Apple Istore Ballito Mall

I had been to the apple istore in the ballito mall on 3 occasions and all 3 have been different experiences.

The first instance was the most pleasant of the 3. Due to the lockdown, I had been working from home and desperately needed a new MacBook charger. Upon visiting istore I had to wait in line just to be served, this was just after the lockdown period so I was not too chuffed about that. Once I finally got to the front of the line I was greated by a consultant that didnt even know what charger my macbook uses. Upon getting further assistance from another consultant I finally got my charger, finally ready to pay and leave only to be told there had been a price change and the price on the label was actually incorrect. After a brief exchange of words with the consultant and manager they had agreed to give me the charger at the advertised price.

My second exchange with the store was far less pleasant. I needed a few small items for my work from home setup and I thought to give istore a second chance. I arrived at the store early one weekday morning, this time found no one at door. There was an employee sitting at the back of the store that didn't even notice my husband and I at the front. We waited a few minutes before a consultant eventually approached us and proceeded to assist. When I asked why no one assisted I was told by the consultant that he was the only one working in the sales department and the consultant sitting at the desk at the back of the store was actually the main store manager.

My third experience with istore was fairly recent. I had put my ego aside and decided to give ballito istore one more try. I had gone in to upgrade my vodacom contract, as istore so proudly advertises their partnership with vodacom. I went to the shop and was told that I would not be able to do my upgrade as I did not bring my ID card with me, so I ran back home got my ID and hurried back to the store only to be told that I now required proof of address, this was not initially communicated with me. I managed to get a bill from another retailer and headed back to the store. At this point I was told by a consultant that I wouldn't be able to do my upgrade because the vodacom consultant was not available that day, why couldn't this have been stated when I spoke to the first consultant?. I had drove all the way to the store so I thought I might as well get my current iPhone looked at as the battery life seemed to have deteriorated, I was then told by the consultant that I had to make an appointment for any technical issues as they work only by appointment, she then attempted to book the appointment only to notify me that everything is booked for the day.

I am extremely disappointed with the service received from the store. It is poor to say the least. Apple is a company that prides itself as being "customer first" but this store does not abide by that philosophy.

The consultants I have delt with in this store have been very friendly however they all have no clue as to what they sell. I spent more time waiting for them to find out information from their colleagues than I do actually speaking to them. The store manager seems to just sit at the desk deeply engrossed in her computer not bothering about the customers or the employees. I do not personally see why there is an appointment system to get assistance at this store as all 3 times I have been there it was a virtual ghost town.

I think this store exist just so Apple south africa can say they have 1 more store in the country. The service is terrible and I have now decided to never go back there.

I think I would prefer to cater for all my apple needs online or take a drive to umhlanga for service.