're telling people they shouldn't buy.

 

[Ram65]

Well i guess Apple is getting tired of people bringing phones back for specks of dust and screens not being a certain color. So they not replacing phones like they use to

 

[laudern]

Yeah that's absolute ******** what occurred. Just like in every type of employment there are those who are too good to be told and want to follow their own rules.

I never have had applecare and never will. But I live in Australia and our consumer rights already offer (mostly) what applecare does, for free.

Honestly, what I have come to learn is that you need to treat customer service people with respect to their face, but know that the person you are dealing with is most likely an idiot and never take what they say as gospel. Always keep critical judgement at a high level. Even if they swear to you that it is the way they say it is, always think, if it doesn't sound right, this person is an idiot and take your concern up the chain of command.

 

[Goatllama]

Always keep critical judgement at a high level. Even if they swear to you that it is the way they say it is, always think, if it doesn't sound right, this person is an idiot and take your concern up the chain of command.

It's unfortunate, but I can't really disagree with this. If something sounds wrong, questioning it is the best way to go, or appealing to someone more experienced. You're not always guaranteed to get someone that knows what they're doing, but the hypocritical thing is that those that aren't experienced are told to ACT like they're experienced so as to make the customers think their decisions are foolproof.

 

[tl01]

Not a typical experience. Just had my son's iPhone 6 replaced under apple care plus. I didn't even have an appt. I went to put my name on the list to wait since I couldn't get an spot online for days. The guy said the wait was only 20 mins so we waited (I had expected the line to be 2 hours long). Once it was our turn the person offered us either a new phone replacement or a screen replacement. I opted for the new phone replacement as it was the same cost, quicker, and the last time I had a screen replacement it didn't go well. We were in and out in about 20 mins from the time I put my name on the list.

 

[yaboyac29]

Sorry, don't believe you.

You replaced the phone because a genius caused scratches? Where is your head at? use some common sense, get a manager involved and I'm sure the issue would have been fixed.

You could have easily escalated the issue over the phone or even emailed Tim Cook, but apparently you're a baller and throwing $80 out the window for someone else's mistake is okay.

Either that or your phone was damaged when you brought it in. First thing genius' do before they service the phone is write whah kind of condition it's in.


I just had my iPhone replaced twice in the past two weeks but they were good about it. First time my Touch ID stopped working and he offered to change the whole phone. Unfortunately the replacement had a bad vibrate motor but I was given another phone without hassle. Sucks but technology breaks.

 

[The Game 161]

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.

Agreed

I would report whoever did that

 

[Elisha]

I give two hoots what you think. It's easily worth it to pay $79 than spend countless hours escalating with higher-ups.
Now go ahead and tell me that I stole that iPhone too. Please also tell me that I am an alien from Mars trying to bash Apple just for fun

The bastard probably found out who you were on MacRumors and ****ed you over for giving Apple a hard time!
But in all seriousness, I would have given him ****! Apple doesn't like looking bad in front of customers in the retail store. You could have probably gotten a new phone and walked away with a gift card if you sounded distresses enough!

 

[rasputinj]

never had that type of experience at apple, I have seen it at 3rd party iPhone repair stores. Whatever work I have had done via at Apple I always look over my device when I get it back. I have had only good experiences at the genesis bar.

 

[r03dz]

The only device I don't purchase Apple Care for is iPads. It usually pays for itself on Macs and is most certainly worth the additional fee for the iPhone.

 

[MRU]

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

If you have AppleCare+ you can make 2 claims insurance wise and all you have to pay is the deductable and they will replace the phone. Regardless of whether the issue is any of the above.

However regardless, they shouldn't be scratching your phone.

 

[iPad Retina]

Hi. Had a similar issue, talk to customer relations. Recieving a new Sealed phone, when I send mine in, there is no reason why the Apple Store should not be able to replace your phone. There are just those stores sometimes. BOTHERS ME.

 

[Truefan31]

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.

I think your experience is atypical of normally very good support from Apple, or else you wouldn't have bought ac plus to begin with.

But definitely escalate if that's the case.