You've had to have been living under a rock if you aren't familiar with Apple and their ascendancy over the past fifteen years starting with the iPod. With the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, iPad in 2010, and a growing number of devices and increasingly small laptops, Apple is probably at their apex in terms of popularity. A fan of vertical integration, Apple designs their own hardware, produces their own software, and manages their own stores across the world. These stores serve multiple roles at a consumer level. For starters, they showcase the latest and greatest products and accessories in an ultra-modern setting. They are also a one-stop shop for product tutorials and service. Apple's popularity, combined with support needs from their customers, typically makes a visit to their stores a nightmare. However, the Solihull branch offers a not-too crowded option for the greater Birmingham area.
I've used the iPhone exclusively for many years now, and have never had an issue with the phone. Recently, my iPhone 5S became completely unresponsive to touch input. Since it was out of warranty by three months, I first spent time online with the Apple chat support to explore the issue. We were unable to arrive at a workable solution, so I decided to visit the local Apple store genius bar. I'm sure that most of Birmingham uses the Apple store located in the Bullring, since their genius bar had an appointment wait list going out for over a week. I found that unacceptable, so I searched for other local branches and found the Solihull store, conveniently located in Touchwood a short walk from the Solihull train station. Their diary had openings only 2 days away, so I was easily able to book an appointment online. The apple chat support team suggested that the screen was probably not operational and that I would need a replacement. When I stopped in the store for my 11:30AM appointment (on a weekday), the store was surprisingly not too crowded with customers. The Apple team quickly ushered me to a queue at the Genius Bar and checked me in on an iPad. Soon thereafter, I was called and described the issue. The staff member came to the same conclusion as the chat team, and told me they could replace the screen for £99 within one hour. This price point is slightly more expensive than some of the screen replacement kiosks in places like Grand Central and the Bullring, which average around £60. The advantage here is that the work is done by Apple employees using brand new Apple replacement parts, and includes a short term warranty on their work and the parts used. Finding the price acceptable (especially out of warranty), I left the store and milled around Touchwood with Brittany A. for the hour.
When we returned, the technician apologized that the screen was not the problem, instead the logic board for the phone was dead. I would not be getting a repaired phone that day, but instead would need to wait for a replacement. It's worth pointing out here that my iPhone is an American phone with an American sim card. Apple knew this from my account, and had already ordered a brand new replacement phone from the United States. Shockingly, Apple stuck to the original price quote, meaning that my new iPhone 5S would only cost £99. I was given a waiting period of one week for the phone to arrive from overseas. One week and two days later the phone had not arrived at the store, so I called asking for an update. The phone was taking longer than expected to ship, so the staff member I spoke with in Solihull escalated the shipping method used and re-ordered the phone in case it did not show. One day later, I received an email confirmation that the phone had arrived at the Solihull store. Getting my new phone was as easy as bringing the old phone, where they were nice enough to pop my sim card into the new phone and test the connectivity. Everything worked perfectly, and I was off in 10 minutes to get back to the important things I had missed in that two week period, like Yelping!
I cannot stress enough how professional the staff at the Solihull store are to their customers. It's great to visit an Apple store where you don't have to fight off a mob to demo products, and the service and support team are fast and efficient. As I type this, I still can't believe that I was able to get an out of warranty phone replaced with a brand new phone for only £99. This high level of premier customer service has ensured that I will be looking at Apple the next time I need a new phone. read more
