Terrible Apple Retail Experience

[JackArc]

So today was a day I was really looking forward to. I was going to purchase my MacBook Pro. As I do not have a car at college (until next year) and the closest Apple Store is not a short trip away my friend nicely, gave me a lift. As I was checking out they said my debit card was declined. I was completely flabbergasted and called my bank immediately. They said I had a limit of spending in a day to $1600 dollars. As I asked the sales rep and the manager nicely if there was any way possible to pay partly in cash and the other debit and they (with the manger giving attitude) said there is no way the can because they can't swipe a declined card twice. So we went to another Apple store a ways a way, now with the idea that I can put $1595 on debit and pay the rest in cash. Well, my card was declined. I called my bank again, and either the woman working last time gave me the wrong answer or I misunderstood her the 2 or 3 times I asked to make sure $1600 was really my limit. But after my second calling, my limit is in fact, $1500. So disappointing. So now I have to go to my bank tomorrow and see if I can either raise the withdraw maximum (so I can order online) or take out ~$2000 in cash and hope to be able to head down there sometime soon. Frustrating, and I was really looking forward to it.

 

[mrcmosx]

hi,
I just bought my macbook @ macconnection.com . They do not charge tax for California residents. I had it shipped overnight. I am happy with macconnection.com Maybe you should give them a try

 

[EricNau]

It shouldn't be hard to increase your limit. Good Luck.

 

[iBookG4user]

That's too bad that you had a bad experience with the Apple store, but it was really the bank's fault in the first place for the limit. And if you live in orange county like I do then it must have been an hour or an hour and a half drive to the Apple store in Fashion Vally (Where I got my MacBook Pro). But look on the bright side, you'll have your MacBook Pro tomorrow .

 

[JackArc]

That's too bad that you had a bad experience with the Apple store, but it was really the bank's fault in the first place for the limit. And if you live in orange county like I do then it must have been an hour or an hour and a half drive to the Apple store in Fashion Vally (Where I got my MacBook Pro). But look on the bright side, you'll have your MacBook Pro tomorrow .

Hopefully if I can catch a ride. It was a half hour to Irvine and then we went to South Coast in Costa Mesa. I wouldnt really be that mad but that is a terrible policy Apple has at there retail stores and the manager of Irvine was a tool.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

One word:
Checkbook

Get a checkbook they are great for those large purchases. They do not have a spending limit and there is just a lot of stuff that can be done with checks that you can not do with debit cars.
Reason I still use a checkbook today is to pay bills that do not have an online way of doing it. for large item purchases like mac book which is well over my debit card spending limit. And paying random odds and ends it nice to have when you need it.

 

[synth3tik]

When I got my Mac Pro Apple split it into two transactions for me. The first was the ACD the second was the MP. I have a $1000 limit at my bank and all but $1800 was accounted for, from adding to the ACD transaction). I called my bank, the lady asked my mothers maiden name, put me on hold and with in less then a minute I was raise to $2000 for the day (see wanted to make sure I was able to buy all the cool stuff with it I wanted and said I could get her something too ). I wasn't that hard and I was rather pleased with how the whole thing turned out. People get frustrated, it happens were human, we have expectations that my not be met, but we some times tend to let this show, which in turn gets people mad at us, which in turn gets us more frustrated to the point of us walking out. With my incident I asked the Apple rep over the phone, "what can be done to get the computer paid for and shipped out?" We went through a couple of scenarios and picked the best one.

Buying a new computer (especially a Mac) is a very fun and exciting thing (in my mind), and if we get upset we can ruin the whole experience.

A lot of stores will re run your card as they don't always go through, some banks/CC companies are better then others, but sometimes they just come up declined because it over the daily limit or the system may be down. The later has happen to me aswell. I had just gotten paid a few days earlier and was declined at the gas pump for my $15 in gas. The system went down and everyones account came up as $1 at any ATM or POS.

So again I have never heard of that and could assume that by playing it a little different the out come may have also been different. Judging by the fact that you posted this, I can imagine that you were not at all too happy.

 

[synth3tik]

it was really the bank's fault in the first place for the limit.

Most all banks have limits on debit cards. Its not the banks fault as the bank would have all that information all over the bank. the $1500 spending limit is to protect the card holder. If someone stole his card they would not be able to spend over $1500 before the card could get reported stolen. My bank has a $1000 limit and I am fine with that. since I know about it I can easily call them while waiting in line and then when its my turn the check out I already have to daily limit set to $2000 or something.

 

[RojoLeo]

Just curious, were they running it as a debit card or credit? Because some banks maintain different limits for each, even though its the same card and account....go figure.

 

[TheAnswer]

Hopefully if I can catch a ride. It was a half hour to Irvine and then we went to South Coast in Costa Mesa. I wouldnt really be that mad but that is a terrible policy Apple has at there retail stores and the manager of Irvine was a tool.

My next step would have been their store in Newport Beach, just 10 minutes away from the South Coast store...then of course there's the one in Mission Viejo (or in Brea if you live of that end of the county).

 

[JackArc]

My next step would have been their store in Newport Beach, just 10 minutes away from the South Coast store...then of course there's the one in Mission Viejo (or in Brea if you live of that end of the county).

Yeah but it was getting late and near closing when this happened. When I talked to Wells Fargo, they said that they were not allowed to raise the spending limit even temporary over the phone. MAN, I could be on my MBP right now...well at least it was fun to use one at the store when I looked up my banks phone #....

 

[iBecks]

"Terrible Apple Retail Experience"

You having a laugh?

The store manager may well have been giving attitude, but he was correct, he can't swipe a declined card again.

Thread Title should have read "Terrible Bank Experience"

I hope you get you MacBook Pro today, you'll love it.

 

[iSaint]

Just a question, are you getting your education discount?

 

[ron dj]

I had the same problem with my debit card when I was trying to purchase my iMac from apple.com. My bank wouldn't raise my limit despite multiple attempts and a lot of time waiting, so I decided to have the bank perform an Electronic Funds Transfer. I had to go into my branch and have it done, although it cost $20 I got my iMac within weeks !

 

[JackArc]

Just a question, are you getting your education discount?

Yes. I went into my bank today and they were very very helpful and nice. They printed off some checks I could use and even called the Apple Store to confirm they would accept them for me. Hopefully I can catch a ride tonight, I'll let you know when I finally get it!

 

[840quadra]

They cannot run a card that was declined more than once ?

Wrong (for the Minnesota Apple stores at least)

Retail chains run into this ALL the time with Debit cards, many times people can call and up their limit (on the spot) and then pay for whatever it is they are attempting to buy.

I ran into this when buying my MacBook when my debit limit was $1000 .

 

[JackArc]

"Terrible Apple Retail Experience"

You having a laugh?

The store manager may well have been giving attitude, but he was correct, he can't swipe a declined card again.

Thread Title should have read "Terrible Bank Experience"

I hope you get you MacBook Pro today, you'll love it.

The attitude I got from the manager (who had 12 piercings on the face, giant plugs in the ears - basically becoming a supervisor at an Apple Store being the highest position his appearance could take him) was a douche. Did not even show a sign of sympathy and would hardly even let me explain the situation and said something along the lines of "It is not Apple's fault just so you know, it was your fault for not being familiar with your bank policies". Horrible customer relations, even if it was really my fault, you treat your customers with respect, especially one who is about to purchase a $2000 computer from your company. If I was a first time Mac buyer I dont think I would ever attempt to purchased one again. Ever.

 

[JackArc]

They cannot run a card that was declined more than once ?

Wrong (for the Minnesota Apple stores at least)

Retail chains run into this ALL the time with Debit cards, many times people can call and up their limit (on the spot) and then pay for whatever it is they are attempting to buy.

I ran into this when buying my MacBook when my debit limit was $1000 .

When was this? I went to 2 different stores and they said the same thing. Maybe they changed there policy.

 

[iSaint]

If I am not mistaken, there are also purchase protection benefits by running your card as a credit card.

 

[MovieCutter]

If I was a first time Mac buyer I dont think I would ever attempt to purchased one again. Ever.

Wow, talk about basing your hardware purchasing decisions on the wrong criteria. Don't like the customer service? Take your business elsewhere. Simple as that. Fact is, Apple can't increase your spending limit on your debit card...they're just following policy. Aside from the "attitude" you got from a manager who has probably been dealing with moronic customers all day, the store did nothing wrong.

 

[jholzner]

Wow, talk about basing your hardware purchasing decisions on the wrong criteria. Don't like the customer service? Take your business elsewhere. Simple as that. Fact is, Apple can't increase your spending limit on your debit card...they're just following policy. Aside from the "attitude" you got from a manager who has probably been dealing with moronic customers all day, the store did nothing wrong.

It's a bit hard to take your business elsewhere when he was buying directly from the company and as far as I know, Apple is the only one that makes Macs. Sure, if it was a CompUSA you could go else where but it was an Apple Retail store. Going else where to get your Mac is still buying from the company that just treated you like crap.

 

[MovieCutter]

It's a bit hard to take your business elsewhere when he was buying directly from the company and as far as I know, Apple is the only one that makes Macs. Sure, if it was a CompUSA you could go else where but it was an Apple Retail store. Going else where to get your Mac is still buying from the company that just treated you like crap.

If you want to play the "employees are the face of the company" card, I'd understand. But this is reality. A bad experience was had with a person at a place of business. It just so happened that the place of business is owned by the company that manufactures the product you want to buy. Nothing can be done about that. Don't support the retail arm of the computer company and buy from another retailer. Not much else you can do on the Mac front. If it were a PC, you have a world of brands to choose from obviously.

 

[puckhead193]

i wouldn't purchase the computer their, go straight to the other store

 

[Lancetx]

I work for a bank (not Wells Fargo) and I used to work in the ATM/Credit card department. I can tell you that this is a common occurrence as most people aren't aware of the daily debit card limit that is set by a bank. We were sometimes able to temporarily up someone's debit card limit on the fly so that a large transaction would be able to go thru, but every bank has different standards when it comes to doing that for a customer.

Either way, it's certainly not Apple's fault in any way as no merchant has any control over of that aspect of the transaction. And once a card has been declined, many merchants (not just Apple) will not attempt to run that same card again for at least 24 hours as a fraud prevention measure.

As inconvenient as the entire affair must have been, to put the blame for it on Apple or the store manager simply isn't accurate. That's just the way that these things work.

 

[sixstorm]

When I went last year to get my iMac, my debit card was declined as I had a limit of $600 a day! I forgot my checkbook (I hate checks) so I had to have my dad to drive down and put it on their credit card and then for me to write them a check. Bah, stupid banks and debit cards.