I'm in the store right now and although they are helpful, I don't believe there is equal service for all customers all the way around. One Genius Bar employee offered a customer a BRAND NEW PHONE under warranty when the only issue was that an app was not responding quickly to her touch. He explained to her that it was just the way that the app was built and not an issue with her phone, but because he valued her as a customer, he would replace the phone for her to have a good experience with the brand. And to be clear, I heard the entire conversation from beginning to end, so there is no possibility of misconstruing what was said. I am thoroughly disappointed that I have been with Apple since the 3G through to the 5. I have never EVER brought the phone back for warranty issues and the one time I do, they extract $149 plus tax from me for service. I came in for a screen issue, found out there was a battery issue, there were also software issues, and STILL, as a loyal customer, it was never once offered to me to just replace an item that was clearly defunct. Dissatisfied to say the least. To top it all off, my appointment was at 12:50 and it is now 2:20 and yes. I'm still here. Not to mention the guy that set up my appointment told me to come back at 11:45! Strange, I thought. A whole hour earlier? So I repeated it to him to make sure and he confirmed it. 2.5 plus hours in total to get this mess resolved. Honestly, it's service like this that makes me reconsider loyalty to Apple at all. Nephty was amazing, though. The only person that checked in on me throughout my entire ordeal here. He noticed that I had been waiting a very long time and took it upon himself to check on the status of my repair service even though he was with another customer. He stayed with me through to the end to help me set up my phone again after the restore and assured me that as soon as I felt anything was wrong with my phone that I should bring it back so they could troubleshoot it further for me and hopefully achieve a satisfactory result. Nephty is an asset to this store, lemme tell ya. Keep him. And give him a raise. Please. BTW, I'm missing Yelp's Sipnic for this. Sigh. Hope the rest of you Yelpers are having fun without me :(. read more

The Apple store is just like any other. HOT as hell. Smells like shit....usually because the employees are the hipster type that have little or no hygiene. Seriously. This mixed with the hot temps from the computers in there does not make for a good enviornment. This place is always flooded with people that have made appointments online with the Genuis bar. Usually middle to old age customer that have no idea how the hell to use their iPhone and want to download the Facebook app. Customer service here is pretty awful. Back in the day customer service was about making the customer happy. Now it's about trying to sell another product or come up with some excuse not to warranty anything out. They will make you reset your device about 9 times before they make a warranty claim. You'll always hear some response like.... Lets try a factory reset. Have you backed up to iCloud? If you're one of those middle to older age customers... you probably have no idea what the hell iCloud is and they employees will have a hard time explaining what "cloud" based storage/back up actually is. This location has unacceptable customer service, employee hygiene, climate control, and tech experts. You're better off calling the 1800 number, staying on hold for an hour, and then explaining your problem to someone in India. 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

All this store consists of is a bunch of adolescents in blue shirts hanging around talking about the upcoming high school football game. There are more employees than people, but somehow I still waited forever. They finally got around to looking at my dead ipod I had recently bought, and they said they couldn't fix it because I bought it from a non-Apple retailer. For some reason, I needed to call Apple Care and get it resolved. Somehow, they don't know how to use a phone to call and resolve it themselves, so I had to make another appointment to come back. I guess talking to somebody on the phone is too old fashioned for these kids. One hour in this high tech hell hole and I didn't accomplish anything. I would have had better luck having Justin Beiber or Miley Cyrus fix my ipod. What a joke! read more

I tried to buy a Macbook Pro at this store two days in a row. The first day I literally just stood there, waiting for somebody to notice me, while all the employees (and there are so many employees) rushed around, talked with each other, or spent significant amounts of time making a point to show young ladies in the store every single feature on whatever they were looking at. My time is worth something, so after about 20 minutes I got out of there. The second day I waited for about five minutes. There were two employees playing with their iPhones next to me but once they seemed to be finished I got one of their attention. I asked him some questions but the answers he gave me I knew to be wrong. I really wanted somebody to affirm my decision to buy a Mac but the opposite happened. When I eventually told him, reluctantly, that from what he was saying it didn't sound like a Mac would work for me, he turned around and walked away without speaking another word. I left computerless, but at least I still had my $2,000! Pros: convenient location Cons: condescending and uninformed staff read more

Unacceptable customer service. Called in to confirm that they had a replacement battery for a white unibody Macbook in stock, which was confirmed over the phone. After driving 45 minutes to get to the store, I was then informed that whoever had answered the phone was mistaken and apparently was not aware that there was more than one model of white Macbook - or was simply too lazy to pay attention while on the phone with me. Did not offer to order up the part on rush delivery or any other sort of concession for the clear mistake on their part. The guy who handled my in-store experience was admittedly sympathetic and overall agreeable, but there was zero attempt on their part to come up with a solution. May be a case of know-nothing seasonal employees or some other excuse, but this was nonetheless a terrible experience. 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

At the time of writing this review, this Apple store was rated 3 stars. I think this store is underrated and some of the critiques aren't reasonable. Yes, its a busy store. It's in the Columbia mall and has awesome stuff to play with so I would be shocked if it wasn't. It might be difficult to get help right away, but every time I am in this store, they have at least 6-8 people working the floor. That's a high amount of staff members for a store this size (in my opinion). Just do like I do and play with some computers and iphones until you are able to flag somebody down. I have purchased an iphone and a mac and both have pretty much changed my life. Apple is one of the finest companies in the world and their sleek, cool looking store, professional employees, and uncompromising passion for developing quality products has not only elevated the standard for consumer electronics but also set an example for how to run a good store. I had a customer service issue with my iPhone and asked to speak with a manager. He was professional and very politely explained their not-so-awesome but not the worst company policy for a broken screen for an iphone. I paid $149 and got a brand new iphone 4. I get that Apple is not responsible for my negligence with my phone, and appreciate that they were able to at least get me back up and running quickly and with all my contacts, apps, and pictures loaded. Thanks apple for making life so much cooler. I'll be back for more. read more

I've been to a couple Apple stores and this one is by far the worst. Seems like they are way more focused on sales than on customer support. I brought in my MBP on Monday at 4 PM to see if they could look at an issue. I was told they were booked for the rest of the day so they made me an appointment for 10:45 AM the next day. Fair enough. I get there at 10:45 the next day and they say they have no record of my appointment. I even show them the confirmation email and they were like "Huh, that's weird." and then continue to tell me they can see me at 11:45 instead. Sure, whatever. I don't want to come back another day. I come back at 11:45. I'm told there's a delay so they can't see me until 12:00. Fine. I don't care anymore. I just want my laptop fixed. I understand that selling expensive hardware is how Apple Stores make their money, but it would be nice to get decent support when that expensive hardware breaks. 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

Anyone that knows me can tell you how much I love Apple. I use apple everything ... iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac, Macbook Pro I would put a gigantic Apple decal on my Beamer's rear window if I didn't want to avoid being hit on by even more guys than I already do (what can I say I'm cute and cuddly). My heart would never allow me to rate an Apple Store poorly. I just find it insane that the day I get my new iPhone 5 I can't get a case .. from Apple. For the life of me I don't get it. Average case is probably $35 with a margin of $30-32. For a company (that I love) how the hell could then miss out on the additional add on sales?? In true Apple fashion ... one of their blue shirts apologized and told of three places in the mall where I could find cases. That is good customer service. read more

I made an appointment online so I would be ahead of the game. Making an appointment online was such an easy process. However, going in the store is another story. My appointment was schedule for 230pm. I enter the store and the greeter person allowed me to pass go without asking me any questions or greeting me. I mean why are you by the door again? I was told by an associate to look for the tall black guy. Very offensive....I spoke with a rep about my ipod not only did he not take it back for service. But he turned me around without checking out my device. I was passed due to my long drive and the terrible service. Next time I will just drive to Pentagon. ... read more

Service is terrible. We came in to have our Mac book pro looked at and they have too many sales men and not enough technicians. Ughh

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

I'm here now at 3p and have been here since 11a. It's pretty much a days wait to get anything done and most of the associates available to readily help anyone it's to sell something to them. It's a shame that you have to wait a half of day for service once you've bought something. I've bought my last apple product and will go back to Samsung immediately. My advice to new consumers; Don't get a product from a company that isn't readily available to service their product. read more

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--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

Genius Bar??? Their first response is always I don't know, that is not something we can help you with here, or no one can see you for hours. Apple has terrible customer service and the ppl who work at this location are particularly unhelpful. Even when calling the support number, the technicians seem inexperienced and unprofessional. I don't understand Apple's excellent reputation, and I wish I hadn't bought into the Apple hype. Now here I am with all my Apple devices yearning for an android. (BTW, why can't Apple keep up w Android camera technology?!?) As usual, I will research my current iPhone issue and, eventually, find the answer myself online. read more

I contemplated purchasing a MacBook Pro to replace my four-year old PC. I visited this store in Columbia Mall twice. The first time, upon learning that I am a PC user, the clerk displayed an attitude of superiority, as if to say, you PC users are less than us Mac user, never mind the clerk is probably still in high school. I visited the store a second time several days later. This time, I wanted to test the compatibility of some of my Ms Office files and inserted a flash drive a MacBook Pro without asking for permission first (I admit I probably should have). Instead of asking if I need assistance, an associate scolded me loudly, SIR, I AM GOING TO HAVE TO ASK YOU TO REMOVE IT IMMEDIATELY! I bought a new PC, and I love it! read more

Unorganized chaos. Yes I now know, make an appointment so that the employees actual can see you, but if that is the case, lock the doors and only let those with an appointment in, just like Prada. Or maybe a sign don't come in if you aren't a cool techie like us or have an appointment. (remember that SNL skit?) Also, what's with the "cool" names for the " service" area? Do I need a genius or simply a competent person with social skills. Yes I know the angry tone, but the " I can't help you I'm with someone else" as he walked briskly away p'ed me off. Love iPhone hate the hype. read more

This Apple technical service is great technically but they need to work on customer service equitable with the times. Customer should have option to use there alias name and be respected. The intake person shall call on the customer preferred name. That is why I gave two star. Inequitable experience is my experience - I hope this will help others who may felt the same. read more

I'm boosting up my rating because Apple did me a HUGE solid this past week. I'm a business owner and I use Apple products also for personal use. I own a very small business and they were able to really accommodate us. My personal watch had that black screen falling off. All of a sudden it just was lifting. I take care of that watch too because it's so expensive. I went in and we found out I don't have Apple Care. I was now stuck in a position of what do I do? It's $249 to fix it...and then what if it happens again? I decided to speak with the manager and the manager ended up waiving the fee. That is probably hands down the best customer service that I have ever personally experienced. Because consumers are even more happy when the unexpected happens. For an expensive device such as this I do have expectations of getting my money's worth. So this was exactly what should be expected but really they didn't have to at the end of the day but they did. I'm sorry you guys get bad reviews from other people but you guys have never let me down. All of you are really awesome. All the staff deserve a staff appreciation day. I'll come by and do henna for free! Just message me :) To be quite honest and as a business owner with my own Yelp page, it seems like clients come to Yelp to leave most of the bad reviews. Some reviews are great but people complain a lot on Yelp. read more

If I can give it less than one star, I will do..! Bad customer service, they just push you to go out of the store and giving any reasons and unrealistic answers... I have iphone 6, always apps are crashes... Have no solution Last time to carry iPhone and to go to this store read more

Awful customer service, reps not helpful, scheduled appointments not recognized and taken in a timely fashion and issues not resolved. Still trying to get my iPhone 8 Plus to work properly. Repeated calls to Apple Care and trips to the store but still having the same issues with my phone. As recently as today I called in and rep at the store named Corey was very unprofessional, rude and condescending. I'm a very unhappy customer. read more

Horrible customer service. They have 3 people greeting and taking reservations. But don't have many people to check you out. I came to BUY a phone. The employees that are greeting are sitting around doing nothing. And I have been waiting over 20 minutes for something I already know what I want. Don't need help. Just want to pay for it. Omg. HORRIBLE They stand around with this smug look. Better to go somewhere else where they have better work ethics. read more

I love Apple products, I have Apple Watch, iPhone 5, 5s, 6plus, 6s, Apple TV, but this time I went to buy iPhone 7 plus and a mac book, guess what I had worst service ever at Columbia mall Apple Store today. What was I thinking when I asked blue tshirt apple guy (didn read his name but he was tall bald guy). Didn answer all my answers and was keep on out focused and didn pay attention my talks. I said it on his face - worst service ever and walked out. Guess what he didn seemed cared abt it. I'm always nice customer never give someone bad review but this guy, I hate him now. I wanted to wait for iPhone to available in store and then wanted to buy personally (I love that). I won't go to Apple Store anymore. Not this one!!!! I always love Apple service, they always been attentive but today I didn liked it!!!! I'll give another chance or... Guess I'll look for google phones. read more

Why is it always so BUSY BUSY BUSY. I like this store better than the one in Towson. At least in this place you can get a word in and even some questions. No appointment needed which is a plus the young man that helped me was very informative unlike the other stores where the Robots are pumping you with information from their trusty steno pad read more

I got here at 2pm was told there was a 40min wait, it's been an hour and a half and yet I'm being told people who booked appointments online are priority read more

I love Apple, but this store is too crowded and it's a little too chaotic for my taste. I tried to buy some iPod and iPad accessories over a couple of different visits and its always been the same experience. The only way to get a staff person's attention within a reasonable amount of time is to tail them after they finish with another customer because if you miss that 2 second window, there goes your chance.. start waiting again. I already knew what I wanted, I just needed someone to ring it up (they walk around with checkout scanners). The only days I've ever seen it less crowded were days right before a big Apple event.. my guess being that most Apple fans learned to just wait a day and see what new products are being released. Unfortunately, I would do the same, so I had no reason to go into the store either! I usually save myself the headache and buy my Apple products online. Luckily, I haven't had any problems that required me to go to the Genius Bar so far, so I don't know how that experience is. read more

Had made an appointment at 11:30 on a Saturday. The mall wasn't busy but the Apple store was. Our sales rep Alex took us right on time. We got a new iphone (upgrade) which he and Crystal helped us transfer photos and contacts. There was an issue activating the phone so they called the carrier and took care of it. They were wonderful. We are older and not up to date with all the new technology but they were patient and got us what we needed. The Apple store is lucky to have two great employees like Alex and Crystal. read more

Slow ass service. Even to pick up a repair, slow AF . To be seen, slow AF. To tell you if the repair is possible, slow AF.

I scheduled an appointment to get my laptop fixed so upon an early arrival I asked what I should do. I was told that I needed to proceed to the back and wait until 5 minutes prior to "check-in." That was completely fine, but when I asked about seating for my elderly grandmother, I was told I needed to wait until they could "find a chair in the back." It surprised me that although a modern-sleek aesthetic, they were not prepared to provide seating for those who are handicapped. read more

I ordered an iPhone 13 Pro Max case ; went to the store checked in and waited 20 freaking minutes. This store had plenty of Apple people just standing around not doing anything and yet there I stood waiting and waiting to receive a product I already paid for. I will never come back to this location, ever! It was dirty and nobody was doing anything to assist me; they just walked into their little apple t-shirt cliques talking to each other and not serving customers, you know the people that pay hard earned money for nothing! read more

As much as I am a fan of Apple products, today's experience has me deciding to ditch Apple all together. Bought a MacBook Pro 6 days ago. Tried to return in an unopened box, so I could buy the model just released yesterday. They first opened the package, implying we were trying to return an empty box. Then realizing the Mac was in the box proceeded to say they couldn't help me. I would have to ship to Apple for a refund and I needed to take it to a FedEx store. This despite me having a printed email from Apple specifically telling me to return it to the store for a refund. The initial rep was rude... really odd since every other store experience has been awesome. The manager was most passive aggressive and condescending as well. If you want to feel good about your Apple products, avoid this store. I hope corporate does some sort of quality control. read more

Dion helped us with all our questions. Something complicated came up with my Mac book pro and he found another person to help. A++ service!

Went to the Apple store and saw two blue shirts standing talking to themselves not busy. I walked over and asked " I have a question can you please help" this security guard then gets into my question and disrespectfully wouldn't allow me to even put my question to the blue shirt Apple employee. The two employees looked at me and said "ask the question" the security guard said they are "busy" and you can't ask anyone question. We waiting in line for 30-40 min for just a question that took 2 seconds. If it wasn't for the disrespect and lack of customer service by the security person that I am writing this. The store is not bad and the service has Been swell when you don't have a launch or busy time. Just make sure that the security does not answer for an Apple employee. read more

Today I decided to return my iPad pro after trying it out for a week. I currently have a work iPhone 5c 16gb a personal 6 plus 128 gb a MacBook Pro an Apple TV an iPad Air 2 verizon 128gb an iPad mini 16gb and then the new iPad pro also verizon 128gb BUT I just could not find a use for the iPad pro. It was 1160.00 after taxes and I already have so many other products my work has given me or I have purchased over the years I just couldn't justify spending that much money. With that being said I went to the Apple Store today and they were so helpful. I walked in and in less then 30 seconds someone was helping me. They were so nice! My return was literally done in less than 4 minutes and everyone was so friendly! It was one of the best retail experiences I have had inside an Apple Store. read more

Great service. They had the iPad Air I wanted in stock. Clerks were fast. They had both the Time Capsules I wanted in stock. Love Apple stores in general... read more

Continued subpar customer service!!! Go to another Apple store!!! There is a constant condescending undertone from the sales force at this store that the other stores do not have. Tyson's, Carnegie Library and Towson have much better customer service. I had a much less than positive experience this evening and the lady behind me also had a bad experience. Tried to give professional feedback to the manager and he seemed not to care at all. read more

Went to visit the Apple Columbia store for assistance because I could not get problem resolved online. Went early, Apple Genius Bar assigned me to a representative named Brenda. I was having trouble with my ICloud storage and my only credit card was not accepted by Apple. I kept asking Ms Brenda if there was any other alternative payment option other than credit card. She kept insisting, I have to go back to my bank and get a new one. Been using this card outside of Apple and I do not experience any problem, whatsoever. She mentioned that Bank Of America was likewise another banking institution banned from dealing with Apple. No credible reason offered by Apple representative. I mentioned about gift card, and she answered maybe and she is not sure. My biggest pet peeve about customer service personnel is not knowledgeable of what their entails providing good, helpful service to customers. And employing the words maybe, not sure of, etc. on conversation with client is not acceptable. It was more of a pissing contest, and none was offered by Apple representative to rectify the problem. I asked her to turn me to another rep who might be able to assist. Waited for approximately 15 minutes and nothing was being done. She was just standing there talking to other Apple reps. So, I walked away and went infront to seek more help. Spoke to another rep, named Cory, who assured me customer-oriented satisfactory answer. Ms Brenda was not helpful, not customer-oriented, lack tack and diplomacy dealing with clients, and she is the kind of employee who does not need being exposed with customers. She will just make your Apple visit hell-like. read more

I had an outstanding experience at the Genius Bar today with Matt at the Columbia Apple store. He was competent, helpful, and eager to share his experience. He helped me understand how to better use my available storage space and gave me practical tips on how to manage my pictures in iPhoto and on my backup disk. Can't speak for all the other geniuses at this store but Matt hit a home-run for me today. Bob M. read more