Hi, my iPhone has basically stopped working. It's incredibly slow, my camera won't even open, and I just need a replacement at this point. I've had it.
— Sarah, walking onto the floor
Stage 1
What's your first move?
Sarah has just walked up. She wants a replacement. You have 60 seconds.
A
Check Coverage
"I'm sorry to hear that. Let me pull up your device and check your AppleCare coverage so we can get you sorted."
B
Ask About Timeline
"That sounds really frustrating — especially the camera. When did this start? Was it sudden or gradual?"
C
Run Diagnostics
"Let me run a quick diagnostic on your device to see what's happening under the hood."
Your Choice
Option ? — ?
What This Reveals
Stage 2
What do you do next?
Your Choice
Option ? — ?
What This Reveals
Stage 3
Time to commit.
Your Choice
Option ? — ?
What This Reveals
The Outcome
Both paths took 15 minutes.
The Fast Path
Sarah gets her replacement iPhone
She restores from iCloud backup
249GB pushes right back onto the new device
Within 48 hours: same symptoms return
Camera still won't open
Mac and iPad still broken
Sarah returns furious
Cost to Sarah$149
Visits required0
Devices fixed0
CustomerDetractor
The Probe Path
iCloud upgraded: 200GB → 2TB
Optimise Storage enabled on all devices
Sync queue clears within hours
All three devices return to normal
Camera works, Mac stops spinning
Cost to Sarah$6.50/month
Visits required0
Devices fixed0
CustomerPromoter
Key Insight
What Made the Difference
"When did this start?"
Gave us the trigger — the photography trip. Without a timeline, you're diagnosing blind.
"Are your other devices affected?"
Revealed it's ecosystem-wide, not one broken phone. A completely different problem category.
"What's your iCloud plan?"
Identified the actual bottleneck. The constraint wasn't the device — it was the account.
"The system is your toolkit. The customer's story is your compass."