Just a word of warning: steer clear from Senior Manager Phil R! I scheduled an appointment with a Genius today to have my iPhone 4 inspected for some strange battery drain (basically runs from 100% fully charged to ~30% within an hour, despite my monthly recalibration and normal daily charge routine). The associate who tried to assist me initially basically lectured me on restoring my device as new; DFU mode; etc., etc. I calmly but respectfully informed him that I tried everything already. All I really wanted was for him to fix or replace my battery as this is my primary line. I also use my iPhone 4 for work. This gentleman advised me that replacing the battery will cost me ~$79.
However, here is the interesting part. Yes, I originally bought my brand new iPhone 4 directly from AT&T last November. As a mother of two very active preschoolers, I had my hands full, including my phone, when it began raining around noon. That first time, I was ready to shell out the necessary $199 to cover the cost of a replacement as it was my fault for getting my device wet. The associate from that store (Emeryville) surprised me with a new iPhone instead. Unfortunately, that particular replacement had a bad battery that lasted me 1 hour max. So, I had another Genius look into it and he replaced it without charge (I wasn't expecting that as I had the $79 ready to pay for repair). As my luck would have it, this handset continues to exhibit the same defect, and I thought trying a different store will help (thinking that maybe the other store received a load of lemons at the time). Associate at this location--Walnut Creek--performed the usual diagnosis on the battery, which turned out to be 'normal', even though he ironically acknowledged that the percentage was decreasing by 1% every minute
I told him he can obviously see the defect and to please just fix my device... as long as it lasts me at a minimum of 8 hours, then I'm fine. I shouldn't be charged for something that is not my fault. Please keep in mind that I did call Apple earlier about this issue, and the lady informed me that I should be able to get a replacement under warranty of a clearly faulty battery, free of charge (she noted it, too). Senior Manager Phil R came into the picture and basically threatened to have me escorted outside by the security, and to never come back to that store again... that I'm wasting his time. Wow... I mean, I was just stating my case as calmly and respectfully as I can but be treated this way? Just wow... never coming back to that location again.
While I have the means to pay their $79 service fee, all I was doing was reiterating what the AppleCare lady told me. I never even thought that a person, especially a senior manager, would treat me so rudely. Whether you have to break some good or bad news to a client, good customer service is the key if you wish to have them coming back to buy more of your products/services. But hey, whatever. I still thanked the first Walnut Creek associate for at least treating me fairly before exiting the store.
I really hope that this Phil R is just having a bad day. If this is really his personality or definition of customer service, then God help him haha.
However, here is the interesting part. Yes, I originally bought my brand new iPhone 4 directly from AT&T last November. As a mother of two very active preschoolers, I had my hands full, including my phone, when it began raining around noon. That first time, I was ready to shell out the necessary $199 to cover the cost of a replacement as it was my fault for getting my device wet. The associate from that store (Emeryville) surprised me with a new iPhone instead. Unfortunately, that particular replacement had a bad battery that lasted me 1 hour max. So, I had another Genius look into it and he replaced it without charge (I wasn't expecting that as I had the $79 ready to pay for repair). As my luck would have it, this handset continues to exhibit the same defect, and I thought trying a different store will help (thinking that maybe the other store received a load of lemons at the time). Associate at this location--Walnut Creek--performed the usual diagnosis on the battery, which turned out to be 'normal', even though he ironically acknowledged that the percentage was decreasing by 1% every minute
I told him he can obviously see the defect and to please just fix my device... as long as it lasts me at a minimum of 8 hours, then I'm fine. I shouldn't be charged for something that is not my fault. Please keep in mind that I did call Apple earlier about this issue, and the lady informed me that I should be able to get a replacement under warranty of a clearly faulty battery, free of charge (she noted it, too). Senior Manager Phil R came into the picture and basically threatened to have me escorted outside by the security, and to never come back to that store again... that I'm wasting his time. Wow... I mean, I was just stating my case as calmly and respectfully as I can but be treated this way? Just wow... never coming back to that location again.While I have the means to pay their $79 service fee, all I was doing was reiterating what the AppleCare lady told me. I never even thought that a person, especially a senior manager, would treat me so rudely. Whether you have to break some good or bad news to a client, good customer service is the key if you wish to have them coming back to buy more of your products/services. But hey, whatever. I still thanked the first Walnut Creek associate for at least treating me fairly before exiting the store.
I really hope that this Phil R is just having a bad day. If this is really his personality or definition of customer service, then God help him haha.
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