I have been to numerous Apple Stores in numerous cities. Most Apple Store staff members are efficient and courteous, others leave room for improvement, but Edmonton Southgate has to be the worst, poorly-managed Apple Store of all of Apple's corporate-owned locations. Staff and management openly show contempt for their customers, including making them wait up to an hour for a staff member to bless the customer with his or her presence to simply take the customer's money for a straight-forward purchase. It seems to be the corporate attitude at this particular store, which I blame management for. It's quite different at the West Edmonton location or other locations in Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto or at branches I have visited in the US. I suspect there is a top-down arrogance and contempt for their customers at this particular location that infects staff all the way down the line.
My most recent visit to the Southgate location was to take my iPad Pro in for a minor repair/cleaning because the contacts in the USB-C port were dirty after frequent use, and my iPad was not charging reliably any more because the electrical charging contacts in the port were oxidised. After waiting for almost an hour despite having an appointment, the "genius" associate (and I use that term advisedly) leisurely sauntered over to help after being in what appeared to be an extended social conversation with one of his colleagues. After plugging in his diagnostic computer into my iPad using my iPad's USB port, he discovered he was unable to take a diagnostic reading. Not surprising, I explained to him, as the USB contact points were dirty and not making the connection! I suggested that the contacts just needed cleaning first. He pronounced that instead, I would need a completely NEW iPad, and adding insult to injury, even told me that my old iPad Pro had NO trade-in value because it was unable to take a charge. He was clearly determined to sell me a brand-new iPad Pro to replace the old one that was barely off my AppleCare extended warranty.
I left the store frustrated, and without having being sucked into buying a new iPad, taking my old iPad with me instead. When I got home, I explained to my spouse what it happened. Instead, we simply soaked a Q-Tip in isopropyl alcohol and cleaned the contacts ourselves, despite not having the so-called expertise or equipment of Apple's "Genius Bar experts". The Q-Tip clearly showed the dirt that was on the contact, and after cleaning, the iPad worked perfectly again, as if it came off the factory floor. It has been working perfectly for several months now since that fateful visit. As suspected, it was nothing more than dirty contact points within the USB port.
A day after my visit, I received email from the Apple store asking me to review my satisfaction level with my last visit. I retold the entire story, and their survey even gave me the option of asking them to contact personally me about my experience. I naturally welcomed the opportunity to let management know of my unsatisfactory experience at their store, but, as with other unsatisfactory experiences before, NO ONE from either Apple or the location's management ever contacted me, even when requested to do so. This is absolutely consistent with my experience every time in the past when I have asked them to contact me about a problem I encountered at the store. Nobody gives a damn, nobody cares, and the customer is regarded (at the very least) as a nuisance, or (more likely) with total contempt. Sadly, this location is closest to me in a city that only has two Apple stores. Believe me, it's worth the extra distance and time to go somewhere else, if you have that option. This place is the worst Apple Store I have ever visited. read more