I’m a big fan of Apple products. I just upgraded to the iPhone 7. I have a MacBook I’m using to write this blog, and I have a 27” iMac in my office at church. So, when my wife asked me for the Apple Watch for her 29^th birthday, I was happy to oblige. But my happiness turned to disappointment when the face randomly popped off the watch a few weeks ago.

Upon doing some research, I discovered this was a fairly common problem with the Apple watch. So, I contacted Apple support.

I hate talking on the phone so I was glad to discover they had a chat option.

After just a few seconds, I was connected with an Apple representative and was able to explain the issue. They asked me to send a picture of the Apple watch, which I did, and then they explained to me my options.

This is where I started to get a little concerned. I had heard about the incredible customer service of Apple. I had even bought the book, The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty.

So, why was I getting the run around?

They let me know my watch was out of warranty, and there was no guarantee they would fix it or replace it for free. Even though the face of the $250+ watch popped off after 16 months.

If they decided it wasn’t their error, it would cost me $199 to fix.

I let them know I wanted to send it in to see if they would replace it for free, but to contact me if they were going to have to charge me.

The representative let me know this was fine, but informed me I may have to pay to have it shipped back to me. I agreed.

They sent me a confirmation email to confirm I was sending the watch in for repair, which led to me having to provide payment information.

This alarmed me. So once again I asked the Apple rep if they would contact me before charging me, and they said yes.

I sent my phone in, and within two days a replacement had been sent back.

I never received an email or phone call to confirm, so I assumed they had replaced it at no charge.

I was wrong. A $217 charge showed up on my credit card a couple days later.

I tell you this story for one reason. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to get things in writing and save important emails and documents.

Luckily, I had saved the transcript from my chat with the Apple rep. After a couple of phone calls, they had apologized and refunded my money and allowed me to keep the replacement at no charge.

I don’t think that would’ve been the case had it just been my word against theirs.

Hopefully, this saves you some time, trouble, and money in the future. And if you’re thinking about buying an Apple Watch, you may want to get the extended warranty.

What’s been your experience with Apple products? Have you been amazed by their customer service? Let us know by leaving a comment, and make sure to subscribe to the blog to get tips on church growth, leadership, and more delivered to your inbox each week.