Poor Apple support?

AlexjReilly

Hey guys,
I'm involved in an ongoing case with Applecare re my son's iPhone 5s, which has had to replaced on two occasions since launch and he is about to go through a fourth iPhone in just over a year. I thought this was ridiculous of a product that in the past I have associated with nothing but the highest of quality. Long story short I contacted support and was advised to contact customer relations and send an email to Mr. Cook knowing someone from the office would reply. I'll post the email below:
''I have decided to write to you in on behalf of my son Alex, a loyal Apple customer. He has been having ongoing problems with his Apple iPhone 5s for the past 12 months. In spite of much contact with your company representatives, he still has a faulty phone. Contrary to what one would expect from Apple, your customer care policy is not innovative,or in our case satisfactory. I will outline for you the details of his problem and correspondence with your company. I have no wish to discredit any of your staff, however I am anxious that this ongoing problem is resolved urgently.
November 2013 Apple iPhone 5s purchased, €800
Within months the display began to come away from the mountings. Proceeded with replacement. This was not an express replacement.

Apple Care Case 673917518 - October 2014
6 months after after replacement was issued the same problem occurred. Alex decided to go for an express replacement . He was informed he would have to have €180 on his credit card. He was then informed this was incorrect and in fact he would have to have €650 on his credit card. As a student he does not have this kind of money. I had to transfer funds to his account to cover this. I found the fact a customer who had a problem with one of your products, one still within warranty, be expected to have this kind of money on deposit while your faulty product be returned for diagnosis very untrusting of your company.

Apple Care Case 709748846 - December 2014
This return was shipped to my son with a cellular fault. Apple Support contacted. Alex was informed the best protocol would be to go through another express delivery.He decided not to do this, as he felt this was undervaluing the brand loyalty. Alex made contact with yet another of your advisors, to get a second opinion. After a lengthly conversation it was agreed he would contact the senior advisor Alex had spoken to previously and together they would attempt to find a solution. Alex had to contact your company again when he heard nothing back. He spoke to the senior advisor again and was informed no one spoke to him regarding the ongoing problem..No one was prepared to give an email address, or pass his call on to a Team Leader/Supervisor.

Having worked in Consumer Relations myself for many years i find the lack of support and care Apple Inc. has shown my son to be abysmal and totally unacceptable by any standard.
I would also like to mention the safety issue with regard to this situation. One reason to have a mobile phone is to be able to make a call in an emergency. Alex does not have this security with his Apple iPhone 5s. He is regularly unable to make or receive calls.

The warranty will be up on my sons phone end January 2015, and i would like this problem resolved before then.

Yours sincerely
Colette Reilly''

As a result a member from executive relations contacted me but unfortunately this is where the process actually got considerably worse. With all my dealings with Apple in the past I have found each individual employee rather delightful to deal with. Not in this case. Nevertheless it seems that they are unwilling to work outside the box to conclude my case, although it has since been implied that would be a possibility if I was to go through another replacement. I've since asked to speak with someone else due to what I can only call 'un-helpfulness.'
I am just wondering if there is anywhere else I can go with this? At this stage I feel like I'm wasting my time.. Has anyone else had to go through multiple replacements? I just feel the usually efficient customer care is not acceptable in regards to this individual case. Honest thoughts would greatly be appreciated. I look forward to seeing what people think. Thanks again

Greentree_uk

can only speak highly of any involvement with Apple customer relations. Have had issues that have been resolved on three occasions to a more than satisfactory level.

ZENER

What issues were you having with the phone/phones ?

I've been an Apple user for over 20 years and have bought many of their products including iPads, PowerMacs, iBooks, iMacs, MacPros and MacBook Pros and have never had a problem with any of them. I have all of these products still working here as well as they did the day I bought them.

I repair computers so I get to meet all kinds of users. Some are good with technology others not so much. Most blame the computer and I usually discover that it's not the computer at fault but the user who doesn't know how to use it. Most people in the industry will know this.

At some stage you have to ask if it's the product or the user, especially after a number of replacements and there are many posts on Boards where users have received replacements and still have the same problems. In the case of a phone ( I've had many, iPhones, Android and less smart ones) there are 3 parties that can cause the problems, the manufacturer, the service provider or the user.

I notice that you have posted several times on the Three Talk to forum about coverage and other issues you (or your son) has had with coverage, is it possible that it could be the provider in this case ?

Ken

AlexjReilly

Hi Zener, This, like itself it seems, is the only time I've experience poor quality/service from Apple. The first two replacements after standard use the display began to come away from its mounting. Apple assured me that this was no fault of my own. The current replacement is having issues with cellular coverage. At first I thought it was the network but I even changed provider and the issue is still the same. Its not in a particular area or anything, just completely random.

baldshin

So what exactly do you want from Apple? They WILL 100% replace the phone for you, but you can hardly expect them to (a) send you a replacement without receiving the faulty one first or (b) put a hold on a credit card and just trust that you will send back the faulty one.

I totally get how frustrating it must be, and it seems incredibly unlucky, to have received so many faulty products, but they will work with you if you let them. I'm actually even surprised they're dealing with you if its not your phone.

Headshot

Apple from my experience have one of the best customer care services around. Just cant give them enough credit

AlexjReilly

Thanks guys, I actually got it sorted today. Thanks for the replies

ZENER

AlexjReilly wrote: »

Thanks guys, I actually got it sorted today. Thanks for the replies

Can you tell us how ?

Ken

DubDJ

Reading through this it seems Apple haven't done anything majorly wrong, more so they're sticking to the normal protocols for replacements as they usually do. I can 100% understand how frustrating it is having to either use a temp phone or cough up a huge some of money even if only temporary. Apple are however just using their standard practices as they would with any customer.

Seems like your son is just really unlucky having three faulty iPhones, I've only ever had to contact Apple once and I had a new iPhone 1 week later. Just borrowed one during that time as I had no funds for the express replacement.

If Apple just set up shop with an official store for Ireland a lot of this kinda stuff could be avoided. It still amazes me that the Republic still doesn't have one and it's things like this that make me really wish their was one.