If you’ve ever thought about buying an Apple Watch or have one now, you may want to think twice about getting it repaired. It’s a real nightmare!
Over the last several weeks, I’ve been putting my Apple Watch to work. Guiding me through the streets of NYC, Washington DC, LA, Atlanta and New Orleans. I can honestly say that I’ve become a bit dependent of having most of the information I need available at the flick of my wrist. (Review blog posts coming soon.)
Unfortunately, while hanging by the poolside cabana for lunch, my watch fell out of my purse and onto the concrete floor….CRAAAAAAACK! My hopes, dreams, tech stylish aspirations shattered along with the sapphire crystal glass screen of my Apple Watch. Was I devastated? Yes. Completely destroyed? Nope. Cause I cashed out on the Apple Care+ insurance package.
{Note: If I didn’t have AppleCare+, the repair would have been “out of warranty” (because it was my fault), which costs $229 for the Sport model, almost the price of a brand new watch. The steel Watch repair costs $329; and the gold Edition watch is $2,800. (You can find more details about Apple Watch repair here. They also offer a variety of watch services, including Omega Watch Service.}
As I strolled into the only Apple Store in New Orleans the last day in town, I felt relived that I could get my cracked Apple Watch replaced before catching my next flight. A short-lived moment of peace that died 2.5 hours later, when I was informed that Apple Care+ requires you to ship your watch out to Apple’s repair facilities before replacing your device with a new one.
I wasted hours in the Apple store…and missed my flight. I demanded to speak to a manager.
The manager informed me that due to the replacement policy, I was going to have to leave my watch with the store and that they would ship the Apple Watch out for repairs. She vowed to wave the $79 service charge and once the new watch was sent back to the store, she’d priority overnight the package to my home. (Apparently, Apple doesn’t ship in-store purchases to homes.) She promised that I’d get a confirmation call with tracking info the moment it arrived in store. I never got a call.
I called the Apple store:
Monday
Me: “Did my watch come in yet?”
Wednesday
Me: “Did my watch come in yet?”
Friday
Me: “Did my watch come in yet?”
Apple Rep: “Oh yeah, it’s been shipped. Here’s the tracking number. It says it arrived this morning.”
Me: “Who signed for it?”
Apple Rep: “There was no signature required.”
Me: “The package was never received. And why would you send an expensive watch without a signature confirmation?”
Apple Rep: “I’m so sorry. That was clearly an oversight on our behalf.”
At this point, I was ready to conjure up the spirit of Steve Jobs and go COMPLETELY OFF! It was time to take things from a local conversation to a corporate one. I called Apple Care+ and spoke with a supervisor immediately. I explained how the Apple store failed to explain the replacement process, failed to contact me TWICE and ultimately failed to deliver my replacement watch. The Apple Care+ supervisor contacted the New Orleans store and after what felt like a 2hour, 3-way call, the manager contacted my local Apple store and they provided me with a brand new Apple Watch with a black sport band. (That’s two bands for the price of one PLUS a 10-day, customer service catastrophe.)
LESSON LEARNED: If you damage your watch, be prepared for headaches as replacement/repairs come with plenty of frustrations. The 2-3 day replacement window as promised by Apple is a complete joke and your sanity could be at stake. As for now, I’m keeping my watch a little more protected than usual. I’ve purchased extra screen protectors/casings in hopes that I never drop my Apple Watch and have to live this repair/replacement nightmare ever again.
