Apple store Table Bay Mall

Last weekend I finally decided to switch from Android to Apple — a decision I now highly regret, mainly because of the terrible experience I had at the Apple Store in Table Bay Mall, Cape Town.

Four days later, I am still struggling to get my apps and data fully functional.

My biggest issue with the store was the complete lack of communication and customer care from both staff and management.

On Sunday at around 2pm, when I purchased the phone, the salesperson assured me that my data transfer would take approximately 2–4 hours. Once the technician took over, I was told it might take longer because I had many photos, and I should return at 5:30pm.

When I came back, the transfer was still ongoing. I was then told I needed to leave the phone overnight and return the next morning. At that point, I was also informed — for the first time — that I might need to move all my photos to Google Photos because my storage was too large, despite my Google account already being close to full.

What nobody seemed to understand is that my phone is essential for my daily life. I use it for work access, banking, security access to my residential complex, and communication. Being without a working phone for such a long period created major disruption and stress.

The following morning, at 9:30am, I returned to the store only to be told that they could not complete the transfer and that I “needed to make a plan.”

At that point I became extremely frustrated because none of these risks or possible complications had been clearly communicated to me before the purchase.

I then asked to speak to the store manager, Mrs Tatum Knight, to explain my concerns and the fact that the phone was no longer serving the purpose I bought it for. Her response was simply that I would need to pay a 20% handling fee if I wanted to return the phone. When I explained that none of these limitations or risks had been explained beforehand, the response felt dismissive and arrogant.

I then spoke to another manager, Sive Malgas, who repeated the same position. When I asked to speak to someone more senior, I was told he “doesn’t report to anyone,” which I found extremely concerning from a customer service perspective.

By midday, after losing work time and still not having a usable phone, I was having a panic attack from the stress of the situation.

Overall, this was one of the worst retail customer experiences I have had. The issue was not simply the failed data transfer, technology issues can happen, but the lack of transparency, poor communication, lack of empathy, and unwillingness to take accountability.

I expected far better customer service from an Apple-authorised store.