The Return of the iPad
It is with much sorrow that I contacted Apple customer service last week to get an RMA for my iPad. OK, so maybe that is a little over dramatic. None the less I was not happy about returning it, but it was time. If you stalk me on the web at all, you know this is basically all I have been talking about for the last month. I really have enjoyed it. So why then with hardly any mention of trouble would I even consider returning my new toy? Well, there is a story behind the story that I have not shared until now. Keep reading to find out more.
So, I received my iPad on April 3rd. Release day. I had it shipped to avoid waiting in any lines, and the UPS man delivered to my door on schedule. I couldn’t have been more pleased. About 30 seconds after activating it I noticed a problem. It was hard to see on the darker background images, but on the lighter backgrounds it was very apparent. Right in the middle of the screen was a dot. At first I thought it was a dead pixel. I looked closely, and upon my further examination I realized it was dust. Some kind of schmutz had been stuck between the LCD and the front glass. I thought it was strange given that these parts are normally manufactured in clean rooms. I used it for a few days before it bothered me enough to contact Apple about it. I explained I was a photographer and it would not work well for me to have dirt on every image I use the iPad to show to a client. They took great concern and offered for me to take it to an Apple store for return. I wasn’t going to be in town that week, and the closest Apple Store is over 50 miles from my house. Plus, having been to that particular store in the past I knew I would rather go a few days without my iPad for a mail swap then I would rather spend 10 minutes dealing with the total incompetence of the folks in the store.
So, the original iPad was shipped back and a few days later I received my new iPad. The customer service folks were great in the entire transaction. I even email the associate I worked with and within 10 minutes I received a callback from him. GREAT customer service. So, after receiving the new iPad I promptly opened it, activated it, and checked it for problems. I was shocked to find out the display on the second iPad also had an issue. One of the pixels was dead. Two iPad both with problems had to be bad luck. This time I called Apple repair and setup an appointment with the Apple Store. As much as I hate going there, I didn’t want to wait a few more days to play with the iPad. I figured I could waste a hour of my life to handle an issue that should take 5 minutes. Much to my surprise, there was actually an appointment open at lunch time the day I called. I normally have to wait a day to two to get an appointment at this location due to it’s size and the number of people that shop there.
So I went to the Apple Store. As usual, I waited for 30 minutes past my scheduled appointment time to be seen by a “Genius”. When my name was called and I started working with the tech was when I found out that Apple considers up to 2 dead pixels as acceptable. In other words, unless I had 3 dead pixels they would not replace it under warranty. That said, since I just bought the iPad it was still within it’s return period. So they store offered to do an exchange for a new one. This pleased me. So we went to the associate at the check out counter and we exchanged it. I then asked if we could activate it in the store to make sure it functioned properly. The lady was happy to oblige. She activated the iPad and I started checking out the display. Guess what. This on had a STUCK pixel! You have to be kidding me. Everyone I know that has one of these things was perfectly happy with theirs and I get 3 with a problem. Again, it would not have been such a big deal if I had not intended to make this device so image oriented. I asked the associate to do another exchange. She decided to pull the 3 dead pixels card on me and told me that I would have to either take this one home with me or return it with a 10% restocking fee. I explained to her that this was my 3rd issue and that being a photographer it was extremely important to me that the screen have no defects. She continued to display to abysmal customer service standard that I have learned to detest from this store. Realizing I would get nowhere with this individual, I told her to just give me the iPad and I’d take up my issue with the phone support.
Again, I avoid this particular Apple Store like the plague. I can’t stand them. When I returned to work I promptly called Apple’s Customer Phone Support. They were extremely empathetic to my situation. Maybe they took the time so see the amount of money I have spent with them in the past, or maybe they are actually customer focused. Regardless, I told them that I just wanted to return this iPad and that I would order another one in the future after I felt their display issues were resolved. I also need time to lose the bad taste caused by the Apple Store associate. They then put me in touch with an advanced agent that basically offered me a free accessory to try to have one more replacement sent to me. That was tempting, but I decided to return this one anyway. They were very understanding and were happy to assist me. They even waived my restocking fee due to my troubles. So I printed my RMA and sent my iPad back to Apple. I was a little sad about this, but I still think it was the right thing to do.
So, for now, now I am iPad-less. Two weeks with my iPad (not even the full two weeks technically) was enough for me to completely fall in love with it. It works so well. In 2 days Apple is launching the 3G model. Having used the WiFi model, I’ve realized how internet dependent most of the applications are. My return was short lived. Having now been without the iPad for almost 2 weeks, I’ve decide the time has come. I have already placed an order now for the 64GB 3G model. It’s due to be delivered by the 7th, but I’m going to try and pick one up at the BestBuy next to my office on Friday at 5pm. The sooner I can get one the better. I miss it.
4 Responses to “The Return of the iPad”
Great Post. That sucks that you had to go through all of that though.
Dude, I can not believe the one you got in the store was bunk too! You did not look to happy leaving that day. They need to get people in there who are more in touch, I mean, it IS an APPLE store.
“I found out that Apple considers up to 2 dead pixels as acceptable. In other words, unless I had 3 dead pixels they would not replace it under warranty”
I was in shock when I read this. I wonder what would have happened if some high level Apple exec pulled an iPad out of the box and found a SINGLE dead pixel. Ugh.
Thanks guys.
Dub, I totally agree. Being a new product I wasn’t even all that upset about the bad devices. I was only upset with the way the “service” associate handled my issue.
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