During my visit to Columbia Mall, I decided to pay a visit to the Apple Store to browse their products. While I looking at the latest iPhone products on display, I overheard a voice that was on the Apple Store's speakers. I asked an Apple Store employee about the voice that I was hearing on the store's speakers. The Apple Store employee informed that there was an iPhone photography presentation, and I was invited to sit in on it. The presentation in progress was: 'Photo Skills: Photography on iPhone'. The Apple Store employee was an excellent presenter and engaged with those in attendance. The presenter demonstrated the photographic capabilities of Apple's iPhone 11. My cellphone is an Android, Samsung Galaxy S7. I was learning to utilize the photographic capabilities of my Android for the first time. After the 'Photo Skills: Photography on iPhone' presentation the Apple Store employees were more than willing to assist me with my numerous inquiries of the Apple products that were on display. I commended the Apple Store employees for their excellent customer service. Each employee was personable towards me. I was also invited to apply for a position as an Apple Store employee, once I told them I possessed a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Technology from Bowie State University. I am appreciative for the time, energy, and effort from each Apple Store employee that I interacted with. read more

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I've been to a good number of Apple Stores: Denver, Seattle, Honolulu, Toronto, Tyson's Corner, Montgomery Mall and Bethesda. I've reviewed a few and I'm quite sure I've given them 5 star and certainly no lower than 4. Apple makes quality products and their support is great. Usually the assistance both sales and technical are great and if one person can't help you they will pass you on to someone who can. That did not happen here. The sales staff had no respect for the customer and deliberately went out of their way to not be helpful and not even care about them not making a simple sale of an iPhone. I will not be returning to this store. I will make my purchase at another Apple Store, likely Montgomery Mall because a droid is not an option... read more

My experience at this location was 10,000 times better than my experience at the Towson location! The team at this location were extremely personal and empathetic to my situation. My service was fast and efficient. Michael Smith, my associate, was so informative and was actually able to provide strategic guidance and information on additional apple products/services. Thank goodness for Michael and the Apple Store at Columbia Mall, you all have effortlessly reinstated my faith in your ability to provide exceptional and efficient customer service. If possible, please work internally with the Towson location on streamlining professional development or establishing a professional learning network that works to uphold consistency in how customers are treated across locations. Shame on the Towson Location and Scott Garcia! Kudos, to Michael Smith and the team at Columbia Mall. You have a life long customer and the big wigs, need to offer your team a GOLD star for customer service and customer satisfaction! Please call me if you need further elaboration read more

I went to the apple store & scheduled an appointment prior to walking in. They did take me on time for my appointment. I was interested I purchasing a Mac book. The staff that assisted me stood far away with Covid distance . He instructed that I yell because he couldn't hear me . I picked out the color & style . When he checked the inventory they were all sold out . I let him know that I would like to still purchase , pay for it in the store & have it mailed to me or pick up at another location. He claimed that I would have to go home & pay for it online or go to another store that had it in stock. I was disappointed due to it was a waste to visit the store & the purchasing rules were sad . I thought going to the store was a good idea because I had questions about the product but I guess not . read more

The worst Apple Store in the DC/Baltimore Area. Every time I go in, it takes 30 minutes minimum just to pickup and online order or repair. Several (but not all) of their team members are just rude. 'You're just going to have to wait' is a common phrase spoken to me. Get your products shipped directly to your home instead or go to Annapolis, Towson, or Montgomery Mall. Avoid Apple Store Columbia at all costs! read more

The Columbia apple store has a lot problems. Many issues are likely related to COVID, so I understand. But there is no excuse for some of poor customer service I received in this store. The salesperson said that my new iPhone 12 Pro Max was activated and asked me to call someone. I did. He said if it is ringing, it is activated. Not true. It takes quite a few ring before getting a "your phone is not activated" message. Found that out at home, when I couldn't receive a 6-digit access codes to access my iCloud to set-up my new phone. The new phone was a brick. I called apple support and they said the new phone was not activated. After some back and forth, I eventually got my carrier to properly activate my phone. What is most disturbing is that I asked the salesperson if he could PLEASE call my new phone OR could I call a phone in the store to ensure my new phone was activated. I got a rude 'No' and a 'I don't have a phone' and 'it's activated'. I was well prepared for my appointment to keep within the 15 minute time limit. They can't even give you that. The store takes your old phone, takes your money for the new phone, and can't be bothered with anything else. They want you out of the store ASAP, with a brick. read more

The wait time is horrible. The worst apple store I've ever been to. You make an appointment and still have to wait 45-or more minutes for someone to figure out what's going on. The Annapolis location or Bethesda is better but I was desperate. read more

Worst Apple Store experience. Ordered online. Emailed me that order is ready to pick up. Arrived at store and they pick everything making everyone wait and wait for 10 minutes plus. Don't understand how it takes that long to pick items. Also, extremely dissatisfied about told ready to pick up and not ready at all. We are not coming back here, thats for sure. Greeter was helpful, though. This review gets 1 star plus an extra star for the greeter. read more

I wish I can give MINUS five start to this location. Worst customer service ever ... managers dont care about client experience, looks like i went to a dollar store versus an apple store ... they literally don't care... Went there several times with same issue with my phone , nothing got resolved . read more

This store really helped me a lot. They spent an extraordinary amount of time catering to my needs snd making sure all of my problems are handled. They not only cared about my technology needs, but also cared about me as a person. Thank you to the Apple Store. read more

Super super unprofessional. One of the main reasons I dislike apple is my lack of trust in the product. 2nd reason is the incompetent staff. A handful of stores are good, this is not one of them. Came in today with my girlfriend to get her Mac looked at for a loading issue. We just missed her 5:30pm appointment by 8min. Luckily, she still had a 6pm appointment by mistake. We got checked in for the 5:30pm and we're told to hang close to the genius bar. Once we found an open spot at 5:50pm we asked to be helped. The young man who said he'll assist us disappeared into the back and didn't appear again. Currently, it's been another 20min. And no show. We've had to flag down 2 additional employees. One of which told us the guy who originally checked us in.. did no such thing. Now that we've been checked into the 6pm appointment. It's been another 11min.. no employees have assisted us, and I just saw the one who wanted to help us.. walk out of the store. Oh yay, finally.. after another flagged employee.. we're getting assistance. Just hope I can make my dinner plans at 7pm.. .............and almost on my way out at 6:31. Finally got someone that ran back between us and another client. All the wait time and we were told we'd have to come back and to use an external drive in order to reinstall the OS and backup the data. Sorry apple, but we're not spending the money to buy the external here when best buy is cheaper. Not to mention I've got 3 drives at home. Now we're just waiting for the "print out" of a report they're typing up. While waiting I'm seeing that the guy next to me is being told that his screen will either be replaced or he'll have to get another computer.. $300 screen or a new $1500 laptop. Lol.. And... We out. ---------- Previously had this review on the Aveda store. I was so upset, I wrote the review on the wrong store page! read more

It's Apple. And when you have any Apple product you're typically willing to sit, and wait, as long as you have to, to get service. I've had Apple since 2010 and never looked back. It's awesome. As for the store, they're all the same. Great service, cool and trendy. No complaints here. The people are really helpful. Never had a bad experience in 7 years!! (Just knocked on some wood!lol). read more

Went in to purchase a pair of the new Beats Fit Pros and was quickly treated with wonderful customer service (I believe the employee's name was Nadine). After getting home and trying them on, I realized that the new design wasn't a great match for my ear, so I headed back to swap them out. The return process was equally as smooth as the initial purchase. I was helped out by yet another wonderful employee, Bri, who made the transaction so quick and easy. Overall I had a wonderful experience at this location. read more

Just visited the Apple Store @ Columbia MD Mall for service on my Beats headset. Waited over 45 minuets for my appointed time, and still unable to get problem resolved. Forget about having a set appointment.... it just means to show up in AM or PM. Talked with Store Manager Zack K and he was useless. One fellow customer had to leave and use a bathroom. When he returned, they would not let him back into his timeslot. Said they would have him 'removed' from the store if he complained. I recommended to Apple that they close the Store for a week. Retrain the staff. AND, fire Zack! read more

This Apple store is the not customer service oriented or professional, all the way from The management down! I wasted my time with these people and they don't seem to care or understand why they are working there for Apple in my personal opinion! This is why you see all the bad reviews on Yelp! I will find a new location to shop. read more

Came to apple store given I had an "Genius appointment". The line for anyone who has an appt and everything else is super long. This is not acceptable during a pandemic. I offered to leave my phone and they can call me. But the staff who is assigned to the line said we can't do that. I thought apple could do better then this during a pandemic. Very disappointing! This is the time to think different ways how you can implement different ways to keep the business going. I don't think apple cares about it's customer. Since they have the business. read more

Ok... Apple Stores are normally very punctual. Not this Location!!! Had a 4:15 appointment and we were there for over two hours. The technician that was helping us wasn't knowledgeable and was trying to help too many at one time. Instead of completely helping one customer before moving on to the next. Please don't waste time at this location. read more

This review is for the manager on duty today only. I brought my iMac to the Genius Bar last week. I was scheduled by a very kind and competent senior advisor (in Arizona) over the phone. I updated my software and the prohibited symbol came up. After 4 calls to Apple I finally got scheduled to take in the device. I mistakenly brought my power cord plugged into the iMac and the associate who was assisting me didn't remove it. He must've thought it was the store's. His name was Michael and he was great. Very friendly and helpful. He determined I needed to check in the computer and they would have to do a system reinstall. My computer was ready for pick up a few days later. I picked it up Tuesday and didn't realize the power cord wasn't there. Of course it was my mistake but I doubt I will be the last person to do that. I called the local number of the store but I got rerouted to the main Apple care line and wasted 30 minutes of my life with some buffoon who has zero customer service skills only to have his snarky senior manager get on the line and tell me that I should go to the store. I ended up corresponding with the senior advisor named John who had set up my appointment for me. He followed up and was nothing but courteous. He sent me a replacement cord since I had a feeling I would get more pushback if I schlepped to the store. So the lackluster review is strictly for the manager on duty today at the Columbia store. He could have asked the associate to patch me through and resolved it. Instead he made me wait on hold only to be told the obvious. Clearly from the other reviews this location needs to work on customer service. Michael was the exception to the rule here. read more

This is quite possibly the saddest Apple store I've ever seen. Usually, they're big centerpieces in trendy, high-traffic spots, but this one is just another tenant in a suburban strip mall. It's quite small even given that. When I showed up, there was a small line, which I got in. Oddly enough, I didn't need to be in that particular line. Fortunately, I had only waited five or ten minutes before someone told me that, and it was only another five minutes until I picked up my order. The person I spoke with was quite pleasant, and was juggling me and another gentleman who needed more substantive help in an obvious effort to clear the lines. I've been on the other end of that as a salesperson; some people don't like it but I'm all for getting the line moving. Of course, the iDevices that everyone was using took several tries to figure out my pre-ordered pickup and sign me out. I was happy to get out without further delay, only to find later that I needed some extra service to actually use what I bought because Verizon is a bunch of jackasses. Not Apple's fault primarily, but someone really ought to have told me that my iPad with cellular doesn't work with all cellular companies out of the box. At the end of the day, nothing really went badly wrong, but the other Apple stores in the area are larger and generally run smoother. I don't see any real reason to choose this one unless you have to. read more

My partner and I will definitely come back to this store. Allison was great at customer service and she was able to help us send our computer to get fixed. If you come to this store for repairs ask for her. read more

I'm from Frederick and made the trip to return an Apple TV yesterday. I made an appointment online on Monday for 6:15, but showed up a little earlier and got in line. The workers were really proactive in making the line as short as possible. I hopped in the new line. I told the worker I had an appointment but I just needed to return something and he fast tracked me to a register. The young woman working the register (I guess you could call it a register..?) was AWESOME. She was bright and cheery and made the process even better. I was a little skeptical going in because I saw some iffy reviews, but I was back to my car before my appointment time even started. This is why I love Apple! What a streamlined and effective process. read more

Horrible customer service. I checked in for a battery replacement appointment at 4 pm, and was told to wait in the back of the store until a representative came to assist me. This didn't happen, and after an hour of waiting I asked an employee about the hold up, but it turns out they just forgot to check up. I waited 10 more minutes and an employee finally came up to me, ran some diagnostics on my phone, and then told me that the battery I requested (an iPhone XR battery) was out of stock. I could have saved more than an hour of my time through a 5-minute conversation. What was the point of scheduling an appointment if I was going to wait for an hour anyways? Will not go back here. read more

The worst Genius Bar support customer service ever! It has been two weeks and my MacBook is not repaired with no updates. Although I called the Columbia Mall store, the automated voice always transfer to the general support out of state. Apple sends you the round-around on purpose. I will never buy another Apple product. read more

Dropped my phone off at 3pm to repair a speaker issue. Was told phone should be ready at 4:40pm. When I arrived the store was shut down and people were waiting outside. Apparently they closed the store with no explanation to everyone waiting outside. They have my only phone. I now have to pull back up tomorrow and pray I can get my phone back. Terrible communication. Phone basically stolen. read more

This store is super-de-dooper AWESOME. I am still kicking myself that we didn't actually buy our Macbook from here and not Best Buy. I've had so many problems with software issues and programming there. I finally took it over to the Apple Store and they've been a lifesaver ever since. Anything and everything I need they will provide with a smile and a wave of the hand like, "It's no biggie." Needless to say, Macs are the best computers to stand the test of time (I'm a total PC convert) so I usually don't need any service. But when I do, I don't mind making an appointment or waiting 10-15 minutes. It's worth it for the exemplary, personalized service you get. read more

I LOVE having an Apple store near me at the Mall in Columbia! For your best result, you should go online and get an appointment before you visit, otherwise you will wait a long time. This place is always crowded. I'm a longtime dyed in the wool Mac fangrrl - I've been running a MAC LANs and the main troubleshooter for all tech issues in HoCo schools since 1992 - but even I have new things to learn! Your Genius bar is well, genius! Even though my school system provides teachers with laptops, I've always bought my own for personal use, too! Recently, my 2011 MacBook Air said "startup disk full" even though most all my documents, movies, and images were stored on Dropbox and NOT on the HD! I was freaking out because I was the opening keynote speaker at an EdTech conference out of state in the next few days and because of this problem (as I surmised) my PPT was crashing every time I went to into show mode. Ack! Thank goodness I bought the extended Apple Care so even years later I could make an appt. and come to the store and have someone help me! Amazing Apple employee Maya J. helped me at the Genius Bar and showed me that even though my docs were stored in the cloud on the Dropbox they were also mirrored on my HD & fixed that via the preferences. I was so happy - I even Intagrammed & Tweeted about her! Maya was warm, friendly, patient, brilliant, and a great teacher! Thank you so much for having such an amazing team of tech leaders! Also, one of my former students, James Blackwell, is a manager there - I'm so proud! My only complaint about the store (which is ALWAYS crowded!) and why you lost a star from me- is it's Always TOO HOT! Ya'll need to work on the AC because that heat is not good for the machines and miserable for customers who are waiting or taking classes. read more

Apple Store - Helpful & sweet Genius Bar Apple Store Employee Maya. She rocks! - Mobile Phones Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

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So either the Apple store website is inaccurate or the sales rep I had a short conversation with is very unknowledgable. I wanted trade in an old MacBook for store credit. I was told by the sales rep that they no longer do trade-ins in store, which is funny because when I was at the Apple store a month ago I saw a couple doing a trade in for an Apple Watch. I informed the grumpy saleswomen of this fact and she stated that she's been with the company 3 years and they stopped doing in-store trade ins 2 years ago. Did they stop doing trade ins 2 years or was it the last time this woman performed a transaction with a trade-in? Who knows? But instead of saying no and asking if there was anything else I needed help with, she proceeded to helping the next customer and ignoring me. I took my computer to Best Buy and got the trade in done within a few minutes. I will not be coming back to this Apple location. It takes way too long to check out when I just want a pair of headphones. The sales associates seem more interested in each other or whatever gadget their own instead of the customer. Apple needs to implement self checkout for those customers who want to buy simple stuff such as headphones. read more

This review is for a repair...or, not a repair as it turns out. Take your computer ANYWHERE else first. My 2014 Macbook Air decided one day to go to sleep and not wake up. Took it to the Apple store in Columbia. The 'genius' hooked up some wires, turned it on, ran a preliminary systems check as I watched, and asked to hold onto it because he did not really see anything wrong. I informed the 'genius' that my computer functioned properly with no glitches, hiccups, or issues. It just goes to sleep and does not wake. So I left it. Two days later, I get a message to call and check in. When I called, I spoke to the most obnoxious woman with zero customer service training. She said they were unable to turn on my computer (lie number one), didn't know what was wrong with it, and wanted me to pay $500 to have it sent out and repaired. I was initially silent, as my brain was trying to figure out how to process this information. I asked her what exactly was wrong with my computer? She said she didn't know. Again, I was pretty quiet and in disbelief. She proceeded to say something like, 'hello? did you hear me? what do you want to do?' When I pointed out to her the ridiculous nature of handing over $500 to repair an $800 computer that is two years old with an undiagnosed issue, she then replied 'I don't know how to explain this to you in a way you can understand. I'm helping you out because any repair would cost at least $400 for the part. You're going to save money (lie number two).' More silence from me, and she said, 'hello, you don't sound happy.' Really?!?!? You are trying to tell me I need to spend $500 and lose work productivity for who knows how long for an issue you can't even tell me about?!?! I relayed an example of a car repair, where they tell you the problem first before charging you. I asked this dense woman what happens if the repair is $50? Then she told me 'you should have purchased Apple Care.' Yes, at this point, I was throat-punching level of angry. Needless to say, I retrieved my computer, took it to MacMedic in Severna Park, and am typing this review on my computer after they looked at it for 15 minutes. They said the software was not finding the hard drive. Zero dollars. They even told me how to fix the issue if it comes up again. Two stars for the kind gentleman who handed me my computer at the Apple store who actually made some good suggestions (reminded me that if I purchased my computer on a credit card, the credit card company might extend my warranty). But he also told me that it is very likely they did diagnose the problem as a hardware issue (lie number three) but did not want to misrepresent the actual problem, and the ONLY way to get it fixed was to send it out (number four). read more

It's was the quickest I've ever been in an Apple store I was in and out in 15 minutes I was very skeptical about going to this store because of all the bad reviews it is very packed but the people were nice and quick read more

Amazing customer service here. A man named Michael helped me today and he was kind and honestly he knows his way around a computer better then any1 in the towson store! Also they do cool workshops for the mac products if you ever wanna brush up ur knowledge on it. read more

Horrible store , I had to wait over 4 hours , to get an answer of , the phone would have to be shipped out , to a different location , Matt the store manager was not helpful, neither was the woman helping me. Received a text a week later saying that the phone was ready for pick up, went to the store phone wasn't there., asked to speak with Matt he was no where to be found later saw him eating a salad in the Conner of the store . Called Apple ,support via phone, and was told to go back to the store, for additional information . .... Hate this place ! Go to a different location if you can, this location , staff needs additional training ! And professional development , and better leadership skills. read more

What's the point of scheduling an appointment if you have to wait forever anyway. And ppl who came in after me are being pushed ahead for some reason. Lots of staff talking amongst themselves about what to do after work. read more

It was super busy and I expected to wait to see a specialist. However I was told to make an appointment and they got me in 15 min later! Great Right?!? Until they didn't text me a link to check in and then proceeded to be rude when I walked up to somebody to ask what was going on. 30 minutes later a specialist finally introduced themselves, turns out they didn't have the color that was said to be in stock 40 minutes ago by another employee. Not a biggie, I'm not picky... but the specialist proceeded to explain they did not honor military discounts in store then turned away. No offer for help or even a simple have a nice day. Shitty employees, all it takes is a nice attitude. We know your busy we don't mind waiting the least you can do is communicate nicely. read more

Femi at the Columbia Mall helped my daughter when one of her AirPods stopped working and he was so kind to her and gave great customer service. And she was still in warranty with her AirPods, so she got a new one. Thank you Femi read more

I mean, if you want them to tell you they can fix something and then have you return to find out that they didn't fix it because they couldn't find the part (that they said they had in stock) then this is the store for you. Easily the WORST experience I have ever had at an Apple store. And believe me, my husband and I have spent a pretty penny with them so I have nothing against the company but this store is really poorly run. So let's start from the beginning of the day when we walked in. Both my husband and I had appointments to replace the battery on our phones because they are 2 years old (iPhone X) and his was specifically telling him he needed it to be replaced. So we come in and wait 15 minutes after our appointment time till someone starts the process of putting our info in to fix the batteries. The tech very specifically told us that there were two batteries in stock and both phones could be replaced so we left for an hour and came back... this is where the problems became clear. They were able to replace my husbands and brought his phone out in a timely manner. Now with mine, they were unable to find the battery (that they said they had in stock) so they weren't able to fix it. The guy said that this rarely happens and he apologized but it was quite frustrating since they had brought out the batteries before we left and attached them to our phones. So what did they bring out if not the battery. Normally I would be annoyed but brush it off and agree to come back to have them fix it. But then it took him 30 MINUTES (after my husband got his) to bring my phone out because he said someone else had taken it/he wasn't sure where my phone ended up. I mean, What?!?! You weren't able to fix my phone so why couldn't they return it to me. And to make matters worse, the guy left during those 30 minutes so we were just standing there wondering where the heck my stuff was. And I knew they weren't working on it because I started getting message notifications on my watch. By the end of it, I expressed how unbelievably dissatisfied I was and didn't even want to be notified when the battery came into stock. I will never return to this location due to how my first time ended up. I will drive the extra time and go to the one in Towson. I suggest you do the same. read more

Worst customer service not helpful at all. Waited for over an hour kept telling us only 10 more minutes a bunch of people just standing around read more

Walked in and pointed to the $2k laptop I wanted. 19 year old hipster automatically starts speaking condescendingly to me, says they are very busy and I'll need to wait until someone is available. Meanwhile there are 30+ employees wandering around the store, very few of them look busy. I explain that I know what I want and I know it's in stock, I just want to buy it and leave. Hipster douche ups the condescension. Tells me if I don't want to wait, I can order online. I tell him I'm here now with my credit card and I'd really like to leave with a MacBook. Ask if someone else can assist me. Hipster douche rolls his eyes and disappears into the back, never comes back. Wait 10 minutes, ask another employee for help... get more attitude. WTF Apple? read more

If I could give this store a negative star I would. I feel like switching my family to Android based on the Apple customer service alone. I hear the new camera on the Samsung in amazing too! I will take my business elsewhere because every time I visit the Apple store the experience is so so awful!! read more

This place is consistently the worst.....You have an appointment, they check you in, then you sit and wait for 6 hours while everyone ignores you. At this point I'm totally convinced that Apple hates its customers but we are all too addicted to their products to stop buying them. read more

--Tech Support: 5 stars. --Sales: 2 stars. ---The sales rep was more interested in placing a sale than in first demonstrating the item. --Ambience: 2 stars Way too crowded. Maybe it is good for business, but not for shopping. --Presentation: 2 stars. ---Low inventory. Empty shelves. read more