My not so "Apple" Store experience this weekend.

[Illustrator Joe]

-Mods feel free to move this post if it is in the wrong section, I was not sure were to put it.

So I have been having a slight issue with my iPhone 6 for the past week. I noticed about a week ago that under the glass near the front facing camera that the casing had shifted substantially causing a crescent moon like shape seen here:

Though mine was slightly more edged out than that image. I did some research online and most people pointed me back to AT&T and not Apple because I have my insurance through AT&T. Well long story short AT&T sent me to Apple because it was a manufacturing defect and not physical damage caused by me.

Luckily the Apple store is in the mall right next to the AT&T store I went to. Now did I wan't to go to the Apple Store at 1 pm on a Saturday? Absolutely not but I was already out. I waded through the sea of people and made an appointment with the Genius Bar. I could instantly tell the guy about to help me was flustered and irritated with the sheer amount of people in the store. But it was fine I discussed my problem and he was aware of it.
Actually his exact words in regards to the camera housing shift were:
"It is a bigger issue than Apple would like to admit".

He continued to explain to me that it did not effect the performance of the front facing camera and he had a very nonchalant tone of voice when pulling his 6 out of his pocket and saying "look even mine has the variation".
Well that is nice and all but I paid good money for my phone and I will not settle with this "variation".

He then told me that it would be a 50 minute wait to get my phone in and an hour to replace the glass but as long as no physical or water damage was done to it, it would be covered under the 1 year warranty. Or I could come back at a later date or time. Well I was already there so I made the appointment. I grab some grub and get the text message from Apple to return. Drop my phone off and everything was fine at this point. My wife had dinner reservations that she was going to be late for so I drove her home to get ready and returned.
I returned exactly an hour later and the crowds were still overwhelming. I checked in with the woman at the front and she looked up my info and said my phone was finished and would be right out. She stood me over in the very back corner by the iPhone 5c and the security guard. I wait and wait and about 10 minutes go buy and finally an employee is heading my way with an iPhone 6. Right away something seemed off. I used my iPhone 6 in a good case at all times. I got glance at the back of the phone and it seemed very dingy and discolored. The employee proceeds to boot the phone and I immediately notice the word "Sprint" at the top. I proceed to calming explain "Well that says Sprint, my phone is AT&T".
"So what you are telling me is this is not your phone".
"Correct, my phone is AT&T".
"Cool" and he walks away.

I assume this is a minor mix up and he will be right back. But in the 15 minutes he takes to return many things are going through my head.

-If he brought me the wrong phone what if he gave my phone to someone else.
-What if it was a AT&T phone in good condition I would have just walked off with it.
-How do they not confirm the IMEI or Serial Numbers on every device they bring out to every customer.
-WHAT IF THEY GAVE MY FREAKING PHONE TO SOMEONE ELSE.

Now I was calm and collected the whole time and assumed it would all work out. At about the 10 minute mark the woman that greeted me asked me if everything was going OK inquiring why I was still there. I explained the situation and she said she would look into it. She moved me up by the iMacs (where I stand seems to make some bit of difference to them idk why). He returns in 5 minutes and says:
"We have some good news and some bad news. I found your phone. I am not going to BS you I brought you someone else's phone (I know this). The bad news is your phone was wiped."

At this point I realized that of the 5 total employees I talked to not one asked me if I had made sure to backup my phone before handing it over to them. Luckily I had right before I left. Also the tech I talked to did not warn me that my phone could be wiped in this process. The guy now explains to me that anytime they open the device there is a chance it could be wiped. Well that would have been nice to know before hand but whatever. He made sure I understood the process of restoring from my backup and rushed me on my way assuming that I really wanted to leave (which honestly I did).

Later when playing some Xbox with my buddy I was explaining this story to him when suddenly I hear him exclaim, well crap... my iPhone 6 has that same camera variation. I never noticed it until now. Slightly perturbed, he realized he know had to take his in to his nearest apple store and get it fixed, because once you see it on your device you cannot unsee it

Overall it wasn't the worst experience I have ever had by far. But compared to my other experiences of buying laptops and desktops from the same Apple Store, the whole experience didn't feel very "Apple".

I want to share my experience with you guys and get your opinions on it. Also I am curious if any of you have dealt with the front facing camera shift issue. Many friends and family I know have iPhones but very few iPhone 6s. I would say that of people I have talked to in person that have a 6 are about 8 and 3 of those people have had the camera variation (that includes myself).

-One last thing to note is the tech I talked to first at the Genius Bar mentioned that "Apple does not know what is causing the shift at this time". So I assume there is a chance my repaired phone could do it again but I am not positive about that.

 

[Hansana]

Once I had a spec of dust inside the back camera of my 5S. It was replaced even thought it was out of warranty. I have always been served well by the Australian Apple Store employees


Sent from my iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk

 

[Illustrator Joe]

That great to hear. My previous experiences at that store have been great. But this time around I was kinda shocked at some of the things these Apple employees said and didn't say. Something tells me they broke a rule or two.

 

[knighty2112]

I guess even the mighty Apple can have an off day too, especially on a busy Saturday afternoon. As a newcomer to Apple (got my IPhone 6+ last October) I've never had to use an Apple Store and to be quite honest I wouldn't know where my nearest one is in the UK to where I live. Can't see any movement on my 6+ front facing camera so far, so hopefully won't suffer with this screen shifting in future.

 

[Illustrator Joe]

From what I have read it seems to be an issue with the 6, haven't heard anyone claim to have it on the 6+ but don't know 100%.

 

[John Yester]

I had the same issue a few months back. they swapped out the screen first. waiting 45 min to process... Two days later the home button was acting wonky. not picking up on button clicks, etc.

SO I went back in. This time they switched out the entire device.

But one thing to remember, not all stores are organized. anytime of day...

 

[Illustrator Joe]

Sounds like they did right by you. I was kinda hoping they would replace mine, but if I have no further issues I am good with just the screen replacement.

 

[HankAZ]

I can't recall ever having a bad experience in an Apple store. However, with that said, everyone has a bad day now and again. Sorry that you went through this experience. I have had work done on several devices over the years, and I don't recall a time that I was not asked about having a backup before leaving my device for repairs. On several occasions, I even recall them saying that they would wait while I ran an iCloud backup.

It sucks that they confused your phone and tried to give you a different phone. With my experience there, I would have to think that it was an honest mistake. But I do recall questioning the dropoff/pickup process one time when I took an MBP in for service. I would think/hope that they would have some way of verifying whose machine they have and to whom they are returning it.

There are 5 Apple stores in my metro area, and all of them are full-on zoos most of the time. I can only imagine that the Watch and new MBP release can only make it worse. Glad that it all worked out in the end.

 

[Illustrator Joe]

Thanks man. And it did work out. My phone is in great condition and working great. They rectified the problem and that is what is important.

 

[anon(4698833)]

We have one Apple store in our area that most people avoid like the plague because it is always the MOST crowded and LEAST helpful, especially when new products are released. This particular store actually took a genius bar appointment we had for my wife's MBP and switched it (without telling us) to 3 hours LATER in the day...so when we arrived, they basically told us "Tough Luck" and we actually stopped frequenting this store because of this.

I'll be honest though, reading through your story, aside from the wiping of the phone, your experience actually didn't seem that negative at all.

 

[Illustrator Joe]

We have one Apple store in our area that most people avoid like the plague because it is always the MOST crowded and LEAST helpful, especially when new products are released. This particular store actually took a genius bar appointment we had for my wife's MBP and switched it (without telling us) to 3 hours LATER in the day...so when we arrived, they basically told us "Tough Luck" and we actually stopped frequenting this store because of this.

I'll be honest though, reading through your story, aside from the wiping of the phone, your experience actually didn't seem that negative at all.

Unfortunately the other closest Apple stores to me are 3 hours to Detroit or 3 hours to Chicago. Making that one (Woodland GR, MI, more commonly known as "Hoodland") even more popular. And like most Apple Stores people are just there to be there and not actually purchase anything.
And you are right the experience wasn't terrible by any means just not what I expected. I would never think that an Apple employee would say "It is a bigger issue than Apple would like to admit". But I appreciate his honesty. And another employee saying "BS" but don't get me wrong I am no prude and I am sure he was just trying to talk to me in a way I could relate.

 

[jakdillard]

We have one store in Indianapolis, and it's funny the managers are so very helpful but the employees are snobby.

 

[wolfedude88]

My buddy just took his 5s into the Indianapolis apple store two days ago because it would no longer charge.

We tried the usual fixes, check for lent in the port, cables, etc.

They determined it was the Lightning port that went bad. His phone is 3 months out of warranty though, wanted 270 to replace the device. They would not budge on that either.

I understand where both parties are coming from on that, it's out of warranty but at the same time he paid for price just over a year ago and it crapped out.

He ended up calling apple and they looked into and told him pretty much for being a loyal customer they were having the store give him a free replacement.

That's shoe you keep loyal customers.

 

[Just_Me_D]

My buddy just took his 5s into the Indianapolis apple store two days ago because it would no longer charge.

We tried the usual fixes, check for lent in the port, cables, etc.

They determined it was the Lightning port that went bad. His phone is 3 months out of warranty though, wanted 270 to replace the device. They would not budge on that either.

I understand where both parties are coming from on that, it's out of warranty but at the same time he paid for price just over a year ago and it crapped out.

He ended up calling apple and they looked into and told him pretty much for being a loyal customer they were having the store give him a free replacement.

That's shoe you keep loyal customers.

I'm glad it worked out for him in the end, and thanks for sharing...

 

[Illustrator Joe]

I'm glad it worked out for him in the end, and thanks for sharing...

Ehh. Well my phone with the new glass has the same defect appearing again

 

[Flow39]

Ehh. Well my phone with the new glass has the same defect appearing again

Dang, that's not good. My 6 has a little crescent moon camera thing showing up as well. Not as severe as yours, but it is there. I'm not going to worry about it though, it doesn't affect camera performance and the 6s/6s+ are only 4 months away, which I'll upgrade to.

 

[Shawn Schrader]

there should be thread for my not so " apple " online experience. First time i ever ordered anything online from apple will be the very last time to. Whats worse is when you have complaint its like they dont even give a s**t.

 

[Illustrator Joe]

Dang, that's not good. My 6 has a little crescent moon camera thing showing up as well. Not as severe as yours, but it is there. I'm not going to worry about it though, it doesn't affect camera performance and the 6s/6s+ are only 4 months away, which I'll upgrade to.

Well I wasn't surprised it came back. The tech told me "we are replacing the glass, though Apple does not know what is causing the defect." I haven't decided if I am going to take it back, I may wait until I am a little closer to the end of my 1 year manufacturers warranty.

 

[Chris2183]

Unfortunately the other closest Apple stores to me are 3 hours to Detroit or 3 hours to Chicago. Making that one (Woodland GR, MI, more commonly known as "Hoodland") even more popular. And like most Apple Stores people are just there to be there and not actually purchase anything.
And you are right the experience wasn't terrible by any means just not what I expected. I would never think that an Apple employee would say "It is a bigger issue than Apple would like to admit". But I appreciate his honesty. And another employee saying "BS" but don't get me wrong I am no prude and I am sure he was just trying to talk to me in a way I could relate.

Im not 100% sure where you are but I was in Lansing last week on business and there was an Apple Store at the Eastwood Mall. It seemed like a pretty nice area.

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

I shattered the screen on my 6 Plus last night and attempted to make an appointment to get a replacement. Next available was until Sunday night. Figured I'd go the store at the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA and give it a shot this morning. Fifteen minutes before they opened they took my name down and said it would be a 15-20 minute wait. I figured I'd check out those watches (seeing them in person for the first time made me want one even less). Store opened, genius called me up literally five minutes after they opened and everything was taken care of.

It would be such a surprise for me to have an experience any less than that at an Apple Store.