Out of Warranty iPhone 6 - Why I repeatedly buy Apple

[convergent]

I will say right off that I am a fan of buying Apple, and its not just because I blindly follow some company, but because they "re-earn" my business and $$$ over and over again. Within my family we've bought countless iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple TVs, Airports, and even the Apple Watch.

My youngest daughter who's in college has had a habit of damaging her iPhones over the years, so we always get AppleCare +. Her iPhone 6 has been replaced once already for being damaged, and then she dropped it again about a year into owning it. The screen has been cracked for several months but she kept using it because she didn't want to blow her second AppleCare replacement, and it still worked fine. The cracked screen was mostly in one corner and wasn't flaking off.

This week the backlight on the display died. I had quite a discussion with her about it because she felt Apple should just replace it for free because she didn't do anything to it to cause it to stop working. I explained that a) it was out of warranty so failures aren't freely fixed, and b) it has clear damage so they will likely not believe that it just stopped working... and that the damage could have had a delayed result in causing it to fail. She didn't think that was fair, but that is life.

We setup an appointment in the local Apple Store, and went in with her understanding that her 2nd AppleCare replacement was probably going to get invoked, and that she'd have to pay the co-pay. When we got out of the car, I checked the appointment on my iPhone in the Apple Store app, and it checked us in while still in the parking lot! We walked into the store, were greeted and verified we were checked in. About 5 minutes and we had someone helping us. The guy used a flashlight to confirm that the phone was on, but backlight not working. He then had her log into iCloud and used FindMyIphone to make sure it was her phone. My daughter told him she dropped it several months earlier (explaining the broken glass and scratches on the body) and it had been working fine, but the display just died the day before. Without anything else said, he told her he was going to replace it for free because it was defective. So, even though she's owned it for about 16 months and clearly damaged it from misuse, without question he replaced it under warranty.

This is why I continue to buy Apple. Had she owned a Samsung Galaxy or Nexus, or any other manufacturer's smartphone, we'd most likely be buying a new device. So when I get called out as being a fanboy by someone, I just want to be able to refer to this thread! No other company comes anywhere near Apple on customer service.

 

[aristobrat]

I explained that a) it was out of warranty so failures aren't freely fixed

Since you had AppleCare+ on it, the regular hardware defect warranty should be extended by an additional year (for a total of two years).

I'm glad Apple gives its employees some flexibility on things like this. Definitely can make for super happy customers!

 

[eyoungren]

I will say right off that I am a fan of buying Apple, and its not just because I blindly follow some company, but because they "re-earn" my business and $$$ over and over again. Within my family we've bought countless iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple TVs, Airports, and even the Apple Watch.

My youngest daughter who's in college has had a habit of damaging her iPhones over the years, so we always get AppleCare +. Her iPhone 6 has been replaced once already for being damaged, and then she dropped it again about a year into owning it. The screen has been cracked for several months but she kept using it because she didn't want to blow her second AppleCare replacement, and it still worked fine. The cracked screen was mostly in one corner and wasn't flaking off.

This week the backlight on the display died. I had quite a discussion with her about it because she felt Apple should just replace it for free because she didn't do anything to it to cause it to stop working. I explained that a) it was out of warranty so failures aren't freely fixed, and b) it has clear damage so they will likely not believe that it just stopped working... and that the damage could have had a delayed result in causing it to fail. She didn't think that was fair, but that is life.

We setup an appointment in the local Apple Store, and went in with her understanding that her 2nd AppleCare replacement was probably going to get invoked, and that she'd have to pay the co-pay. When we got out of the car, I checked the appointment on my iPhone in the Apple Store app, and it checked us in while still in the parking lot! We walked into the store, were greeted and verified we were checked in. About 5 minutes and we had someone helping us. The guy used a flashlight to confirm that the phone was on, but backlight not working. He then had her log into iCloud and used FindMyIphone to make sure it was her phone. My daughter told him she dropped it several months earlier (explaining the broken glass and scratches on the body) and it had been working fine, but the display just died the day before. Without anything else said, he told her he was going to replace it for free because it was defective. So, even though she's owned it for about 16 months and clearly damaged it from misuse, without question he replaced it under warranty.

This is why I continue to buy Apple. Had she owned a Samsung Galaxy or Nexus, or any other manufacturer's smartphone, we'd most likely be buying a new device. So when I get called out as being a fanboy by someone, I just want to be able to refer to this thread! No other company comes anywhere near Apple on customer service.

I don't know your daugher, but I do know people that would see Apple as having just undercut your argument to your daughter. Those people would then smugly assume free replacements they weren't entitled to later on while mocking me for saying otherwise.

But as for your argument about customer service, I'm with you. Moving to the iPhone is what enabled me to stop depending on Sprint for carrier insurance and relegated them to simply being my carrier (that is, before I ported out last year).

I cracked my screen last year and because of the wait and because they had problems with the initial release of iOS 9 I got a brand new two week old phone as a replacement for the cost of the screen repair. Made me very happy.

So far my experience with Apple has been great.

 

[Qbnkelt]

This is one of the reasons I have bought iPhones since the 3GS.
No amount of impressive paper specs or overbloated garish OSs or purty shiny hardware is more valuable to me than what Apple gives me.

 

[convergent]

I don't know your daugher, but I do know people that would see Apple as having just undercut your argument to your daughter. Those people would then smugly assume free replacements they weren't entitled to later on while mocking me for saying otherwise.

This is why I spent the time to explain the conversation I had with my daughter. She actually felt "entitled" to a free replacement at first, and I set her straight that she was not. She went into the store not expecting a free replacement. She would have been annoyed (mostly with herself), but happy to have paid the copay and used her last AppleCare replacement. So she (and I were) polite and grateful for the help we got.

With most companies, if you end up getting to the outcome we achieved, you have to usually complain and escalate. Apple has more than once gone the extra mile for me and my family. They didn't have to do it... but they did in the name of customer service.

 

[noobinator]

Apple is great about this but Google actually was giving away new Nexus devices (Nexus 5 I think?) for people who broke their screen due to misuse, for free, without an accidental damage coverage plan.

 

[nburwell]

This is another reason why I continue to purchase Apple products. Like the OP's daughter, my girlfriend has a habit of dropping/damaging her phones. Anyway, about five months ago, she dropped her iPhone 6 and cracked the front of the screen (not bad enough that she couldn't use it). She didn't want to pay for the screen to be replaced because she had already dropped $100 several months ago for the exact same scenario.

Anyway, a month after she dropped it the screen on the phone started to go. She had me look at it and I determined that we'll go to our local Apple Store to get it checked out. The Genius took one look at the phone after my girlfriend explained that she had dropped it several months prior. He said the drop had nothing to do with the screen malfunctioning. To make a long story short, she ended up with a new iPhone. No questions asked.

Like the OP mentioned, if my girlfriend had a Samsung device, I would've been on Swappa looking for a new (secondhand) phone. Apple customer service has yet to do my family, friends or I wrong. That's why they'll continue to get my money.

 

[Dezryth]

Honestly though, she dropped it, and it seems to me like it just took a few months for the phone's display to finally crap out. Apple was very nice to replace it calling it a defect, when the 'defect' probably would not have occurred had she taken better care of her phone and never dropped it in the first place. I understand accidents happen, but jeez.

Man, I've had iPhones for years and I've never dropped or cracked one. The only time I've had to get replacement was when I made the mistake of visiting a crazy ex girlfriend and she threw it. Long story short I do not talk to her anymore.

 

[HEK]

I will say right off that I am a fan of buying Apple, and its not just because I blindly follow some company, but because they "re-earn" my business and $$$ over and over again. Within my family we've bought countless iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple TVs, Airports, and even the Apple Watch.

My youngest daughter who's in college has had a habit of damaging her iPhones over the years, so we always get AppleCare +. Her iPhone 6 has been replaced once already for being damaged, and then she dropped it again about a year into owning it. The screen has been cracked for several months but she kept using it because she didn't want to blow her second AppleCare replacement, and it still worked fine. The cracked screen was mostly in one corner and wasn't flaking off.

This week the backlight on the display died. I had quite a discussion with her about it because she felt Apple should just replace it for free because she didn't do anything to it to cause it to stop working. I explained that a) it was out of warranty so failures aren't freely fixed, and b) it has clear damage so they will likely not believe that it just stopped working... and that the damage could have had a delayed result in causing it to fail. She didn't think that was fair, but that is life.

We setup an appointment in the local Apple Store, and went in with her understanding that her 2nd AppleCare replacement was probably going to get invoked, and that she'd have to pay the co-pay. When we got out of the car, I checked the appointment on my iPhone in the Apple Store app, and it checked us in while still in the parking lot! We walked into the store, were greeted and verified we were checked in. About 5 minutes and we had someone helping us. The guy used a flashlight to confirm that the phone was on, but backlight not working. He then had her log into iCloud and used FindMyIphone to make sure it was her phone. My daughter told him she dropped it several months earlier (explaining the broken glass and scratches on the body) and it had been working fine, but the display just died the day before. Without anything else said, he told her he was going to replace it for free because it was defective. So, even though she's owned it for about 16 months and clearly damaged it from misuse, without question he replaced it under warranty.

This is why I continue to buy Apple. Had she owned a Samsung Galaxy or Nexus, or any other manufacturer's smartphone, we'd most likely be buying a new device. So when I get called out as being a fanboy by someone, I just want to be able to refer to this thread! No other company comes anywhere near Apple on customer service.

Also helped you said truth as to what happened and didn't try to scam them. Have found when you have AppleCare + they tend to give you a break as well.

 

[Max(IT)]

This is part of what I love about Apple...
I know their products are costly, especially outside US, and I consider AppleCare as part of their cost (I add it to every Apple device I buy), so the price is even higher.
But I know I'm dealing with the best customer care of the market.

 

[willmtaylor]

Yup. I feel the exact same.

P.S. Please change "by" in the thread title to "buy." Thanks.

 

[lyceumHQ]

This is also what keeps me with Apple.

Every upgrade I think maybe I should go android. Better specs (yes I realise specs aren't the whole story!), not so locked down etc etc.

Then I remember that if I break my phone I have to contact the manufacturer. Have them agree a return. Wait for a courier to collect it then wait an unspecified amount of time to get my phone back and hope that they've fixed it. Because hey may not have. Depending on the issue and the competence of the engineer it ends up with.

I stay with Apple. My phone breaks. I make an appointment. I go in with a damaged phone. I leave with a new fully working phone wether that'd screen replacement or full phone replacement. I come home hit restore in iTunes and am exactly where I was two hours before.

Apple products are imho expensive. But that reliability and peace of mind is imho worth paying the extra for.

 

[lordofthereef]

Just thought I'd mention that the microsoft store has similar replacement and repair options. Not many people know about them because, well, nobody wants a Windows phone lol.

 

[convergent]

Yup. I feel the exact same.

P.S. Please change "by" in the thread title to "buy." Thanks.

Good catch!

 

[cerberusss]

Thanks topic starter, for relating this.

Sometimes I kinda start feeling a bit sad when browsing through the posts here. So much criticism on the company and the products (and I've brought my fair share as well). Great to hear about a happy customer!

 

[laudern]

I'm assuming that you have a pretty hot daughter for this story to unfold.

 

[kevink2]

Several years ago I had upgraded my iPhone 4 to a beta version of iOS. Then a month later gave it to a relative. Forgot to remind them to upgrade to the general release of the OS when it came out, and it stopped working.

I was a couple hundred miles away, and my sister took it to the apple store and they fixed it for free outside of warranty.

 

[convergent]

I'm assuming that you have a pretty hot daughter for this story to unfold.

Haha... yes, she's kind of cute but I don't think that was the main reason. This guy was a man on a mission and didn't interact with her much at all.

 

[valinda]

No offense, but maybe your daughter should invest in an otter box case.

 

[cerberusss]

Haha... yes, she's kind of cute but I don't think that was the main reason. This guy was a man on a mission and didn't interact with her much at all.

Well maybe he thought "whoops she brought this overprotective gorilla of a dad, better fix it right away"
[doublepost=1458069101][/doublepost]

No offense, but maybe your daughter should invest in an otter box case.

Gotta admit this is a prudent course to take. I've spent 250 bucks on new iPad screens, and then I got a Griffin Survivor case. My iPad dropped down the stairs, all 10 feet of it, and not a scratch.

The case looks fugly, though...

 

[617aircav]

My brother had an issue with his unlocked verizon galaxy s6. For some reason it wont pickup T-mobiles signal. Works with ATT. Sent it to samsung twice with no fix and they refused to exchange it. Well he sold it and bought a 6s. He will never touch samsung again.