Alright, this is absurd… I got my iPhone 3G two weeks ago. Out of the box, it had a dead pixel. As I suspected he would, the guy at the AT&T store told me that I’d have to talk to Apple about it. Given my previous experience with Apple support and customer service (http://www.spoontwisted.com/apple-support-apple-care-apple-retail/), I decided to just deal with the dead pixel. After all, who wants a refurbished iPhone for the price of a new one? Not I.
Yesterday, I noticed a relatively short battery life on my phone. Charged it up (second time in a day), and waited. 6 hours later, it was dead again. Mind you, this is with 1 phone call and 4-5 text messages.
Even now as I sit here at my desk at work, my phone has been off the charger for less than an hour, and the battery indicator is already creeping down. That’s not a good sign, folks…
So now, I know what I must do. I will now have to go to the Apple Store and talk to a “Genius” about my issue. He/she will most likely insult me for using Windows, and try to blame the problem on me. I may have to make more than one visit to the Apple Store, or worse, call AppleCare’s 800 number (-shudder-).
I’ll keep you updated on the bulls**t I will likely face with the “support” that Apple renders…
So, in preparation for the release of the iPhone 3G (which comes out tomorrow, July 11, 2008), Apple has released an update to iTunes to add support for the new features, and some more.
At the leaast, they’ve added the App Store and a new feature that allows you to control your iTunes remotely from anywhere with a wi-fi connection. That’s cool and all (okay, so it’s REALLY cool), but I still use Windows Vista, and Apple still hasn’t been able to make iTunes work correctly with the Vista Aero interface…
Since Windows Vista came out over a year and a half ago, iTunes has had this problem (see screenshot below). C’mon Apple, will you fix it? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?
Steve, get on the ball. I know you hate Windows Vista and swear that 10.5 will make Vista look like a thing of that past (although I personally believe that 10.5 will be 10.4 with a few extra features, I don’t see what the big deal is), but you’ve got to support your Vista using iPod owners… If I buy a brand new computer right now, it will likely have Windows Vista on it. So I am setting everything up, and I go to Apple’s site to get iTunes so I can sync my ba-dass music library to my iPod. What do you know, it is still only compatible with Windows 2000/XP. Why?
Vista has been out for home overs for almost 2 months. You, Apple, had a few years to prepare for the shift, much like everyone else did. Why didn’t you? Are you too caught up in your “Apple Switch” commercials to realize that the vast majority of market share still lies with you competitor? Here’s an idea, make your Windows using iPod owners happy with the product they bought from you. Don’t slack on compatibility! Since iTunes 7 first came out it has been nothing but a disaster for Windows users.
Come on Steve, you can do it! -goo-chee-goo-chee-goooooo-
Today, 7.1 came out, and still no sign of Vista compatibility…
Every time I start to think Apple is becoming a good option and I really start to like what they have to offer, they go and screw it up by doing something so beautifully imbesilic that even the most objective of parties would condemn.
Early last year, I got an iPod Nano as a gift. Out of the box, the left channel audio was defective. Thinking I was just the unlucky one to get the defective product, I took it to the Apple Store and they gladly exchanged it for another iPod. Sadly, they refused to exchange it for a new one, regardless of the fact that the iPod I was returning had literally been out of the box for about 5 hours. So I got a refurbished one. All seemed well at first, until after a few days I noticed that my battery life was deteriorating… to the point of only lasting 2 hours. So I took my refurbished iPod back, and this is when the real problem started…
They told me that USB 2.0 was required for the iPod Nano, and that if I was using anything less, it would compromise my charge quality. This, however, was not what the iPod box nor the Apple website said. To prove them wrong, I charged it on my roommates computer, equipped with USB 2.0, to the same end. Upon taking it back again, I was told that they would need to test the battery, and that it would take 3 business days. Reluctant, I left the iPod with them and 3 days later got a call telling me to come get another replacement.
Luckily, this third iPod Nano gave me no problems, and all was well until I sold it.
In October I got one of the new 80GB iPods, and boy was I happy. All seemed well until I decided one day to sync my entire library of 15,000+ songs to it. It seemed to lag a lot, and sometimes it would lock up completely forcing me to hard restart it. I took it to the Apple Store and explained the issue, and I was actually told that it may have been happening because I had too many songs on it. I was a bit perturbed, as the iPod 80GB is marketed as holding “20,000 songs.” Well, as I consolidated my library down to 10,000 songs, the problem seemed to slowly let up. So again, I was happy with my iPod (although mildly disappointed with the fact that I could not store all of my music on it).
Then came the latest issue… Over the Christmas holiday, my iPod started turning off, and not coming back on. The battery would be charged, and I would put it down for a minute, then when I went to turn it back on, it would try, then click and shut down. I plugged it into the computer and waited… and waited… and waited. About 18 hours in, the iPod started to respond! Well, this was a relief, until it happened a second time… and a third time over the next two weeks.
So, reluctantly, I drove across town to the Apple Store with my dead iPod, and braved the “Genius” that would likely pound me with insults about having a Windows PC, give false information about my computer, and carry that odd/creepy aura that you get with the cop when you get pulled over. They tried to restore it, they tried to charge it. Nothing. It really was dead!
So, they took my iPod and, not having a replacement in stock, told me they would call me when the new one comes in, That was Friday, January 5th. They told me to expect a call by Tuesday, and no later than Wednesday.
On Wednesday, I decided to call and check on the status of my iPod. I was told it would be 10-12 more business days, due to delays in shipping. Upset, I decided to wait. The following Thursday I called the Apple Store again, and was transferred to “Apple Care” who actually made the situation worse! After being transferred 4 times and spending about 25 minutes listening to a series of Apple on-hold commercials, I got some more inconclusive answers. First, someone told me that my iPod was not even in the system as needing repairs or replacement. Then I was told that the part was not in yet, and they had no idea when it would be.
So again, I was forced to wait.
Out of frustration and pure dissatisfaction, I called again the next day (Friday) and spoke to a representative at the Apple Store. He told me that my iPod had been there for two days, and was ready to be picked up. How awesome! They didn’t call me, and they didn’t tell me when I called them.
So I finally got my iPod back. For now (until the iPod breaks again, which I am all but waiting for), I am happy with it.
I have come to this conclusion: If Apple wants to win market share and the affection and appeal they are quite apparently seeking, they are going to have to do something about their support and customer service systems. Between the Apple people telling me that all my problems stem from using a PC, Apple having my iPod for two weeks, and the horrible support I got in the store and on the phone, Apple’s “support” is so bad as to rival AT&T before the SBC merger. That’s not good folks…
On a side note, what is with these Apple Switch commercials? They are cute and all, but there is not a single one of them that does not insult PC’s or PC users! That’s no way to win us over Steve! You can do better than that.
