Genius Bar caught ripping customer off ON CAMERA by CBC News

I'm excited to show you what is by far the most advanced iPhone we have ever created the launch of a new iPhone has never dull and it's hyped like this that has made Apple one of the most valuable companies in the world its customers are fiercely loyal when it comes to computers and electronic gadgets they tend to buy nothing else and that's the thing their favorite brand is now widely accused of deceptive business practices and many of those loyal customers are feeling ripped off tonight Terence Mckenna meets some of the people who are attacking the Apple Empire [Applause] this is the image of an apple store that the company wants you to see masses of customers hungry for the latest product knowledgeable young staffers eager to serve them a mad rush to be among the first to buy a brilliant new device [Applause] lately however that positive image is being tarnished by stories of customers being blood the overcharged for repairs in Apple stores we decided to use a hidden camera to verify many reports that Apple customers are often told they're malfunctioning computers are not worth fixing even when minor repairs could remedy the problem our team came to a Toronto Apple store with a macbook computer that had a common problem the screen had stopped worth take very dim when I tried to turn on [Music] there's a lot of liquid that's gotten on the inside it's a normal picture the little red dots here they're normally white and it means that they've come in contact with liquid so for it to be basically all over the whole computer if that would need to be looking at replacing quite a few components are you sure it's it could it be something else as well well regardless of what the cause of it is if it isn't the liquid we have to fix a liquid so it's not like we can't do partial apes' when it's been damaged so what are my options now this uh well what I was going to say is basically all the components that you need to replace is going to cost more than $1,000 so to fix it entirely cost more than $1,000 yeah so the very least we'd need to replace is the logic board and the topcase so that we're looking at 600 plus 503 $1,100 for the labor of 100 and then if we need to replace the display as well that's another 780 so the display we may not need to replace but we're still looking at a total of around Wow so just to be clear there's no cheaper alternative for this I mean that that cost is very close to the cost of buying a new computer in terms of pixie in the store [Music] many Apple customers have shared similar experiences and so we decided to double-check the diagnosis on 1st Avenue in Manhattan there is a small computer repair store run by Luis Rossmann he started fixing computers in college and now makes youtube videos teaching people how to repair complex items overall Apple tries to get you to purchase a new device instead of a pair year old his videos often draw millions of views we brought him the computer that the Apple store in Toronto said was not worth fixing see so this is a macbook pro that Apple the Apple store said but it cost $1,200 to fix and wasn't worth doing alright let's take a look and see if that's true see you see you can see the Apple logo there mmm and watch if I take a light and I put it through there you'll actually be able to see everything on the screen so this is my microscope light and when I put it right through here you can see that there's a cursor there and that it's moving so most of the screen is working properly it's just that the still the backlight is not working right this could be either due to a bad screen a bad motherboard bad cable but we'll figure that out once we open it up all right so let's take a look on the inside of this now this is where the screen is going to connect to the computer okay so the first thing I'd want to do is examine that area of it to see what it looks like see if I see the pin that's sticking out okay so that pin is actually most likely the pin for the backlight and as you can see it's probably not making contact because it's bent outwards and I got my set of tweezers over here and I'm just gonna try to push that back into the slot and try to get it back into its groove so that when I replug in the connector it'll work at the Apple store they suggest that this was water damage well you can see that there are water indicators that have turned red so that's why they got that idea and they're by the battery so this this is a water indicator and these these turn red when they see liquid however the thing here is that these not only turn red when they see liquid they also turn red anytime there is humidity so if you have this in a very humid room all of these sensors will turn even if you've never spilled liquid on the machine alright so let's plug this back in and hope for the best all right as you can see we've got an apple and we have a light so it fixed yeah now that took you like one and a half minutes maybe so if I walked in off the street with this problem what would you charge - for the repair you just did if somebody wanted me to just bend the pin back I wouldn't charge them for that I would say I'm gonna rework your original cable that may not last long term but here it's free if they wanted us to replace the cable depending on the model anywhere from 75 to 150 depending on the difficulty of opening that model but something like this we wouldn't charge for it and 99% of the time just bending the pin back it'll allow it to last until the end of the life of the computer we honest Apple to respond to this incident to fix it entirely we cost more than a thousand dollars yeah and to the widespread allegations of similar corporate behavior they declined to provide a spokesman but issued a statement claiming their customers are best served by Apple's certified experts using genuine parts they denied systematically overestimating repair costs how often do people show up here with the Apple Store telling them it can't be fixed or it's too expensive somewhere between 10 and 30 times a day no kidding yeah in San Luis Obispo California iFixit is probably the most successful third-party repair business in North America the business test cell phones and computers diagnosis problems that regularly occur and develops the tools and techniques to repair them they sell the tools and repair manuals over the internet I fix it has 125 employees and makes 21 million dollars a year the business is owned by Kyle Wiens who is also a leading spokesman for the national right to repair movement it used to be that you if you bought something you'd be able to get it fixed when you needed to and over time we've lost that ability whether it's a vacuum or a television or a laptop it's increasingly more challenging to get access to the information that you need or for local shops to get the parts so right you're pairs of movement and a set of legislation that would restore that ability to fix your own stuff how does that both fit into that question Apple's perspective is that they want complete control over the device from the moment that you buy it all the way through the end of life and right to repair take some of that control away from them and puts it in the hands of the owner and and that's where for a manufacturer to say we're making a product and we're putting it out in the world and we're going to control every aspect of what happens after the fact is is complete lunacy we asked Kyle Wiens to show us some of the tricks Apple uses to foiled easy repairs starting with non-standard screws so this is the pentalobe screw it's on the bottom of the macbook pro and it's it's these little five points so you can see it's it's not like any screw that you've seen before and it turns out that Apple invented their own screw it's it's purely they want to make the device is harder for normal people to open with the tools that they already have lying around then Apple started gluing in batteries this is knife on eight and and this is the battery and it's glued in and that's unfortunate it doesn't need to be glued in batteries didn't used to be glue then it's a it's 3m Kazem command adhesives okay there and I broke and there's your home button on some Apple phones the home button would have to be replaced if the screen cracked and I can take the home button now it was a cheap and easy repair but then Apple reprogrammed the operating system to detect non-authorized home buttons and the phone would suddenly stop working yeah it would be like if you're driving your car and maybe you'd changed out the tires and you had aftermarket tires and then all of a sudden Tesla pushes out a software update and your car stops driving because of those aftermarket tires it the stems from a mentality that they're the center of the universe and nobody else is doing anything with their products Apple insists that its products are best serviced by its own staff and clearly sees unauthorized third-party repair businesses as the enemy Louis Rossmann and iFixit have received legal threats from the company when they published schematics a repair manual information I would be happy with a rollback on the intellectual property law and the immigrations and customs enforcement law that allow people to be either thrown in jail or prosecuted for importing parts and for showing a schematic because Apple writes the manual they own the copyright to it and so if you post that manual online they'll send you a legal takedown threat saying that's our copyrighted material if you don't take it down we'll sue you for up to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in damages per incident and and those legal threats have have really put a damper on repair information online the type may be turning against Apple on the right to repair this is the New York state legislature where Louis Rothman and the right to repair movement have set up a repair cafe to put on a show for politicians which one of these one two three do you think is covering up the battery connection so far this year 17 US states have introduced right to repair legislation that would force Apple and other companies to provide repair manuals and spare parts to third-party repair businesses I'd like Apple to change by acknowledging that if they're not willing to do certain jobs maybe somebody else would and to just I'm not even asking them to extend an olive branch I'm just asking them to you know stop extending the knife what happens when the first state actually passes one of these proposed legislation so this is where it gets really interesting is the moment that one state passes things it's is the dam is going to burst so if Ontario decided working the past right to repair legislation that could actually pass right to repair for the world because manufacturers aren't going to provide products differently to people in one jurisdiction they want to simplify their operations the right to repair movement has put a spotlight on some of apple's predatory business practices I mean that that cost is very close to the muscle buying a new computer and many Apple customers are starting to wonder whether the company really has their best interest at heart terence mckenna's documentary continues after the break when we come back

Channel: Louis Rossmann

Views: 4,776,997

Rating: 4.927062 out of 5

Keywords: macbook, logic board repair, secret shopper, genius bar, macbook repair, no backlight, screen not working, cbc news

Id: o2_SZ4tfLns

Length: 12min 44sec (764 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 08 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/Ryowxyz]

Back when I had an iPhone 4s, the power button was stuck down and worn out I guess.

Apple quoted me over £500 to fix the flex cable that had the power button.

I went to ifixit for the guide and bought the flex cable off eBay for 0.99 and fixed it my self.

[u/joshgelua]

I also went to this same exact store for a battery problem for my phone. The guy told me my phone was basically broken beyond repair, and that it would be best to get a new phone replacement.

I went up the street to Mobile clinic like 10 mins away and they did a battery replacement for like, $40 or something. My phone still works and I’m currently using it to type this comment.

Their business practice is disgusting, and I’m glad they’re being called out.

Edit: this is an iPhone 6 bought 4 years ago. Given my experience from Apple I am likely to change my game. Boycott!!!

[u/larossmann]

Alex at CBC news and his crew did an absolutely amazing investigative job with this piece. Good work!

[u/SuccessPastaTime]

Very similar situation happened to me. Brought in my MacBook Pro 13" 2015 model because the trackpad and keyboard stopped working. They said they would probably just have to replace the connector cable and it'd be like $80 and they'd call me as soon as they finish it.

A day goes by and I don't hear from them, but I happen to check my email and they had only sent me a message saying that the repair didn't work and I needed to call them...

I call them and they say they have to replace the entire top frame of the laptop and it'll be about $500. I tell them I'm gonna pass and just continue using a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard.

I go out and spend $10 on an pentalobe screwdriver and open the bottom of the laptop, push the ribbon connector in and restart my computer and suddenly everything is working fine.

I really hope people wise up to this company, they may make good products, but they set stupid standards in the industry and are really destroying consumer rights over the products they purchase...

[u/[deleted]]

Wife sent in her watch I bought for her. Told her it was unfixable and sent her a new one. New one was an empty iPhone watch box. They don’t know where it’s at.

Now they want me to prove I purchased the original watch (which they have) from a certified apple retailer.

You guys already agreed to send me a new one and you sent me an empty box from your store untampered with by the shipper. Am I missing something?

[u/DJRIPPED]

Don't delay, support right to repair today!

[u/LeYang]

Awesome, seeing Louis Rossmann on the news.

[u/pisobarz]

I dunno but the genius bar guys arnt tech gurus, they just go off protocol. Apple really shouldn't be quoting in the store because of their lack of expertise.

[u/LastWordFreak]

I was a genius for 7 years (left 6 years ago). Genius at the bar was definitely going by policy. Once those liquid indicators are triggered, they’re trained to basically replace everything and eliminate all traces of the liquid. We would never be allowed to return a computer as “fixed” if it still had evidence of liquid damage. Reeeeally sucked to have to lay that on someone for an easy fix. If something was easy enough, I’d always try and do what I could for free.

I was in the store recently as a customer and couldn’t believe how gross, overpriced, and tedious the repair process is now. I’m so sick of Apple. My SE is likely the last iPhone I’ll own, and I stopped buying their computers ages ago.