I spend most of my time living and working in Hanoi, Vietnam, but even though I am here, I tend to buy many electronic products, including my Apple products, in the United States. I have always been a great fan of Apple electronic products and the excellent Apple service in the United States.
However, the service provided by Apple’s nominated suppliers in certain locations overseas, such as Vietnam, is frankly disappointing. Repairs take an excessively long time, and the hassle involved is incredibly frustrating. This experience suggests that even a major company like Apple struggles with efficient overseas service, or perhaps they simply don’t prioritize it. Read on as I share more about my experiences.
Table of Contents
- My Frustrating Experience With Apple’s Service Providers
- Why AppleCare+ Express Replacement Service Overseas Sucks
- My Frustrating Return To Apple’s Local Service Provider
- Lessons From My Experience With Apple’s Terrible Overseas Service
- Related Content
My Frustrating Experience With Apple’s Service Providers
If Apple doesn’t have a store in a country where it sells its products, it relies on nominated local service providers to handle repairs. Unfortunately, my experience with these local service providers revealed a lot of red tape and inefficiency.
Recently, for some unspoken reason, my Apple Watch stopped recording my heart rate and steps. While it still told time and performed other functions, the fitness tracking features were non-functional.
Since my watch was still under the AppleCare+ service, I knew I had to get this fixed sooner rather than later, as I depend on these features for my fitness routine.
When the heart rate monitor and step tracker stopped working, I went online and followed all the steps Apple recommended. When that didn’t resolve the issue, I called Apple Support in the United States.
The support agent was excellent. He tested my watch remotely and confirmed that the sensors were broken. He informed me that the watch needed to be replaced and that my watch was still under the AppleCare+ warranty.
In the USA, Apple Has Great Service, But Overseas, It Is Lacking
In the United States, this would have been a straightforward process. I would make an appointment at an Apple Genius Bar, take my watch in for testing, and get it replaced. Simple and easy.
However, in a country like Vietnam, it was anything but straightforward. The US agent made an appointment for me to bring my watch to one of Apple’s local Vietnamese service providers.
When I went to the service provider in Vietnam called Cares, they refused to take my watch. They insisted I needed the original receipt from Apple to show that I had purchased the watch and AppleCare+.
Despite having a confirmed appointment, a case number, and confirmation from the US Apple Genius agent that I had AppleCare+ and had purchased the watch, was not good enough for Cares. They demanded the original receipt and a copy of my passport.
This requirement led to a frustrating two-hour journey through Hanoi traffic when I was told they wouldn’t take my watch. I called Apple back to see if I could get a copy of the receipt, but Apple had no copy, and only the original store I purchased it from could provide one.
Furthermore, Apple USA had no idea why the local service provider wouldn’t accept the case number as proof of purchase.
Why AppleCare+ Express Replacement Service Overseas Sucks
I found myself stuck. Apple USA couldn’t help me, Cares, the local Vietnamese Apple service provider, refused to take my watch in for replacement. This experience highlighted the inefficiencies and challenges of dealing with Apple’s service providers in countries without Apple stores.
I was then told to call the local Apple telephone number in Vietnam to see if they could help me. So, I called the local number, but since I wanted to speak to someone in English, I was immediately transferred to the Philippines.
When I spoke to the representative in the Philippines, I asked, “How will you be able to help me if you are in the Philippines? Wouldn’t this be the same as talking to a US agent?” She couldn’t provide a clear answer.
I explained to the representative in the Philippines that I had AppleCare+ and should be able to get an express replacement under my service. She confirmed this and set up the process for me.
Apple Sent Me A Form That Was Only In Vietnamese
However, when I received the email about the express replacement, it was entirely Vietnamese. I asked if they could send the email in English, but she said they only had it in Vietnamese.
I had to get one of my Vietnamese staff members to help me fill out the form and navigate the terms and conditions, all in Vietnamese. It seemed absurd that a company like Apple doesn’t provide at least a bilingual form in English and Vietnamese.
It felt almost like they didn’t want foreigners to repair or purchase Apple products here because it was too difficult.
We filled out the form, but Apple required a deposit as part of the express replacement process until they returned my watch. I had no problem providing a credit card for the deposit, but another issue arose.
Apple’s Online Form Only Allowed Vietnamese-Based Credit Cards
Apple’s online form for the credit card only allowed a Vietnamese-based address and a Vietnamese-based credit card. All my credit cards are based in the United States, so I could not use Apple’s express replacement service simply because Apple wouldn’t allow me to enter a US-based address for my credit card.
The form even blocked out any changes, making using a credit card other than a Vietnamese one impossible. I called Apple back and asked how I could use my US-based credit card, and they essentially told me there was no way to change the system. They said that to use the Apple Express replacement service, I had to have a Vietnamese-based credit card.
In Vietnam, I Am A Second-Class Apple Customer
I was shocked that a company as large as Apple didn’t have a simple form in English for their English-speaking clients overseas or allow a credit card with a non-Vietnamese address.
I felt like a second-class citizen and, more importantly, a second-class Apple customer.
My Frustrating Return To Apple’s Local Service Provider
Now, I am stuck again and have to call Apple back. I wasted days on the phone trying to solve a problem that should have been very simple. This had become a nightmare. My only choice to get my Apple Watch replaced in Vietnam was to return to the Apple service provider in Hanoi.
They told me that the replacement would take at least 2 to 3 weeks—a far cry from the experience in the United States, where a visit to the Genius Bar would take an hour or two, and I’d walk out with a replacement watch. Here in Vietnam, Apple’s “Express” service takes weeks.
I had to dig up my original receipt, which I was lucky enough to find in some old emails on my computer and provide a copy of my passport. Then, I made the two-hour round-trip journey again to hand over my watch so they could take those weeks to replace it.
Through this process, I learned a few things. I realized Apple doesn’t thoroughly vet its service providers overseas to ensure they deliver the type of service Apple customers expect.
It felt like someone at Apple was dropping the ball. If a service provider is going to use Apple’s name, and if customers are used to a certain standard of service from Apple, then having such poor service from these providers tarnishes Apple’s brand and reputation.
My Terrible Experience With An iPad Replacement In Vietnam
When I handed over my Apple Watch for repair, I knew it would be anything but easy and would be full of frustrations. This was because my iPad Pro, which was less than a year old, stopped working the previous summer and needed to be replaced.
I had a similar experience with another Apple service provider in Hanoi, Vietnam. This time, my replacement for the iPad Pro took 45 days. Yes, you read that right—it took them about 45 days—an unbelievably long time.
When I initially told them my iPad Pro wasn’t working, I emphasized that I wanted the same model as a replacement. They assured me I would get the same iPad back, but this was not the case.
When I returned to the United States, I wondered why my T-Mobile SIM card wouldn’t work with my iPad. I thought there might be a problem with the SIM card, so I kept going back to T-Mobile to exchange it.
Finally, T-Mobile tested the card and told me the problem wasn’t the card but my iPad. I then went to the Apple Store near my home in the United States. They looked at my iPad, did some investigating, and discovered that the service provider in Vietnam had replaced my iPad Pro with an Asian model, which wouldn’t work with my SIM card in the United States. Apple had to replace my iPad again so I could have the same model I originally purchased.
This was yet another example of the inferior service provided by Apple overseas compared to the service provided in the United States.
Lessons From My Experience With Apple’s Terrible Overseas Service
I believe some business lessons can be learned from my experience dealing with Apple’s overseas repair. While Apple is a highly respected brand in places like the United States, my experiences abroad, particularly in Vietnam, have shown me that the company struggles to maintain the same level of service quality internationally.
One of the fundamental issues I discovered was language. Even though Apple knew I was an English speaker, they couldn’t send me an email in English for an express replacement in Vietnam—it had to be in Vietnamese.
Moreover, they wouldn’t allow me to use a U.S. credit card for the express replacement. For a company as large as Apple, these seemed like simple fixes: sending emails in the customer’s language and accepting any valid credit card.
These policies made it almost impossible for me, or anyone visiting a country like Vietnam, where there is no Apple Store, to complete any replacement service in a reasonable amount of time. Apple’s policies have made this nearly impossible.
I Blame Apple For This Terrible Customer Service
I honestly blame Apple for this horrendous customer service because they are big enough to change these policies if they want to. Even something as simple as informing U.S. Apple agents about the requirements for Vietnamese service providers could have helped.
The U.S. Apple phone agents had no idea of any of the Vietnamese service providers requirements. They did not know I would need to provide an original receipt and a copy of my passport. This information was nowhere in the Apple system that I could access or that they could tell me about.
This shows that Apple has a long way to go to ensure that its customer service and experience abroad match the standards provided in the United States. As far as I can see, the service is not even close to being the same. It feels like dealing with two entirely different companies.
I love Apple products and am loyal to the service I receive in the United States, but I loathe and hate Apple’s service overseas, especially in Vietnam. My experience here has been anything but good—it’s been outright terrible.
As a foreigner in Vietnam, Apple has made me feel like a second-class Apple customer, and no one likes to feel like a second-class customer.
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