I have never experienced such a poorly handled return from a company of Apple’s size. What should have been a simple courier pickup turned into an absolute circus:•4 calls to customer care, 4 different agents – each one repeating the same verification questions and offering no continuity. For a company that prides itself on innovation, Apple clearly has no system in place to remember previous verifications, wasting the customer’s time and patience.•4 failed return attempts with DHL – because Apple’s “reference number” did not match DHL’s system. DHL had no idea what was happening, couldn’t track with my contact number, and came across as utterly clueless. Apple and DHL are completely out of sync, leaving the customer stuck in the middle.•Chaotic communication – No ownership, no accountability. Every step felt like being passed around between two companies that don’t talk to each other.In the end, after hours of wasted time and frustration, I had to drive 2 hours back and forth to the Apple Store to get this resolved myself. Ironically, the in-store return took just 2–3 minutes, thanks only to a helpful store manager who stepped in during a chaotic preorder rush.Apple should be ashamed of this kind of disjointed process. For a “world-class” brand, this was an amateur and infuriating experience.