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Scratched Screen? Tripped a water damage indicator? Let ATT and Apple foot the bill

S

samcraig

macrumors P6
Original poster
Jun 22, 2009
16,786
41,983
USA
Seriously folks.

Those having unfortunate accidents with your new devices I feel for you. But seriously. If you've accidently spilled some water and tripped an indicator or scratched the screen during use THESE ARE NOT MANUFACTURING DEFECTS.

A few words for those wanting to return the devices to Apple or ATT for a replacement

a) YOU are singlehandedly responsible for the higher prices these companies must charge because of all the wasteful product returns because of OPERATOR ERROR

b) There are hundreds of ATT and APPLE Stores - with thousands of employees throughout the USA. Posting on the message board to ask the who, what, where, when and why you are able to get a replacement is useless because no one here can actually tell you what you'll experience when YOU try and make your return for whatever reason anymore than I can explain what the color blue looks like.

Again - I know it's upsetting when you damage a new luxury item you have. A new car, sofa, toaster oven, etc. But these unfortunate accidents are not the manufacturer's "problems" - they are yours. You wonder why "fanboys" get the crybaby status. This is why.

Meanwhile, you are taking time and resources away from people at these stores who can be helping other customers solve real issues or problems they are having which are not human error.

A lot of the same people complaining that they got a scratch on their iphones are the ones bitching about waiting in line, upgrade policies, ATT not having tether and MMS enabled, etc.

Sorry to rant - it just seems that there are several people lately who want to stick us all with higher bills just because they want to have a 100 percent defect free iphone forever. Ain't gonna happen. The first ding is the worst. But get over it.... LOL
 
Well done.

Bottom line is if you're going to have such a big ticket device then you gotta learn to take care of it or accept the fact that accidents happen.
 
Sarcasm :)

I feel we should save links to all these threads of not only the people asking the questions, but the people who are encouraging the behavior. Then - when the iPhone 4G comes out and people complain about costs, we can further illustrate WHY :)
 
Several months ago, I dropped my 3G and it skidded across a driveway about 15 feet. There was a good amount of damage to the phone and the silent switch no longer worked.

When I took it in to Apple and immediately said I dropped it and just needed to pay for a replacement the guy at the genius bar was surprised. He thanked me for not expecting him to give me new phone for free. He told me people ask for a free replacement all the time even when they obviously caused the damage themselves.
 
i say this should be stickied. well said samcraig :)

oh and diabolic, ouchies, poor 3G iphone. how much was the replacement fee?
 
Um, I completely disagree that it's these people who are responsible for the high prices. The prices are high because people are willing to pay them. if someone had said to me a few years ago that I could get a nice phone, but it was £440 on PAYG, I would have laughed in their face. But I just bought a PAYG 3GS, because the iPhone is worth every penny to me.

From someone who owns a company, I can tell you this. Do something for someone that loses you money in the short run, and you will keep that customer forever, and make x10 out of them. Apple are clever, let us not be fooled. And they know for a fact that if they are flexible with warranty returns, at very little cost to them, let's face it (don't forget the iPhone is made in china where the average wage is £69 a month. That's 49p per hour) then they will gain a good reputation, be praised on forums, which in turn gives them good publicity, and of course, they will hold on to that customer forever.

Ever had a problem with a PS3? If you ring Sony, in the UK anyway, they will replace it or repair it even if it is well out of warranty. Why will they do this? Same reason as Apple. It makes sense to do so. Microsux however, are not so flexible when it comes to xbox claims, and this was one of the biggest reasons I did not get another xbox after mine died. I will buy the PS4 when it comes out for the same reason and will never go back to an MS console.
 
I've returned a macbook pro that I dented on accident.

It was within 3 days.

I am sorry, but that is my choice and I choose to tell them that it wasn't my fault.

I got two scratched iphones and one dented MBP fixed that way.

You pay for whatever price you pay for.
 
diabolic said:
I didn't have to pay the full retail, unsubsidized price. It was about $300 to get the replacement. My 3GS is in a case now. :)
Click to expand...

at least you were honest about it. :) good job.


as for those who accidentally dent things or drop water on their iphones, yeah, accidents happen, and you do want to get your money's worth. i completely understand that.

what i don't understand are the people who gripe about the most insignificant tiniest details. i was talking to my friend who works at the genius bar, and some customer came up to him and asked for his iphone to be replaced because of "scratches". we took a cloth and rubbed away the "scratches" and the only thing left was a very very faint quarter inch mark. the customer still demanded a replacement iphone free of charge. seriously, wtf. :mad:
 
drpellypo said:
Um, I completely disagree that it's these people who are responsible for the high prices. The prices are high because people are willing to pay them. if someone had said to me a few years ago that I could get a nice phone, but it was £440 on PAYG, I would have laughed in their face. But I just bought a PAYG 3GS, because the iPhone is worth every penny to me.

From someone who owns a company, I can tell you this. Do something for someone that loses you money in the short run, and you will keep that customer forever, and make x10 out of them. Apple are clever, let us not be fooled. And they know for a fact that if they are flexible with warranty returns, at very little cost to them, let's face it (don't forget the iPhone is made in china where the average wage is £69 a month. That's 49p per hour) then they will gain a good reputation, be praised on forums, which in turn gives them good publicity, and of course, they will hold on to that customer forever.

Ever had a problem with a PS3? If you ring Sony, in the UK anyway, they will replace it or repair it even if it is well out of warranty. Why will they do this? Same reason as Apple. It makes sense to do so. Microsux however, are not so flexible when it comes to xbox claims, and this was one of the biggest reasons I did not get another xbox after mine died. I will buy the PS4 when it comes out for the same reason and will never go back to an MS console.
Click to expand...


I don't discount your opinion at all - in fact I agree - to a point. The people who post here are an INCREDIBLE minority. So whether they replace the phones discussed on here or not isn't going to do much in way of loyalty. In fact, people who post here tend to post all the negatives about the phone and to a smaller degree - positives. If a random person came to the boards many would "walk away" thinking th 3gs was WAY too plagued with problems to even consider getting one right now.

It's also not a question of Apple being ABLE to afford these exchanges - but the level of entitlement many posters have and the simple fact that Apple shouldn't have to foot ANY bill that isn't legitimately theirs. It sets a bad precedent. Because if someone exchanges something now, they will just expect the same later. And where does it end? No good deed goes unpunished.

An (unrelated to Apple) anecdote. I worked for a struggling non-profit theater many years ago. A charity event was being held and the organizers came to me and asked for a donation of 2 tickets to be raffled off to help them raise money. It was the theaters policy, since these types of requests came in daily and we had a limited # of seats, to not offer tickets unless it was a national charity. I happened to have known one of the organizers of the event and went to the CEO of the theater and asked for an exception. After much deliberation - the request was granted. The winner of the tickets wound up being a board member of the charity who made reservations (redeemed the tickets) to a very close to sold out week of performances of one of our productions and then NEVER SHOWED UP. A few weeks later they called and YELLED at the box office that since they didn't actually use the tickets, that they should be able to reschedule. That they received those tickets as part of a charity auction and how dare we (the box office) not honor them.

Anyway - the bottom line is - when you are responsible for damaging your property - you should accept the consequences and not expect others to solve your problem for free.

If you want the pristine screen - protect it. Or if you scratch it, be ready to pay a replacement fee. Perhaps not the full cost for the phone - but a reasonable repair fee as opposed to trying to get it exchanged at the cost of the manufacturer.


What message are people sending out when they ask other people to solve their problems for them. It's not just iphones. Dare I say - look at the world and how people respond to things MORE important. It's a bit scary/sad
 
samcraig said:
What message are people sending out when they ask other people to solve their problems for them. It's not just iphones. Dare I say - look at the world and how people respond to things MORE important. It's a bit scary/sad
Click to expand...

I agree 100%. Apparently, personal accountability and responsibility are becoming lost virtues.

Somewhere along the line, it seems to have become an entitlement that nobody should feel inconvenienced or uncomfortable, and if they do, someone else should fix it for them.
 
And I shutter to think of someone's mom or dad going into an Apple Store with an iPhone which has a genuine defect and needs to be replaced only to be told they have to come back because that guy over there just got the last one to replace the one he had a tiny surface scratch on that he did with his own keys...
 
Consumers have just gotten lazy. They do not want to take responsiblity. They do not want to take the extra step to protect it. And they certainly do not want to bother with research.

Anyone else remember when Consumer Reports was the big thing and you couldn't watch TV without seeing one ad for the magazine every couple of commercial breaks? Hopefully this recession will at least teach SOME people how to be smart consumers again. For a little while anyway.
 
EnderTW said:
I've returned a macbook pro that I dented on accident.

It was within 3 days.

I am sorry, but that is my choice and I choose to tell them that it wasn't my fault.

I got two scratched iphones and one dented MBP fixed that way.

You pay for whatever price you pay for.
Click to expand...

And you are the reason some people with legitimate issues can't get them resolved. By costing Apple money to replace your phone/computer, it all comes right back to us.
 
Cander said:
Consumers have just gotten lazy. They do not want to take responsiblity. They do not want to take the extra step to protect it. And they certainly do not want to bother with research.

Anyone else remember when Consumer Reports was the big thing and you couldn't watch TV without seeing one ad for the magazine every couple of commercial breaks? Hopefully this recession will at least teach SOME people how to be smart consumers again. For a little while anyway.
Click to expand...

To play Devil's Advocate - I'd be more inclined to say that it might do the opposite. People are getting used to being able to negotiate, see lower prices, etc and when things begin to turn around and they aren't offered the same concessions, they will moan and groan about it.
 
For the record, I do agree with you. If I break it, it's my dime.

However, when my mute switch broke off and apple told me that upon closer inspection I had water damage and thus couldn't use my applecare I was pretty ticked. They told me that the water damage was caused by the fact that I live in a cold environment. Moving the phone from my car to my home could have caused condensation to form, thus making my phone unserviceable. Bull Crap. Thanks for taking my money and making my applecare purchase useless because I live in a place where it gets cold.

So here I am with a phone that I can't mute and an applecare plan that I can't use. If i dropped it in a glass of water, spilled a soda in it, etc... then yeah, that's my dime. But they can't make a phone that can be used outside?
 
Do you think there's a chance that all the bogus claims contribute to Apple having to be hardasses on others?

Your situation sucks... and clearly the applecare plan was designed to help people in YOUR situation.

Not for those who admit they are just abusing the ability to return their nerly perfect iphone "just cuz"

In another thread a guy wants to return his iphone for a new one because he tripped a sensor. There is nothing WRONG with his phone. He just wants to return it now so that when there IS a problem, he won't have an issue.

Ridiculous.
 
samcraig said:
Seriously folks.

a) YOU are singlehandedly responsible for the higher prices these companies must charge because of all the wasteful product returns because of OPERATOR ERROR
Click to expand...

Really? So users are the reason a device cost 150 to make costs 600? What about when the first ones came out? people werent returning them b4 they came out, so why were the first ones so expensive?

Oh and about macbook pros. mine was a little dented because of it being cheaply enforced. if you held it by just one side the frame would bend... now i didnt return but there shouldnt be a problem with me doing so. I have held plenty of laptops by one side with no bending problem so why should I not want a laptop that costs 3 times as much as another with the same specs to be just as strong
 
EnderTW said:
I've returned a macbook pro that I dented on accident.

It was within 3 days.

I am sorry, but that is my choice and I choose to tell them that it wasn't my fault.

I got two scratched iphones and one dented MBP fixed that way.

You pay for whatever price you pay for.
Click to expand...

I must agree. You ARE sorry.
 
Oh Yum. That's a useless argument. I could counter and say that the first devices cost more because of R&D. Because Apple bean counted how many they might need to replace. Or whatever.

My point, which is valid unless you're being selfish, is that no one is to blame or should be held accountable for YOU damaging a product.

I don't care if every other laptop on the market can be thrown up against a wall and you bent yours because you mishandled it. You caused the damage and you have to deal with the reprecussions. No one put a gun to your head and made you damage your equipment. And the dent, I am sure, did nothing to the functionality of the laptop. You just didn't like how it looked cosmetically. Too bad for you. Maybe next time you'll be more careful or buy something that can take the beating. Either way - it's not Apple's responsibility to make sure you treat your gear with care.
 
EnderTW said:
I've returned a macbook pro that I dented on accident.

It was within 3 days.

I am sorry, but that is my choice and I choose to tell them that it wasn't my fault.

I got two scratched iphones and one dented MBP fixed that way.

You pay for whatever price you pay for.
Click to expand...

Ummm, I think the OP was posting about YOU....
Sam Craig-- those are some wise words. Speak on it...
 
Great post and I don’t think people do realize that these raise prices for the rest of us when Apple and/or AT&T replaces these phones that were damaged by the USER. It’s not different than all those people on various threads who are discussing ways to subvert insurance and “get over” on Apple – well thanks everyone and next time I hear you complaining about how the phone is $499 I’ll know what thread to link to…:rolleyes:
 
There are many factors which contribute to the cost of an item - not just what the market will bear.

The bottom line is that no one but the end user should be paying for their own damage.
 
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