Return of the iPhone – what a trip that was
Alright, I finally got my iPhone back this morning. After putting the Sim card back in and plugging it into the computer, running iTunes and restoring the backup, it’s almost like I never had to replace the phone. All my data is there, nothing at all missing, but the only gripe I have is that my icons for my apps are all on the wrong screens, so I’ll have to rearrange them eventually.
Now, for the rant portion. I saved this until AFTER I got my phone back, in case some jobbite somehow stumbled upon this and my iPhone got held up in limbo in retaliation. Would they do that? Who knows, but I wasn’t taking the chance.
So, as you recall, my phone broke when I dropped it a little over a week ago and the screen shattered. When I took it to AT&T the next day – a Sunday – they said they can’t replace it and that I would have to talk to Apple. The salesperson put me on the phone with an iPhone rep from Apple, who told me what my options were. No matter what my options, it was going to cost me $200 for a replacement phone, since it was a physical damage and not a warranty issue.
So, #1, I could go to the nearest Apple store and have my phone replaced there. To me that really wasn’t much of an option because the nearest Apple store is two and a half hours away, in Sacramento. Not to mention the fact, I would have to make an appointment beforehand with their “Genius Bar” to get it replaced. Genius Bar? How pretentious is that? And why the fuck would I have to make an appointment? How hard is it to walk in, show them the phone, which obviously needed replacing, and have them go to the storeroom and bring out a new one? It doesn’t take a fucking genius to do that.
Option #2: I could have them send me a box, which I could ship my phone to them to be fixed, which would then be sent back to me and take about a week turnaround. I didn’t quite like that option, so I was given another choice.
Option #3: I could pay a $30 fee for an advance replacement, where they would send me a new phone and I would send them back my old one. Total time without a phone: 2 days. Better than a week I decided. So I took that option. It took a $400 hold on my credit card to make sure I sent back the old phone, but that’s pretty standard. I gave them my info and waited for Tuesday to roll around for my new phone.
Tuesday came, Fed Ex dropped off a box at my door. I thought it was a bit strange I didn’t have to sign for it, so I went out and got the box from the doorstep, and took it inside to open it, finding….an empty box and instructions how to pack my phone to be shipped for repair. I wasn’t mad yet, thinking ok, maybe the phone was being sent separately. I called Apple to find out what’s going on. The rep I talked to sent me to a manager right away, who told me that “we don’t send advance replacements for physical damage, only technical issues”. OK, so at this point, NOW I was furious. I told him that they had already put a hold on my card, so I expect a phone. He said that they would not send me an advance replacement, period, and that I would have to send my phone to them for repair. So I asked him what about the $400 hold on my card? He said that the CSR that did it made a mistake and he couldn’t remove the charge until the phone was repaired. After much going back and forth about the advance replacement, the manager finally made me this offer. He would remove the charge from the card, and cancel the repair order. He would then schedule a new repair order at no charge to me. Yes, a free replacement on my phone. Well free is better than $200, so I agreed. He shipped me a new box (I didn’t quite understand why I couldn’t use the box they already shipped, but he kept insisting that it was tied to that repair order), and Wednesday I had the box, packaged my phone, and shipped it back.
Thursday, I checked the repair order, and they had the phone and was working on it. Well, by the end of the day, I’m seeing “replacement pending”. Pending? what happened to just fixing it and sending it back? I figured maybe their website wasn’t up to date. I waited until Friday. Friday came, and no phone. I called. They said that it was being tested and would most likely be sent out Monday. After more complaining (yes I complain when someone doesn’t do what they said they would, especially when it comes to my technology), they ended up sending the phone out Friday.
The fun didn’t end there folks. Today comes, and I check tracking on FedEx. My phone was delivered. Delivered? Wait, nobody came to my door. After calling FedEx, apparently the courier took it to a business by mistake, and they had to go get it back and bring it. So, here it is, around 10am, and I finally have my phone.
Dear god this was one major pain in the ass.
