WATERFRONT APPLE MAC ISTORE DOES NOT NEED YOUR BUSINESS
Database is more important than income
12.05.2009I am still a bit shell-shocked after my harrowing visit to the Waterfront this morning. I went to get some passport photographs and decided to pop into the Waterfront iStore shop who (I was under the impression) sell most Apple Mac products. I was looking for an iPod shuffle, as my normal iPod is too big to jog with, as is my iPhone. I just wanted a little one to hold my gym songs – you know, like Rihanna’s “Rehab” and The Pointer Sisters’ “Jump”!
The iStore shop at the Watefront
They don’t like selling Apple Mac products
So I cruised in and waited for a few minutes for anyone to notice me. I did two laps of honour, to be honest. there was one other customer in the shop and three members of staff – one of them helping that customer.
It was like something out of the movie Chopper. Those of you who have seen it will remember the scene in the prison when all the people in the cell deny having witnessed Chopper’s recent murder (which happened right next to them). “Well, officer, I missed it all – you see, I was washing my hands in the basin. And Jimmy was watching me wash my hands. And Bruce was watching Jimmy watch me wash my hands” etc etc.
You get the idea.
“Bradley” reluctantly decides to get involved and I explain to him that I need an iPod Shuffle. Cool, he says, as he gets me one from the display cupboard.
We go to the counter. I’m in a bit of a rush as I’m just here to get the iPod – I’m not looking for an experience or anything.
“Have you bought from us before?” he asks.
“I don’t know,” I answer. “Do you take American Express?”
“Yes we do. What is your surname please?”
I give him my surname.
“What is your first name.”
I give him my first name.
“Could I get your home address if that’s ok?” He gave me the option.
“Nah,” I said, “I’d prefer not to” as I looked around to see if the shop doubled up as a pharmacy – who have to by law get your details if you buy certain products.
“Okay,” said Bradley, “Can I have your phone number please.”
“I’d rather not give my phone number, bru. I just want to buy the iPod and move on with my life. Can I do that please?”
“We need your phone number” said Bradley.
“Can you not make the sale without my phone number?” I asked, bemused.
“No, I can’t,” he replied.
“I see. Do they sell these things next door at Incredible Connection?”
“Yes they do,” confirmed Bradley.
“Cool. Goodbye!” as I spun on my heel and went next door to Incredible Connection.
I did not walk fast and he made no attempt to stop me. I swear to God – it was QUITE bizarre.
They had the same unit there at Increidble Connection for EXACTLY the same price. And no-one asked me any questions to beef up any database and ruin my shopping experience. And even if they did, I DOUBT they would have denied me the purchase if I chose not to.
In and out – that is what MOST people want from their shopping experience.
Thank you Incredible Connection.
iStore – FAIL.
I won’t be going back anytime soon.
Have YOU had a drama with the iStore or Core, the company that owns it? Let us know by leaving a comment to this article.
Recent remarks on Twitter include:
iStore V&A is a joke Seth. This one “techie” dropped my iphone 3G trying to fit a iphone NON-3G case to it. (@charlformd)
Apple’s lack of official presence in SA allows the greed and incompetence of Core (iStore) to ruin it’s reputation 4 service (@paul_mark)
they can’t force you to give them your number!!! (@andrewfarr)
May 12th, 2009 at 11:53 am
I had EXACTLY the same experience with the V&A iStore. Kak! I won’t be back either.
May 12th, 2009 at 11:56 am
LoL
does anyone know WHY they need those details ?
May 12th, 2009 at 11:58 am
WTF? That doesn’t make any sense. Are they gonna call you to make sure you got home ok after leaving their store? I wonder what ass-hat decided to place that gate in the way of a sale. It’s just plain ridiculous.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
They want your details so they can build a RELATIONSHIP with you!! Seth just wanted a one-night stand…
Also had my experience of being ignored by MACstaff surplus… ended up going online and ordering from an overseas based website.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
I had very much the same problem when I shopped there. Didn’t like the blatent invasion of my privacy, so I gave them your phone number.
I have since taken to giving your phone number for any other transaction which may result in my getting unsolicited calls/sms’s/insurance quotes etc. Sometimes, I give them your phone number even when they don’t ask for it. Initially, they appear bemused, but eventually grateful.
Why not try and get Bradley’s cell number and then do what I do with yours?
May 12th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
That store is a joke. With the recent rand instability I was once again surprised at the wonder that is Apple in SA.
I went in to buy a dock for my iPhone, and it had a printed price on its package of R399. When I reached the till they told me sorry, the price has increased to R470.
Now this I dont understand. If you have it in stock, how can the price change the moment I buy it?
Is there not some law against this?
Apple in South Africa is a joke – the computers are overpriced compared to overseas as well. Lets see how long they take to decrease the prices now that the rand is stronger.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
I thought it was just me… don’t know whether to feel better or worse that it’s been happening to others! Definitely a fail.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Pathetic.
Can’t believe he let you walk out the door. Bradley, if you are reading this, put in a fake number FFS!
May 12th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
This is common. In the states the salesmen (& woman) are disguised as “Apple Geniuses” .
The istore is pathetic both in sales & help. Ive sold more macs then any of those guys at the store.
Best bet is the good old Digicape
I cant believe he didn’t sell you the ipod!
No email address on their site too – appleistore.co.za
May 12th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
It seems that A) A lack of service levels is prevalent in South Africa. People honestly just don’t give a damn about the customer, or making a sale. As sales people, based on commission no doubt, they simply just dont want to put in the effort to make that sale, then whine at the end of the month that they don’t have a decent enough salary/commission. Car dealers are the same! When will this service level change? Are we, as South African, complacent in our service delivery? Are companies just not that interested in educating their staff on great service levels?
And B) Apple staff seem have an arrogance that they don’t need to sell their product, or is it that they think the client walking in can’t afford the product? Either or, APPLE, YOUR SERVICE IS CRAP!
Thank you for letting us know…
May 12th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I had almost the same experience in the Clearwater iStore in JHB – I was looking for the baby Nano (the sub 2k (4GB) nano that had been released in SA 2 months earlier).
Not only did the sales staff not know about it, but each time I said I was looking for the smaller NANO, they kept pointing me to the shuffles! Dude, if I wanted a shuffle I would have ASKED for one..
The Incredible Connection around the corner (in the same mall) not only had the product I was looking for, but had it on special, with a couple of free iPod sleeves to boot.
Honestly, the iStores need to pull finger Big Time.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
their service is terrible… i wont be doing any shopping there again… rather just go for digicape.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Apple Stores famed for “the experience” has the worst customer service. I have experienced this. The staff there also think that they have been elevated into a realm beyond us mere mortals, and their knowledge is actually shoddy. The last place I go for Apple help is Apple, and most peoples with my level of expertise concur.. And yes, Core Group’s monopoly is hurting the consumer. iStore: iFail.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
I recently had supper with a friend of mine who works for Apple in the UK. He told me he had visited the waterfront and had seen the store, and was shocked at how it is modeled on the authentic “apple store” – as there IS NO APPLE STORE IN SA!!! He reckoned the branding and look was all modeled on the Apple Stores look from about 1 year ago…
To my knowledge, there are only registered apple retailers and resellers, which all go through the main supplier: core.co.za – “istore” is not “apple store” as far as I know.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Hi Seth,
Thanks for this, I couldn’t agree with you more. Maybe you should register your complaint with The Core Group, they own the istores, here’s a link to their site: http://www.core.co.za/feedback.php
May 12th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Welcome to the club Seth, I’ve experienced the same sht service with the one here in JHB, Clearwater Mall to be specific, but been to the new one at the Melrose Arch, service was great!
May 12th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
This is such a sad state of affairs. I’m an apple supporter through and through and I too have received nothing less than crap service at ALL apple iStores, CAB stores and from Core themselves.
I think these Geniuses should be relabelled “Retards” cause they know nothing about the products they sell and have no concept of client service either. Clearly their managers, bosses and execs are “Complete Retards” for allowing the level of professionalism to drop this low.
I currently have in my home a Powerbook G4, Macbook 17, Macbook Pro 17, Macmini and an iPhone. So clearly I am a supporter of their products (I’m not even going to get started on the number of people I have “converted”).
Yet when something goes wrong with my equipment I need to escalate my issues to the highest level at core (once I find their top secret phone number), throw my toys and sometimes threaten with my journalist credentials.
Why should someone who has spent close on R100k need to resort to this??? Services and support should be a given, especially from a company like Apple that continuously makes claims of grand support!
May 12th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Have they learnt nothing from MacDonalds?!?!
Quicky – in and out.. that’s what it’s all about..
HAhahahahahahahaha!
May 12th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Its amazing how many times I have seen that header being retweeted across twitter this morning! This is spreading like wildfire and hopefully Core realises how important social media management and customer service is to their business. They are in the technology industry for crying out loud, get with it Core and do some serious damage control here.
I have also been ignored everytime I have gone into the waterfront store, with incredible connection next door who jump to assist me I may decide to forgo apple altogether and live with PC.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
What a fuck up!
May 12th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I am a Apple convert through and through. Great products and (internationally) great service.
Since returning from the UK I have been shocked by the Apple retail experience in SA. There is no official Apple retail presence in SA. The iStores (owned by Core) are the closest thing to it. Unfortunately they are poor imitations of the genuine article. To start with the products are completely overpriced. This is blamed on exchange rates but of course the prices never go down when the rate improves. The staff know next to nothing about the computers they are trying to sell and seem to have the attitude that they are actually doing you a favour!
Wish Apple would realise the damage that Core is doing to their reputation for good service and open their own official Apple retail store in SA.
Havent said all that I have had good experiences at Digicape. Prices still arent great (Core sets the prices) but at least their service seems pretty decent.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Hi Seth,
I, too, am a major Mac supporter and have 2 beautiful 21″ iMacs and an 80Gig iPod and 20Gig iPod, so love their products.
I have also had a crap experience from the Waterfront store when wanting to buy a simple cable to connect my one iMac to the plasma at home in order to use it as a media centre. They didn’t have stock, couldn’t tell me when they’d get and the reality, it turns out, is that the salesperson didn’t know what it was that I wanted.
So, off to the always reliable DigiCape who helped me out in no time. Their staff are always friendly and knowledgable about the products. They even repaired my one iMac for free (even though it was only 3 months old) when my son managed to shove 3 DVD’s into the slot, which shouldn’t have been repaired under warrantee…
Three cheers for DigiCape and to iStore, you need to pull up your socks big-time!
May 12th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Funnily enough, I had a similar experience, but at Incredible Connection, where I ended up storming out of Incredible Connection and going to Computer Mania.
Another place I had issues at was Levi’s in Cavendish.
Customer service, in general, in Cape Town is not fantastic, the staff working in the shops are not motivated to work hard at all.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Last week i took my apple laptop to that exact store. When booking my computer in the salesman could not remove my battery let alone put it back in the machine- which i had to show him how to do. Surely if you work at the store you should learn the BASICS before serving customers. And when i received my laptop back it was still not fixed and actually more retarded than before.
So to sum it all up it has been to the apple store and Digicape 6 times and the problem is still not resolved…
Now that’s service!!!
May 12th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Yip – had a similar experience at shop some time ago. Same product as well?! One almost gets the feeling that the Ipod shuffle is too inexpensive and they’d rather be selling G5’s or something. They clearly have no idea what customer service is about and can’t see how it affects their profit margin.
Agreed! FAIL.
May 12th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
I’m all for service excellence and in no way want to defend the iStore. Simply want to state the obvious. When paying with a credit card, it’s always a good idea to get a contact number as not all transactions go through properly. They bounce a day or so later. So how would you reclaim that money with no contact details?
May 12th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
A friend of mine wanted to buy a mac and we were at the Waterfront so she went into the iStore get info etc and I met her there after I’d gone to another shop. I walked in, saw she was busy getting chatted up by the sales assistant, so I stood and waited for her… for 15 minutes. Not one sales assistant asked me if I needed help etc. I stood there like a gormless retard. Needless to say, I was pissed off with the friend and the stupid store so I left her to get spaded and went and had a smoke.
May 12th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
@leavemealone.. If your ID or contact details are required for credit card payment due to policy within the store in question, then “Bradley” could have at least informed his paying customer of this policy before he left to go buy at incredible connection.
Point is, he was a bad sales rep who knows nothing about customer service or putting the customer at ease with such requests.
May 12th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
good morning everyone. i had the best experience at the apple istore waterfront. they have the friendliest staff and are most helpful. i have done most of my purchases with bradley and have recieved the best service ever.
They need your details for the warranty purpose anyway so i dont see what the issue is.
May 12th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
@SuStokes Yep, I agree with you…
May 12th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I am complete agreement with you that the iStore in Cape Town sucks, they are generally very unfriendly and seem to not stock necessary products for a mac fan such as myself (they don’t stock iPhone gear!). To be honest i don’t like shopping there myself but as a huge mac fan its a problem. Considering you were getting passport photos, may i suggest a trip to 5th Avenue? Down the bottom, right next to FAO Schwartz, across the road from central park is a glass box with an apple logo on the front. Its open 24 hours so don’t worry, go inside and down the stairs and you will be greeted by a site that will make your jaw drop, it is quite possibly the most marvellous place in the whole world! Similar in vibe to Giordano in Hong Kong but its mac.. just totally fantastic!
May 12th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Digicape ALL the way!!!! http://www.digicape.co.za
May 12th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
@SuStokes – 100% correct. I am amazed (but not surprised) to see how many companies still do not realise the power of social media and how it can make or destroy your business.
As at the time of writing this (Tuesday 14h16) I still see no official response from the company. Dropping the ball big time, arent they?
I discussed the new Consumer Protection Act on radio this past weekend and will be sure to use this example in future. Anyone who want to contribute with thoughts/insights/comments on poor customer service, not only limited to this example, can email mslabbert@gmail.com
May 12th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
@ipod shuffle AKA Staff member at apple waterfront.. *sigh*
The best reaction from Core / Apple to this negative image that has now spread across the Cape Town social networking sites, would be to hire themselves a social media manager to clean up and prevent situations like this from happening again but most importantly to own up to this problem that they have now been made aware of and promise their future consumers that they are going to rectify it..
At the end of the day Consumers just want to know you care. Its really very easy.
google “Dell Hell” for a great case study in handling a situations like this.
I would also suggest that they give Seth a call to apologise… But I guess they don’t have his number
May 12th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Hats off to Incredible Connection for getting it right this time around. There are a lot of South African companies that need to focus on improving their customer service if they want to keep their brand reputation intact – they never know when a popular blogger might walk through the door!
May 12th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Below is my experience last year, not too great!
Generally the service at the iStore is not great for the following reasons:
1 – You stand around for quite a while before anyone assists you
2 – When you do get someone to assist, they tend to not know much and always have to refer to someone else, which is a definitely skills issue.
3 – Never return calls, only if you persist
Apple does a really good job of convincing people to move to their brand with really awesome advertising and its quite disappointing when you walk into the iStore Waterfront in particular, it as if you walking into the department of home affairs. Service seems to be completely lacking and when you do find someone that is willing to help, well then they don’t have the necessary skills to help you.
So, let me tell you about my latest experience with the iStore Waterfront.
- 28 April 2008: received an email from apple.com about the new iMac, and being extremely excited about the launch of the new iMac, I wanted one, not just anyone, but the top of the range version with and increased harddrive space (500Mb – 1Tb), more ram (2Gb to 4Gb) and the wireless keyboard and mouse. Completed the spec on http://www.apple.com and sent to Thulani Taba at the iStore for an official quote.
- 30 April 2008 I received the quote from Thulani. He advised telephonically that I needed to pay a 50% deposit (Total price: Approx. R27, 000.00) and as it is a built-to-order machine, I will have to wait 6 to 8 weeks for delivery.
- 1 May 2008 : Arrived at the iStore, waited approximately 5 minutes before eventually being helped by Thulani. This was subsequently a public holiday (workers day) and I arrived at approx. 10am. And being the Waterfront I wasn’t too fussed about waiting, however it seemed that there was a staff shortage, which management should have accommodated. This being said, I was finally helped by Thulani. We clarified the spec and I made payment of the 50%.
23 June 2008 – Approximately 7 weeks later, I contacted the iStore to find out what the ETA was on my iMac, to find out that Thulani has left and is in Durban now. Then I spoken to some guy on the phone who said he would follow-up and call me back as he needs to speak to the manager Karen. I never received the call back.
24 June 2008 – I called yet again, and a different gentleman, told me that there was some delay and he will call back to confirm the ETA. At this stage I asked him to get Karen to call me back. And yet again, Karen does not call back.
25 June 2008 – Called iStore to leave a message for Karen to call back, No response.
26 June 2008 – Went to iStore, to chat to Karen, she was not there and left another message for her to call me back with another gentleman. Yet again, no call back.
27 June 2008 – Call iStore, Karen not available, left another message with a lady this time. Karen calls back eventually, she claims that she has never received a message to call me, at this stage I was so happy to have spoken to her, I never told her how pathetic I felt of the service. She calls back later the afternoon to advise that there was a delay and I will only receive the iMac 12 to 14 days later. Bearing in mind, that the 26 June 2008 was the end of the 8 weeks.
04 July 2008 – It is now 9 weeks later and still no iMac. As the 14 day delay, I would assume would make the ETA 10th July 2008 (10 weeks). I actually went into the store yesterday and had a word to Karen and she did say she was trying to get an ETA on the machine. For now I just hope I get it on time.
So in brief, this has been my experience thus far, being an Apple enthusiast I had no choice but the wait and deal with this level of service, for other non-techie users out there……..I am sure they would have cancelled there order.
I eventually received the iMac after 12 weeks.
Regards
Capri
May 12th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
To answer your question, NO, haven’t heard anything from them yet.
May 12th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
FYI
I did the same as Capri
But it took me 4 hours @ Digicape, They put in a 1TB hard drive and upgraded the Ram in no time for less money than the iStore and they gave me the 500GB drive back.
May 12th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Fight!!!!
May 12th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Absolutely identical experience at the local outlet in Claremont – was definitely an official reseller and stocked nothing except Apple. Not sure if it was an official “iStore” though.
Google “iStore” using Google South Africa. Quote: “The iStore offers premium service and support for all things Apple. Our knowledgeable and friendly staff will be able to assist you with all you queries, …”
Whatever….
May 12th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
I had one visit to the i-store. Tried to make eye contact repeatedly…walked closer to shopping assistant on his mobile to try and indicate I need service. Left after 10 minutes. They clearly do not need the business
May 12th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Erm… we are the outlet in Claremont. We stock a wide range of goods outside the Apple product range… from drives to speakers to cases to software to ipod/iphone accessories…. la lista continua.
We also don’t claim to be perfect, but we try really hard. And we also like to take clients details when we sell them something, but we don’t insist.
May 12th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
I use Digicape as well. The iStore morons are a pain in the arse. I asked them for a quote once upon a time as well as from digicape and project3. I had already paid for, received, configured and deliver to the user, the MacBook by the time iStore got back to me. Do you think that stops them from spamming me with their crap specials every other week?
Something scary. One of my international users is looking for a MB Pro 17in and he got a quote from the US for approx US$3000. The same thing here is quoted at, wait for it …. R39 000. I shit you not, we are getting ripped for Apple products here not matter which way you spin it.
Blegh.
May 12th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Meanwhile, this is why I shop online and only use linux.
May 12th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
That is shocking. Apple customer service worldwide is usually not too bad (in my experience). I will be avoiding that store next time I am in the area, it’s not like they have exclusivity on selling their products so they really should try a bit harder.
I wonder if they would have been so rude if you were buying a 17″ Macbook Pro?
May 12th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
They don’t need your details for credit card transactions, your bank knows who you are and so its easily traceable. Also thats what authorisations departments are for. Think you need to take this bigger. Why not get an official response from Apple Inc. Core obviously is not representing their name and brand well in South Africa.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
I also went into that store a while back, wanting to buy something, anything – but after 10 minutes of nobody coming to me I just walked out. I won’t go back.
May 12th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
How it’s really done: walk into one of London’s Apple stores. Friendly knowledgeable sales chap bounces up – what can i get for today madam? I’m after a 32G Touch, do you have any in stock? Oh yes, madam, plenty – just one second please. We turn to look at the cases on the display – turn around 30secs later and dude is standing there holding said iPod tagged, bagged and ready to go. How would you like to pay, he says. Card please, i say. He unhooks wireless card reader from belt, inserts my card, tappity tap tap, sign on the screen please madam. Would you mind supplying me with your email address madam? Not at all, kind sir [it is duly supplied]. Tappity tap tap. There you go madam [handing me the bag] have a lovely day and thanks for buying Apple. Wait a minute, i say, you didn’t give me a receipt yet. You’ll find it waiting in your inbox as a pdf along with your customised warranty paperwork madam. Gobsmacked. i would say 2 minutes in store, tops. Now THAT is whar i call retail therapy. Core could learn a thing or three.
May 12th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
I’m surprised they helped you, I usually just do 2 laps without getting assisted.
May 12th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
They keep this database to keep track of what their customers buy.
It sounds very big brother & it’s a lass the first time round… but in my experience it has been very useful when it comes to future purchases.
Having spent more than R100K on Apple products in the past, all I need to do when a sales rep gives me grief is to say: “Do you know who I am? CHECK YOUR DATABASE!”
Management then magically appear and things move VERY smoothly indeed. Products that were previously not in stock sudden are. Orders that would have taken 7 days to arrive are suddenly available within 2 hours. Magic.
May 12th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Had similar experience @ iStore in Sandton City, wanting to purchase a shuffle. Member of staff only noticed me after a long while, while chatting away with other staff members. There was absolutely no interest in making a sale and i stormed out and purchased from Incredible Connection. No way iStore will be seeing me again!!!!!
May 12th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Ricardo, thats part of the problem. The store you are referring to at Sandton City is actually not an iStore. Its called CAB Platinum and its its not affiliated to Core at all. In fact its not even an approved reseller. It is however decorated to look as much like an official Apple Store as possible. Thats part of the problem – lots of shallow imitations providing crappy service at ridiculous prices. All of which is giving Apple in SA a seriously bad name.
May 13th, 2009 at 1:16 am
OMG, I had similar experience, I just wanted to buy iTalk for my iPod.. and the guy just refused to budge about the personal details. I ended buying it from igear.co.za (no need for customer care interaction LOL) Some one should speak to Apple about this, even the guys at Canal Walk aren’t much friendlier (except the chick with nose ring maybe)
May 13th, 2009 at 1:18 am
@Rashid, but if the guy wants to buy without disclosing his details, they should give him the option, come on! ;-P
May 13th, 2009 at 7:51 am
I love the Istore V&A. I spend about 120k every couple of months for my biz. But I go in there even if I don’t spend money there because I feel like family. Seth I think You are a I.C type of customer and not a Istore one, you must shop from Pep stores and drive an old bmw. I will always go back to Istore V&A.
May 13th, 2009 at 8:14 am
Roger: they only survive for people like you. For first timers like me, they could offer no worse service. I went in to see if I could get my iPod repaired. They asked what model it was and when I told them that it’s the previous iPod Nano (Which I had bought only 8 months ago and is therefore still under warrantee), their reply was “Oh, we don’t fix those. Only the new ones. But here, try this guy.” A random business card for a guy in Gardens was given to me. They call it service, I call it the “buddy system”. Join the Government!
May 13th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Mate, I use digicape. Much better experience.
I have also experience similar issues with project 3! They wouldn’t even uphold my world-wide warranty on a product!
Just bought a new shuffle from istore in waterfront for exactly the same purpose as you. day 3, right speaker blown! I’m going back there to get new headphones – wish me luck!!!
May 13th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Re my earlier comment (no 40), and in response to some people saying that they take details for warranty purposes.
They wanted my details, when I was buying a little pouch thing for my existing IPOD (it cost around R200 or something). I can’t imagine that any serious warranty situation could arise from this.
It broke after about 2 weeks. Maybe I should go back and complain and see what happens now.
I can guarantee that the fact that they have my details will make no difference to them if I start moaning about this. They’ll tell me to get lost.
May 13th, 2009 at 10:39 am
Waited for sales person to assist me one early Sunday morning. He was not clear on his iPhone knowledge. Got a question do iSore sales personnel go for training to sell Apple products, or is the iStore Waterfront just a dedicated iPod store.
Miss the days of AppleCentre in the City.
May 13th, 2009 at 11:37 am
@Marek Jan, It’s a business number… so I don’t mind.
May 13th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Totally endorse the view that services levels in that store are up to sh!t. I must have been in there 5 times really wanting to get to know about Macbooks and with real intent to making a purchase. To date, my presence in their store has not been acknowledged even once.
May 13th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Went in the same shop about two months ago, shocking service, well not really seeing I received no service at all. So much love for the Apple brand yet no love for the iStore SA operation. Very sad indeed.
May 13th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Totally agree, it’s like you have to beg to be noticed there. Digicape all the way,…professional, friendly, knowledgeable and most importantly, helpful people. They will continue to get my business.
May 13th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Crikey!! Do those idiots at the istore realize how bad this is gonna be for them??? I enjoyed how out of all sixty-something comments, only ONE was pro the place. I for one am not. It is IMPOSSIBLE to get someone to help you in the damn place.
They’ve pissed off Seth. Whoops! Wouldn’t be surprised if they close down alltogether.
May 13th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
My comment’s a bit late, but never the less, I must have my say.
I walked into the Apple store at V&A wanting to buy an iPod Nano for my Fiance as a birthday present. Now there are about 5 Nanos on display, Brad is standing next to me watching me trying out the Nano for about 15 minutes. Finally, I’m convinced I want one. I say, “Brad, I’ll take one of these, 8Gigs”. He informs me they are out of stock. So I ask for 16GB or 4GB. All out of stock. I ask Brad when they expect more stock. Brad casually responds that he doesn’t know.
“OK”, I say….and walk out.
Thx Brad
May 14th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
THAT LAME-ASS STORE IS HONESTLY A BAD JOKE . WENT IN ONCE TO FIND OUT ABOUT A NEW MACBOOK PRO ( WITH THE INTENTION OF BUYING ONE ), AND AFTER BATTLING THROUGH THE SMELL AND IRRITATION OF THE FOUR STREET KIDS ( WHO PROBABLY CANT SPELL MAC ) WHO WERE ALL ” SAMPLING ” THE NEW GOODS , TRYING TO GET ONE OF THE FOUR SALES-ASSISTANTS’ ATTENTION WAS LIKE TRYING TO GET THAT NEW MORON PRESIDENT OF OURS TO STOP DANCING FOR 5 F#%@KING SECONDS.. ROCK ON DIGICAPE !!
May 14th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
My iMac, bought 3 years ago at the iStore, has vertical lines on the screen – it’s from a faulty batch shipped around the world. Today I got a new line smack down the middle. R.I.P. The shop says it’s not a factory fault. Apple has officially denied there’s a problem. Spookily, my son’s iPod from iStore suddenly has smiliar lines on its screen. No wonder the new Apple logo is black: it’s the rot setting in.
May 14th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
LOL great to know I’m not alone, i often pop in to the waterfront at lunchtime and I’ve been into that store at least 3 or 4 times and not once have i been offered help.
I love my iPhone but i would rather buy my apple gear from Incredible than ever go back into that “iStore”
May 15th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Took about a hour to purchase my macbook pro with all the information I had to provide at purchase point when all I wanted to do was give them my money. Go figure.
May 15th, 2009 at 10:07 am
go to digicape, isore is no good.
May 15th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Gav you r such a racist idiot. . . .its because of people like you that south africa will get nowhere….. the president might be a idiot in your eyes but you are right up there with him…..
May 15th, 2009 at 11:49 am
I bet he is such a mommy’s boy( gav that is) . . .he probably still sleeps in his mom’s bed. . . . here’s 14 bucks bro, go get yourself a happy meal.
May 15th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Was it really necessary to use the word retard? I’m giving you the
benefit of the doubt here but certainly you know that the word
retard used as slang is extremely hurtful to people living with
special needs. Before I had a child with a disability, I pretty much
was like you. I don’t know if I used the word but I certainly didn’t
flinch when I heard it. What’s the big deal, right? It is a huge
deal to people who have cognitive challenges. They get what you are
saying and they understand that you are mocking them, even if it’s
unintentional.
Anyway, thank you for hearing me out.
May 15th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
why anyone would go to an istore is beyond me – arrogant, unhelpful staff who are clueless about their products. buying apple products in south africa is too risky, apple needs to get an official presence here, I’m so tired of the core group and the way they handle business.
May 15th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
@Alan. Yes Alan, I remember you well at the Claremont Apple store PROJECT 3. I asked you some questions about the iMac, which had some crazy bugs at the time, and you got pissy with me for “wasting your time”. I never went back.
I’ve had good, friendly service from Karen at the V&A, but Buddy (who has since left)was the one who never called back, week after week.
Also, weekends are a bad time to visit because management are not around and the staff get ultra lazy – too lazy to visit the stockroom even.
They have fairly recently hired some people who haven’t been properly trained. Certainly where it comes to other products they stock, like the TomTom, they are clueless.
May 15th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
The sad thing is that Core have forgotten that their main business should be DISTRIBUTION (as the only authorized distributors of Apple in SA), but they are so busy trying to push the resellers out of the market, that they’re stuffing up the entire brand in this country. No stock, no service, no nothing…. Mac products are so over priced in SA – I guess all the profit goes into Core’s pockets, ’cause apparently the resellers ain’t making much on it…
May 15th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
I’ve actually got that info for you. I received a long email from an ex-Core employee, which included this:
The whole company is a prime example of a badly run organisation; nobody is happy and nobody wants to stay there long-term. When I joined I joined a team of around 25 people and when I decide to leave (after around 1.5 years), only 5 of the initial 25 remained.
The stance is pretty much one of “well, what else are you going to do?” Truth be told, they have three levels of pricing:
RRP – Recommended Retail Price – what you pay in the iStore
DP – Dealer Pricing – Retail with around a 7% discount
AARP – Apple Authorised Reseller Pricing – Retail with around a 10 – 15% discount.
So there you have it.
May 15th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
@ Seth From what the Apple outlets tell me, they hardly make 10%, and if it’s on sale, they make 8% on a good day. No wonder they don’t want to give me any discounts. Anyway, the point is, Core should focus on distributing the product as clearly they have no clue about Retail… The iStore and blogs like this speak for themselves. Thanks for your info
May 15th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
The Core Business Group…. little people with big money.
I worked there and realized I couldn’t stay on and keep my sanity so I left. Service is abysmal.
The manager there, Karen, is a great person and good at what she does but she relies on Core and you can only imagine what that is like.
Your best bet is to support DigiCape until they are strong enough to compete with Core for the rights to distribute Apple products in South Africa.
May 15th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I worked at the iStore for 6 months last year as a techie. Truth be told some people dont have the knowledge of the products and stock was a major issue. Tulani, well, I worked with him and truth be told his lack of skills was scary, Durban must be full of unhappy customers.
Good people at the iStore is Dexter, Stanley, Lindsay and 1 or 2 others.
Dexter is probably the guy with the most knowledge of what is what, he only works on weekends and public holidays on the floor.
Lindsay is special, head tech upstairs and truly a genius.
May 15th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
I am a current iStore employee (I cannot say which store), and I just have to say that I fully agree with Seth.
While I consider myself and a select few of my colleagues to be great salespeople and very knowledgeable with Apple’s products and accessories, as well as the tech industry in general, the majority of employees are not.
The reason for this is that the turnover of staff is very high (the average period of employment is usually only a couple of months before they decide to leave) and as a result they don’t have time to be trained properly or gain experience.
In my opinion, the reason the staff turnover is so high is because Core treats their employees, to put it simply, like complete shit. They do not keep their promises, their demands are unrealistic and they are very stingy.
I really hope Apple enter the market in South Africa and open up one of their official retail stores. Employees like myself and a few of my colleagues will happily abandon Core to work for Apple, officially.
Regards,
Anonymous iStore employee.
May 15th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
i have had similar experiences at the iStore in Sandton – the guys there think that they are sooooo clued up. I was able to teach the tech guy there a few things because I learnt so much while installing my Hackintosh. Anyway, any of you guys buy from http://www.megagraphix.co.za ? let us know hows their service
May 16th, 2009 at 10:43 am
The iStore in Sandton aint a iStore (if you referring to the one in Sandton City) … i had a really crap experience with the one in Melrose Arch, guys name is Marco Comello or something like that, wanted the MacBook Air, he said he will get one for me by the latest a week, i phoned pretty much every single day cause he never bothers to call me back, never did… three weeks pass i phone and he tells me they no longer bringing in that specific model and no one in the country has that model in stock, the next day i phone vodaworld and they have stock … what the F!!! … was really cheesed off
Another concern for me is when i wanted to pay the R15k for the laptop with a bank cheque they refused cheques (do they not know that a bank cheque is better than cash) .. but it was not a biggie, drew out the R15k in notes … and of course they want to know your entire life history before buying … what the hell is that about??? really annoying
May 17th, 2009 at 11:29 am
I went onto the Core Website and the VERY FIRST thing I saw was the article posted on the front page. It starts with…
“AN FRANCISCO—January 6, 2009—Apple® today introduced iLife® ’09…”
They can’t even get the FIRST word on their website spelt correctly…
The tone has been set.
May 18th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Core were very quick to increase their prices across the board when the Rand went for a ball. Now the Rand has recovered by almost 20% and there is not price decrease from Core in sight.
We buy a large number of MacBook Pro’s and the current price is ridiculous !
May 18th, 2009 at 9:45 am
I worked at the istore for 2 years and working for the core company was horrible. I believe that customer service is comes first! And to them it wasnt, it was the last thing.. they were more worried about what the store looks like than anything else.
I aggree with the earlier post…. the reason for lack of knowledge is staff leaving after 2-6 months cause the core company treat their staff like crap!!
When they are not happy with a staff member they will work that person out of the company in the most horrific ways!!NO MATTER IF YOU WERE ONE OF THEIR STAR EMPLOYEES!! they just dont give a shit! And yes.. they do have the resellers by the balls… as the resellers cant complain cause there is no point to complaining if you can only deal with them and no one else. I also aggree with another post that said they should stick to distrubuting… and stay as far away from the retail stores as possible…. the worst part is… they wont! they are trying to increase their footprint and opening up more stores…. the waterfront was the first store to open.. and it was suppose to be their blue print store…they promised they will perfect that store before opening any others… but they didnt… the waterfront store had so many issues but they continued to open more… (money hungry)…
not realizing they were hurting the brand by doing that…
there are so many wrongs i dont ever think there would be a right!
Karin was awsome… but she left to persue a life … and they also treated her like dog poo when she said she is leaving… i mean really core!!get your act together and start looking after your staff… maybe karma will be less hard on you!
DIGICAPE ALL THE WAY!WHEN YOU WALK INTO DIGICAPE.. YOU FEEL AT HOME.. FRIENDLY STAFF AND GREAT DIRECTORS… THAT LOOK AFTER THEIR STAFF!!
http://WWW.DIGICAPE.CO.ZA
May 18th, 2009 at 11:46 am
All this info is most disturbing. If CORE is the only Distributor in South Africa, but are also infiltrating the Retail market, where does their loyalty lie when it comes to stock allocations? Would this explain why at times the iStores have stock, but not the other Resellers? Can this be? Somehow this doesn’t seem right… Talk about a monopoly…
May 18th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Haha…
I used them once. They gave me the same “lock of hair and DNA needed” routine. After a to-and-fro shuffle about “You don’t need my number” and “Yes I do” I eventually gave the sales bot 021 4251941.
Geeeez.
I wander if anyone answers that number… when I phone it just rings…?
It’s the iStore V&A number too, go figure!
May 18th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Big thumbs down to Core from me too. They lied saying a spec’d laptop I ordered was not in production, only to find days later they’d already distributed a shipment to preferred clients.
As for Digicape, they aren’t all Roses either. The MD there recently demonstrated the upmost of arrogancet to me, when negotiating a refund, for which they were liable.
In general the whole Apple industry in SA is extremely sub par. F***ing MacNuggets.
May 18th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Digicape all the way!
May 18th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
For those of you who HAVE struggled, and for all you who WILL still go through the struggle these should be useful . . .
CEO
0825536540
Rodney Ichicowitz
Operations Manager
0823256530
Nico van der Westhuizen
GM
0823226392
Greg Hill
Service Centre
0860227753
Service Center Manager
0823313620
Madelein Moolman
Apple Warranty Officer
0836073047
Paul Damhuis
May 18th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
When I was planning to buy a new MacPro in 2007 I phoned the Waterfront iStore to get a quote. I’m still aiting for it and I bought it elsewhere. I went in to the store to find out about upgrades last year – I wanted a new graphics card and another 10Gigs of RAM. I was told that those can’t be upgraded on a MacPro. I then phoned in and spoke to a techie – am also still waiting for a quote. Bought what I needed elsewhere again. Dexter is cool to deal with though, but he is not always on duty. Other than him, the staff are a joke.
May 19th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
You guys replying to the article are all a bunch of tossers and need to really get real about this situation.Yes, what happened with the customer was very sad and an issue which should be dealt with. All the other guys quoting on their experiences all sound like ex staff members who got FIRED for Stealing or probably for not fulfilling your roles accordingly.
NO USE CRYING OVER SPILT MILK GUYS…… GET ON WITH LIFE.
I am a regular shopper at the Gateway branch and have shopped at V&A on a few occasions and found that the staff are very friendly and helpful at both stores. Every brand has it’s bad laundry days… why are we some how placing all this focus on APPLE. They are doing a pretty good job in comparison to other companies like Vodacom whom people complain over and over about but somehow do not take it to the extreme heights like you bunch of losers.
Get over the fact things and move on Boys no rewards in this world for your type of criticism!!!
Many People can strongly agree. I have a company based in CPTN and Durban with 6 iMacs situated on both business premises. The brand and the staff whom I’ve dealt with so have worked for me.
May 19th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
You guys replying to the article are all a bunch of tossers and need to really get real about this situation.Yes, what happened with the customer was very sad and an issue which should be dealt with. All the other guys quoting on their experiences all sound like ex staff members who got FIRED for Stealing or probably for not fulfilling your roles accordingly.
NO USE CRYING OVER SPILT MILK GUYS…… GET ON WITH LIFE.
I am a regular shopper at the Gateway branch and have shopped at V&A on a few occasions and found that the staff are very friendly and helpful at both stores. Every brand has it’s bad laundry days… why are we some how placing all this focus on APPLE. They are doing a pretty good job in comparison to other companies like Vodacom whom people complain over and over about but somehow do not take it to the extreme heights like you bunch of losers.
Get over the fact of these petty things and move on with your life Little Boys cauz there definitely going to be no rewards in this world for your type of criticism!!!
Many People can strongly agree. I have a company based in CPTN and Durban with 6 iMacs situated on both business premises. The brand and the staff whom I’ve dealt with so have worked for me.
May 20th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
From a price point of view this store = FAIL
I needed a power supply for an iBook and they wanted R1400! WTF! I eventually found one from some random woman for R200. Ok that was second hand, but still… R1400 ???
What a joke!
Give them a fake number, they can fo F**K themselves!
May 20th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
I SUGGEST DIGICAPE PLEASE REQUEST
CAPTAIN PINK AS REQUIRED SALESMAN/WOMEN
May 20th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
I actually like the iStore in the Waterfront. They don’t pester you the second you walk in, they allow you to just browse. I have bought from them and therefore given all my details. So far I’ve recieved 3 or 4 email newsletters over the last 2 years. Why are some people are so worried about giving away their precious details, who do they think they are? The president? Anyway the sale of a single iPod Shuffle is hardly going to change Bradley’s life. Even if you refuse to buy from the iStore again you will still be supporting Core if you buy an Apple product in S.A
May 20th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
When a company has happy employees, chances are that they will deliver better customer service than if they are dissatisfied with the work they do. This is why it’s important to look after your staff, so that they can look after your customers, the people that contribute the most to the success of your brand.
May 31st, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Well, at last the iStore is getting the slating it deserves. Actually, its Core who should be getting the hammering.
I had the displeasure of working for them a couple of years ago…
They say problems filter down from the top… and that is so right… they are a bunch of tight yids with issues who know fuck all about retail and always make the wrong decisions…
I mean who the hell partners with Woolworths in an area where people don’t even know what a computer is!? Willowbridge!
The then head of retail has never worked a day in her life on a shop floor… staff got paid shit yet store management got trips to luxurious game farms… Disciplinary hearings were handed out like confetti without staff knowing what they did wrong…
I swear they should also hold a seat in parliament – why? Politics and incompetence!
Maybe too they should open up a brothel – cos then they’d make money screwing everyone!
I am a Mac fan through and through. Core does the brand an injustice and what is concerning is that the iStores are their own retail ventures and I am afraid to say resellers like Digicape and Project 3 outdo them completely in service and stock availability….
Thumbs up to Digicape and Project 3… (where all the good iStore staff end up)…
Thumbs down to iStore and Core… useless bunch of c*nts who don’t deserve to be anywhere near such an awesome brand!
May 31st, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Have to say I haven’t bought anything from an iStore as the staff are either uninformed or uninterested. I buy my Mac stuff from MacWay who are both helpful, informed and reasonably priced mail me at discjock@mweb.co.za if u want details.
Apple do need some new blood in this country.
Not an ex staff member btw
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:27 am
I bought my iMac at the Waterfront shop. Many of you suggested trying DigiCape instead. I did. I took my iMac (problem: vertical lines on screen)in for repairs on 15 May. Called regularly and was told they’re very busy. This morning I discover a quote was given on 21 May. Nobody told me about it. No apologies forthcoming.
June 10th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
You think you had problems shopping from them, well you should experience working for them.
I was there for a very short while reason being no training was ever supplied and 9 times out of 10 I had to figure things out of my own.Rather not employ someone not familiar with a MAC instead of false hope and promise.My salary was always incorrect.Not paid for days worked and even medical aid deducted when you didnt even have medical aid with them HA HA HA what a joke this two bit show.
As greed well you see it all here no sooner has the dollar gone up the prices have changed on the till.Amazing how the exchange rate is linked to their POS.
Anyway the excuse to customer ‘The dollar went up’How foolish do you think people are your stock sitting in the back was purchsed at the old Dollar / Rand rate.
If you think any of the dircetors give a hoot you’re mistaken, if you can steal from your staff then you certainly dont care for your customers.
I compared prices of the new shuffle they are R500.00 more than the US and the UK.
Thats an amazing profit margin.
Anyway lucky for me I have a decent paying job these days and I dont have to worry about my small change baing hacked from me.
J
June 10th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Wow after reading all the comments I noticed quite a few from old staff 1 I actually worked with.
Will someone please notify the LABOUR DEPARTMENT.
There is still a company out there that does not comply to the Labour Relations Act or to the BEE standards.
Yes the staff leave all to quick, me personally I was there for 3 whole months when I realised this wasnt worth my time especially when my pockets were being picked.
Piss Off Core
Try ripping someone else off
PIGGS
Jason
July 12th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Also still waiting for a quote for a new Macbook pro from V&A iStore. Already bought from Digicape. Thanks!
July 19th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Wow, I was about to go buy the new Macbook Pro from the iStore at the Waterfront purely because it’s convenient that it is open on a sunday, but it looks like it is worth waiting till monday to get it at Digicape. Customer service in SA can really blow.
August 4th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
As an avid Microsoft hater. I have been wanting to buy a mac for over a year.
I have compared pricing from many countries, and here is the following.
A macbook pro 17″ with a 3.05Ghz, 500gig @7200rpm harddrive costs $2850.00 from the US website. When the US$ was 10 to 1 to the Rand a few months ago, I saw a macpro 2.66Ghz without the hectic upgrades(which are not available in SA), for GET THIS, 45000 rand. You do the math.
The only reason I haven’t bought yet is that I can’t handle paying a rip off price and without the top of the line spec upgrades available in the US.
Unfortunately, Apple store US wont sell to anyone outside the US. So here is my solution.
1) A friend of mine will buy my mac in the US. 2)She will then courier it to Jordan where they do not charge duties on computers.
3) I will then collect it in Jordan when I go there in two weeks and then fly back to SA with it.
Admittedly, it is a long way to go about buying something. But you have to look at it this way, for the price of a mac in SA, I get to fly on a nice holiday, get a top spec mac, swim at the Dead Sea and still have money in my pocket and CORE gets nothing out of it.
As for backup, lets face it, we live in Africa. The only backup we get from anything is purely theoretical.(well I live in Zim so were used to it)
As to the topic that started this whole discussion…What are you complaining about? Every time I go to a mac store, I’m always harassed buy a shop rep, i just tell them I’m just looking. That way I just look around until I find what I want and take it to the till and pay for it. As to the personal info, JUST BLURT OUT THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND. Apple USA have me on their news mailing list and I get all the real info from them.
Happy shopping……outside SA!
August 5th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Well, i’m planning on buying a MacBook Pro 17″ in the next month, and having experienced some of the same extremely bad service from the istore, will definetly not be purcashing from them. In addition I plan on writing directly to Apple in the US, to inform them just how shoddy cores’ service is here, and hopefully using blogs such as this can as proof we can persude Apple to change the distribution rights in SA. Wish me luck.
August 6th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
The sooner Apple discard CORE and move into SA themselves the better! I get the impression that our local stores want to sell just enough to keep the business but not so much that Apple will decide that they can come to SA in force! (and I am sure they would do very well if they did)! I am surprised that they have allowed the present state of affairs to go on for so long, as well as to allow the inflated pricing that CORE prescribes. A real pity as their products are so damn good!
August 9th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
I had a great time at the iStore in Sandton, Marco was a great sales rep he really made me feel welcome.although the manager in store, I think her name was Lusine, or something like that, was very rude to her staff, She pulled Marco aside and started to fight, Then the facial expressions she gave the rest of the staff gave off some wierd vibes, I hope Core does something about it, The Sandton staff are great.
August 29th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
We had an ‘experience’ at Clearwater mall iStore (Durban).
We went on my husband’s 40th to buy him an iPhone music docking station (I dont know the product name and the Apple online site has no easy way of figuring it out).
We found exactly what he wanted. He tested it, he weighed up the pros and cons. 20 minutes of evaluation and negotiation between client and product, as the four shop salesreps watched us with dribble-bibs and blank stares.
Then the sale was done. He wanted it. Now.
We woke-up the blank-eyed sales rep standing next to me: “One please”
Salesrep: ‘Oh, those were sold out last week.’
…silence…
Us: “Ok, can you source us one?”
Salesrep: “Maybe, in about 3 weeks. Not sure.”
Shell-shocked. Store silent. Four salesmen dribbling and still staring blankly.
Exit.
Is this truly what the yanks brag about?
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:42 am
The higher-end Mac Mini costs $799 in the US, which is about R6300. We pay about R10,400. What a rip-off! (And the exchange rate has been stable for months.)
This unjustifiable price difference has kept me from buying Macs several times over the years, and even though I would still like to buy a Mac, I can’t bring myself to be ripped off like that, so I’ll continue to stick with Windows for myself and for my business.
September 4th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
why didn’t you just give your telephone number? its so petty and foolish. and what did you expect him to do? call you back and breach his instructions by not taking your number and maybe loose his job?
you’re so dumb.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
“you petty fool”, so how long have you worked at that store for?
LMAO.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Phone them (Waterfront iStore shop) today as they had not called me back iro battery replacement. I had to wait 6 minutes before the call was answered.
Apple SA has VERY poor after sales support.
Had to fight with Apple to replace MacBook battery that committed suicide on month 13.
If you buy a MacBook pro budget R1500 per annum to replace the battery every year. The battery was properly maintained!
September 27th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Sadly, have also experienced shocking service at Waterfront Store…very much a case of them doing YOU a huge favour by being of assistance….was also surprised buy their lack of knowledge on simple processes, ie, saving and sendint a “contact”, no one knew how to do it…
Having recently returned on a second visit, I was in fact assisted quite well by someone who looked new, but generally, NO comparison in service and knowledge versus Incredible Connection.
September 27th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Eek..excuse the typos above!
October 21st, 2009 at 10:49 am
I agree, it is disappointing not to get the support we need from our favourite Apple brand.
I have had the same experiences with the iStore as everyone else here has had, and so also highly recommend DIGICAPE!
Just recently we took our 80GB iPod in to the iStore, however, they are no longer able to make repairs to their products. It was recommended that we visit a store called iFix to have the battery replaced.
iFix has since LOST the iPod we took in for repairs – taking no time to record the serial number on the iPod or correctly label the iPod before they took it in for fixing.
The manager refuses to search through their iPods for our iPod and we are left with an iPod they incorrectly gave us. Poor poor poor customer service.
Apple should have their fingers in here to straighten things out.
#brandminus #brandminus #brandminus
October 27th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
can somebody email these fuckers at the istores to let them know how kak their service is..
theyre an unfriendly pretentious bunch of cunts
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:43 am
We are based in one of the neighbouring countries and unfortunately we are are also forced to buy all our stock from Core.
Does anyone have an idea if their distributor rights are restricted to SA only, the whole of Africa or just Southern Africa.
November 10th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
you guys are the idiots. dont mean 1 person in a store is a idiot the rest of them are. cumon guys you are just a bunch of spoilt brats. i think all of you are pathetic!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All i’m trying to say is that not everyone in the store are idiots. so confront the people in the store and tell them to work harder at their training. everyone here wearing masks and critting. help make our country a better place by being honest with the people in it and maybe we will rise above the rest. so to all you losers go out there and make a difference>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
November 13th, 2009 at 11:56 am
I’m so glad I found this article. Quite funny in that I was actually looking for the store’s email so I could send them a complaint. This is just one occasion specific to the istore at waterfront but at the beginning of the year I ordered a new battery for my powerbook. I heard nothing for three weeks so I phoned only to be told that they were still waiting for an order. So another three weeks went by and I decided to visit the store. I approached one of the staff to ask if he could check on my order – hah and what did he find NOTHING! My order hadn’t even been sent through. SO i decided to deal with my battery problem as I couldn’t bear to go back. But as my troubles got worse I decided (LIKE A FOOL) to order again at the SAME store. Well, all i can say is that almost three months down the line – still NOTHING! no attempt to contact me – NOTHING! Honestly what apple, in general, has to realise is that service does not stop once you’ve sold a product. I mean you pay out your ears for apple products and then the follow up service is just so SHIT – to say the least! PATHETIC!
November 18th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
I have had extremely poor service from every iStore I have been do, but sadly also from Digicape and the Zastore. I finally found a Macbook in stock from E.C. Mac, and there service is also appalling. I dont know why it is so difficult to buy a Mac product in this country.