It worked last night. It worked early this morning. Half hour later, it did not! My iphone, only two months old, had officially taken a dump. Oh it still worked, however, the only way to maneuver through the applications was strictly by memory. Why you ask? The backlight was gone... only darkness! Thus, the only way to see what was on the screen was to strategically hold it in the right light to catch of glimpse of what screen you were on.
Long story short. I called the Telus outlet that I had purchased it from who said all they could do was give the the 1-800 number for Apple "Canada". But of course, they only operate Eastern hours so I would have to wait til 10:30 to have this discussion.
I spend the first 3-4 minutes pressing 1, pressing 2, stating "technical support" and eventually get a perky, happy voice on the line. I briefly explain to her that the phone backlight has gone and that the infamous "this accessory is not made to work with your iphone" (although it is not connected to anything other than indirectly affecting my blood pressure).
She puts me on hold and upon returning states I need to bring my phone to an Apple store and they would most likely replace it with a new one. Perfect! Hook me up! "Can I have your postal code please?" - sure! "Okay Jill, I have you booked in tomorrow at 4pm" . Wow! This was pretty easy! ....as if!
"Four o'clock tomorrow. Where is the store located?", I ask. Her response, "Ontario". Hmmmmm. My first thought is that this is a joke. Surely she isn't serious. I explain to her that Ontario is four provinces away and unless Apple was going to book and pay for my flight with West Jet, not to mention the rental car and hotel accommodations, that 4pm tomorrow was not going to work for me. From here it just went further downhill to the point where I just told to to go ahead and escalate me up the chain of command.
Option 1. - Fly to Ontario to the Apple store to get an instant replacement (there are no Apple stores in Newfoundland and all "Authorized Dealers" are not responsible to replace and/or repair Apple products.
Option 2. - send the phone to the Apple store. May be 2-3+ weeks til the phone is repaired/replaced and sent back to me.
Option 3 - "Advanced Replacement" , in which the total cost of the iphone is put on my credit card, new phone is shipped to me, I send back crappy phone, upon receipt of crappy phone the "hold" will be removed from my card.
and that is it!!!
So apparently, if you have iphone that stops working properly and live anywhere East of Ontario you are up the creek. I will say, that all the individuals I had been talking to were extremely friendly and understanding. But I would think you would have to be when you realized how ludicrous it was to think I would hop on a plane for the sake of a phone. How could I not be frustrated when the options I was been given were beyond frustrating and made absolutely no sense.
I love my iphone! It's the first piece of electronics that provides me with all the gadgets and tools to organize my life, my kids and provide me with mindless entertainment. However, since an "Apple Store" does not exist in this province it only makes sense that a person would be able to take their receipt, the phone and go to the original point of purchase. From here a repair could be performed, a replacement if needed. It would make sense that if these dealers are authorized to sell the merchandise in their stores that they would also have authorization or a type of partnership that would provide customers with the same service they would receive from an Apple store.
I have no memory during my purchase of my phone of the Salesperson stating, "Oh and by the way, if the phone stops working don't call us." I do remember him insistent on my buying the Extended Serivce Plan - why would I buy a plan that the point of purchase themselves would not warrant. Oh right, the fine print would most likely state that I'd have to call Apple and still be in the same situation! A side note, where exactly did Canadian 1-800 number direct me? As I question it was anywhere in Canada; If it was, I recommended next time they have a map in front of them when speaking to a customer to avoid such a silly situation.
Sweet jingles! Is there really a need for it all to be so difficult! Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of the ipod, itouch and iphone. We have several of each in our home. What boils me to no end is when electronics, be it Xbox, Playstation or the iphone stop working. It is nothing short of a major headache and futile efforts that in the end leave you backed into a corner with a great sense of disappointment.
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