The Mac Store

I really wanted to like this place and until today I did. I wanted to scream when I came in for my «scheduled appointment» to work on my mac or leave it for repair. The salesman was worthless and completely took no responsibility for the phone tree their store uses to schedule the appts. He blames apple and was like there was nothing he could do about it. I hate the victim approach to customer service. It is very unflattering. Why don’t you start with how YOU CAN help me and not put me on the defense as I walk in the door. I was already beyond frustrated with me mac not working and this just put me over the edge. Very disappointed in the approach to the problem.

I signed up with Unilocal mainly to help good businesses thrive and stay alive; we consumers need the help, especially when tech is involved. Most of these reviews are right on – excellent customer service for the most part, and the few bad experiences listed could reflect Apple’s own changing customer service policies, reflected in the stores that service consumers. A long time ago I had one negative encounter that – even though the Mac Store is not part of Apple – really felt like the «Apple way.» That was a one-​timer, and all other times the Mac Store has been terrific, especially in giving confidence and good service to a non-​tech Boomer like me. The manager of this Mac Store, along with other long-​time employees, understand that an old Apple computer is as special to consumers as new ones. Also, after many complaints, consumers are able, once again, to dial up the store directly, without having calls screened.
With such respectful service, I’ll be back, eventually, for my next Apple computer.

I was referred to this store by a tech at Apple to have a new external hard drive installed in my out-​of-​warranty Macbook. I bought the hard drive elsewhere. I called the store to find out pricing and whether an appointment is needed. When you call their 800 number, you choose the store you want. I left a message on voice mail. Someone called me back later the same day, and I made an appointment. The installation would be $ 49, plus $ 100 if I wanted the data transferred from the old drive, but Apple had told me they could do the data transfer for free but not the HD installation. I made an appointment for a morning time. When I arrived, the store was already busy but there were 4 employees. Cecily, a Macologist, waited on me. She was slightly confused at first. She said that usually they do not make morning service appointments, but I suggested it was because I had asked to drop the Macbook off on my way to another appointment in the area. She then quoted a higher price for the installation. I told her what I’d been told over the phone, but I also noticed the large sign next to the counter that says the $ 49 price is when you buy the drive from them. Not to worry: Cecily said she would do the installation for the $ 49, and furthermore, since Apple would do the data transfer from free, The Mac Store could do that also as a courtesy. (My old drive was not very big, data-​wise, so would not take long.) She also noted that according to their records I was a long-​time customer, though I had not used a Mac Store for at least a decade! My Mac was ready for pickup by early the next day, and it works great. I was very pleased with the service.

As always we received excellent service at the Beaverton Mac Store! John was super helpful in returning my call regarding a new Mac book battery, and equally helpful when we showed up in the store! He quickly changed out the battery, answered a ton of questions about printers and we walked out feeling well cared for as usual. Thank you for the great service!

Many thanks to Shawn for the outstanding customer service and guidance regarding our purchase. I will return and recommend to others.

I’m in the midst of a really bad experience with this store and I feel I need to share it.
Recently, I traded in an iPad and Mac Mini at this store to purchase a Macbook Air. I told them I wanted extra RAM for video editing. Normally– this requires a special order to Apple. Lucky for me, the salesperson found a Mac in their warehouse built to the specifications that I needed. Apparently it was ordered by another customer and never picked it up. I bought it that day and was told I could pick it up at the store in less than a week. They told me the warehouse was just a few miles away.
When I called five days later and was told the computer was still en route, I should have realized something was wrong. I called eight days after sale and that’s when things just got weird. Several different people at the store told me different stories. Finally, the store manager left me a pretty rude message saying that he could not promise timely delivery on anything ordered from Apple. He didn’t leave a callback number, but luckily he called my cell so I called him back. I explained that it was not an order from Apple, but the purchase of an in-​stock item.
This is when things got really weird. He told me that the computer I purchased had already been sold to another person. He told me that they ordered my computer from Apple and delivery date was unknown. One Mac Store employee then told me that delivery could take several weeks.
They said they can’t give me a refund because I traded my Macs in to pay for the item. Now, I am awaiting a call from a manager, but I don’t have great hopes that this will be fixed anytime soon. I feel like a trapped customer. They have my money and my old equipment (which is probably already sold) and all I have is a receipt and the promise of a call in the future.
I was totally shocked. Is this worthy of a complaint to the DOJ?

I like to drive less when possible and support local businesses. But it didn’t work out this time. If you want help, go to the real Apple Store at Washington Square or downtown.
My son received an ipod Touch 5 and I bought a screensaver there. I knew the merchandise was more expensive than ordering online but felt we needed to get it protected before it was scratched. We realized quickly that it was fussier than the ones we had bought for our phones. So my husband drove back with my son and the staff refused to help with it. They said they did not have the profit margin to help customers, nor were they trained. Note that the store was not busy with other customers at the time they visited. They also refused to return it because it was used.
My husband stood there and put the cover on as best he could and the guy had no problems telling him him what he was doing wrong (even without «training»).

I love this place. Every time I go in, I come out happy and satisfied. They are very knowledgable and eager to help solve the problem. I have had great help from both Anthony and Leah. I learn something new every time.

You can do better in Beaverton, just take it to the real Apple Store. Service clerks who can’t read their own work orders which allow a computer that has been repaired to be picked up by someone else other than the computer owner is just asking to be ridiculed. Yes Anthony, I’m talking about you.
Go elsewhere for your Apple products.

Robert S. was a huge help to us — I was literally in tears about a hard drive that had no Firewire socket. He was very understanding and reassuring about which data would make it to the older laptop and which wouldn’t, but would stay intact on the hard drive. He also helped us with various other data transfers. Thank you Robert!

Love this store! the staff members are knowledgeable and love their jobs. Their honest and try not to sell you anything that you dont need, but give you several options. They always have a nice trade-​up program when buying computers.

The sales team here are very knowledge and nice

I usually buy all my Apple goodies here, but the other day I needed some tech help and Robert came to the rescue. He spent some time explaining my problem and then started the «fix». Major kudos to him and all the other folks here that are always so pleasant and helpful. VIVA le APPLE.

I have been using this store for years and have nothing but excellent service and repairs.
Great store!

Tried them w/​very bad results years ago, figured things might have changed.
Mistake.
today asked for tech support and was given the phone # to apple.
I called back asking why they wouldn’t even tell me they were giving me an apple number when I had asked to speak to someone at their store and I got a lecture about how they don’t give «tech support» over the phone and if I’d like to bring it in… etc.
Speechless, I asked why no one said so in the first place… and got this kind of snotty, rudeness that I got years ago… incredibly this must be the culture there even after all this time.
If this is acceptable treatment from the first phone call, image if you have an actual problem with this company… run, don’t walk away. MacPac turned out to be really great customer service and honest.

We were on a mission to replace my PC with a mac and buy iPads for my mom and mother in law so they can skype with my kiddos. The Mac store had raving fans on Unilocal,and we love to shop «the little guy», so we headed there first.
We wandered around for about 5 mintues, and finally went up to the desk to ask for help. I was helped by Charles, the floor manager. I told him «I’m switching to a Mac from a PC», and I’d picked the Mac book Air, 13″, I’d like to buy one. He didn’t have one. He said, those were backed up in production, and that I probably would have a hard time getting my hands on one. He didn’t try to sell me anything else, and he didn’t really act like he wanted me to buy anything.
I was pretty dead set on the model I’d picked, though, so I moved on, I told him I wanted to buy an iPad (although at this point, I wasn’t feeling any love). So he helped us with that, and we bought the ipad and a case for one of the grandmas.
We did find some great games we’d never heard of on their ipad, which was a bonus. Also, they had a check-​in offer for a great deal on some iphone earbuds, so bonus there!
I was just a little miffed that the salesperson told me I wouldn’t be able to find my computer in stock, when it was indeed in stock at the Apple store 5 minutes away. He didn’t even offer to special order it, or tell me I could order it online, or anything, just nope, we don’t carry it, you probably can’t have it. That made me sad.

I am gonna be a bit off the beaten path but this place has EPIC CUSTOMER SERVICE. Seriously. Do NOT go to the place full of high school students & unemployed actors who flash their ipad or ipod to «check you in» while 50 of them stand around and «look cool» while you wait 2 hours. Instead come here, deal with grown-​ups who love technology and who don’t need the hype to sell their wears.
I really put this customer service to the test when I brought a family friend of mine here who has severe Autism. He doesn’t talk, is really big & can seem quite intense but I had a feeling an ipad would do him wonders to help him communicate with those of us around him. I gave this store a call, told them that we would need a big table with only one ipad on it and minimal distractions. THAT DAY we showed up and because they had their demo ipads set up along a wall they couldn’t take apart the Manager came into work when he was off, loaned us his personal ipad to test out and had even loaded some applications on it they thought might help. They talked to my friend directly and acted like they did this all the time. They looked him in the eye (or at least tried to), asked him if he had any questions and honestly did an epic job. I cannot tell you how many times I just tried to talk to a manager at another store and couldn’t even leave a message… oy…
You can tell these people love their job and believe in their product. They are local and will go to the ends of the earth to make you happy… seriously. I also enjoy that they are open to ALL members of our community and they will be getting my $$ from now on.

Jesse the support guru saved the day!
Fantastically helpful people and a nice looking ‘showroom’ feel to the store. Some folks may not know, but they offer support services as well.
Last week the hard drive in my MacBookPro failed and could not be revived. No data was lost since it’s all backed up with Time Machine and JungleDisk. My biggest challenge was how to install OS X Snow Leopard onto my new hard drive… when my internal super-​drive was not reliably working.
I made a support appointment at the store (they offer a 15 min technical support assessment) in which I explained my dilemma. Jesse was incredibly helpful, he suggested several ways in which I could install OS X on my new drive and helped me transfer my install DVD image to a USB key, from which I then booted my Mac and installed OS X to the new drive.
I was extremely satisfied with their support and will continue to support their business!

Please Restart? But I did restart. over and over… Well Shit!
Panic stricken, I rushed my little iBook to The Mac Store with my fingers crossed. I was quickly swept up by a friendly employee who whisked my sad computer to the service area. «Uh Oh», he made a face — «Black screen». BLACK SCREEN?! Like a true professional he tried to explain the situation in layman terms, bless him. A couple clicks later he got it booted! He warned me to back it up and sent me on my way free of charge. He could have easily snatched it up and charged me the 99 $ fee to backup my computer with there Mac magic or tell me top secret expensive tests needed to be ran and I would not have know any better. I wanted to hug him or buy him a 6pack but I just rushed out. I thought the least I could do is give this place a FABULOUS review.
The people who work here are truly knowledgeable and helpful, and I felt like he was keeping it real with me. I didn’t feel like he was trying to sell me things, the interaction felt really genuine and not like they were trying to make a buck… or a thousand bucks since apple is so damn expensive.
My computer might be slowly dying… but at least I know where I’ll buy my next one.

The people at this store were over the top friendly and helpful when we came here in search of an iPod touch for my friend who had been carting around a 256mb piece of crap for far too long.
Although my friend knew he wanted an iPod touch, he still had lots of questions about them… all of which were answered patiently in spite of some language barriers that needed to be passed. I was there primarily as moral support but I was pleasantly surprised at how willing they were to help. The prices are Apple standard, but we wanted to pick this up while we were in Oregon [sales tax holiday for us based in Washington] which did help us save a few bucks =)