I doubt you love your iPod as much as I love mine.
One of the reasons Apple has legions of devotees is their extraordinary customer service. Their retail store employees are given wide latitude to do whatever it takes to delight the customer. Take the case of Adrienne.
Adrienne took her 30GB iPod to her local Apple store for a new battery on Friday. Dan, the Apple store employee who was helping Adrienne, told her that they didn’t have a replacement battery in stock so he would be giving her an 80GB iPod instead. Plus, Dan waived the $70 repair fee because her 30GB model was relatively new.
That’s right.
Dan gave Adrienne a FREE 80GB iPod because the Apple store didn’t have the inventory they should have had at the store.
So here’s what Dan’s decision cost Apple: instead of earning the $70 repair fee plus the cost of a new battery for an iPod 30GB, Dan opted to lose $249, the cost of a new 80GB iPod, to delight the customer.
This $249 investment in Adrienne has already paid off. On Saturday, Adrienne relayed her story to Ben Popken, editor of the Consumerist.com.
How did Adrienne describe her Apple experience to the Consumerist.com? In a word — glowingly.
Dan, the Apple employee who helped her was, “my Apple store savior.”
“I saw the Holy Grail of ridiculously amazing customer service.”
“Because Apple cares about their customers, I got an 80GB iPod for free.”
As of this morning, the 38 Consumerist readers who commented on Ben’s post were equally effusive. Plus, so far, over 6,000 people had read about Dan’s decision to delight Adrienne with an 80GB iPod.
Add yourself to the the group of people swayed by Dan’s $249 investment in good PR.
Now why aren’t more company’s following Dan’s example? Is yours?
Dilbert is Funny for a Reason 
About 6 months into my iPhone, for some reason, it got very, very warm after any usage other than using the phone – not hot enough to cause discomfort but pretty much like carrying a pop tart in my pocket … after 4 minutes of fiddling with it, the guy said he could send it in for repairs or he could trade me a new phone. Naturally, I choose the new phone. He activated the phone and told me I could use the phone but there was nothing else on the phone until I got home and could then re-sync & restore everything backed up onto this new phone.
So, 5 minutes in the store and then 30-minutes to restore everything – can any Nokia or SAmsung touch that service & backup?
This is not new. Apple is known to provide service such as this which is sensible and at the same time saves it’s support infra additional, unwanted cost.
By doing so, Apple closed the case then and there. Saving shipping, repair, tracking and other administrative charges; while an anxious customer is waiting for the device to return.
Having experienced similar service myself (a broken MBP was upgraded to latest motherboard with faster proc, as my model was old and not in stock, under AppleCare) several times, am not surprised.
When you buy a Merc, you get the service that goes with it. Most stall at the initial price, but there is a reason why Merc owners keep buying Mercs or Apples for that matter.
Dell, Samsung, HP etc. will never understand this
I have been a Microsoft user since I was forced to learn how to use a computer, some `12 years ago. My son, who took to computers much earlier, has always been an Apple Mac fan and continues to use both when necessary but prefers the Apple laptop.
Recently, I had an occasion to visit the Apple franchisee near our home for a battery replacement and some other purchases and I was completely zapped with their treatment of the two of us. If one cynic like me can feel so good about their customer service in a franchisee shop, you can imagine what it must be like in their own outlets. When the PC that I now use gives up its ghost, I intend switching to a Mac.
Apple has a way of helping those who feel helpless. Attitude is everything. If you’re nice, and state your case simply, they’re wonderful. I’ve had a laptop replaced, a screen replaced, and an iPod Touch repaired, all at no cost and no hassle. I’ll keep coming back for more…
Apple has great customer service. AppleCare is a good investment.
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