Some great thoughts here. Put me in the camp that in general, I‘ve had very good customer service from Apple. I am lucky to have many Apple Stores near me (in Los Angeles), and are particularly close to one that is in a nicer area.
I agree that:
- With so many retail employees, and the changing times / COVID / general population, your experience can be highly dependent on who you happen to speak with, the day they’re having, etc.
- Your own attitude, and self-awareness of how you come off, degree of entitlement, approach, etc. makes a BIG difference. Especially these days, where post-COVID, the level of decorum and general politeness in the US feels like an all-time low. Those in retail / customer service must have to put up with a lot more sh *t these days, and it must be trying…
- Apple‘s customer service used to be more “generous”. Over the last 7-10 years, as more people abused the system, I can imagine there’s been directives from the top-down that they had to tighten things up. As is often the case, “this is why we can’t have nice things”. The abusers eventually ruin it for all the customers who are actually being honest, and should deserve the benefit of the doubt…
I do still think that Apple’s customer service is well ahead of most other retailers. Even more so if you have AppleCare+ - almost any other extended warranty policy anywhere else, you’ll find people trying to find a way to *deny* your claim. I still feel like Apple employees are trying to find a way to *approve* your claim.