Apple Store

Dude fuck the wait is to fucking long so many employees and none can help what kind of company hires so many and help less

I love my friends at the Apple store.
Love, Anette. xo

I will cut right to the chase: **Luke Ralph** at the Apple store in the Grove provided the best customer service I could have ever asked for, in anything.
My family and I were on an ancient plan with Verizon and we needed some serious help navigating the system and figuring out how to best update our monthly plan and get a new iPhone. I will leave out all the technical details, but it was a very annoying situation and Luke’s patience and professionalism were extremely admirable and made the ordeal a very bearable experience.
First off, he opened the door for a woman with a baby stroller as my mom and I walked in after her, and so he was naturally the first person I asked for help. I really cannot explain how hard he worked to help figure out the best possible plan for us, and how respectful he was as I translated every now and then to my mom whose English isn’t her strong suit.
He called Verizon for us twice (!) to ensure that our phone numbers and information would seamlessly be transferred to our new phones, and was really nice about explaining and re-(re-)explaining what to expect on the bills of our new plan with Verizon. I personally have no patience to decipher the fine print of these types of contracts, but I really trusted Luke’s knowledge on this matter. I was very impressed and very thankful I had him to help us out. I really appreciate how he acted as our advocate and allowed us to be more educated consumers, and I think he went above and beyond to help us. In fact, we were there for probably over 2 hours while Luke assisted us. (I think I saw Adam Scott from «Parks and Rec» during that time in the store too, he’s a tiny little, stressed-​out looking thing… but anyway…)
Please give Luke all the promotions and doubloon$! I never would have expected such great help at the Grove of all places in LA (anyone remember the Abercrombie store at the Grove in the early 2000s? yikes…), but there you go. This Unilocal review is the least I could do to give him some recognition. Thanks again Luke!

Worst customer service ever, they send you the message saying you’re ALMOST ready to see the specialist and then you keep waiting for 1 hour more just to get help!!! Be ready to wait forever…

On a positive note, this store is beautiful, high traffic, and in a great location. On a negative note, the service could be more efficient and user-​friendly. The rest of this review is a rant about the service.
How do you wreck the biggest company (market cap) on the planet? Fail to create new must-​have products and offer lackluster service on existing ones. That was my experience at the Grove Apple Store, where apathy for customer service and rigid policies that disregard common sense and logic in operations management made me feel extremely frustrated. I was forced to wait almost two hours just to finally have a tech restart my phone — something that could have been done immediately if they were actually interested in efficient service.
I have been here on three occasions to repair or replace an iPhone. Each time, whether I had an appointment or not, I was expected to wait over an hour to get assistance from a «genius» while multiple sales associates stood idle. In all fairness, many of these sales associates have good attitudes and are knowledgeable– but they are limited by the aforementioned guidelines and policies to offer quick and helpful service. I understand there is a high demand for «geniuses» and I have to wait my turn, but that should signal to store management that they need to hire more techs to keep up with this demand. Instead customers are expected to peruse the latest accessories and sit at wood stools/​benches indefinitely.
On this particular morning, I arrived to a nearly empty second floor but still had to wait almost two hours (I was told the wait would be 45 minutes — and no one mentioned they had a regularly scheduled 30 minute meeting for geniuses during this time period) just to replace a 6-​month old phone that died on me. When I asked the manager to have someone look at my phone so I could determine whether or not to wait, she stared at me with resting B face and regurgitated their Genius Bar policies. Finally after 110 minutes, a helpful tech started to explain how I would have to pay for a new phone because my phone wasn’t under warranty — before even looking at my phone. When I asked him to examine it, he was able to restart it in no time, and we discovered there was nothing wrong with the phone after all. (Somehow it had shut off the day before and wouldn’t turn on — but he knew which buttons to push to reboot it.) So — my two hour wait could have been a five minute quick fix if someone had taken the time to understand my problem.
I purchased a new case for my iPhone 6, but to add insult to injury– I had to pay $ 5 for parking because the Apple Store validation only covers the first two hours. Lmao.

Had one of those experiences that inspire you to to take the time to write a review. One star for incompetent douchey-​looking door greeter who may have been a floor manager, left his shift and me waiting and forgot to send a sales associate my way when I explicitly told him I was there to buy a laptop. The other employee who actually helped me through my purchase deserves 5 stars. First employee made for a poor experience purchasing my first apple computer, won’t be returning to this location.

I went in to try and exchange my broken charger and thought it would be a quick run in. They told me I unfortunately had to wait 45 min for the exchange and after waiting, it couldn’t be exchanged because my phone wasn’t under warranty anymore. I was pretty bummed considering the fact how I waited so long to be denied. & on top of that, they supposedly validated my parking ticket but when I was leaving the garage, I had to pay the full amount. Waste of time and money.

The products I use (iPhone and MacBook Pro) are great.
The staff at this store is incompetent and apathetic. Just waiting to get seen by a tech I was quoted 50 mins. An hour later they text me to let me know they pushed my appointment back an additional hour. In a world where time is of the essence you’d expect the Apple Store to be a quick pleasant experience.

Picked up my laptop which was fixed in 4 days of the estimated 7. Replaced logic board after failed video test at no cost thanks to the recall on this model/​year (google it).
Parking sucks.
Everything here at the Grove is congested, over populated. Visiting this store/​The Grove should be treated like an event, it won’t be a quick in-​and-​out.
Apple associate at Genius Bar, Charles is who I worked with when I picked up my laptop. Before he unraveled and opened and I tested my laptop he asked me to sign for the transaction. Made me uncomfortable so I asked if I could check out the laptop first and he said Yeah but either way you have to sign because (mumble.). I said Okay but stalled while he opened and booted up my laptop because I really wanted to just see it up and running for peace of mind. I don’t even know what signing the damn thing means but I wanted to sign afterward. Again he asked me to sign before my laptop was on, so even though I didn’t want to and signing it maybe doesn’t make any difference as far as finalizing the transaction, I signed his stupid thing before I got to see the laptop turn on, log in, etc.
Again it probably means nothing but cant you just let me check the shit out first? Gah…

My adapter wouldn’t work this morning. I looked up how much they were online. $ 26.99 across the board. To be fair, I did not go into the Apple website to look up the price. I Googled it, and what Google gave me was a sea of $ 26.99. Thinking, ‘Oh, that Apple, overcharging people for an adapter that’s going to crap out in 3 years,’ I headed over to the nearest Apple store. Upon entering, my eyes didn’t register the staircase leading up to the second floor because they were too distracted by lack of tables with Apple gizmos usually found in Apple stores. I walked around looking for adapters, then noticed the staircase.
The second floor was more of what I was used to seeing in an Apple store except this location was quieter — almost museum-​esque. With so many people sitting around, it was… a bit creepy. I found the adapters but there were several kinds, and I wanted to make sure that the problem was indeed the adapter.
With no one offering me help, I finally broke the silence by telling the environment that I was confused and needed help. A customer pointed to a sales associate just standing there not acknowledging me. So I asked her if she could help me. She looked confused. Then asked what I needed. I told her that I think my adapter crapped out and needed help getting another one.
About 10 minutes later another sales associate, or um, a Genius Bar Technician (?), Genius Bartender (?) came up asking me if he could help. I told him that I think my adapter stopped working and wanted to make sure before purchasing another one. He check it, and told me it was my adapter. Thinking highly of Apple quality, I told him that it was only 3 years old and asked him if that was normal. He told me that I’m lucky that the problem was the adapter and not my laptop — which didn’t address my question at all.
Not wanting to make waves inside the store, I asked him for a new one. In the store, the adapter was $ 79.00. Confused, I admitted that I wasn’t an Apple expert and wanted to know why there was such a price difference. He grabbed the adapter and as he walked away said, «If you’re on a budget, you can get it online.» Which again, didn’t address my question at all.
So I turned to the environment and said, «Well, it’s not exactly that I’m on a budget, it’s just that $ 80 versus $ 26… just makes me feel like I’d be throwing money away.» To which a dapper man sitting quietly gave me an awkward smile.
If the other customers quietly getting serviced or waiting to be serviced was an indication, maybe a typical Apple customer has money and time to spend on nothing, or maybe be put in place by snotty, pretentious customer service providers — which just seems ironic enough to appeal to people with money and time to spend on nothing. I can say with confidence that that is something I would never volunteer to do because I’ll always invest and spend time on sleep before nothing. And I refuse to be put in place by a shop girl or boy with an attitude.
In this case, I would replace Eek! with Ew! Methinks not.

Had such a great experience at this store ! If I had 10 stars to give it I would! But first and foremost I want to thank the customer service rep that assisted me in answering all my questions. I salut you Walter. This man is not only knowledgeable about his work flow but showed me in just a matter of 15 minutes how great of a work ethic he has. I went in there with my I phone 6 and he not only took the time to hear me out with the reason for my visit but made the appointment fast and simple. Let’s give this guy a round of applause!!! Cuidate Walter! Much love to you and your wife. Take great care of yourself bud.

Apple does need to improve after-​sale services. First of all, I have to say apple products seem cool at first sight. But that does not last long. Everyone who uses mac around me pays to change a new battery just one or two years after purchase. Not to mention other compatible problems while using the softwares. Today I went back to store again because there is a problem with the display of my mac.
After a two-​and-​a-​half-​hour wait, I checked in with the staff upstairs with an ipad and waited again for a «technician» to diagnose my laptop. The «technician» showed up, backed up my mac, went away and never showed up again. I waited for A WHILE and went to the check-​in guy to ask what happens next, and he told me my appointment was canceled because I did not show up for checking in??? How ridiculous??? No one apologized and I have to wait for a new appointment. The next technician seemed unprofessional as well. A very simple diagnosis process in apple store cost me 4 hours today. The huge attitude difference compared to downstairs (the sales) impressed me the most. I think after-​sales service is even more important than sales in order to keep your customers loyal.

As someone that has shockingly good luck with electronics I very rarely have to go to the Apple Store. But every time I’ve had to go in (usually for phone upgrades) I’ve had an awesome experience. I’m always greeted promptly and helped right away. I suppose it helps that I typically go during slower hours but all of the associates I’ve talked to are in good moods and laugh at my dumb jokes.
Today I had to say goodbye to my beloved 5s and hello to a new 6s. ALBERT helped me out and gave me solid advice on which cases would work best for me (I walk dogs for a living so drops on concrete are a constant threat) and happily went over all of the new and exciting features. CEDRIC happily talked to me while Albert was taking care of all of the paperwork and was super cool. Automatic brownie points for complimenting my tattoo too lol!
Even though parking and tourist dodging is the bane of my existence being helped out by these fine folks is worth the chaos. Y’all are babes and awesome people, thank you!

Kent in the Genius Bar droppin his knowledge! He is a cool and very patient man!
Brennan on MacBooks rocks!
While I was just standing around mingling with all the gadgets the staff would ask if assistance was needed.
Super cool store!

This location is in The Grove area by the large fountain. Had to go to the Apple Store to get info on a logic board repair for a MacBook Air. Genius Bar was located upstairs and the associate was very polite and helpful. He was quickly able to diagnose the issue and recommend a few options. He was also able to weigh out the price for repairs if we wanted to try a third party but found repair through Apple would make the most sense and was most cost effective.
The main floor was like any other Apple Store; a beautiful showroom with all of their shiny products. Will return again soon.

Called Apple on 10 February with a problem concerning my MacBook. During my chat session, I was asked if I wanted to make an appointment at The Grove. The appointment was made for the 11^th (Today). Get to The Grove at around 12:15 for a 12:30 appointment. Walk in, was directed upstairs to check in, and then have a seat at the Genius bar. Around 12:20 a gentleman comes by, asks my name, and says that someone will be with me shortly. Around 12:25, a young woman comes to help me out and I tell her why I’m there. I receive a new charger and my Mac is going in for service after a few checks. I’m out of there by 12:45.
Alexis, thank you for your professionalism and great customer service!

If it was possible to give 0 stars, that would be the most accurate depiction of this store. Really apple support and care in general, from the online to in-​store service. My journey began with me having online care via chat, and each attempt failing with the final one setting up an in store appt so I can swap out my phone. Cool, sounds easy enough. They were 15 mins late to my appt, which then ran into my MacBook appt time. This pushing back my entire process. FML.
Aside from that, they failed to mention that a swapping was actually a purchase, whereas in the past they’ve swapped out refurbished phones for me for free. This time I got passed around to a few apathetic employees trying to sell me on the newest phone via the upgrade program… requiring me to come into a physical Apple Store each time I wanted to upgrade my phone.
Why in God’s name would I ever want to come into the store again? –_​–
So I opted for the swap for 300 bucks just to avoid this hell hole altogether.
Made me wait again for that. So an hour has passed for a supposed 15 min appt.
Sweet. Livid. Peeved.

Went BACK to The Grove Apple store because there was a list of things going wrong with my iPhone 6S plus. Sat at the table like i always do… Elias, the «genius» person came over and from the second he opened his mouth he was rude and unfriendly. I was so taken back because I have never experienced this with apple EVER.
I waited for him to do the «diagnostics» on the phone… and I know apple well enough to know that he did nothing of the sort. He picked up the iPad so I couldn’t see it and was typing the entire time. His response was «i don’t see anything wrong with it» and i explained that all my notes were in the reservation notes because it was to much to cover AGAIN. He asked me what I wanted him to do about the «alleged» issues and I said id like them fixed or phone replaced seeing its within the warranty.
So…he had me wipe my phone and then tells me «oh it looks like we just ran out of this phone». I literally sat there and looked at him because I knew he was being a douche. I said well we need to figure this out because my phone needs to be fixed and you’re not helping. He then proceeded to announce OUTLOUD in the store that I was rude. I told him he was the one being rude, condescending and as assh****. At that point I had enough i went to find two floor managers and told them that Eias was the WORST individual I have ever felt with as long as I have used apple (and thats quite a long time).
Needless to say, I left and went to the Bev Center store and my problem was solved in under 10 minutes. I will NEVER go to the Grove stores ever again. Ill go the extra distance.

Last minute Christmas shopping –_​_​– as expected, the mall was packed!
I stopped by last night to purchase a MacBook Air and had only three questions so I walked right by a couple of red shirt gentleman (one of them being a bald headed ‘trying to grow a full beard’ guy) who were having a full on conversation, didn’t want to interrupt so I walked straight to the back (no line) but still waited to be called on. There was three red shirt gentleman (chatting among themselves) and a lady behind the counter who answered one question and wrongly directed me to were their MacBooks were– no biggie she was also helping other people.
I then decided to approach one of the gentleman (the bald-​patchy bearded guy) who was still in front of the store chatting. He quickly cuts me off to tell me that I have to go to the back and sign up for some help. At this point his face is slowly killing my holiday spirit (I check my time) and decided to come back later.
«Later» comes and there he is… Still standing there with his bald-​patchy-​bearded-​self talking to a different red shirt gentleman. This time around the guy his talking to greets me and asks if I need help FINALLY! I ask if I can see the MacBooks and BAM! he asks the patchy bearded guy to help me lol At this point I really didn’t even need help but since he «joyfully» agreed to help I just started asking random questions witch he pretty much answered with «you should just buy it online then». Now, his presence had become irritating so I asked for the laptop and when he came back I gracefully decided to hit up BestBuy.
Overall, the star/​review is for the Customer Service Dept. at this location.
Ps
Shout Out to Gerson at BestBuy on La Brea and Romaine St.
Happy Holidays!

I’ve never bought anything from this Apple Store, but I feel like I’ve been inside several times. Not sure why this would be, as I don’t particularly enjoy hanging out at Apple Stores. Maybe it just has some kind of gravitational pull on iPhone-​owning yuppies who happen to be at The Grove.
The last time I went, I actually walked to The Grove in order to get to this Apple Store. I’d just done a six-​mile march on the centennial of the Armenian genocide, which ended on Wilshire just west of Fairfax, in a sea of pedestrians. I walked all the way up to 3^rd and Fairfax to try and meet an Über, only to have my phone run out of power before I could secure a ride. It’d been a long time since I’d found myself phoneless and carless in L.A. Not a great feeling. I ended up borrowing a stranger’s cell phone, calling my husband, and arranged for him to pick me up from The Grove, where I would charge my cell phone.
Which is how I ended up sweaty, awkward, and alone at this Apple Store, tied to a charger for a demo iPhone. The employee I talked to was really nice about this when I asked, and told me I could unplug any device to steal its juice. I stood at the innermost corner station, doing my best to pretend I was just checking out this cool new phone. Eventually, I got too tired to stand and took a seat about six feet away. Two dudes wandered over to my iPhone and started touching on it and I watched them creepily from my perch before peeping up to say it wasn’t a demo.
Anyway, great Apple Store. As far as I can tell, this location is pretty similar to others, just maybe bigger and Grovier. Would recommend if you need anything from an Apple Store, whether that be a laptop, an Apple Watch, or a charger on the go.