Can you imagine? At the Apple center, the cashier didn't even know about their own new product... I wanted to buy the AirPods 5 with wireless charging case, and this guy kept lecturing me that the AirPods 5 doesn't come in that version and that I needed to buy the AirPods Pro... Eventually, the employee next to him couldn't take it anymore and quietly told him that it actually does exist... Oh, good to know! John, you really need to train your staff better!
I am extremely disappointed with our experience at the Apple Park Visitor Center.
This happened on the very first day of our trip to San Francisco. We had just arrived and were only beginning what was supposed to be an enjoyable trip. The Apple Park Visitor Center was one of our first stops.
While visiting the center, our rental vehicle was broken into in the parking lot. The right rear passenger window and the back window were smashed, and our backpacks were stolen from the vehicle. We lost close to $8,000 worth of personal and workrelated belongings, including my laptop.
What makes this even more disturbing is that the parking area is right in front of the Apple Visitor Center. This is not an isolated parking lot. We were not inside for very long, and there was a security personnel walking the property yet apparently no one heard or noticed two windows of our vehicle being smashed and our belongings being taken. We were told by employees and security personnel that vehicle break ins have happened at this location before. Yet to our surprise, we were informed that there are no security cameras covering the parking area. We also did not see signs warning visitors about the risk of leaving belongings inside their vehicles.
I understand that Apple cannot control the actions of criminals, and I am not suggesting that Apple is responsible for every crime that occurs in the area. However, if management and security are aware that vehicle break ins are a recurring concern at this location, visitors should at minimum be clearly warned BEFORE they park and enter the Apple Visitor Center. In other areas around San Francisco, we saw signs specifically warning visitors about vehicle break ins and not to leave belongings in their cars. We did not see those warnings here.
This is extremely disappointing considering Apple's size, reputation, and resources. Visitors come to the Apple Park Visitor Center from all over the country and the world. It is reasonable for visitors to expect that a designated parking area located directly in front of such a prominent corporate destination would have appropriate security measures, surveillance or at the very least, clear warnings about a known risk.
What should have been an enjoyable part of our trip to California instead became an extremely stressful and costly experience. Having nearly $7,000 worth of belongings stolen and our rental vehicle damaged within such a short period of time was devastating.
I sincerely hope Apple takes incidents like ours seriously. If vehicle break ins are a known issue at this location, Apple should improve parking lot surveillance, increase security measures, and prominently warn visitors BEFORE another family or traveler has to experience what we did.
S
Želimir Stanić
Sep 14, 2026
I expected the Google Visitor Center to be a somewhat different and more special experience compared with a typical Apple Store. However, apart from being located in the same building as one more café, I did not find much that made it particularly distinctive.
I would, however, like to give special credit to Samuel, a young man from Ethiopia who has only been working here for two months. He was exceptionally kind, helpful, and professional.
I also bought an iPhone 17 Pro here for my sister’s daughter.
We stopped by here since we had someone in our group who likes Apple. It’s literally a store with Apple products. That’s honestly it. However, that being said, they do have a cool AirPod display and a very odd, grey, and sad looking scale of the park. They also have retro style Apple shirts you can purchase which are neat. In my opinion, very underwhelming. But if you love Apple then you will enjoy the experience!
SS
sultanahmet1shop
Aug 31, 2026
Subject: Systemic Failure in Executive Communication and Escalation Management (Case Reference: Unresolved Hardware Defect, 22+ Days)
Dear Apple Executive Leadership and Strategic Operations Team,
I am writing to formally log an egregious breakdown in customer lifecycle support, service delivery, and executive escalation within Apple’s operational structure in Istanbul, Turkey. As a long-standing consumer who expects the premium reliability synonymous with the Apple brand, the systemic opacity and operational friction I have encountered over the past 22 days are deeply alarming.
Nearly a month ago, I reported a critical device failure regarding a fractured telephone body. What should have been an expedited repair or replacement procedure through Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASP) transformed into an exercise in bureaucratic paralysis. The local authorized technical service infrastructure in Istanbul provided a remarkably sub-par user experience characterized by zero transparency, evasive updates, and a complete absence of resolution-oriented protocols.
When frontline technical channels collapsed, standard enterprise protocol mandated escalation to local leadership. Shockingly, the local Apple Turkey Leadership Team, including country-level executive directors and senior customer care managers, operates behind a firewall of utter reachability. Multiple formal grievance records submitted through regional customer relations channels have yielded no actionable recourse or substantive follow-up.
Attempting to establish open-ended, solution-driven dialogue, I personally reached out to over five to ten Apple executive leadership profiles via professional channels such as LinkedIn. Every single communication attempt was met with complete radio silence. It is astonishing that the world’s most valuable technology enterprise—an organization built on human-centric design and seamless user experience—has intentionally closed off direct communication lines between its management layer and its consumer base.
Due to this total obstruction of digital and operational channels, I was forced today to dispatch a physical, old-fashioned formal written letter from Istanbul directly to the Apple CEO and Board of Directors at Apple Park.
For a global market leader, institutional isolation of this magnitude is unexplainable. Denying consumers structured, transparent communication channels regarding legitimate hardware defects not only damages brand equity but fails fundamental standards of corporate responsibility. I urgently request an immediate intervention from Executive Relations to review the service logs in Turkey and bring this 22-day operational failure to a definitive resolution.
Sincerely