Apple Metrocentre - Gateshead

Suzanne N.

Very good service, booked an appointment but arrived early to have a look around. Was seen straight away and they helped fix issues with my grandad's phone and showed us what to do next time. Highly recommend, great staff.

Victor A.

This is not a mentally healthy store. The atmosphere is disdainful of customers. To be fair, some customers can be nasty and unreasonable. Customers can wear you down and make your life as an advisor, very difficult. The job however, of a great quality retail store agent, is to reset their view of the customer every day, and start each shift from a positive place. An agent cannot build a mountain of disrespect for customers based on bad experiences. This is what I think is happening here. I walked in – searching for eye contact, but not too much as I appreciate agents can be busy. But they were not at all engaging; they were not scanning the room for potential new customers. They were not mindful of how they come across. The guy I walked past didn’t come across as staff as he was looking away or was somewhere else. I asked for assistance from lady staff member who directed me to this person who was doing nothing. (if he was a manager, then he needs to be replaced) He then came to life, like a robot with the power switched on! He completely faked his interest; no smile and asked “what is it you want help with sir?” At that point I’ve seen enough and walked out. This is a toxic workplace. There is something rotten behind the scene for the staff to be this negative towards a customer like me, who was actually there to purchase a device to replace an old one. What are they doing in there? Is Apple a bad employer? I’ve looked at the negative reviews here, and they are voicing similar complaints – the staff have poor customer engagement skills.

Jayne

Walk-in experience for advice on iPad products. Got put on the waiting list which was super fast. Sean was very helpful and gave genuine unbiased advice on which products would be more suitable for me. It was a nice experience and other staff members I interacted with were lovely

Bartosz P.

From the very beginning, as soon as Aaron realized we were foreigners, his attitude became condescending and unpleasant. He spoke to us as if we were mentally impaired—painfully slowly, repeating every sentence three times, which was incredibly insulting.

I understand that some customers may require detailed explanations, but his tone was far beyond what’s acceptable and came across as mockery. At one point, I asked if he was about to erase the phone, since he had connected it to a computer. I explained that I urgently needed the device to remain functional because I had to retrieve a code from my mobile operator to activate an eSIM. His response? With a smug expression, he said something like, “You can’t take an eSIM out of a phone,” as if I had no understanding of how eSIMs work. Honestly, with that level of sarcasm and arrogance, I’m surprised he hasn’t graduated from Harvard yet.

To make things worse, he concluded the interaction by saying—exaggeratedly slowly and clearly—that the iPhone would be ready for pickup “the next day after 9:45 AM—not before 9:45.” He repeated that four times. In a clearly rude and patronizing tone, he stressed that we must not come earlier, as if we were incapable of following basic instructions. He then pointed—very theatrically and in an almost obscene way—to the exact spot where we should return to pick up the phone, like he was giving directions to children or mentally disabled people. It was genuinely humiliating.

That said, I do want to point out that the gentleman who welcomed us to the store and showed us where to wait for Aaron was extremely polite and friendly. Likewise, the staff member who handed me the repaired iPhone the next day was kind and professional. It’s a shame that our overall experience was so negatively impacted by one individual.

We left the Apple Store feeling completely degraded and disrespected. After a 12-hour work shift, I really didn’t expect to be treated with such rudeness, sarcasm, and disdain. This experience was absolutely dehumanizing and unacceptable—especially from a company that prides itself on high standards of customer service.

G M.

This store manager is nightmare, he was super rude, I bought iPhone 16 pro max 3 month ago paid £1400 for it and it got broken within 3 months of using it with a very minor and light fall, I am not gone accept it even if I took this matter to court, when I spoke to the manger he said he made a decision with 1 minute, he didn’t think twice he said that’s it doesn’t matter if it’s three month or one year the phone got broke you have to pay for it to fix it, doesn’t apple claim that this iPhone is the toughest smartphone that ever existed, how it could get break only after 3 months how the manger just made a decision within one minute? I get it I was wearing hijab he saw a Muslim hijabi women he decided to be racist and treat me like I am nothing I am gone compliant how he treats me like that he didn’t have any respect or sympathy

Matthew A.

My partner paid £40 for a screen protector when they purchased it together with their £1000 iphone, and which came with a 2 year replacement guarantee.

At the time of the sales they were told "Just come back and we'll replace it [the screen protector].

We returned today with a cracked screen protector only to be told that we would need to contact Belkin to claim a replacement screen protector, and then take the screen protector to the shop for it to be fitted.

When paying such a premium it is not unreasonable to expect no-fuss customer service. This is bureaucratic idiocy that has become all too common to Apple. My partner was extremely disappointed as they had spent thousands with Apple over the years. We will never buy another Apple product.

Lucy D.

I paid £1200 for a macbook pro 2017 bought in 2020 which has a black screen when i open the lid, the laptop is completely useless now and apple refuse to fix it even though the company have admitted it is a manufacturing problem so the hardware has a faulty design. A quick google search will tell you that!
They only fix the 2016 models but refuse to fix the 2017 models even though the issue is the exact same. I was told they cant fix it as they dont have the parts with it being so “old and vinatge” yet you have a repair program for the 2016 models lmao! The problem is “way less common” in the 2017 models so they abandon me even though its a fault in the hardware design so it was never a good laptop anyway.

I dont care if the warrenty is finished the laptop was never fit for purpose and in store i was told “lots of laptops do this” mate no they dont i know people who have owned laptops for 10 years and never had this issue where the screen is totally black.

You get told to go to the genius bar at apple stores to get help but its a shame the genius arent f****** building them properly

farzane R.

I had a frustrating and disappointing experience with “Jordan” at the Apple Store. I arrived at 9 AM, the first person who walked in the store, hoping to quickly resolve an issue with my phone (Iphone 14 pro) that the charging port is not working so I had 5٪ batteries , which my phone still under a two-year full coverage service. Unfortunately, my experience was far from smooth.

Jordan, the staff member who "assisted!" me, was incredibly unhelpful and rude. Despite the fact that all of the technicians were visibly free, she informed me that there was a waiting list of at least 2 hours!!! I I explained to her that I came early specifically because I couldn’t return later due to work commitments, I can stay for an hour but not more!
And again all the technicians were free. but she showed no empathy or willingness to assist. Instead, she dismissivel suggested I come back later.

Yesterday, for same reason —I arrived at 9 AM, someone else was serving me and gave me appointment directly so I was quickly seen by a technician, and everything was sorted out within half an hour. By 9:30, I was on my way, completely satisfied with the efficient and friendly service. (he taught the problem is with charging cable but when I went home I found out It’s still has thar problem thats why I came back today)

The customer service I received was terrible—Jordan was unfriendly, unhelpful, and her attitude was unacceptable. I expected better from Apple, especially when dealing with a product still under warranty.