Dilemma

I’m sure everyone has a bad customer service experience to share and unfortunately, I had my worst just this month. Let me start with my obsession with Apple. I love the sleek design of their products/gadgets so to fulfill my desire; I went straight to Festival Mall one fine day to buy the very famous IPhone.J With an attempt to get the most out of my budget, I hopped from one gadget boutique to another and settled with the store who offered the most reasonable price. I originally wanted to get the phone from POWER MAC but the price is steeper at around PHP2000 so I ended up getting it from Modern Gadgets, a small gadget boutique located at the 3^rd level of Festival Mall. The Php2000 I was able to save went to an authentic red leather case and a matte screen protector. I went home feeling ecstatic. I remember getting giddy downloading all the applications I wanted to use especially, Candy Crush. Anyway, my dilemma started on the first week of May. There were horizontal orange lines that appeared on the message screen of the phone. I didn’t mind it at first with hopes that it would disappear on its own. However, a few days after, there were bluish gray lines that appeared as well. Aside from that, I also noticed that whenever I take pictures the shots will have green and orange pixels on it. This got my attention. I started to research and according to Mr. Google this is a common IPhone issue and normally the suppliers will have to replace the item.  I was relieved after reading this and went to SWITCH in Alabang Town Center a few days after with my warranty and receipt in tow. I did not go to Modern Gadgets purposely because as I have mentioned, they are just a small boutique while SWITCH is an Apple seller that has their own service center at the same time. I thought that the situation will be handled right away but I was mortified when the technician told me that MODERN GADGETS is not an authorized dealer of APPLE so they won’t be able to accept my phone for repair. I was advised to go home and do a couple of self-diagnostic test but the problem was not resolved. I went to Festival Mall the following day and the same guy who sold me the unit made me wait for a freaking 1.5 hours and went back only to tell me that I have to leave my phone for 3 days so that they can do a diagnostic test on it. Being a true blue OC, I instructed the guy to take extra care of my phone. I didn’t want any scratches on it once returned to me.  With not much of a choice, I left the store unhappy, desperately missing my phone. L I called them after three days to check on the status of my concern but the guy was apparently on day off so I was advised to call the following day. I waited and called but got disappointed even more when he told me that the repair center has not given them any updates yet. Thus, I need to wait again for a few more days. To cut the story short, they made me wait for 2 weeks before I got an answer. This was very inconvenient for me as I had to spend a lot of my time calling them back again and again, looking for the guy who sold me the unit who is usually on breaks (I tell you) or if not, speaking with his manager or a customer. And did the answer satisfy me????? The answer is a big NO!!!! They wanted me to pay PHP1000 for LCD replacement because according to their diagnostic test, I somehow crushed the LCD of the phone. ME???? So the fault was on me!!! I created a scene there. I told them I wasn’t buying their fake diagnostic test. I told them I went to SWITCH and found out they were not an authorized dealer. I told them, it’s impossible to crush an IPHONE especially when it’s protected with a hard leather case. The guy kept on apologizing but my concern was disregarded. I ended up agreeing on their offer to replace my LCD for free in severe frustration. I was advised to go back after a few days and as always, they played the waiting game on me. When the day came that I had to pick up my phone guess what happened? The LCD screen which was supposedly new had a chip on the left side and worst, my phone had scratches everywhere. I was beyond mad and at this point, I was able to speak to the manager who was very rude to me by the way. She even had the nerve to tell me “Ma’am pinalitan na nga po yung LCD ng walang bayad, ayaw nyo parin tanggapin?” I told her off. I told her that I was working in the customer service field for quite some time now and so far, she was the only manager who doesn’t have the initiative to give disappointed customers a call. To appease me, she disappeared to make a call and a few minutes later, made the poor guy talk to me instead. They will finally replace the unit but I have to go back on a certain date.  (YES AGAIN!!!!) Fast forward to that day, I called them to follow up and the guy said they won’t be able to replace the item because their supplier did not agree on it. They will just replace the LCD again. I had enough of it. I raised my voice over the poor guy in my dire attempt to get the number of their supplier. He got so scared and gave me what I needed. I spoke with a certain Ms. Dan and told her that I will be filing a complaint against their store if they don’t replace my item. She probably got scared because that same day I was advised to go back to their store to get my new IPHONE.

Modern Gadgets Store, Festival Mall

So far, I am happy with it but just a week ago, the charger and the USB connector stopped working so I had to go back to them again. Luckily, this time …they replaced it the same day – must be because they were threatened with what I can do. Oh, and let me share with you that there was an old man screaming to one of the saleslady when I went there and judging from their conversation, the old man bought a tablet which was damaged. They replaced it and after a few days, the item stopped working. Anyway, my conclusion is that they repair damaged IPHONES and other gadgets then they repack it and sell it to their customers as brand new. This is just a conclusion…but more than anything else, I hope this serves as a warning to you, my dear readers not to buy from this store. I’d say choose MAC or other authorized dealers even if it’s pricier, so when problems arise, you’re covered.