Apple Store

I scheduled an appointment over the phone with a rep for 2:30 pm. I arrived to the Apple store and my appointment could not be found. So I had to be seen as a walk in. I’ve been sitting here for over 30 mins the guy worker said it will be «fast» b/​c what I’m coming in for shouldn’t take that long. While I’m waiting I asked another rep whats my place in line (short hair dike, white girl with tattoos). Explained what happened she told me I would have to be seen around 3:10 pm. I just wanted to ask her a question… if i would have to pay a fee. she just walked off. I said you didn’t answer my question. I know she heard me. She didn’t care to look back. Sitting at the Apple store writing this review another rep reached out to helped me because she saw I was upset. I told her what happened she immediately helped me. Which took less than 5 mins. thanks a lot Tia. she was the most helpful one.

It’s not the best apple store I’ve been to, but it’s not the worst. Even with an appointment, on a Sunday evening, during a warriors game I still had to wait 45 minutes past my time. Once I got the help it was friendly and quick, I was just a little cranky to wait that long. I’d still come here over the Emeryville store.

On Monday I decided to try and see if I could get a drop in appointment at the Genius Bar.
Yes It was my lucky day. I was told it may be up to a 40 minute wait — which was fine.
I immersed myself into the joy of a demo MacAir laptop — -fast fast fast. i don’t even remember what I looked up I was entranced.
My poor laptop has taken quite a beating over the last 5 years.
I have been to many Genius Bars during this time and have gotten great hep from the Apple stores in Walnut Creek, Corte Madera, Portland and elsewhere/​
This time around I arrived with
#1 a LOG IN screen lifeless on my screen since the password includes one of the three letters that no longer works on my keyboard.
#2 a possibly dead wired keyboard that i had been using since my laptop keyboard is not fully operational.
#3 a new wireless keyboard that I couldn’t connect since I couldn’t log in
Ok…blah blah blah. Yup I’m pathetic.
But.Apple came to my rescue again. Actually it was BRECK whose name I thought was Brad.
(Found out it was Breck when I took the online customer survey emailed to me)
Even though ordinary humans would have felt like strangling me or at least roll their eyes,
Breck kindly and patiently walked me through ad fixed all the issues.
YAY! I told him in gratitude I’d give him my first born «child» but Breck replied.“That’s okay I have an 18 year old!” Give this man a HUGE raise!

Listen, folks: I think we all know by now that we NEED Genius Bar appointments, no matter where the Apple Store is. I was greeted by a team as soon as I walked in and only had to wait a few minutes after sitting down at the bar.
The store is a busy one, so you won’t get a Genius’s undivided attention. Personally, I’m fine with that as long as they resolve my problem with care, which they did. They ran some diagnostics on my computer (which I was praying wasn’t totally busted), explained the issue to me, and told me they would have to send the computer out for repairs but that I would have it back within a week. This was on a Friday, and I got the call on Tuesday that it was ready for pickup.
I have no complaints whatsoever about my experience. In fact, the employees at this store made me feel quite relieved, and I really felt like I could trust them with my computer.

Time to update my long overdue review for the place I have a love hate relationship with.
The experience you get at the Apple Store is (unsurprisingly) based on how slow the business is going.
During the times I’ve been when it’s busy (like on Friday afternoons or weekends), you’ll be waiting forever. At least you’ll get seen even when you don’t have an appointment (happened to me many times), but you’ll for sure wait hours. And be ready to be ignored.
However on times when it’s pretty quiet, employees are hella efficient and friendly to you. The most recent time I went in to pick up an online order. I was probably in and out in less than two minutes and left with a smile.
And so I can’t knock this Apple Store for being what it is: in the flow of business. I’ve had generally positive experiences here, more than most Apple stores. However you’re better off going when it’s down time.
Shop well and prosper,?

Ryan and Angelica offered amazing help to solve my problem of the day. They worked with me for almost an hour and showed me where I could sign up for classes.
Thanks guys!

Waited 20 minutes just to get checked in, left when I was told to wait longer.‘it will just be a few more minutes’ she said.
Some suggestions:
Don’t make an appointment for someone for 10:45 when you’re really mean 11:15 — come on, it’s not like you’re a doctors office!
Hire more of those $ 10/​hr folks to handle the load.
Have more than one person check people in
Have a checkin kiosk! What a concept! My dentist does it, you’re a high tech company, surely…

My experience with this store compared to other stores wasn’t bad. I am happy that their is one so close with a big free parking lot across the street.
Some experiences for so good that I still remember the people who waited on me. And then had some mediocre and one terrible experience with this one person. But after the terrible time I had with the one, I insisted on seeing some one else who had given me his card before.
So I would say that all apple stores are very similar. (I have been to many now, including Walnut Creek and Emeryville and other cities too.
And my opinion is that it completely depends on the staff there that day and the amount of people who show up at one time. That’s it. Come early or come real late and you have a better chance.
It is best if you have an appointment and try to be nice to people there who are really business a lot of the time. Remember they are dealing with people of every age and different learning skills. Some take more time than others.
I did complain about that one guy because he said a couple of things that I knew were not Apple policy. And the person I called over, apologize for his co-​worker.
I love Apple, but I do wish they had a better system for helping people. More classes would help. More phone lines open, more of help period.
Apple care shouldn’t be limited to one year and then just an add-​on two more years. I would be happy to continue with Apple care for a longer time. then I wouldn’t have to come in so much. And they would being getting paid. Where as the in-​store help is free.
Or they could try out having longer appointments with more hands-​on employees at the Genius bar employees. Not wanting to hire more employees I think, is being cheap. Apple makes big bucks I know!
Not employing more people doesn’t make sense for Apple. They can afford to expand their Genius Bar during busy times.
They could even open up some space behind the bar (there is room behind that wall) where you could go see Geniuses in quieter surroundings for older, slower learners who can’t hear well. I am one of those. On the other hand, I catch on rather quick. I do need a chair though.
You should be able to plan your trip, your appointment time and bring in whatever you have… phone, iPad and watch or computer. Just make an appointment time for each in a row. Why make people come back over and over again.
I love my Apple computers since the 80’s and I love my iPhone now almost more. I have lapses in memory and this phone tells me what I am forgetting.
Great service from my phone!
Keep telling Apple supervisors, all the time. that they need to have more help, more space with better acoustics, and offer more classes including advanced classes. They really need to.
I saw the front door picture of the car inside. I just know people who can think up the computer, iPhone, iTunes, and iTV, all in one great space, can also think of a new way to deter criminals without loosing the esthetic appeal. How about bullet proof glass, called Guerrilla glass? Solve the problem, Apple, and you may have another patented product to sell to store owners! Be Creative!
Thanks Apple

Taisha Arroyo has helped me here three times and every single time she has friendly and super helpful. Not only have I been completely satisfied with the help and knowledge she’s provided, but she makes the whole experience fun!
Thank you Taisha!

I came in this morning for some help and I have to say KATIE IS FANTASTIC! In the past, genius apple people have been helpful and fairly patient, but Katie wins! She had a ton of people at her table to help and she remained sweet and calm while competently helping all of us and not letting any of us feel ignored. She’s my favorite kind of genius! A smart, efficient and kind one. While others around her working there seemed stressed, she was working the table like a pro!

After what seemed to be a never ending saga, once they found out I was a business owner they gave me a brand new replacement computer — an upgrade from the one that they lost. All’s well that ends well, I just wish I hadn’t had to waste so much time getting to a resolution.

They need to have faster service. I went there to replace an iPhone and they told me to book an appointment for 2 hrs later. At first, I was not too happy about it but then I realized that the Genius Bar does get too worked up sometimes. I waited until designated time and my job was complete. I’d say they have good customer service but come on. it shouldn’t have to take me 2 hrs to wait to do a 5 min job… but nonetheless still somehow satisfied.

For the first worker that helped me I would give 5 stars, he was very nice and knowledgable. I wish I had names for both associates but I don’t. The second worker who helped me though was an older woman and she was very rude and didn’t seem to have iPhone knowledge. Thanks to her customer service I will not be coming back to this Apple Store. I wish I knew her name but she was rude, I had questions and she said «sorry I can’t stand here and answer your questions I have people behind you». Well really lady I should matter to you as much as them. You shouldn’t jump on to the next customer until your current customer is satisfied. This was all within 30 seconds, so I don’t know what her hurry was. Please leave your attitude at home, customer service is key at the workplace.

Awesome service! Charmayne Young from Genius bar us the best! Thanks for your help!
Grigory

My MacBook Pro would not connect to my home internet and that crazy keychain was making me crazy. I tried to fix it online with no success. So I attempted to have a Genius help me at the Berkeley store. Greeted by the friendly «screening associates,» I was told to move forward and someone would help me. Once I got «that someone’s» attention, I explained my woes. The someone told me to go online to get help. I said, «that’s the problem, I can’t go online.» I must have rolled my eyes. Enter another staff who said, «Why are you rolling your eyes?» Re-​explained the issue. «Well, you can go online here and try to fix it? We can set you up with a spot and give you headphones to use.»
«Well, why didn’t you say that in the first place? (rolling my eyes)»

This place was busy on Saturday afternoon, but we were helped fairly quickly. All of the the workers were nice and attentive; the woman that ultimately helped us was very patient and spent a lot of time with us – even though we were not spending money (we had to transfer data from phones).
The place looked like any other Apple store and the parking situation was good. This is a much better alternative to the SF store I always find myself in – much less hectic and more customer focused.

I came in to get my iPhone 6 repaired because my screen cracked. Thanks to Genius Bar appointment system, I was able to sit comfortably at the table while waiting for an employee to help me.
Within 5 minutes of waiting, I was greeted by «Mary» and she took my phone into the back. And not 5 minutes later, she comes out and tells me that I have a 3^rd party screen on my phone and wishes me a good day.
At that point, I was so surprised that I was at a loss of words. I tried explaining how I have Applecare and that I only purchased it less than a year ago. I probably sounded suspicious since I was genuinely so confused, but that doesn’t excuse what she did next.
She grabbed her iPad with an air of determination to present some kind of evidence to prove my guiltiness and finally said, «You actually bought this in June last year, in 2015.»
… I literally had nothing to say. At this point, I turned red because I didn’t know whether to explain to her that June 2015 was only 7 months ago or that she tried to falsely accuse me AGAIN for lying.
Anyway, I sat there dumbfounded for another 3 minutes before getting up and going.
My only speculation is this– she never actually took off the screen to look inside, since it was cracked and was probably cumbersome to do so. Whatever her motivations are, she didn’t help at all.
I don’t know where to find a «real» Apple screen before coming back. But you best believe I will comment again in the future when I get my iPhone replaced.
I paid 100 bucks for AppleCare and I’m sure as hell going to get my money’s worth.

This is the worst Apple Store experience I’ve had in the 10 years and two states!
— Misdiagnosed the issue, instead of 3 hours to get done took 3 days but didn’t get a call from them for 5 days,
— then I come to pick it up, we check it something is wrong with launch, I point it out to Genius Bar rep, he assures me it’ll go away. Obviously it didn’t.
— I find More issues everyday preventing all apps from running properly.
— two more weeks to get an appointment, hour and a half waiting now I’m still in limbo.
I’m a freelancer, lost major client this week because of it. Service is more than treating clients with a smile.

I made a Genius Bar appointment for 6:45pm on Saturday night, and this was the BEST Genius Bar experience I have had at any Apple store — and I’ve been to several. Bob was such an amazing, patient, effective, knowledgeable technician — and his passion for computers really shows — this guy has the expertise! He went above and beyond in running diagnostics on my mac and figured out why my fan was growing loud as well as why my computer was intermittently not waking from sleep. Even though these appointments are only supposed to be brief, he spent as much time as needed with my computer, and even when he was helping another customer while we waited for a diagnostic to complete on mine, I learned a ton from his explanation to her!
Definitely make an appointment for a time like Saturday evening, when the store is way less busy and the street parking is plentiful!

0 stars if possible. This store has the WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I have EVER EVER experienced. I left with my laptop unfixed, situation the exact same, wasted 4 hours there and left with makeup dripping down my face from tears. This was the first time I’ve ever been so appalled, disappointed and hurt by such horrible service that I CRIED RIGHT THERE IN THE STORE. Yes… that happened and it sucked.
Staff is very rude, don’t care to attend to us students even though we have an appointment, very unwilling to help, staff is not well-​trained, didn’t know what to do. Managers didn’t show any sort of care. Overall, the WORST experience I’ve had at apple. Everyone who was there the day I went should be fired for horrible customer service.
And it wasn’t just me, the lady next to me had someone helping her and he was SUPER UNFRIENDLY, quite rude and very impatient. I will NEVER be back here again. WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER.