Don't even bother with trying to reason with the Apple Store employees in Glendale. I have had bad experiences with the waiting in line issue before at the store in the Americana, so the other night, I chose instead to go to the Galleria store, where I encountered the same, "no help" attitudes that the Americana store has. Next time, I will travel farther to somewhere else in LA, where they know how to treat loyal customers correctly.
Here is my story:
Last week, around Wednesday or Thursday, I started experiencing problems with my mouse dying and not working, without warning. Since this happened just 3 days prior and I had charged it overnight at that time, I thought that I should call AppleCare and report the problem and obtain an appropriate resolution.
So, I called AppleCare and spoke with Travis who told me that he was in Portland, Oregon. He and I went through some troubleshooting steps, but while he was researching them, I had been charging my mouse and, by the time he got back to me on the phone, the mouse was working again.
Nevertheless, he told me, that I did not want to have a faulty mouse as part of my iMac system and, since I was still under warranty, and had AppleCare, that I should return the Magic Mouse to the local Apple Store for replacement. It was getting to be around 8:30 p.m., so I asked him what time the Apple Store in the Glendale (California) Galleria was closing. He told me that it was closing at 9 p.m., and that I could just go in and tell them the problems I was experiencing, and that they would replace the mouse with a new one.
I arrived at the Apple Store at 8:45 p.m. that day, and was 'greeted' by a woman who did not identify herself as the store manager when I told her my problems, but instead pawned the problem off to 2 other male workers who were, purportedly, in charge of the schedule. I went over and spoke with one of the males who had an iPad in his hand with the schedule, and he told me that they were booked solid and had no walk-in "appointments" available.
Of course, I balked at this and asked to speak to the manager. Then, the lady who 'greeted' us came over and said that she was the manager. I explained to her my problem (again) and how simple it would be to swap out my mouse and that I was a loyal Apple customer who had all of these devices, and I listed them to her, but she would not hear of it. I don't even think that she considered it because she was locked into a "no" from the get-go.
[The reason that I use greeted in quotes previously is because Joan, the manager, did anything but greet us and was rude and not nice!]
She then told me that I could purchase a mouse and then come back to the store the next day to return it, after mine was fixed. I browsed the accessories, including the mice, and selected the Magic Mouse for purchase. While I was evaluating the purchase options, at least 2 Apple Store employees came over and offered to help me, which I don't understand if they were so busy.
Anyway, I proceeded to write out a check for the mouse and then the 'cashier' told me that my check was declined. I was dumbfounded and asked him why, and he had no explanation?!?!? I left the store that night and swore to myself that I would let people know about this abusive lady and the foul store that she runs.
The manager of this store, Joan, should be formally admonished, with a permanent note in her personnel file stating that she is not friendly, nor helpful with customers and, is, in fact, a terrible representation of the Apple brand. I also think that there should me a 'make room' policy available for people that walk in at the last minute with a problem like mine that affects the fundamental operation of their system. Even if they had to stay, perhaps, 15 minutes after closing to accommodate me, I think that this is what Steve Jobs would have wanted.
I think that this woman should get out of the Apple Store, where she clearly does not belong, and into some profession where rude and not-nice people work, such as a parking meter maid.
~Antonio read more