I\u2019m the first to admit that not everything that could have gone wrong did, but boy did we get close!<\/p>\n
My mom was in town visiting my daughter. Her iPhone 12 Pro Max is obviously out of warranty, but I noted that she had 70% battery capacity, which meant her phone was throttling a bit. If she wanted peak performance and all-day battery life, maybe she should consider getting her battery replaced. This situation is all my fault, and I feel incredibly guilty about it.<\/p>\n
So, I offered to buy her a replacement battery for $89 after confirming she had no interest in upgrading to a new model in the next year or two. I also ordered a replacement clear case since hers had yellowed and a replacement screen protector. We booked an appointment at the Apple Store for 1:10 p.m. the next day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That evening before, I got her iPhone updated to the latest OS, bought her 200GB of iCloud storage to enable her to finally (after many years) back up her photos, messages, and all data to iCloud that would have been lost forever if something did happen to her iPhone. We made sure a complete backup completed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was going to be a very therapeutic experience to give her faithful iPhone a tune-up, and I was really excited.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
We arrived at 1:10 p.m. and were directed to stand in Apple\u2019s famous \u201cvirtual lines,\u201d where someone writes down what you\u2019re wearing on an iPad mini and sends you to a place in the store to await a technician concierge. This isn\u2019t a genius; it\u2019s just a runner who reviews a checklist and takes your phone. We were told it would take 2 hours because it\u2019s a Saturday, and even though it\u2019s only 45 minutes, they were backed up.<\/p>\n
They verified everything was backed up, Find My was turned off, and the phone was handed over. We returned at 3:10 and were forced to wait an additional 45 minutes until finally the technician concierge returned with bad news.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The genius replacing the battery also damaged the FaceID sensor. The iPhone had a new battery, and all of the phone was intact, but the sensor was not working, and she\u2019d have to use her pin to unlock the phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was no FaceID sensor in stock, and it wouldn\u2019t be in stock for 3-5 days. They could replace her iPhone 3 business days from now, but my mom was going to leave on Monday (2 days later) and head back to Florida.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We asked if she could transfer the case and situation to the Jacksonville store location, and we were told this was not possible, as was having a replacement phone mailed to her home with a hold on her card (express service replacement), and this was also not possible. What was clear to me is that Apple still does things like they did when I worked there in 2004-2006. P&L is on the store. The store is fully independent and measured on its financial success; therefore, a genius broke her phone, and the store\u2019s manager had authorized an iPhone replacement, but this replacement wasn\u2019t an AppleCare replacement. It was entirely coming out of the store\u2019s budget to replace, and therefore, they couldn\u2019t just ask another store to replace her phone. It\u2019s not that simple. Just like those times where I had a watch serviced at Apple in Montreal and couldn\u2019t just get the replacement in Boston. It doesn\u2019t work that way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But, there was an option thrown out. The store said they could replace more of the phone (the backplane and rear camera array), which would include FaceID (for some reason???), and we could return tomorrow, and they\u2019d give her a priority repair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That sounded okay, so we went home without FaceID and arrived back at Apple (South Park, Charlotte, NC) at 12 p.m. on Sunday, the 29th, to drop her phone off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was an unbelievably shitty experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Check-in sent us back to that virtual line by the pickup area, and a concierge runner finally arrived after 10-15 minutes of us waiting. This runner was the kind of person you want to ask, \u201cAre you having a bad day?\u201d Because they were quick, uninterested, rushed, and didn\u2019t create any space for questions from us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In fact, they walked out with a box that looked like a replacement iPhone, and their first note to us was \u201cIt\u2019ll be $599 for the replacement iPhone, and please sign here.\u201d I stopped them and explained the situation. They said, \u201cOh, for that, I\u2019ll need to consult my manager.\u201d So in this situation, the notes were present on the iPad mini they held, but I guess it wasn\u2019t reviewed that we were dropping off a phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Things went downhill from here.<\/p>\n
The manager and runner walked past us on the way to the back of house to discuss the issue of a full back plane \/ array replacement for the price of a battery. 15+ minutes later, the manager came out and walked past completely ignoring us, like you know when those finance \/ GM folks at car dealers will sit behind plexiglass and only talk to the sales person when you can see them right there up on some tower-looking platform thing, and they seem to have all of the answers, but you the customer aren\u2019t allowed access to them? That\u2019s how I felt. I gave the person a wave, and they locked eyes with me, nodded, and walked on. 3-4 minutes later, the runner returns and again, shortly and with no patience, said, \u201cFind my off?\u201d And \u201ciCloud done?\u201d And clicked through quickly to make sure all of the checklist was done and said, \u201cIt\u2019ll be 2 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had to stop the person and just make sure I understood what would happen next. They confirmed they were going to replace more components to fix the sensor, and it would be 2 hours, and I said, \u201cYesterday it took 3, so can you call me since you\u2019ll have her phone to say it\u2019s ready for pickup?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not call you,\u201d they said tersely and with vindication.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I said, \u201cWhat if it takes longer than 2 hours?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt won\u2019t,\u201d and they took the phone and walked off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At this point, I felt inclined to speak to the manager who pretended we don\u2019t exist, ask him to look up my AppleID in PeopleSoft (which isn\u2019t used anymore), and just browse through the list of Apple devices I own and force him to bow down to my Apple-Fanboy-Kingdom of thousands of dollars in devices draped around my body in multiple messenger bags, but I didn\u2019t do that. I followed the process.<\/p>\n
Mom and I left and spent 3 hours, not 2, exploring Charlotte, and we returned at 3:30 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We were checked in, again to the virtual queue by the AirTags and in-store pickup table. This time, after 10 minutes of waiting, I locked eyes with a person who honestly had my eye for the past 4 visits. He was incredibly good at his job. He had what I remember being taught when I started at Apple: never get tunnel vision, see the room, look for opportunities to surprise and delight, and he continued to connect with people personally and was doing a damn fine job at it. He asked me, \u201cAre you being helped?\u201d And despite being asked this question a dozen times by Apple Store employees even though I was in the virtual, not really a line space by the AirTags where devices are serviced, I actually answered him:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is our 4th time, and we just want to pick up her repaired iPhone, and we\u2019re tired and exhausted.\u201d He went into the back after writing down a description of us onto an iPad mini, and out comes a Genius, a real genius. I know because they had that wound-up collection of white cables hanging from their name badge and dust on their blue retail shirt from moving around cardboard boxes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was 4PM and they said, \u201cWe don\u2019t have the parts to repair your FaceID sensor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n
I should add that my used-car-salesman manager had a nice little 1×1 with another store lead just next to us in the presentation area while we waited on those little wooden cubes complaining that someone wasn\u2019t \u201ccarrying their weight.\u201d And I believe also using the words \u201cfuck it\u201d. These conversations don\u2019t happen front of house. I can print out the 2004 retail handbook and bring it to him next time I\u2019m in there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, the genius gave us immense clarity that they were going to help us out. They looked through the notes and were going to call Store R-111 (Jacksonville) and confirm an iPhone 12 Pro Max 128GB was in stock from the warranty pile and allocate one for us. Mom could go there and pick one up the next day. They asked if that would be okay, and we agreed. It would be a new (refurbished) iPhone, but it\u2019s what she wanted, well that or a new battery, but this\u2019ll do, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genius took 30 minutes and came out to confirm at 4:30 p.m. that she could get a new phone tomorrow. We were handed back her untouched phone, but this time it didn\u2019t have a SIM card in it. More on that later.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know that at the time, but the phone she was forced to reset before it went in for service no longer had cell phone service since her Xfinity Mobile connection was via a physical SIM card.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
We arrived back at my house. iCloud restore did work, and I\u2019m so thankful she brought her iPad with her because that was required to authenticate her iCloud restoration on a second Apple device. Everything went smoothly after she fumbled through remembering passwords for Facebook, Snapchat, and other apps that she had logged into 5 years ago and never had to log into again, but it all worked out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The iPhone\u2019s service wasn\u2019t activating, and note this is her iPhone just without a FaceID sensor and a new battery installed, so why wasn\u2019t it connecting?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I spent 3 hours on Xfinity chat support after trying their eSIM installation wizard where I copied the IMEI numbers and it sent me an eSIM and after 3 hours going to TIER 4 (can you believe it?) tech support, they said they couldn\u2019t convert her from SIM to eSIM so I guess Apple Store Charlotte removed her SIM card but didn\u2019t put it back in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The only solution was to visit an Xfinity Mobile store OR they could have one mailed to her by Wednesday to her address in Florida.<\/p>\n
.<\/p>\n
Well, wouldn\u2019t you know, thanks to Spectrum\u2019s ISP dominance in NC, there is no Xfinity mobile store in my state. The nearest one is 6 hours south in Savannah, GA or near Mom\u2019s house in Jacksonville.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So my Mom wakes up this morning Monday at 6 a.m. and drives south without an iPhone using paper maps to get down to Florida and remember this is ALL MY FAULT.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She arrives at Xfinity Mobile at St. John\u2019s Town Center Jacksonville Mall next door to the Apple Store. They say if she\u2019s just getting a new iPhone anyway, she should do that first. She goes over to Apple, they replace her iPhone and she goes next door again and they can\u2019t activate the eSIM or the regular SIM. They send her back to Apple who spends 3 hours with her and then back to Xfinity. She then shuts the place down basically at Xfinity and Apple until an hour after they close. She leaves the mall at 9 p.m. with her new iPhone from Apple but without working cell phone service.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She lives on Google Calendar \/ Gmail and those apps are trying to authenticate by sending her a text message which she can\u2019t receive until she has cell phone service again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sigh.<\/p>\n
So tomorrow she\u2019ll go to Xfinity Mobile again to try to activate her iPhone 12 Pro Max that is new for another try and hope it works. Tier four chat from Xfinity says only a store can do it but last night the store said she really should go on chat for help. Apple has given her a new phone and has completely washed their hands of this because connecting to a cellular network isn\u2019t really their problem<\/p>\n
(Another reason why I\u2019d LOVE for Apple to start their own MVNO for eff\u2019s sake!)<\/p>\n
This saga not yet complete, but Mom is currently up at midnight restoring her iCloud backup to a new phone (again) in hopes they can activate a cellular phone service on it tomorrow at a different Xfinity Mobile store.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is all my fault. I just wanted Mom to get a new battery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s all started by a technician screwing up a battery replacement but those kind of things happen, the cascading effects of this have made life very challenging for her. I\u2019m disappointed and sad. I feel personally to blame. Sigh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019m the first to admit that not everything that could have gone wrong did, but boy did we…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_custom_appearance":"","csco_disable_excerpt_posts_layout":false,"csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-technology","7":"cs-entry","8":"cs-video-wrap"},"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb3IC4-3cI","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6574,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2017\/01\/22\/linked-apple-will-charge-you-70-if-you-lose-an-airpod\/","url_meta":{"origin":12320,"position":0},"title":"Linked: “Apple Will Charge You $70 If You Lose an AirPod”","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"January 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"via Gizmodo: by Christina Warren who was at Mashable and is quite talented and to my mind, a good win for Gizmodo that she\u2019s on their team now. AirPods come with a standard one-year warranty which will cover a defective battery\u2014but not normal wear and tear. Apple will charge $50\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Linked"","block_context":{"text":"Linked","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/linked\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4665,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2015\/05\/28\/linked-an-iphone-6-owner-lives-with-the-iphone-6-plus\/","url_meta":{"origin":12320,"position":1},"title":"Linked: “An iPhone 6 owner lives with the iPhone 6 Plus”","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"May 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"via Marco: Apple chose not to offer such a device. Instead, today\u2019s iPhone lineup requires that you choose: iPhone 6 Plus: The only choice for great battery life, and the best camera, but huge pocket size iPhone 6: Neither great battery life nor great one-handed use nor ideal pocket sizei\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Linked"","block_context":{"text":"Linked","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/linked\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8201,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2020\/02\/25\/technology-apple-watch-series-5-battery-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":12320,"position":2},"title":"Technology: Apple Watch Series 5 Battery Life","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"February 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Always On is not Always Appealing to me and it contributes to a major battery drain that is reminiscent of Series 0\/1 days. Seriously, it\u2019s bad. I loved my Series 4 Apple Watch and after 15 months of ownership, I broke it. 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