Danbury_Ski_Club
Absolutely terrible experience at the Apple Store in the Danbury Fair Mall on Seven Backus Avenue. Yes, it was Christmas weekend, so I fully expected the store to be busy. That said, we arrived about 10 minutes after opening. There were only a few customers in the store and roughly 20 employees standing around, many of them clearly engaged in a manager meeting. I asked for help and felt like I was interrupting their discussion. I was told someone would be right with me. After several minutes, a manager approached and asked if I needed information. I explained that I already knew exactly which phone I wanted and simply wanted to purchase it... Absolutely terrible experience at the Apple Store in the Danbury Fair Mall on Seven Backus Avenue. Yes, it was Christmas weekend, so I fully expected the store to be busy. That said, we arrived about 10 minutes after opening. There were only a few customers in the store and roughly 20 employees standing around, many of them clearly engaged in a manager meeting. I asked for help and felt like I was interrupting their discussion. I was told someone would be right with me. After several minutes, a manager approached and asked if I needed information. I explained that I already knew exactly which phone I wanted and simply wanted to purchase it quickly and leave. I did not want to browse, compare, or have a guided sales experience. That is when the absurdity began. I was told the manager could not sell me the phone. Moments later, I had three managers standing in front of me, all saying the same thing. None of them were allowed to sell me a phone. I was told I had to wait for a salesperson so that Apple could ensure I had a great purchasing experience. I explained that I did not want to wait. I just wanted to pay for the phone and leave. That was apparently unacceptable. I was told the managers who supervise the sales staff are not trained to sell products themselves, despite there being six to eight managers standing idle. So instead of helping a customer who was ready to buy immediately, they insisted I wait for a salesperson who was not available, all in the name of a controlled experience. At that point, I said out loud that this exact behavior is why people shop online. I left the store, ordered the phone directly from Apple online in about two minutes, and received free delivery before Christmas. After placing the order, I went back into the store and informed them I had already purchased it online. I was told they understood and that their policies were meant to ensure a good experience. What I went through was not a good experience. It was rigid, inefficient, and customer hostile. Good customer service requires judgment and flexibility, not blind adherence to policy while customers walk out the door ready to spend money elsewhere. I strongly recommend avoiding this location if you value your time or expect basic assistance.