Horrible service, unless you're buying something. I had a Macbook before I moved to Columbus, and it developed a black spot in the middle of the screen. I took it to Graphicom. One of the men who works there immediately told me the repair was not eligible for Apple Care repair because I must have hit the screen or done something to it. I did not. I had to call Apple, talk to a supervisor, and get them to agree to cover it under Apple Care. When I went back to Graphicom, the original man and another man who worked there seemed extremely irked that I had gotten the repair covered. They were both rude and almost hostile about having to do the repair under Apple Care, and they kept my computer for like a week.
Fast forward a year or so, and I needed to upgrade my computer. Against my better judgment, I bought my new $1,800 Macbook Pro from Graphicom.
When the power adapter frayed less than a year after I bought it, I called Graphicom, and they told me they could not get me a new one right away. They said Apple requires me to bring my computer and the faulty adapter in, then get the part mailed to them for me to pick up.
Dreading another Graphicom customer service hassle, I called Apple directly. Apple called Graphicom, and Graphicom claimed not to have the part in stock. It seemed weird that they would not have a basic Macbook charger in stock.
So, I got Apple and got to "overnight" me the part. It arrived three days later and was the wrong part. After spending an hour on the phone with Apple, I got them to call Graphicom and found out that Graphicom actually had the part I needed all along. It was just that the part they had was part of their "retail stock" which is different from their "repair stock." Finally, Apple worked it out to where I could get the part I needed that day at Graphicom.
When I got to Graphicom, an employee told me to fill out a sheet of paper, grabbed my computer, hooked it up to something and closed out of Chrome without asking me. I had about 10 windows open, each with multiple tabs, for projects I was working on for my business. I complained to the guy that he didn't ask me if it was OK to close out of Chrome, and he shrugged and said, "I had to run the diagnostics." So, how about turning to me and saying, "I have to run some diagnostics on your computer. Could you close out of Chrome and Word?" But, I guess actually opening his mouth and communicating to me with respect and consideration would have been too much trouble. Again, I get the vibe that they're totally put out by having to do any repairs that are covered under Apple warranty/Apple Care.
When the guy was done "running the diagnostics" on my computer, he replaced the defective piece on my cord, tossed the cord down on the counter next to me, and walked away. He didn't say anything, like, "OK, here's your cord. You're all set to go. Thank you!" ( Dear Graphicom: it's called basic customer service. Being polite to your customers. Speaking to them. Communicating with them. If you really want to go all out, you could say something like, "Oh, wow. You got a defective charger on the $1,800 computer you bought from us less than a year ago? So sorry for the inconvenience. We'll get this taken care of for you right away.")
I asked a different employee, not the one who'd be so rude, if I could talk to an owner or manager or if there was some way I could leave feedback for Graphicom about how they conduct business, and he actually suggested I go to Yelp! I walked out of the store shaking my head in disbelief. Who tells an unhappy customer to go write a review online?
I was so annoyed that I walked back into the store and asked to speak to the owner, Larry. I told him all about my bad customer service experiences and that I did not feel like a valued customer at Graphicom. He did listen, but did not seem to care. He did not apologize for the bad experiences I've had, or say anything to try to change my mind about Graphicom. I definitely will drive to Atlanta the next time I need anything Mac-related, and definitely will not go back to Graphicom.
To Graphicom: basic customer service entails figuring out what your customer needs and working *with them* to make that happen. When I've tried to get things covered under Apple Care, I've felt each time that you were working against me to make it as difficult and time-consuming as possible for me to get what I needed. Basic customer service also involves speaking, smiling, greeting, communicating and exchanging basic pleasantries with your customers. read more
