5 Warnings to Shoppers From Ex-Apple Store Employees

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If you own an iPhone, iPad, or MacBook, there’s a good chance you’ve stepped into an Apple store, whether to get technical support for your device or just to check out the latest tech . And though you may think you know almost everything about Apple—it is, after all, the world’s most valuable company —there are a few things the stores are keeping from customers. Read on to hear straight from former employees about what you should be mindful of when shopping at the Apple store, from hidden charges to technical support issues.

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Apple store employees are trained to service and repair malfunctioning iPhones and MacBooks—but in some stores, they’re also encouraged to swap these items out for new or refurbished products rather than fixing the issue.

In a 2019 interview with ZDNET, a former senior store employee explained that front-of-store employees don’t work on commission or receive bonuses, so there’s no incentive to push products. However, he added, “The direction or pressure for employees to sell a certain product comes from the retail leadership team.”

“The Store Leader receives a breakdown of metrics and goals in the form of a Market Report from their Market Leader [regional manager],” the former employee continued. “Retail leadership teams do, in fact, receive a performance bonus based on quarterly sales results, a fact which is never explicitly revealed to the frontline teams.”

But another reason you may be getting products pushed on you is that staff are simply overworked. “There was less time to devote to repairing computers,” Quora user Mark H. Delfs said. “We basically were turned into iDevice swapping robots . We only had a few minutes per customer. Over 90 percent of the time it was an argument on why we couldn’t give you a new device.”

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AppleCare is an extended warranty and protection plan that you can purchase for your devices. Prices vary by device, but for the newest iPhone 14 Pro, it’s $199 for two years for the basic plan or $260 for two years for the “theft and loss” plan—both of which may be hefty price tags for shoppers on top of their iPhone purchase.

But to sell more AppleCare plans, TikToker and former Apple store employee @hitomidocameraroll explained that some workers deceive customers.

“A few employees will tell you that to help you sell AppleCare to your customers you basically just don’t give them the choice ,” the TikTok user says. “You present the phone with the final price, including AppleCare.”

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The Apple store is one of many retailers that ask for feedback and reviews, which can have a tremendous impact on employees.

“You live and die by customer satisfaction ratings ,” says former employee and Reddit user u/minimalistcookie. “You have to maintain a certain level to avoid any action plans with a Team Lead.”

A 2021 article in The Verge explained how each store receives a “net promoter score,” which is essentially a number based on customers’ feedback. But, as they note, customers could give negative ratings based on “things like low inventory or wait time ,” which employees have no control over.

“There’s never positive intent assumed,” a then-current employee in Pittsburgh told The Verge. “It always feels like you’re a kid getting in trouble and you’re making an excuse.”

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“My phone wasn’t even near water!” “I know I bought Apple Care!” “Your manager said I could get this repair for free.” Don’t think you’re going to get over on the Apple store with these lies, according to ex-employee @emmatainment.

Her responses to all of these are : “iPhones don’t sweat.” “Apple Care… purchases include your devices serial number.” “We keep notes on our iPads of customer interactions at the Genius Bar.”

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You may assume that an Apple store employee is lying to you when you ask when the new iPhone is coming out, but the truth is that they only find out when you do.

“The whole company is based on a need-to-know structure , meaning that many of us have no idea what’s going on before the [launch] day (basically when they release new products) even though the rumors are all over the internet,” shared former employee Douglas L. in an article for LinkedIn.

On Quora, employee Ken Carriker explained that this is for two reasons. First, if employees don’t know about launches, they can’t spill the beans. “Also, all but the newest employees are shareholders… By not having any knowledge of upcoming products , we can’t practice, or be accused of, insider trading.”

Apple Will “Aggressively” Price Your Next iPhone, Leaked Report Reveals

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As one of the biggest names in the tech world, Apple has an endlessly loyal following. These are the customers willing to line up for just about any new product that Apple is dropping—even if it’s just an upgrade of something they already have. But if you’re planning to buy the next iPhone, whether right away or a little down the line, you should be aware that it’s not going to come cheap. Despite expectations of prices going down, a leaked report has revealed Apple’s plans to “aggressively” price its next iPhone. Read on to find out more about the tech company’s next move.

READ THIS NEXT: Apple Under Fire—Lawsuit Claims This Product Caused “Significant Injuries.”

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The iPhone 15 is expected to hit markets this fall. According to Mac Rumors, the newest iPhone collection is likely to be released in Sept. 2023, “if Apple follows its traditional September launch timeline.”

The news outlet said that the upcoming iPhone reportedly entered its early trial production stage on Jan. 9—but that doesn’t mean rumors and leaks haven’t already started flying. Based on the latest intel, the iPhone 15 models are “expected to feature USB-C instead of Lightning, solid-state volume and power buttons, new camera technology, and more,” Mac Rumors reported.

But alongside these features, there’s another big change coming to the price

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The most recent leaks on the iPhone 15 indicate that its price tag is set to skyrocket, Forbes reported on Jan. 9. At the start of the month, “historically reliable” industry insider yeux1122 posted a blog post implying that Apple will be “aggressively” pricing some of its upcoming collection, according to the magazine. And now, notable anonymous leaker LeaksApplePro has written a report for HowToiSolve corroborating cost concerns.

According to the leaked report, Apple will raise the price of the iPhone 15 Pro after choosing not to hike the cost for customers with the release of the iPhone 14 collection.

“Unfortunately, it is high time for the Pro models to go up in price. It’s something that was expected last year and that Apple decided not to do,” LeaksApplePro wrote on Jan. 6. “But rising production costs, inflation and shrinking profit margins are already starting to take their toll on the Californian company’s revenue reports, and this pricing strategy to encourage sales of the upcoming iPhone 15 Plus seems like the perfect time to implement a price hike that hasn’t happened since the launch of the iPhone X in 2017.”

Best Life has reached out to Apple for a comment on a potential price hike for the next iPhone, but has not yet heard back.

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Apple just launched its iPhone 14 models last fall. The collection included four new smartphones : As “budget options,” the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus were released on Sept. 7, while the “premium” iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max were made available on Oct. 7, according to Insider. Since then, sales for some of these newer phones have struggled.

According to yeux1122, sales of the iPhone 14 Plus have fallen “far beyond” even the lowest estimates from Apple, MacWorld reported. This may be because the Plus model and the Pro Max model in this collection are too close in price.

“The iPhone 14 Plus starts at $899 while the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which has the same screen size, costs just $200 more with numerous extra features: A16 chip, ProMotion display with the Dynamic Island, telephoto camera, and stainless-steel design,” MacWorld explained.

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It might not seem unusual for Apple to raise the price on new products, but expects were actually expecting the opposite for the iPhone 15 amid disappointing iPhone 14 Plus sales.

“This iPhone, which Apple launched in September 2022, has failed to meet the California company’s sales expectations,” LeaksApplePro wrote for HowToiSolve. “It has probably been the model that has sold the least of this year’s four models, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better.”

As Apple is expected to launch the same structure of smartphones for the iPhone 15 collection—the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max—many assumed that the tech giant would slash the price of the iPhone 15 Plus to avoid sales flopping similarly to those of the iPhone 14 Plus. But LeaksApplePro said that the price of this model “will be the same,” while the iPhone 15 Pro price will go up to “provoke more sales.”

“The biggest problem of the iPhone 14 Plus has been, and is, that many customers find it worth paying $100 more and buying the iPhone 14 Pro instead of the Plus,” LeaksApplePro noted. “The solution is simple: raise the price of the iPhone 15 Pro. This way, buyers who want the iPhone 15 Pro will buy it anyway, and those undecided between the Plus and the Pro will likely opt for the Plus.”