iStudio Raffles City

**Apparently I’m not the only patron who has had this issue. Beware of scam tactics by this shop** I popped in to check if I could buy an iPhone 15 Pro Max, which they said they had ready stock. After choosing the model, they proceeded to try to sell me their ‘iCare’ extended warranty poorly. I couldn't figure out what it covered, so I just left it at that. When choosing accessories, Kris+ T&Cs indicate a benefit of 10% off non-Apple related accessories, but phone covers didn't seem to be covered, and the salesperson didn't seem to know what was or wasn't covered. Beware: they make you sign a form stating the model cannot be exchanged or refunded, unlike at an Apple Store. Another salesperson proceeded to try to shoo me away from the front desk because he wanted to seal another deal. Rude! Cherry on top: at payment, I realised they wanted to charge me for their shoddily marketed iCare plan. At no point during my time in the shop was I told I must purchase their iCare plan. I was not ‘allowed’ to purchase the phone without the iCare plan. What a gimmick. Better off buying the phone at an actual Apple Store. I’m in no hurry to get one. 🤷🏻‍♀️

We wanted to buy AirPods Pro 2. The salesman was really friendly, but when we proceeded to pay for it, he suggested adding on a casing for an extra $2. Since it was cheap, we paid for it. The receipt was given through email. Later on, when we checked, the AirPods were discounted, and the casing was actually $68. Haiss. Please check your email straightaway for the receipt when you buy at this store.

Walked in on 21/10/2024 around 8:30 PM. While waiting to be served, there was a lady serving two other ladies with smiles and a good approach. However, after both ladies left the shop, we went and approached the same Chinese lady and asked about the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Her service was totally different from what we had seen with the previous customers; she immediately told us that we needed to purchase the second year of warranty to be able to buy the phone. Is this how your staff are trained, by forcing customers to purchase the second year of warranty just to be allowed to purchase the phone? I checked with other outlets, and they told us that this outlet had 7 pcs of the iPhone 16 Pro Max 512 GB (white) in stock. That's why we purposely headed down to this outlet, but we ended up getting this kind of service.

We waited too long. No one ever came to ask us. We wanted to buy a watch and waited for an hour. We even went and asked. They told us to wait for 5 minutes, but it turned into an hour. After that, the watch was out of stock. So disappointed.

Really bad customer service. I enquired about the prices, and the lady with short blonde hair and specs, on Feb 19th at 12 PM, told me to see the prices myself, claiming she was clueless. When asked about the store’s exchange policy, she said there's no chance because there were definitely no stocks, so she told me not to bother trying. When asked about the product specifications, etc., she didn't know and kept looking at the price list while staring at me without answers. Please do not visit this branch if you want to enquire about Apple products.

While the sales assistants were helpful and friendly, we found it disingenuous to be told that the $300 iPhone 16 trade-in bonus would be the best deal and that it would definitely drop to $200 or lower by next week. Lo and behold, iStudio is now offering a $350 bonus literally a day after I got my friend on the previous deal.

Firstly, I would like to commend the nice gentleman coordinating the orders on 22nd September. He did an impeccable job coordinating orders while maintaining composure, and he also answered my queries professionally and warmly. To be fair, service provided on the actual launch day was good, rating 4.5/5⭐️. They evaluated how many customers were in queue and started taking tentative orders, deducting stock and updating customers on which iterations remained available. In my case, it paid to be early. I was 10th in queue, but the bulk of the inventory was purchased in the earlier half of the queue, for reasons listed below. I managed to clinch the last set in Natural Titanium. It was my preferred but not ideal choice in memory capacity. The branch had a comparatively shorter queue than others. It took over 2 hours as a walk-in to collect my phone, which I found relatively acceptable given the popularity of the launch. Staff were calm and systematic, allowing only 1-2 customers into the store at a time. One thing to note about the customers was that they were mostly Vietnamese. I was disappointed when some joined late but were entitled to the privilege of having a unit reserved. They were not directed to the end of the queue but were instead added ahead. Some were clearly strangers, but upon realising they were also Vietnamese, they spoke in their mother tongue and, in a moment of solidarity, joined the queue ahead (cut queue). They were “friends” now, and nothing was done to stop the queue cutting. If stock was not limited or unavailable for preorder, I would be more tolerant. Also, we were informed one order was allowed per customer, but some who had already placed a preorder were allowed to purchase an additional set while in queue, which meant they were able to purchase 2 units simultaneously. I am unsure if it was a loophole, but regulations did state each customer was entitled to one unit. I could tell the staff had their hands tied and relented, which was disappointing. Inventory was low, and many patrons were disappointed with their failure to obtain their choice of phones. In fact, half of the purchases were made by a minority of patrons. It would have been fairer if digital queue tickets were issued at the point of opening. This would reduce a ton of confusion and would also be fair to those who came early to queue. I did not wish to raise a fuss, hence I decided to let the matter slide, but I wish iStudio would take my feedback seriously and protect their patrons better. Adding on, reaching out to iStudio via social media platforms or phone was impossible. Responses were lukewarm and not helpful. It was difficult to extract information. In fact, I was unclear if the launch was reserved for preorders or if walk-ins were possible. I reached out via social media to enquire if walk-ins were allowed for iPhone purchases but was met with the response, “they are subject to availability.” A simple yes or no would have been helpful. All I wanted to verify was if walk-ins were allowed so I could make plans. Fortunately, I took a leap of faith and decided to arrive early to try my luck. It was there that I realised walk-ins were welcome, but stocks were subject to availability. That was the answer I was looking for. Overall, if you need no favours, iStudio does great, but if you need information, help, or any form of after-sales service, it is like taking candy from a baby; it is literally faster to head down to their outlet since their online presence is non-existent and their landlines are consistently engaged. The actual experience on the day of launch was fantastic, and I feel that it was managed well. With quality-of-life improvements in the future, I believe they will provide a better experience. I managed to get what I had wanted, but I felt for the other customers who were disappointed due to queue cutting and other reasons mentioned above.

Assistance was okay, but if they don't have an extra discount, going to the Apple Store is better. I bought my MacBook Air and AppleCare together, only to find the AppleCare not registered. I confirmed with the salesperson at least 3 times if he would register it. Now I have been calling them non-stop for the last 30 minutes; no pickup. The salesperson's name is Dell, so just beware.