Let me just start with the e-mail I sent to Apple’s Customer.  I say sent but it was rather typed out on a “Feedback Form” on Apple’s site:

I have been wanting to get an iPhone 5 for several weeks now.  I have called on a semi-weekly basis inquiring on stock, and, for the most part, have been told there was no AT&T iPhone 5’s in stock.  On the occasion they had them in stock, by the time I got to the store they were sold out.  On more than one occasion I’ve just randomly shown up to see if they were any in stock and on every time they were sold out.

That I’m ok with.  I don’t even feel let down when I show up and they are out of stock.  I’m ok with that.

When I call I’ve been told to try to order the phone online and see if I can pick it up on the store when I check out.  I’ve been hesitant to do this, I like the idea of just walking in an buying it in store, but last night I decided to take a chance and see if they were in stock for pick up at the store.

Late at night (after midnight) I logged on Apple.com, ordered a 16 gig Black iPhone 5 for use on AT&T for pick up at the store.  I had two gift cards to Apple that I used for the purchase (one for $34.26 and one for $101.62), and paid for the rest of the phone and a lighting to 30 pin adapter with my debit card.

I woke up and excitedly headed to the Crocker Park Apple Store.  When I got there I was greeted like I had been many times in the past, and after a short wait was helped by a specialist named Rick.  He was very friendly and helpful, and got my phone and adapter right out to me.

He double checked everything, had me sign what I needed to sign and then proceeded to try and activate the iPhone 5.  There I was, early in the morning standing in the Apple Store excitedly staring at the box that contained the phone I had been waiting to purchase for over a month.

The activation process sent back an error code.  Rick tried again several times, informing me that there may be an issue with AT&T servers being overloaded, and assured me that after few minutes it should be fine.  He tried to activate the phone for several minutes in a row, all while being personable and friendly.  Finally he told me that he would call the AT&T help number.

After a quick verification of who I was, AT&T informed him that the error was an Apple error, because I had reserved and purchased it online it had to be cleared from store inventory before it could be activated (this is how Rick relayed the information to me).  Rick consulted another Apple employee who told him he would have to cancel my order, then resell me the iPhone in order to activate it.  The other employee told Rick this was how to solve the problem, it had happened before, and this was the only way to solve the error.

I asked about being charged twice and he told me that the money would be put back into my account, but it would take several days, so for now it would look like I was charged twice but that wouldn’t be the case.  I then asked about the gift cards, that I had been saving them to make this purchase.

Rick told me that there was no way I could use them to purchase the phone today.  It would take a minimum of 5 days for the money on the gift cards to be refunded and then I could use them to purchase the iPhone.  I told him there was no way I could responsibly purchase the phone without using my gift cards, that I had been waiting to use them until this phone came out.  Rick was very apologetic, but assured me there was nothing else he could do.

I ended up leaving the store empty handed.  It was frustrating to have to watch him walk away with this phone that I had purchased online the night before, gotten e-mails from Apple that everything had gone through and was ready for pick up because of a glitch on Apple’s part. That this was an Apple problem, not AT&T, not anything in my control, and the only solution was to cancel my order.  No other solutions were offered.  Not “We can hold this phone for you until the Gift Cards clear,” or “We will try to contact Apple Support for help with this.”  Just a solution that left me leaving the store without the product I had ordered and paid for the night before.

This is in no small way the worst retail shopping experience I have had in years.  Not only did I follow to the letter the directions that Apple Specialists had told me to do in order to ensure I would be able to get the phone when I want, but it actually looked like I would get the phone at the store, and the walk away empty handed because of an issue on Apple’s part.

I now have to wait another week (to make sure the money is back on the gift cards and the refund has made it to my debit card) and will probably have to order the phone the same way, only to hope I don’t have the same experience all over again.  I have never ordered something online only to have such a disappointing experience when I go to pick up the product.

The Apple store had always been the great place to visit, and an excellent place to purchase products.  This trip has gone a long way to changing my mind.

At this point I’m left with the feeling that if I try to order a phone again online to be picked up at the store I will only have the exact same experience of frustration and disappointment.  What leaves me even more sad is that I would still like to get an iPhone 5 in the near future.  However instead of that being an experience I am looking forward with excitement and joy, I am left with indifference and a lingering feeling that nothing will be different from how the trip was today.

So there’s that.

Today I decide to call their customer service and officially complain.

I talk to Ashley, who directs my call to some named Samantha.

I talk to Samantha and tell her my whole story and her response to me is:

“That’s awful.  The money should be back on the gift cards in a week and you should be able to buy a phone then.”

I ask her if it will happen again and she says:

“Well, I don’t want to tell you that it won’t happen again.  There is a chance it will happen again. I don’t want to tell you it won’t happen because then you’ll be mad at me if it does.”

That there is my favorite line of the whole conversation.

I ask what can be done if it happens again:

“Well nothing.  That is the procedure for when this issue happens.”

I tell her that this is really frustrating.  That I did everything I could to ensure this would be a smooth process and am really concerned that no matter what I do it will happen again.

“Well I would love to tell you that it won’t but I can’t.  And I can’t do anything else for you.  I’d love to offer you a case or upgrade or something but because your order was canceled I can’t do any of that.”

Nothing.  Not one thing she can do to help.  There is no one else.  This is just how it is.

I can’t get past the fact that I didn’t cancel my order. Rick did.  That it’s their issue.  Samantha told me so on the phone.  But that there is nothing that can be done.  I’m sure she ticked off on some chart or form that my problem was solved (it wasn’t), that I’m satisfied (I’m not) and that she did her job well (this one’s a maybe… maybe its her job to deal with a polite customer explaining a shitty experience and tell them that there is a good chance they will go through it all over again.. I don’t know).

You rock Apple.  Way to ruin my iPhone experience.

Now I realize this is bitching about nothing particularly rough at all.  That for all I know a week from now I’ll walk away from the Apple store with an iPhone 5 in my hand.  And that there are still power outages and ruin lives in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.  That the election is tomorrow.  That there is still a war going on in Afghanistan.

And yes my world hasn’t ended.  I got up and went to work today.

But Apple.  You Freaking Suck.  A lot.  I want to know that when I order it online for store pick up I actually get to pick it up in the store.  I want to know that when I call customer service with an issue you will offer some sort of solution that isn’t “Try again and hopefully this won’t happen again (there’s a chance it will though and in that case you’re still screwed).”