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See the original image at consumerist.com —

Exchanging A Defective iPhone 3G Is A Huge Pain In The Butt

consumerist.com — Joshua's girlfriend got her iPhone on launch day but quickly discovered that the speaker was broken. She brought it into the Apple store to have it checked out and an employee accidentally dropped it. At that point, Apple told them they'd just replace to the phone. That's where things got complicated.

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  • jroussell, on 07/14/2008, -9/+32proof that apple should offer an unlocked 3g iphone at the apple store as soon as possible. i want to purchase an iphone but will never give my buisness to at&t again. it would be worth the extra money not to have to sell my soul to at&t.
    • utexas112, on 07/15/2008, -5/+0The only real alternative to at&t is t-mobile. They supposedly have better customer service but their coverage is around 1/8th nationally of at&t's.. so its pretty obvious why apple went with the former.

    • metaboman, on 07/15/2008, -1/+5I completely agree with you. If apple came out with a fully unlocked phone and only sold at the apple store, they would get all the cash and wouldn't have to depend on carrier service.
    • SolituSneiku, on 07/15/2008, -1/+5I haven't had a problem with ATT, right now I'm due for my upgrade so I am naturally going with the iPhone, however it was rather stupid on ATT for not honouring the 199 on a defective iPhone, that doesn't make sense at all.
    • chaaalieboy, on 07/15/2008, -1/+3Apple can't afford to offer unlocked iphones, though. Jobs is depending on AT&T's massive subsidization program to make money.
      • Hamletlere, on 07/15/2008, -1/+6Which would be covered by charging the unsubsidized price for the unlocked iPhone... right?
  • dampeal, on 07/14/2008, -2/+33It's nice to read good stories about customer service, well at least half of the story was good, then we knew ATT would FCK it up
    • remotehuman, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1i had a piece of dust stuck under the glass of my screen, i brought it back after it was already activated, and all they had to do was a POS swap. it took 3 minutes and i reactivated my phone on itunes in a second.

      easy.
  • stealth1011, on 07/15/2008, -21/+32F*** AT&T (not apple)
    • sanosuke001, on 07/15/2008, -16/+7***** Apple, they allowed AT&T to do what they do.
    • AchaIemoipas, on 07/15/2008, -15/+6See that's what I don't get, why not apple? Apple makes a deal with the devil and you only blame the devil.

      I know I'm getting buried for this so I might as well say it:

      Anyone who buys an Iphone is a ***** dumbass. Seriously, you have to be really ***** stupid to buy a regular phone at twice the price knowing full well it's entirely controlled by the company that sold it to you.

      You're renting the phone, not buying it. You can't use it on your own. That's called renting. Not buying.

      And it's amazing how you accept it because it's apple. ***** Pavlovian effect. Steve Jobs probably walks around office buildings ringing a little bell all day and people jump straight out of their windows.
      • Braxo, on 07/15/2008, -2/+11How are you renting the phone? After the 2 years it is yours to keep. Are you renting because it is locked to AT&T's service? That's because AT&T has 3G networks in more places in the country and also changed the way they did voicemail.

        Are you renting an iPod where the only way to put music on the thing is to sync it with iTunes, or do you own the iPod?
      • kildare, on 07/15/2008, -2/+3"..the only way to put music on the thing is to sync it with iTunes..."

        there's dozens of programs that you can use. you should take a stroll outside the walled garden sometime.
      • themouth, on 07/15/2008, -1/+5Sometimes the end justifies the means. Apple has produced a superior product. Unfortunately because of the telecom laws in the US they were forced to pick a carrier.

        ANY member of the US cell phone oligopoly would have tried to screw you as much as possible. Knowing that AT&T has no need for customer service, apple went the extra mile. Who knows if they're planning a long-term strategy to escape from AT&T, but hopefully they'll change the industry for the better.

        I've owned a blackberry, a treo, and several windows mobile phones, the first gen iPhone and now the iPhone 3G and I can say it's the most functional phone I've ever used and I won't regret buying it for a second.
      • earnjam, on 07/15/2008, -0/+4How is that any different from other phones on contracts?
      • locojones, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1It's really sad that you don't regret supporting a company that was complicit in the warrantless wiretapping of Americans. Shame on you for letting blind consumerism trump your constitutional liberties.
    • Teej, on 07/15/2008, -1/+5*****'s sake, what's with the self censoring?
  • DotNetWill, on 07/15/2008, -17/+8Personally i think Apple have been horrible here to,why couldn't they discount the phone? I think having to pay the difference and then get a store credit for it to be returned is retarded and i certainly wouldn't want to shop there again.

    Doesn't the US have consumer protection laws? Here in the UK it would have been swapped immediately because it was faulty as we have laws that say if a product is faulty within the first 28 days you are entitled to an exchange
    • willr001, on 07/15/2008, -1/+8I believe they recieved a full refund for the 200 dollar defective phone, and then purchased another one for the full price; however, the difference between that price and their refund was covered by the apple store buying a gift card for themselves and using that to pay the rest. The consumer ended up getting the same phone for the same price, it was just a big hassle, and the apple store ate a loss on it because AT&T are a bunch of idiots/assholes.

      (That reminds me, my two year contract has got to be comin' to an end with them, and i'm getting the fudge out)
    • Remmiz, on 07/15/2008, -0/+9Read the article.
    • Aitese, on 07/15/2008, -0/+6In this case I don't think you're reading it right. Apple was doing all it could to help these people...the phone company was being difficult.

      And we still get screwed here in the UK. Watchdog and people like Esther Ransen wouldn't exist if our consumer laws meant anything.
    • energyblue, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1Agreed w/ Aitese, UK is just as bad.
  • Trax91, on 07/15/2008, -7/+84***** AT&T

    (stealth was doing it wrong)
  • dougerdo, on 07/15/2008, -0/+7That sucks alot. Once dropped...
  • fmello, on 07/15/2008, -2/+18It looks like Apple's customer service converted a new Apple fan-girl.
    • ngmcs8203, on 07/15/2008, -1/+3I was helped by Rosemarie later in the day and she told me about this. The poor kid had been up until 1am getting the store ready and was back to work at 7am. She was our concierge at about 8pm and she said she had about 4hrs left on her shift. We ran into problems as well with my wife's Verizon port and she took care of it, even if she felt like she was half asleep. I gotta give it up to the team at that Apple store. They were all working on little to no sleep all weekend and were still very helpful.
  • Remmiz, on 07/15/2008, -1/+27A positive story by the consumerist? What is this world coming to...
  • Badandy127, on 07/15/2008, -11/+4Before we write off Apple is an evil corporation, let's see if this problem becomes endemic. Until then, the consumerist is an utterly anti-corporate propoganda machine that seeks to take small injustices and blow them out of proportion.

    BTW, this comment is meant for the legions of MS supporters who won't RTFA and bash Apple mindlessly when the article wasn't even about that...
  • klick37, on 07/15/2008, -15/+7What's this? Some 3G iPhones AREN'T perfect gifts from God? Digg lied to me...
    • superkendall, on 07/15/2008, -3/+3How do you know the phone wouldn't still work? But it's only right of Apple to replace it after an employee drops it.
    • energyblue, on 07/15/2008, -1/+1You read Digg incorrectly.
  • deadfrank, on 07/15/2008, -8/+3atandt can blow me
    • PopcornDave, on 07/15/2008, -0/+3I'm sure they'd be happy to for locking you in to a 2 year contract that would only allow them to blow you and charge you a roaming charge if you went outside their blowing area not to mention the extra charges for text blowing you or video blowing you.
  • leerayIG88, on 07/15/2008, -8/+16What, what in the butt?
  • piznut, on 07/15/2008, -9/+14Comments on the original article page are lauding Apple for being oh so awesome and finding a magical solution that didnt require her to pay an extra $200 for a non-defective iPhone! Joy!

    Are you kidding me? The short of it is this. It took them four hours in store to get a replacement for a broken phone that they just bought. Regardless of whether you want to blame ATT or Apple for this...how is that acceptable at all?
    • AchaIemoipas, on 07/15/2008, -1/+1http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2008/04/ ...
    • Aitese, on 07/15/2008, -1/+8The iPhone as ANY other phone is brought to you in conjunction of two parties...the phone manufacturer and the service provider. Apple is there to make sure the hardware works...AT&T handle the service part. Apple were just trying to replace the phone...AT&T were insisting more money had to change hands before that could happen. How is one party not blameless to you?
    • Pic0, on 07/15/2008, -2/+3Yay for Apple! They did what they should have done!

      these people are used to getting stepped on and not getting what they pay for (they must buy iPods often) and finally they get what they pay for and are happy!
    • subliminalurge, on 07/15/2008, -0/+7Not only was the phone defective out of the box, but it was also dropped by an Apple employee, not the customer.

      The Apple store manager should have been able to tell AT&T "Look, it was our fault. WE dropped it." and have that be the end of it.
  • bardamu99, on 07/15/2008, -1/+14Are we gonna have to go through the whole litany of what Apple has done right and wrong until the product's death? Every single client experience gets it's own article?!

    I can see it now: "Dropping your iPhone in the toilet is bad", "iPhone forgotten in bus", "iPhone seen flying through window", ad neauseam...
    • subliminalurge, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2"Are we gonna have to go through the whole litany of what Apple has done right and wrong until the product's death? "

      If history is any indicator, then yes.
    • PilotHead, on 07/15/2008, -0/+0Maybe not here, but Gizmodo will always update you on the spot about every little client experience. Because Giz has stop caring about all technology if it isn't a damn iphone!
  • orangefly, on 07/15/2008, -7/+2samsung omnia....
  • Mier, on 07/15/2008, -2/+104 hours isn't acceptable but I'm thinking it's *****. Someone had to have screwed up and since they used the word "return" I'm thinking the apple "genius" returned the phone instead of calling it an exchange. I can't believe anyone would be that idiotic to give a person ***** for a defective phone.
    • BIGBEN363, on 07/15/2008, -1/+1I can tell you right now that can't be true. The way you "exchange" the phone is by returning the defective one, and use that credit to buy a new one. The only reason there was an issue, and I know this because I've been dealing with it the past few days, is because of AT&T's stupid automated system for determining upgrade eligibility. Because the customer had just signed a new contract with AT&T, that flipped the switch on their server and made them no longer eligible for the incentive price. SO after returning the first phone and trying to move the # over to the new one (which needs to be done before the actual purchase), AT&T's system prevented apple's easypay device from selling the brand new phone for the correct price, which left $200 unpaid. And the Apple Store happily covered that for them. The only way Apple "screwed up" was in signing that exclusivity deal with AT&T.
  • GREEDOnvrFIRED, on 07/15/2008, -1/+12This is obviously not an example of a typical return. I had my first gen iPhone for 8 months when the HOME button started acting weird. (Not working every press.) I brought it to the apple store (to ask what I should do) and they replaced it without asking me a single question. I was in and out in under 10 minutes.
    • Remmiz, on 07/15/2008, -1/+11First gen iPhones and second gen seem to have a vastly different set-up process with AT&T. I wouldn't be surprised if AT&T tied the MAC address of the phone onto an account or something to that nature.
    • apspack, on 07/15/2008, -1/+2I am very hard on my iphone. I drop it all the time (especially when at the gym) and have had to replace it twice. Apple replaced it both times without question. Even though on the second it was CLEARLY my fault (I opened up the iphone case to fix a jammed button and really damaged the shell of the phone in the process. They've been good to me so far...
      • locojones, on 07/16/2008, -1/+1You have a hard on for your iPhone, what?
    • unitedatheism, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1How cure you apple fanbois are.
      Do you want a hug, also?
  • pintomp3, on 07/15/2008, -0/+26why is at&t involved when doing a hardware swap? can't they just swap the SIM card?
    • UezeU, on 07/15/2008, -1/+4DRM
    • suntzusputnik, on 07/15/2008, -1/+4at&t wants to be scrooge mcduck and try to cash in as much as possible at whatever cost to the consumer
    • Pic0, on 07/15/2008, -11/+5apple fans have to blame someone else... it couldn't be APPLE comeon now!
      • Teej, on 07/15/2008, -1/+4I hate fanboys as much as the next guy, but did you even read the article?
      • energyblue, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1Your picture looks like a man thong.
    • blackinthmiddle, on 07/15/2008, -0/+4Well AT&T is losing money on the sale of every iPhone and makes that money back with the two year contract. They clearly didn't factor in defective phones. Having to give two phones to one customer screws with their business plan.

      Bottom line: 1phone for 1 two year contract = good business idea
      2 phones for 1 two year contract = no way to make money = bad business idea

      Again, AT&T should have planned for a certain percentage of phones to be defective and factor that into their financial equation.

      • blackinthmiddle, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2Actually, now that I think about this more, I'm wrong. Although the iPhones are being sold through Apple and AT&T, AT&T already bought them. So they're all owned by AT&T regardless of who's selling them. So the chain is

        person notices phone is busted ===> AT&T notices Apple sold them a defective phone ===> Apple rectifies the situation (which they did).

        The reason why things seem weird is that although AT&T bought the phones, Apple is still selling them (and passing the money back to AT&T). Bottom line: the buck stops with Apple. They sold AT&T a defective phone.
      • Buelldozer, on 07/15/2008, -1/+1No. The phone has to be registered correctly on the AT&T system for the DATA plan to work. They did this intentionally. It keeps you from popping the SIM card out of another phone (with a cheaper data plan) and putting into the Iphone.
      • blackinthmiddle, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1Buelldozer, what does that have to do with anything I said?
    • sleepwalkers, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2Now that you mention that, I'm not entirely sure. I've had my 1st gen iPhone replaced before and they simply grabbed a new phone and put my SIM card in it.
    • celotil, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2If you look inside the phone, there's likely to be an IMEI number, a unique ID number particular to that phone. Many phones have them, and many phones transmit that number as a precursor to communicating with the network. If someone stole your phone, you could report it, the IMEI is cancelled, and the phone is useless as a phone.
      • BIGBEN363, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1You are correct sir. The IMEI can be found on the bottom-right bar code on the back of the box the iPhone comes in. They scan it when they ring you up.
  • dsmith78, on 07/15/2008, -0/+5Am I missing something here why did they have to buy a new phone if it was busted shouldn't Apple just have exchanged it. I mean why would you pay 199 for a phone and then another 231 for another one because it was busted ? I get the whole AT&T being asses about not keeping her numbers but why were they being charged for a second phone?
    • Ghurks, on 07/15/2008, -2/+3I imagine it is because AT&T subsidizes the phone in their activation system. It has been my experience that the activation system requires a listing of the "actual cost" of the product - When the contract term is put in the system, the phone discount is then applied resulting in the $199 price.

      Because the phone was so new, the system would not allow another offer to be entered (another discount based on a contract term). This resulted in Apple's inability to exchange the phones straight over. AT&T's system would have seen the previous IMEI, and would not allow a discount for a second (new) IMEI even though it was an exchange.

      Long story short, Apple did everything in their power - AT&T's activation system is flawed.
    • blackinthmiddle, on 07/15/2008, -2/+3"Am I missing something here why did they have to buy a new phone if it was busted shouldn't Apple just have exchanged it. "

      Because you have to go through AT&T to activate the phone. But yes, you're right. It's up to Apple to fix the problem (which they did). One thing to remember is that although some of the phones are being sold through Apple, AT&T owns them. They already bought them from Apple. That's the key. So when Apple says, "Here take another iPhone", what they're really saying is, "Take another iPhone...that's not ours." You can't give away something that's not yours anymore. AT&T is saying, "Wait, you sold us a defective iPhone. How do we get our money back on that one?"

      So although many want to bash AT&T, in this case, put yourself in their position. Why should they have to pay twice for a phone that was defective? It's Apple's fault. And thankfully they (very painfully) took care of the situation.
      • dsmith78, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1Ah I see thanks for clearing that up
  • Dralite, on 07/15/2008, -2/+4so... why did they have to do anything with ATT in the first place? put one old sim in the new phone and it should work right?
    • Aitese, on 07/15/2008, -0/+3I'm guessing this time round to prevent some of that unlocking and hacking goodness AT&T have locked the physical phone to their sim card at activation making the process a little more cumbersome.
    • earnjam, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1that's what I thought...
    • subliminalurge, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2No, the phone is non-functional out of the box until it goes through the activation process.
    • Abomonog, on 07/15/2008, -0/+5Not if the phone uses 2 identifiers. The sim is only one. Phone companies don't like the sims because you can buy a cheap phone and activate it and then transfer the sim to a better phone.

      High end cell phones are starting to use hardwired identifiers again to ensure sims are not switched post purchase.

      If the new iPhone has such an identifier then Apples hands are tied when it comes to exchanges.
      They can give you a phone but unless ATT unlocks it it's a brick and unless you do what ATT wants you ain't getting a new phone.
      • Dralite, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2then it was apples fault in the first place... that kind of limiter isn't needed and obviously complicates the the replacement process... half the price, half the service... love apple but all this i'm hearing is getting to me
      • pyrates, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2If that's true, ***** that. I refuse to buy any phone that is locked to a carrier that I can't unlock myself. I like GSM because it prevents what was happening with CDMA. But if they're doing this, this shows no advantage for GSM over CDMA.
      • subliminalurge, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1"I like GSM because it prevents what was happening with CDMA. But if they're doing this, this shows no advantage for GSM over CDMA."

        I wouldn't say "no advantage".

        Sunday evening my 1st gen iPhone died on me. I was able to take out the SIM card and am currently using my old Blackjack until I get time to run out to the Apple store.

        With CDMA that would have required a phone call to the carrier (tricky when your phone is dead), and possibly a wait until Monday morning to get the switch made. Sure, I'm still stuck in my AT&T contract, but that felt like a pretty big advantage to me Sunday night.
  • pa1ntball56, on 07/15/2008, -9/+4Apple should have ate the whole cost for the phone, when a user buys a defective product, and if that product isn't defective because of a user error, then that company has to eat the cost. This is like paying a flat rate for electricity for a month, and being in the middle of a four month blackout, not your fault, but you shouldn't have to deal with the problem- the fact that the apple employee dropped the phone to cause worse damage that was not troubleshoot-able should have been enough cause to just swap the thing for a brand new one. Another reason I will never buy apple products in the near future, you pay out the behind for products, then when they break, even if not your fault (like here) you pay AGAIN out the backside to get a repair/new one- just like the first gen of the ipod nano, which had a battery that was completely shot in a month of normal use and apple provided no service to fix the factory flaw.
  • beerock, on 07/15/2008, -0/+16That's not so bad,
    If that happened in Canada, Rogers would've bent you over, in store, and jammed the phone in your *****.
    Then, tell you to buy a new phone, or force you to buy out the remainder of your contract before you go get a plan from another fascist service provider.
    • robdazomba, on 07/15/2008, -3/+0Wow, drama queen much?
      • beerock, on 07/15/2008, -0/+3You're clearly not familiar with Rogers' policies
  • Tribunis, on 07/15/2008, -5/+7This is why AT&T and Apple are paired up. It's all a plot to get people to spend more money at Apple
    • robdazomba, on 07/15/2008, -2/+1Read for comprehension. Apple issued the gift certificate to themselves to cover the additional cost on behalf of the customer. The customer paid only what they were supposed to have paid.
  • d0ugfunny, on 07/15/2008, -3/+4I have always had pleasant experience with apple customer service... When my iPod touch broke I was chill about it... and got a shiny new one. Thanks apple :-)
  • Pic0, on 07/15/2008, -7/+5Why blame AT&T? It is Apple that had the problems on launch day and most likely caused this issue with returns. I have returned a broken phone and gotten a new phone in less than 5 minutes. at an AT&T store.

    The man asked what was wrong, I told him phone was broken. He said nothing and did his work, 5 minutes later I had my new phone working with my old #.
  • PolarBearFire, on 07/15/2008, -4/+4This story is BS. Apple is not better than AT&T, the "consumer" in this case had a good salesman that put the blame on any problem with AT&T. Anyone who has worked retail knows this basic strategy. When a problem crops up the store will always blame an outside entity and if the customer buys into it, they think that the store is going out of their way to help them. The truth is Apple and AT&T are partners and anything they do, they do together, you just can't blame one side.
    • superkendall, on 07/15/2008, -1/+1Come on, they were standing right there while the people were arguing with AT&T about the issue! It's not like they went in a back room for four hours and then came back out with a phone.
    • espresso0, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1You sir are dumb. Anyone that works retail knows that you as a store never take the fall. The whole idea of "the customer is always right" is a facade. No where in the article did Apple blame AT&T. It merely said an Apple Concierge argued over the phone with an AT&T rep to solve the issue. Apple took the blame and tried to fix it with their best effort.
  • Gev1982, on 07/15/2008, -3/+6This doesn't make sense. I worked in an AT&T store as an RSC for almost 2 years, including the launch of the last Iphone--If there was something wrong with the phone coming from the manufacturer, there are policies in place to allow for the EXCHANGE of a device without a headache(usually takes about 10 mins) The story gets confusing to me because they started talking about changing/keeping phone numbers, which makes NO sense--somebody was not communicating effectively. In a situation like this that should have never even been discussed--It would just be a matter of exchanging phones and activating the new one. You guys obviously didn't get the entire story--I know it is fun and popular to vilify at&t, but in this case, they are not the only party to blame. -Dugg down for making sense
    • espresso0, on 07/15/2008, -1/+1The iPhone launch last year didn't require an In Store activation (at the Apple Store), nor did it require huge server maintenance from AT&T.
  • maks327, on 07/15/2008, -0/+14I had to exchange my new iphone on Sunday. On saturday, the thing just completely died. Battery wasn't dead, wouldn't charge, wouldn't display anything, vibrate, nothing. I went to the Apple store Sunday. At 1st they told me I'd have to wait for an appointment with the genius bar 4 hrs later. After explaining that this wouldn't work (I'm from out of town, not to mention I'd already done my share of waiting on Friday morning!), they squeezed me in immediately. The Genius Bar guy had a replacement that came in a plain white box (just the phone). Swapped out the sim card, plugged into iTunes real quick, and I was done. No AT&T, no new purchase. I don't see why this guy's case was so complicated.
    • Davey, on 07/15/2008, -0/+3I also had to return mine, it got really hot and froze, and was out of the store in ten minutes without any involvement with AT&T. I think this person got stuck with both a confused Apple employee and an idiotic AT&T rep.
  • earnjam, on 07/15/2008, -0/+6I think someone (either the Apple rep or someone at AT&T) dropped the ball big time. It should be a simple swap of the sim card and reactivation of the phone through connection to iTunes. It shouldn't matter about upgrade or pricing when the account is already active.
  • Yimyack, on 07/15/2008, -0/+3Proof positive that companies should NOT do joint ventures.

    The iPhone should just use Skype.
    • jpop, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2You still need a carrier for the internet access in order to use Skype...
    • energyblue, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1iPhone + Skype. Wouldn't that be a joint venture?
  • mochaman, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1I had a horrible experience too after waiting in line for 4 hours I spend an extra hour because AT&T could not upgrade my plan. The Apple rep told me that I had to go to AT&T to get this fix, but could not walkout with the phone because they couldn't sell it to me today -- say what! I asked why, he said that because I've had my account with the old AT&T before they became Cingular and later became AT&T, and I said how is this my problem! In any case I wound up canceling my old account which meant giving up my old number, and getting a new number. In the end I got my iPhone but it turn out to be such a pain.
    • jedicor, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1There's no requirement that you have been with Cingular instead of AT&T. They don't care, so long as AT&T pays the bill now. You could have simply called 611 from your phone and altered your plan via that method.

      It's been a national requirement that you can port your cell number from provider to provider for quite some time now. Why didn't you exercise this option?

      Upgrading the iPhone isn't as easy as some others, but you have to meet them halfway to solve the problems.
  • GooMan, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1Am I the only one that read that as "we got a refund for the broke phone and tried to buy a new one for $199 + tax"????
    • jedicor, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1Yes?

      I read that as "We paid $199 for our phone, found it defective, and then the store may have broken it more, so we wanted a free replacement for our 4-hour old phone, and got screwed by AT&T."
  • maxlightz, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2i had the same speaker problem with my Gen 1 iPhone where it would onyl play sound when docked
  • LoudMusic, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1As a System Administrator for over ten years, I have to say support from the big companies can be very hit and miss. I've had unbelievably good service from Apple, Dell, IBM, HP, etc, and I've had equally bad service from each of them as well. It usually has more to do with the individuals helping you than the company's policy, which could stem from a variety of issues as simple as they're having a bad day to they really shouldn't be dealing with customers at all. The company you're dealing with wants to make you happy - that's how they make money - but they also have to avoid being screwed.

    If you're not getting the service you anticipated, it's not wrong to ask for someone else to assist you. Perhaps the person you're talking to isn't describing things in a way you understand. Just PLEASE be nice to all company representatives. Don't give consumers a bad name. That's why telephone companies are the way they are - when a person's phone doesn't work, nine times out of ten they throw a tantrum and the phone companies have gotten a pretty thick skin about it.
  • CoMpUtErITGuY, on 07/15/2008, -6/+2Buried. It mentions "girlfriend" in the article.
  • RoyMan0, on 07/15/2008, -0/+0thats really odd.. i replaced my old iphone twice and never had to do anything like that. that was with ATT contract and everything...

    and mochman... that doesnt make sense about the cingular to ATT stuff... i have been with the company since they where cellular one and I had no issues. i just had to remove my company discount, then add it again later in the day on my own.
  • naevity, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2Geez, my iPhone 3G had a dead pixel on the screen, the Apple store in Boston had it exchanged and I was out the door in 20 minutes. 10 Minutes of that was waiting for someone to bring it from downstairs. Very painless.
  • mgxplyr, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2Be happy it's not on Sprint.
  • cwiz7, on 07/15/2008, -1/+2I have had a defective iPod Touch and iPod Video and both were replaced/refunded with almost no questions asked. What's ironic is that an employee dropped my iPod when I went to exchange it as well. Perhaps employees should be a bit more careful...
  • Coconutmilk, on 07/15/2008, -0/+0I like apples and I like phones but I don't like ATTack of the crappy phone company.
  • PaulBleidl, on 07/15/2008, -1/+1How stupid are you? We have consumer laws in this country. You brought a defective product only to exchange it to pay even more money? An implied warranty of merchantability is a warranty implied by law that goods are reasonably fit for the general purpose for which they are sold. Do you think all those 90 day manufacture warranties are there because they are nice? NO IT IS THE LAW!!!! You have been had in the worst way... by an AT&T phone rep.!
    • moduc, on 07/15/2008, -1/+1You may pointed out what's the law is. However, for his case, he's happy with what he got, and got tired of waiting (that's the whole point of waiting in line to get the IPhone early), and resolving problem with customer service.

      So, in practical sense, he did what was right for him. You on the other hand may have a "little" autistic problem, where you may b good at one thing, but on the practical and business end, you're lousy. The reason I call it autistic, because you would get upset, and calling him "stupid". It seems to be on the anger level which a knowledgeable person would not advice someone else on that temper.
  • blogosphear, on 07/15/2008, -2/+3"We probably walked into the physical Apple Store at around 8:15am and were back out to our car by 9:15. "

    "We called the Apple Store and I have to say, Apple offers some awesome support. They took her name down and told her to come right back in past the line and they'd take care of us (sorry to everyone who was still waiting)."

    "We rolled back in around 10:30am, and if the next five hours had been up to Apple, we'd have been gone by 10:45am"

    "Unfortunately, AT&T has a different take...."

    Wait why are they exchanging a phone at an AT&T store if they got it at the Apple Store? I can see how the activation part relies on AT&T but what does the hardware have to do with them?

    Am I missing something here?
    • jedicor, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1They went back to the Apple store, and it was an Apple rep who dropped and potentially damaged the phone. However, since it's a new phone they're getting, they had to *call* AT&T, not visit. Hope that helps.
  • Freps, on 07/15/2008, -0/+3My future sister-in-law had a similar scenario, where she had a defective iPhone 3G (microphone would only work intermittently). Since she couldn’t call Customer Support because of her hardware issue, she went to the AT&T store. They informed her that since she had left the store, Apple would handle all warranty-related issues. Apple then said that because she bought the phone at an AT&T store, she had to return it there. Several hours and many tears later, the Apple employee actually argued with the AT&T manager and finally resolved her issue. This is the problem with two companies (who each have storefronts) in bed with each other for one product: it’s easy to cast the blame on the other, and customers get lost in the mix.
    • Vindicoth, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1future sister-in-law? had to make it complicated, didn't ya! Coulda just called her your Fiances sister, unless you're talking about a sister in law that wasn't born yet.
      • SickofSects, on 07/15/2008, -0/+0Could be his brother's fiance too.
  • robdazomba, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1I think we're all starting to realize that if you deal with Steve Jobs and decide not to do things his way, you will eventually be left in the dust. Motorola learned this. IBM learned this. Apple Records learned it. Wal-Mart learned it. Creative learned it. NBC is learning it and many of the music companies are learning it too. Apple has shown that they always have a "plan B" and can play hardball now. If AT&T doesn't get their act together, I suspect such a plan will emerge and it won't involve them.
    • moduc, on 07/15/2008, -1/+1I think this is just a part of the contract that wasn't spelled clearly, or that the people involved are not knowledgeable about it.
      Any case, Apple and AT&T needs to sit together and work this part out. It's small, and don't make it make either of you look bad on this (even you already look bad on other things).

      For the people blame Apple for dealing with the bad guy, have you see a good telecom company yet? I haven't. So how Apple is going to sell their stuffs if they don't deal with anyone? Maybe they can, but not so successful.
  • sikofitt, on 07/15/2008, -0/+2After this release for my own reasons I now hate AT&T and I am canceling service with them to move to sprint.
  • Reaktor5, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1The weakest link in the whole iPhone thing has easily been AT&T.
  • headphonz, on 07/15/2008, -1/+2For God's sake people.....it's just a damn phone! We've become a nation of sheep.
  • m2m477, on 07/15/2008, -0/+0The phone did not have a defective speaker. One side is for the speaker and the other side is for the mic. This way, the sound only comes out of the left side. If the customer/apple employee new about this, there wouldn't be a problem in the first place.
    • jedicor, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1Except for that minor part of the story where the phone didn't produce any sound at all, except when docked. Known issue on newer and older phones. If you'd known about this, this post wouldn't be here in the first place.
  • crazysamz, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1is anyone else having sound problems with their 3g iphone??? My left speaker works fine, butt it seems like my right is never even on (I cover the left with my finger and can't hear anything from the right speaker when playing music, youtube, etc...)
  • TehDoctor, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1But if the price of the iPhone were raised by nixing the subsidy, Apple would lose profit from reduction in volume sold.
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