I recently visited the Apple store to exchange a defective power adapter which was still under warranty. I still have the defective adapter, as it has now cost more time and effort than it was originally worth.
What I have lost is time, money, and trust in the ethics of the retail store. What I have gained is disdain for their tactics and a sick feeling every time I hear “Apple Store.”
Why don’t I just dump my MacBook Pro and go with a PC? Because my employer uses Mac-based programs and hardware and I don’t see my building replacing 300+ machines any time soon. Whether “fanboy” or “hater,” my use of Apple products for work will change very little. However, my personal purchase plans have already changed and I hope others might be spared some of the inconvienience and inepttude I experienced in my last visit:
Rather than complete a simple warranty exchange, they want me to make an appointment to drive back to the store to exchange a defective power adapter that is well within the one-year warranty. Seriously. They actually wanted to put me on “Standby” and expected me to hang around for 2-3 hours in case a “genius” became available to evaluate my power adapter and determine why it doesn’t work.
I don’t really care why it doesn’t work. It doesn’t work. My warranty says that it should work (for at least 5 more months). It doesn’t work.
After skipping us and having a lengthy conversation with two other people, the concierge finally addressed us. I showed her the power adapter and the receipt. She asked if I had my MacBook Pro with me, though it was obvious that I did not. She then said that the service department would need to attach the power adapter to the machine to see whether the problem was with the adapter or the laptop. I told her that I have already done that and that all other appropriate power adapters can be used to both power and charge the laptop, but the defective adapter does not work to charge the battery on other laptops.
She was clearly confused by this and circled us to get to her scheduling computer, where she entered my name and email address. She then told me that she could schedule a time for me to come back to the store – two days later to have a “genius” evaluate my adapter. She also explained that she has taken the liberty of putting me on “standby” in case there is a no-show or the “geniuses” get ahead and can work me in.
Seriously? I have a defective item that is under warranty. (I didn’t have to make an appointment to purchase the adapter.) They don’t even have to look it up in the big ‘ole database – I also have the receipt. I have placed the defective item, the receipt, and the original paperwork, inside the original (and quite perfect) packaging. All they have to do is go find a box that looks just like this here purty box and switch ‘em. Heck, I’d even sign my name on one of those little ‘ole return forms that some of those not-very-customer-friendly chains require – I’m not difficult.
I didn’t even say any of the stuff in the paragraph above. Instead, I said that it seems ludicrous to go through all of that just to exchange a defective item that is clearly under warranty.
The concierge double-checked with her manager and then explained to me that a power adapter needs to be fully evaluated by an Apple Genius because “the service department has parts” and they need to look at it because “they have the parts.” I reminded her that a power adapter does not have replaceable parts and that I don’t need to have it evaluated, just replaced. There is nothing to fix – they just need to exchange it. She told me that a “genius” would have to see it, since they have the service department and the parts.
On January 7, after reading the initial comments, this section is being set apart to add emphasis. I have no disagreement with a company that wants to check a device for misuse – I even say that further down. The part of the experience that was infuriating and unforgivable is here:
Again, I said that it is ridiculous to take this much time to replace a defective item that is under warranty and I turned to leave. She asked about scheduling a time with a genius and I told her (again!) that it is ludicrous to take this kind of time to make a warranty exchange.
As my husband and I tried to leave the store, she followed after us, asking if she could get her manager and whether I would talk to her manager. She then raised her voice, called out my name several times, and loudly asked whether I would be willing to talk to her manager.
Since our quiet discussion at the back of the store was being turned into a very public display in the middle of the store, we stopped and agreed.
Rather than exchange a defective power adapter, they wasted an amazing amount of time having a manager come out to explain to me that they need to evaluate the problem and fill out a report about the problem so Apple can see and correct the problem in future devices.
I asked why they need to perform this evaluation while the customer is in the store and she told me that if they just take an item off the shelf and exchange mine, the defective adapter will not go through the service department, but will just be thrown out and Apple can’t solve problems that way.
Seriously?!?!?
If you are a retailer and you have some kind of moronic policy on returns, at least give your customers the courtesy not to treat them like they are the morons. Maybe you are a cell phone company and you need to check the little magic strip to see whether I have dropped it in a toilet; Maybe you are a car dealer and you need to look for damage to the frame; or maybe you sell power adapters and you need to check to see whether my cat has chewed a hole in the wire or whether I dropped the connector into a cup of hot chocolate (yep, I did that once – different adapter – it still worked.) Whatever your needs, making up silly lines about the service guys having the right parts for your AC adapter or saying that the company needs to keep you there to determine the nature of the problem in order to save all future customers from this problem does nothing but show disdain and a total lack of respect for your customers – aka, your former customers.
The Apple Store at West Town Mall in Knoxville chose to let me walk out of the store with the defective device, rather than do the right (and SIMPLE) thing.
BTW, I wonder whether they consider the far-reaching effects of word-of-mouth. I really don’t want to get into a big, long formula, but a little simple addition of only our public social-networking contacts leaves this tale of customer couldn’t-care-less-ness reaching about 996 direct contacts on Facebook and Twitter. I have talked to enough co-workers to put this number well over 1,000.
I am hoping those 1,000 people tell their 1,000 contacts to avoid the West Town Apple Store (if they can’t avoid Apple all together!).
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I’m thinking it’s time for a call to AppleCare… they’re great at exchanging faulty stuff.
Thanks for the smart advice, Booshka. I have had several other folks tell me the same thing and I will write a follow-up post to let you know how it goes. From what everyone says, both the online service and telephone service are FAR superior to the Apple store experience!
Apple has a very clear return policy. All hardware goes to the Genius Bar…unless you were going to return the whole MacBook Pro, it is a tech problem that needs to be diagnosed and verified. It’s how it works. I know I’m not going to change your mind…but next time you go to a Best Buy with a similar problem, how about you post about the terrible service that you got there?
Hi, Alex. I think you misunderstood the problem. The adapter was purchased individually and has nothing to do with the MacBook Pro. Since an adapter is an accessory, rather than hardware, it does not fall under the “very clear” hardware policy.
Since I have never experienced this kind of problem at the retailer you mentioned (or any other), I cannot write about their terrible service. I did visit that retailer over the holidays and experienced completely professional and helpful service each time.
Wow! That’s some seriously inept handling of a customer. i think you handled the situation very well and I have tweeted our 1500+ followers to spread the word.
May be you have to email Steve Jobs to get this right! Seems to be the way to go these days. It’s just plain BS!
Wow! Thanks, Top iPhone!
Right now I am trying to go through online support, since so many people have told me that online support and phone support are much better experiences. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Odd that you’ve had so much trouble simply getting a replacement adapter. On two separate occasions in the past three years I’ve had to replace my MacBook Pro’s AC adapter. We don’t have an Apple Store where I live, so both times I’ve simply called up their phone service.
I have AppleCare and – both times – within minutes Apple agreed to send me a brand new adapter. And so long as I mailed back the original, I wouldn’t be charged.
I don’t know what’s up with the Apple Store where you live, but every time I’ve dealt with Apple Customer Serivce (Canada), it’s been extremely smooth and effective.
Hi, B. I thought it was odd, too – until I started talking to people about it. Many people have told me exactly the same thing. Everyone really highly recommends Apples online service and calling Apple. I haven’t heard from a single person who had trouble when they dealt with Apple by phone or online! It looks like that is the way to go.
I also had a problem with my charger however my experience was different. I walked in, told them my charger was damaged, they took it and about 2 min later, they asked me if I had applecare, I said yes (which I did) and they just gave me a new power adapter.
Relax. All of this could have been avoided if you had done what almost every other Apple customer has learned to do and make a Genius Bar appointment in advance.
I agree, it can seem like a pain, but that’s the best (and only) way to guarantee that you’ll get individual attention and service. Even with items as simple as headphones, when you make an appointment, you get the service you need. Yes, even headphones. And when someone makes an appointment for simple problems that a Genius can solve quickly, guess what? That opens up time *between* the people who made appointments in advance, which allows them to see people who are on standby. Had you made an appointment, I’d wager a Genius would have done exactly that–verified the faulty part and replaced it.
Apple has every right to inspect the faulty product first before handing over a free replacement. It protects them from people trying to get a free part. Also, it should be noted that Apple *does not* pull replacement parts from the floor stock. They have a reserved stock that they pull warranty replacements from, so that if the floor stock sells out, they still have some to give to people who–say it with me–made a Genius Bar appointment.
Interesting that you have chosen not to publish my reply.
Sorry, Sean. I don’t work on my blog while I am at work and it took a while to reply to the very unexpected number of comments! Before this one, my most popular post received 11 comments. Out of courtesy, it would be good to give people time to actually see your comment before you complain that it was ignored.
Hi, Sean. It sees that, you didn’t read the whole post: This is not a faulty part. This was a defective accessory, purchased individually (without an appointment- gasp!), with several months left in its warranty, and the original packaging and receipt to prove it.
An open retail store in a mall should not be the kind of place one needs to “learn” how to use.
Yeah, I don’t agree. I mean, I see where you’re coming from in that you don’t think you should have to wait, nor should you have to come back, but I think a store (of any type) has the right to verify if a product is actually defective before returning it. Apple Stores have a fairly well know policy with managing that process.
As far as the Knoxville store goes, I frequented that location quite a bit at the beginning of this year while working a contract in Sevierville. My experiences with them were great, including them replacing a defective iPhone at one point.
I’m not a crazy fanboy, but I am a fan. I’ve got multiple criticisms of Apple, but in this area, I don’t think they’re too far off.
Thanks for your comments, Dorv. I am all for verifying that a product is actually defective before replacing it. The process for taking care of hardware warranty issues and the process for accessory warranty issues is not the same.
No, Jennifer, you’re the moron.
Apple isn’t just going to take your word for it and exchange a $130 power adaptor. I know, I’m in tech support myself, and I can’t begin to count the number of times customers were convinced “they tried everything” and the problem was NOT what they thought it was. I have several dozen perfectly good power adaptors brought to me because “they were defective,” when the problem really was the computer/surge protector/wall socket/etc.
Apple has to verify that the product is in fact defective and that swap it out with the correct part, a process that probably doesn’t take too long, like 10 minutes or so. Oh wait, that happens to be about the length of an appointment at the Genius Bar! Crazy how those things work out.
What makes you think you’re so special that you deserve to be helped before all of the people that took the 2 minutes to schedule an appointment?
Hi, Joe. Thanks for the rude reply. The name-calling gives you lots of credibility. BTW, where is everyone getting the prices for these adapters? I’m glad I didn’t buy mine there!
It’s great that you are in tech support – I am too. Though I only have access to 8 or 9 other machines and adapters that are exactly the same as the one in question, the problem is consistent each time I have tried it and I have been unable to replicate the issue with any other equivalent adapter. Like you, I also have a pile of various adapters! Maybe we can work out some kind of swap-meet.
I “get” that Apple has to check to see that I haven’t done something stupid and I am all for that! Did you get that I was just going to deal with it later (or online when I got home) — but they YELLED AT ME to come back and talk to a manager? Demeaning a customer is not acceptable.
The ten minutes that you think this will take does not include the time to travel to and the store (twice) or the time I already spent with these two women. It also does not take into account the lost productivity! Sure, I have the luxury of access to other equipment and accessories, but most consumers do not have that luxury – as far as they know, I am completely unable to use my machine. Additionally, if the person on the front end of the customer experience and the person managing the customer experience treat people like this, why, but why would I want to go to the next level?!
Seriously? What would you have to do if you owned a PC? You would call customer support, wait on hold, explain the problem, they would then MAIL one to you. Mail… not exchange it under warranty in the store. Try making an appointment like the rest of us!
Hi, Bill. Thanks for the great question!
Actually, I do own a PC. For a defective PC accessory, I would go to my retailer (as I have done), give them the item and receipt, answer any questions they have about my use of the product, probably spend some time waiting, and return home with a working product. I will double-check some of the retailers in my area and post a follow-up.
Your right on Bill. If you took a bad pc laptop power adapter into bestbuy they would have pointed you to the after market devices. They don’t stock many if any power adapters since there are so many different connection/voltage needs… If you were under a manufacture warranty as you were with Apple, Best Buy would tell you to call them. Then they would hopefully mail you one. Your best bet would be if you had the store warranty and then hope that they take care of you with a targus power adapter.
If they had offered to send it to Apple and mail me a new one, they could have honored their warranty and met my needs.