UPDATE:
I'm changing my initial negative review (below) because after registering a complaint with the manager, Jeanne, I got both an apology and an ipod case. Jeanne was definitely concerned about addressing the problem and following up with Apple. My recommendation for anyone dealing with this store is if at first you don't succeed, try someone else.
Probably the worst Apple store I've ever personally encountered. My less-than-a-year-old Macbook has gotten that weird cracked case at the edge of the keyboard thing three times now. On the last two occasions, I used the SF store and Walnut Creek, but this time, Corte Madera was the only one with an appointment in the reasonably near future. I read online about the frequency of this problem and about the California lemon laws, which specify that the manufacturer should replace the defective product on the third time the same thing breaks in a year. So I figure I'm good, right?
Ren--a real jerk, so if you must go to this Apple store, ask for anyone else--told me that my computer breaking into pieces "wasn't a major repair" and that even though my computer would be out of its one-year warranty in 35 days, he wouldn't replace the computer. I replied that this seemed like a bit of a scam, since this part would--of course--break again in three months, as it has been doing regularly for the last year, and this meant I would have to spend $250 on AppleCare to make sure that it kept getting repaired for what is obviously some endemic design flaw. Then he started shouting about how he wasn't asking me to buy anything. Well, moron, if you're saying you won't continue to replace the defective part without AppleCare, and the warranty expires soon, what else do you think I'll have to do? His supervisor sat next to him nodding, as if this was a reasonable response. He told me that things that I read online (on about two dozen different pages) were just unreliable anecdotes that people were using to smear Apple. Um, okay, *cough* delusional.
I asked for the AppleCare number as I left, and after a pleasant 10-minute phone conversation with Justin at customer support, I was told that I could get a replacement because this computer has needed four repairs (including a logicboard!) in the course of a single year. Gee! Imagine that. Customer service. He also mentioned--contra Ren--that the cracking laptops were an issue that was coming up a lot and Apple would continue to repair them after the one-year warranty expiration for that reason, even though they would replace mine at no cost.
I used to love Apple stores, but it seems like I've gotten bad service in all of them lately. Walnut Creek seems a little better than most, but still, I can't believe how rude some of these Genius Bar people can be. I don't know what this guy's problem was at the Corte Madera store, but if you can't deal with customers, you probably shouldn't be working customer service. read more