A few days ago, I went to the Apple Store located in the Bentall Centre in Kingston upon Thames, London, and bought a pair of AirPods. After using them for a few days, I noticed the left earbud wasn’t working and was making odd, irritating noises. I returned to the store on the 13th day since purchase and explained the issue. They said they were ready to help and had no problem assisting.
They went through the process, but when it came to disabling Find My and removing the device from my phone, it wasn’t working. They told me to come back the next day. I returned on the 14th day, which was the last day under Apple’s return policy. They tried again and said I’d need to speak with U.S. customer service to disconnect it on their end.
During these two days, I called Apple about 10 to 13 times, speaking to different staff, managers, and store employees. I was incredibly frustrated, as no one seemed to know the solution. Some Apple staff admitted they’d seen this issue before and that only headquarters could fix it. I asked them, since it was my last day, if I came back tomorrow, would they still help me. They said yes.
On the 15th day (when Apple’s policy no longer applied), I returned. The manager, named Lee, was very rude, hostile, and angry with me. He told me the matter was between me and the company that financed the purchase (Recreation). He said I needed to call them. When I asked him to speak to them on the phone, he shouted, saying he couldn’t do that and it wasn’t his problem. He claimed I was late, even though they had told me they’d help.
They lied to me, and it was extremely upsetting. I stayed calm, but even the Recreation representative on the phone said, “Why are they speaking to you like this?” I felt defeated. Lee told me I had to keep the faulty product and that he wouldn’t help me. Eventually, I had to speak to multiple managers and customer service after more calls and waiting. Finally, someone from Apple helped by sending me replacement earbuds, and I returned the faulty ones.
Though the issue is now resolved, I’m left with a terrible feeling. I don’t want to return to that Apple Store. I expected much better behavior from a manager, but he was hostile as if he had a personal problem with me. I hadn’t done anything besides ask what to do. I didn’t argue. Even the person from Recreation heard everything and wondered why he acted that way.
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