On January 20th I went to the TCC store seeking assistance with a replacement phone. Tabitha, the store manager, asked if I had insurance. I explained that while I did not have Verizon insurance, I did have AppleCare+. She said she would check my account and later told me I had no insurance. Because my phone was broken, I couldn’t verify this myself and relied on her guidance.
She advised that my best option was to upgrade due to a promotion. I asked about keeping my iPhone 15 Pro, but she said they did not carry it in-store and that the pricing would be the same since I was uninsured. Trusting her as the agent, I agreed.
Once home, I discovered my phone was in fact covered under AppleCare+. The store was closed, and the next morning I called over 14 times before finally reaching someone that afternoon. The store has no voicemail, making it difficult to get assistance. When Josh answered, he was dismissive and unhelpful. I explained that Apple instructed me to retrieve my phone so they could process the replacement and possibly issue a partial credit through Verizon. Josh told me the phone had already been sent off, though Verizon later confirmed they could not see any record of this.
I went to the store that evening, and Josh was more professional and said he would pass my information to Tabitha. When Tabitha called the next day, she claimed I told her I “don’t believe in insurance,” which is completely untrue. If that were the case, she would not have paused to look up my insurance. I also reminded her that she had offered to let me keep the phone because she believed I’d been in a car accident and that my auto insurance might cover it.
I explained that I now had to pay $650, a $40 activation fee, and a higher monthly bill which are unnecessary costs because I had AppleCare+ coverage that was not properly acknowledged. I asked if any credit could be offered, even a partial one I know usually something could be done because I've worked in customer service in the past. She responded that she was not customer service, but a sales representative.
I feel misled and taken advantage of. This experience was extremely disappointing, especially from the store manager, and I would not recommend doing business with this location. I district manager reached out to me a couple weeks later, but as of today still nothing has been done.