 |
 |
The Business Blog at Intuitive.com
|
Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since 1980 and
is recognized globally as an expert on both technical and business
issues. He has been published over a thousand times, launched four Internet-related
startup companies, has written twenty business and technical books and holds both an MBA and MS Ed.
He's a columnist for the Boulder Daily Camera and
Linux Journal and frequently appears
in other publications both online and in print.
Additionally, Dave maintains four weblogs:
The Business Blog at Intuitive.com,
Ask Dave Taylor,
Dave On Film,
and
GoFahterhood.
Based in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, Dave is an award-winning speaker, sought after conference and workshop participant and
frequent guest on radio and podcast programs, as well as active member of
his community and busy single father to three children.
|
How I got a free iPod video from Apple Computer
Alright, I didn't really get a free iPod, it's more like they lost the unit I sent in for repair and are replacing it, but I wanted to share the story since everyone likes to write about bad customer service experiences and it might be refreshing to hear about a good one.
About four months ago I bought a 30GB iPod Video for testing and because my first gen iPods were getting very long in the tooth (but still work great!). I rarely used it as a portable device, however, and instead preferred to use it hooked up to my stereo to gain easy access to my entire music library, all 18GB or so.
When I did unplug it and take it with me on a walk or ride, however, I noticed that the battery life was far inferior to my many year old first gen iPods. So I started to try and identify exactly how it retained battery charge. I figured out that my iPod, fully charged, remained fully charged for about 24-30 hours, then lost all of its charge and was dead as the proverbial doornail even though it was off and the hold switch was engaged to ensure it couldn't accidentally turn on again.
About two weeks ago I'd had enough and decided that if I had paid for a proper iPod, I should have one, so I called Apple's wonderfully easy-to-remember service number, 800-SOS-APPLE, and explained the situation.
Unsurprisingly, there's a big category of repairs for iPods called "battery problems" and their solution is always to apparently pop out the old battery and put in a new one. Fine with me.
17 hours later DHL rang the doorbell and had a shipping box for me to send in my iPod, which I did later that afternoon.
About a week later, I called up Apple and asked them for a status update, since their Web-based system showed "box shipped, awaiting return", which was definitely not good. Their friendly customer service rep explained that they did have a record of receiving my iPod but didn't know where it was in the repair facility.
Oh, um, okay.
"Five days, call us back in five days because we need to open up an investigation and figure out what happened."
Two days later, here's the email I just received:
"We are pleased to report that we have completed our investigation of the shipment of your iPod. The carrier has filed a claim and considers your iPod lost in transit. We have ordered a replacement iPod."
Not exactly the outcome I expected, but still, kudos to Apple for recognizing the problem and resolving it in a timely manner!
My friend, a long-time mac person, was having endless trouble with a new powerbook (this was a while ago). He sent it back to apple at least twice and the third time it has problems he told them to "fix it or replace it, please!" They replaced it.
Posted by: Sara on July 6, 2006 7:04 AMHello, Dave. It is always good to hear about a pleasant customer service experience. I live in right outside cincinnati and the mac store here in town also has a reputation for great service. Whether is comes down to getting a student discount or discounted items with your purchase the mac store always has something to offer. Also, typically if you bring in your mac for a repair, if the geniuses can repair it in the store, then they don't charge you a thing. Hope you like your new ipod.
Posted by: vulturevalley on July 6, 2006 10:45 AMGlad to read such a nice piece of information.
Posted by: Paul on July 13, 2006 6:52 AMlast week i sent my ipod video in for repair service and was amazed with their quick responce they sent a box for me to send it in within 30 hours of my request well anyway now here i am a week later expecting my ipod to be fixed and on its way back to me but to my surprise it had not come yet so i decided to check the status of its return the web site said accidential damage or abuse found service declinedat these words i was filled with furyand so i decided to call one of their serevice reps after another tedious week of wondering where it was i decided to try to call again and after finding the right extension and after about 20 minutes on hold i finaly got to speak to some one and they told me that due to a scratch on the back side of it they had not even opened it up to see what was wrongand so the extremly sympathetic service lady told me that apple would repair the whole unit for around 255 dolars (almost the cost of a new one) or they would send it back and of course i chose to send it back personally i think that for 335.74 a company should stand behind their product but thats just me
Posted by: nicholas on July 19, 2006 11:45 AMI just bought an iPod video 30gb to replace my nano that was recently stolen. I am trying to sync my new iPod to iTunes with out having to download all my songs over again. It's not working so im going to have to call that handy and easy to remember number. However, I could not find this number ANYWHERE, so thank you for having it!
Posted by: Michelle on April 15, 2007 5:37 PM
|
Before you leave a comment, a tip: If you're interested in blogging, you should sign up for my Blogsmart News so you can stay up to date
on the latest insider tips and ideas for your Internet business and marketing
efforts. Sign up right now and you'll get a free copy
of my "Insider's Guide to Blogging" ebook too! |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
The Business Blog
