In my experience, Ribbit computers does not stand by their warranty, did not communicate well, did not keep their time commitments, were actively rude to me, and threatened to sue me.
The Story:
On April 7th, I entered the store looking to fix the broken screen on my iPad Mini 4. That day, I was told that they would work on it first thing in the morning and will be ready the day after. The technician told me the cost would be $100-$150.
April 8th, I called in to request a status on the repair. I was told that the part needed was not in their stock, and had to order it in. I was told that the price had also increased to $182.74. I agreed to the new timeline and price.
On April 14th, I went to pick up my iPad. The screen did look ok. I proceeded to test my Apple Smart Cover on the iPad. I noticed that the screen cover DID NOT wake up the iPad, nor put the screen to sleep when closed. I looked at the settings on the iPad, and noticed that the option "Lock/Unlock" was unchecked. I enabled the option to test the cover. The cover DID NOT work as expected. The cover turn off the screen, and would not wake up the iPad, just like it was with the option unchecked. Also, the power button lost this functionality as well: it would not lock or wake up the iPad. Unchecking the option restored the power button functionality, but the iPad Smart Cover never worked.
I still had not left the store, so I told the technician about this, and he thought it might be a software issue. I restored the iPad to factory settings, still within the store. The iPad cover was still not functioning, nor was the power button, but now the "Lock/Unlock" option was missing. I know that iOS actively hides settings that are irrelevant to the user, so it became clear the new hardware was not detecting the cover. This situation is documented in apple forums here: https://goo.gl/JyG5pa. I left the iPad with him so that they may take another look at it.
The next week, I got a call from Ribbit saying that the iPad screen they had received was defective, and that they would order a new one and replace it, free of charge. I gave the OK.
After a few days, they called me back to let me know my iPad was ready for pickup. I went back and they gave me the iPad. Before I left the store, I tested the cover. There was no change in behavior. The technician told me they had looked at it and the screen does go to sleep after a few seconds. I called out that it was a flawed argument, since they tested without entering the iPad password, so the screen would go dim after 5 seconds regardless of cover or not. I tested again with the iPad unlocked, and the screen did not turn off. I told Ribbit that was still unacceptable, and they agreed to take another look.
Later, I received a call, their manager recommended a new screen from a different vendor. I let them replace the screen once more. The same issues persisted.
I told Ribbit that they should replace the iPad instead of continuously testing screens. I stated several times that I was willing to take a used or refurbished unit, that I was not expecting a refund, was willing to leave them my defective unit, and I just wanted them to honor their warranty.
They said they'd have to talk to their manager. I left the iPad with them again.
Later, I get a call that told me that they had spoken to a manager, and that they considered the issue resolved, and would not replace the iPad. They offered me a "future discount". I persisted, since I expected them to honor their warranty.
I was told that they would talk to a senior manager. The next day I called back in as I hadn't heard back from them. I was told the senior manager also denied the replacement. I asked to speak with him, and was told he would be at the North store later that day. I agreed to wait and meet in person.
Later I got a voicemail from Ribbit saying the manager would NOT be at the store, but he would call on Monday. I did not hear back from the manager on Monday.
Today, May 2nd, I went to the store. There was a manager there that said there was nothing he could do, so I asked him to call his Senior Manager. I was put on the phone with a manager called Alex.
I explained that I expected Ribbit to stand by their warranty. I was not warned prior to the repair that smart cover functionality might be affected. I explained that had I known that, I would've considered getting a new iPad straight from Apple. Alex insisted that I was trying to take advantage of the situation to try to get a new iPad. I reiterated that I just wanted them to honor their warranty, and if they were not going to do so, it would be reflected on the reviews I would leave. Alex became angry and elevated his voice. He said that if I left a bad review, he would sue me. I said that if that's his position, we would both do whatever we needed to do. He then told me, and I quote, to "get the hell out of my store", and hung up the phone.
I asked the technician to just give me my iPad. read more
