Apple retailer Simply Mac is shutting down
Apple authorized retail and service provider Simply Mac is shutting down after sixteen years of business because of pandemic-related financial difficulties -- leaving employees and potentially customers with repairs out in the cold.
Credit: Simply Mac
In a letter to staff members seen by AppleInsider, and acquired from multiple sources, Simply Mac CEO Rein Voigt said that it is shutting down its operations and terminating all employees effective immediately.
Simply Mac operated 53 brick-and-mortar retail outlets in the U.S. Most of Simply Mac's locations were underserved by Apple itself, and the closures will leave enormous voids for relatively local sales and support.
Voigt said that the company will be unable to pay employees - who were expecting to be paid on July 10 for the previous pay period that ended a week ago. However, he said that all staff members will receive a notice from the bankruptcy court and will be able to submit a claim.
It's not clear when the bankruptcy court will rule, nor when or how the liquidation will begin. Also not clear is the retrieval process for machines under service, or existing orders.
We have also received emails from customers that have been put off for days asking for status of repairs. While it is still early for most of Simply Mac's geographical areas, so far today, these calls have been ignored.
AppleInsider has reached out to Simply Mac, and has not as of yet received a response on how it will deal with outstanding customer issues.
Read on AppleInsider
Credit: Simply Mac
In a letter to staff members seen by AppleInsider, and acquired from multiple sources, Simply Mac CEO Rein Voigt said that it is shutting down its operations and terminating all employees effective immediately.
Citing funding issues, Voigt said that Simply Mac is unable to adequately stock its shelves with products or "stay current with our financial obligations." The company is filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and will be completely liquidated.Since our acquisition of Simply Mac from GameStop on September 25, 2019, we have worked hard as a team to grow our company to be North America's pre-eminent Apple Partner and provide our customers with transformational experiences that drive long-term loyalty. However, we could not have possibly foreseen that on December 12, 2019 in Wuhan, China a worldwide pandemic would start and ultimately cause us to layoff half our workforce and close many of our stores.
Simply Mac operated 53 brick-and-mortar retail outlets in the U.S. Most of Simply Mac's locations were underserved by Apple itself, and the closures will leave enormous voids for relatively local sales and support.
Voigt said that the company will be unable to pay employees - who were expecting to be paid on July 10 for the previous pay period that ended a week ago. However, he said that all staff members will receive a notice from the bankruptcy court and will be able to submit a claim.
It's not clear when the bankruptcy court will rule, nor when or how the liquidation will begin. Also not clear is the retrieval process for machines under service, or existing orders.
We have also received emails from customers that have been put off for days asking for status of repairs. While it is still early for most of Simply Mac's geographical areas, so far today, these calls have been ignored.
AppleInsider has reached out to Simply Mac, and has not as of yet received a response on how it will deal with outstanding customer issues.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
They fired my boss for wanting to close in those very early days of the pandemic, when we had a very early case of COVID and no protocols were established. They berated and insulted her to the point of her being let go for insubordination, a store manager. I picked up the pieces and through two failed store leaders.
I managed to keep it going and I was let go for one troublesome count. At the same time a half dozen other 4+ year vets from a bunch of stores were also let go for minor issues. This company deserved to fail terribly.
I can also confirm that one store had a service leader who was abusive to female customers and coworkers to the point he was let go despite him being the only management the store had.
I'm so so so sorry to the people who are being shafted - but the company never planned for how to survive. They tried expanding during an incredibly unreasonable time, and used PPP funds to line pockets rather than sure up business. Good riddance to the company.
We have a Simply Mac store where I live and I've been glad of it. The nearest two Apple Stores are each about 100 miles away, so having a local Mac store, especially for repairs, has been useful. I've had both an iMac Pro and a 27" iMac repaired there — these are not models you want to be shipping if it can be avoided. As far as product sales go, our Simply Mac has certainly suffered from the two local Best Buy stores, which are also in better locations, and their Apple "store-within-a-store" setup.
However, repair tiers are really low. My employer once even reached Premium Service Provider status for a while, but I’ve been still forced to do frauds. Like scratching antireflective coating on broken screens in order to get one free (but charging customer full price for it), pushing applewatch batteries to puff using glow lamps, to get one free (but charging customer for whole unit exchange), etc.
I’ve been forced to do this from the beginning on behalf of my own Apple TechID. I felt terrible, that I’ve ended up cheating Apple and worsening all what Apple stands for.. carbon footprint, perception of quality, etc.. until, after couple of visits of Apple AASP representative, I realised they know about it but doing nothing with it. It seemed they play together.
Never again.
Regarding the employee situation... employees need to realize just how expensive they are to a company. They need to work *hard* to earn their pay. Do I sound jaded? Yes. I have employees that sit on their butts (when not supervised) waiting for customers to come in, and yet expect to be paid for that unproductive time. It's shameful. To demand full pay for half work is disgusting.
I'm not saying that this applies to the Simply Mac employee situation, but I'm sure that the cost of employee wages alone was a big factor in them shutting down. If every employee worked harder to earn their pay, maybe the company would have had a better chance at surviving.
What problem does Apple have with Simply Mac? If I were you I would get my device back and either get it too an Apple store, or mail it in for service after speaking with Apple and making them aware of the situation. If it's still under he original applecare warranty or you have applecare+ you should have no worries. Simply Mac is liquidating and hasn't paid employees properly... I wouldn't ask them to do anything else except return your device immediately so it can be replaced and you can move on with your life.