Ever called AppleCare only to feel like you’ve entered a black hole of hold music? You’re not alone. For all their wizardry in crafting iPhones, Apple’s customer support can feel like a maze of automated voices and endless hold times. One user complained he was told to wait “2 to 3 more minutes” – only to find himself on hold for over an hour with “no assistance” at all. Another redditor noted that “Apple spoils us… but for some reason” their phone support had become unbearably slow, with waits “repeatedly been over 25-35+ minutes” just to speak to a human. In fact, one user ended up plugging in his phone and going to make coffee while still waiting – “total hold time… was 1 hour and 12 minutes” before he finally got through. By the time AppleCare actually answers, you could have brewed a whole pot of Tim Hortons!

Here are a few real-life Reddit AppleCare horror stories that prove the #HoldMusicLife is no joke:

• An iPad Pro owner on Reddit, promised a next-week replacement, ended up text-chatting for days. When his replacement still hadn’t shipped, he quipped that the chat was “unable to provide a tracking number, so I figured this was a lie”. Two weeks after reporting the issue, he still had no working iPad or ETA.
• One frustrated MacBook Reddit user wrote, “They said they would repair it in 3–5 days. It has now been 10 days and I still haven’t received an update”. He even considered asking for a loaner — because waiting that long for a $2000 computer might as well come with a spare.
• In another case, a customer service rep literally hung up mid-call. After describing how her phone’s data was wiped by Apple’s own troubleshooting, the rep “stopped speaking… then she hung up” as soon as the customer complained. A second call for a software issue ended the same way: the advisor “went silent… then hung up” when asked to escalate. Two hang-ups in one day – they say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but apparently lousy customer service does.
• An iPhone X owner recounted a 52-minute AppleCare marathon of transfers and lost records. At the end he finally got a new phone…but “I just can’t believe how unorganized all of that was,” he wrote, shaking his head at the chaos of dropped calls and missing plan info.
• After months of no updates and endless escalations, one loyal Apple fan threw in the towel: “I feel at this point that Apple really doesn’t care… I might as well save money and go back to resolving issues on my own on a different platform.” With attitude like that, maybe it’s iPhone ex-es instead of iPhone XS.

These horror stories highlight the impersonal slog of corporate support. So if you find yourself on hold again, take heart – there are way more fun things to do.

• Chug a double-double at Tim Hortons. By the time you circle through the drive-thru and finish your coffee, AppleCare might only be two minutes away from finally picking up.
• Organize a canoe trip up the Muskoka Lakes. Paddle out to “welcome” Lake Rosseau, spin around Parry Sound, and by the time you’re back in Barrie, you’ll still have phone problems – but at least you got some paddling in.
• Play shinny on frozen Kempenfelt Bay. Strap on skates and score goals while AppleCare’s hold music drones on. (Spoiler: you’ll probably score more goals than responses.)
• Bake Nanaimo bars from scratch. Mix up that butter-sugar-crumb base, chill it, whip the chocolate topping… and still have time to spare by the time a human answers the call. Maple syrup is sweet, but Apple’s hold music definitely isn’t.
• Reorganize your garage… twice. You’ll alphabetize your screws, categorize your zip ties, and still have time left over to question your life choices — all before AppleCare finishes “connecting you to the next available specialist.”
• Attend an impromptu moose convention. Somewhere in Canada, a moose is loping around its own problems faster than your phone will get fixed on hold. (Geographically speaking, we hear the one in Algonquin Park is quite patient.)
• Fix your own phone at BarrieScreenRepair.com. Alright, maybe this one is real advice. Instead of waiting for AppleCare, swing by our shop where we’ll actually pick up the phone for you.

Why We’re Not AppleCare (and Proud of It)

At BarrieScreenRepair.com, we love our community more than an overpriced smartphone case. When you come to us, you’ll never get an endless loop of prompts. You’ll get a friendly face who remembers your name (and maybe that you’re from Barrie, Ontario!). Our hold music is real: it’s whatever local tune the technician is humming while we fix your screen. No automated “please hold” jokes here – unless it’s the one about us fixing your device first try.

• No waiting queues. Call us up, and a human (probably sipping Tim Horton’s coffee) will actually answer the phone. We won’t leave you on hold for a phone call.
• Lightning-fast turnarounds. Our repairs take hours or days, not weeks. If we say it’ll take 24 hours, we mean 24 hours – and we’ll call you first if anything changes (not the other way around).
• Neighborhood service. In Barrie, “customer service” means chatting about the game while we hand you back a working iPhone. We deal in smiles and quality repairs, not bureaucracy.
• Canadian courtesy. We apologize even before a problem happens. (It’s a national pastime.) At our shop, the only cold shoulder you’ll get is the one outside on our chilly winter nights – not on hold.

After reading those AppleCare rants, it’s no wonder our neighbors prefer local fixes. Trust us, we’d also rather shoot the breeze on the rink than listen to muzak. So the next time Apple says “we’ll call you back,” just remember you’ve got better things to do. Like grabbing another coffee, learning French, or calling BarrieScreenRepair.com for some honest, human help – with no hold music in sight.

Remember: you could spend all day on hold listening to elevator jazz, or you could take your phone to us and get back to living. At BarrieScreenRepair.com (in Barrie, Ontario, eh), we fix devices – and we do it with a smile, not a script. The choice is yours!