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LonginottiFilms

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 30, 2008
57
0
Apple Support Conversation

HERE IT IS!!! :D


Thank you for calling Apple iPhone Support, this is Steve here (not big Steve), may I ask who I’m speaking with?

-James Longinotti

Can I get your iPhone telephone number starting with the Area Code?

-(501) 276-XXXX

Thank you very much, and have you called in about this issue before?

-uhhh, no I haven’t…

And what can I do for you today?

-Last night, I fell asleep on my couch, and was awaken by my phone burning in my pocket. I quickly took it out and threw it to the floor, later examining it seeing the back melted and my leg burned!

Eh Wow…
Okay sir, let me just look here for a second…
-Pause-
Okay, do you have an Apple Store close to you Sir?

-No I don’t

Okay sir, I’m going to look here…
Okay, So I’m just going to put you on a brief hold for a moment…And just to verify, the phone overheated and now the back is melted?

-Pretty much, I actually have pictures on my blog…

It’s okay sir, I just have to look here to see what I can do for you since your warranty expired 33 days ago and…

-Wait, What!?

Uhm… Your warranty expired?

-No it didn’t…

It says here that..

-It’s an iPhone 3G, I got it on Launch day…

Oooooh okay, I guess it didn’t transfer over then…
Okay then sir, can you look on the back and give me the se… oh wait, it wouldn’t be on the back… Do you have the box?

-I sure do

Can you read me the serial number?

-Yes, it’s xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx…

Just give me a sec here to pull that up…
Can I get your email address sir?

-yes, it’s JamesLonginotti@gmail.com

Okay, we need that for the repair order process…

-Okay

Now do you have an odd –excuse me- OLD AT&T phone with you sir?

-No

Okay, because you will be without a phone for 5 to 7 business days, I’ll go ahead and set you up with a service phone…

-Swell

(long pause)

Okay sir, I am going to speak to someone very briefly about this if you could just hold on for a moment…

-Okay…



(16 min of Asian music)


Hi there James, I now have Debbie on the line, and she is going to further assist you today okay?

-Okay

You two have a great day now------------------Thanks very much!

(now Debbie)

Okay now, I am going to be doing some paperwork with you to get your unit replaced okay?

-Okay!

Sorry for the delay, so let’s get this set up… So are you close to an apple store?

-nope…

Alright, so I’m going to have to do a mail in ,in order to replace your phone…

Okay, we will send you a service phone… let me see what I could do…


Alright, can I have a contact number?

-Yes

okay, 76-gosh dang what is wrong with this keypad!... sorry continue…

And what state are you in today?

_AR

Ooh Arkansas, how is the weather there?

-Just great, not a cloud in the sky

Beautiful!

-yes it is

And your full Address…

-Given

Thank you for your patience on this, I understand you had an issue with the heat?

-Yes, I heard the 3G speed was “Blazing” but I didn’t know it was that hot…

(Laughter)

did you day you wanted a white 16 gig? Oh I don’t think the 16’s come in whi… oh they do!

-Yep


(pause)

Sigh

-I hear ya

(Laughter)

I don’t know , it’s hot in here today

-Did my phone visit?

(laughter)

Pause…

So again, what happened?

-I begin the story again

Wow, That’s Wild, I haven’t seen that in a while (?)

How long was it in your pocket?

-About 3-4 hours

So you were on the couch and it got hot…

-Really hot!

So the back is only damaged?

-yes, I am talking to you on my phone now

So it’s Working…

No Comment

That’s really weird, It melted, but is still functional…

I prefer you didn’t use it though…

It didn’t damage anything did it?

-Other than me… no

Just you… (laughter)

It didn’t blister your leg did it?

-Just red right now

Just red huh…


No fumes was there?

-nope, just the ootb smell

out of box smell only? Hehe …No smoke?

-Nope

any sparks?

-Nadda

And it just happened todat right?

-1AM

and the part of your leg that was burnt was around the pocket right?

-right

Any electric shock?

-nope…

Did you notice any smoke coming out of your pants? (said while laughing)

-no

Any flames, just intense heat right?

-right

Sorry for all this, there is a lot of paperwork for an issue like this…
-tis ok

(about twenty questions later…)

I guess that’s all we need for That one…

HEHE It asks if the battery can be inspected, I put “it’s in the iPhone”

How was the condition of the room you were in?

-It was a bit messy and COOL at the same time

LOL

I think we are finally done with the questions…

I am worried about the phone heating up again, so I would like you to power down the phone once we are through…


-ok

Alright, I’m just going to put you on hold for a moment…


(28 min later)

Hi…


Thanks for holding; I’m going to get in contact with a safety consultant…

I will call you back on your landline…


--------------End result, A replacement on the way------------------------------

The end
 

buccsmf1

macrumors 6502
Mar 18, 2008
277
0
I really don't want to form a lawsuit, I just want a replacement, the burn isn't severe, maybe like a sunburn...

also, auto lock was set to 1 minute, the phone wasn't jailbroken, and yeah,

it was a wake up "call"...

dude.... you dont have to go to court to get something out of this. just be friendly but in the end say something like "i really dont want to go to court but i will if i need to." see if maybe they offer you a new computer. your phone shouldnt be burning you...
 

TuffLuffJimmy

macrumors G3
Apr 6, 2007
9,022
136
Portland, OR
dude.... you dont have to go to court to get something out of this. just be friendly but in the end say something like "i really dont want to go to court but i will if i need to." see if maybe they offer you a new computer. your phone shouldnt be burning you...

If he doesn't want a lawsuit why would you encourage that? He says the burn isn't bad and I'm more than sure he knows his phone isn't supposed to get that hot.
 

mhnajjar

macrumors 6502a
Mar 3, 2008
777
0
Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude, this is the worst case I have ever heard of. Excuse me, but you should transfer the phone under my name and I would know how to deal with them.

This is so stupid. The phone could have killed you or caused you a permenant damage, and all they could is send you a replacement :confused: after almost an hour of talk time :eek:
 

MICHAELSD

macrumors 603
Jul 13, 2008
5,412
3,407
NJ
You're talking to an AppleCare rep over the phone. They could care less about giving you free stuff since it takes them too long to try to get some kind of extra certified. If you went to an Apple Store, or even wrote a letter to Apple, you might get something.
 

Daremo

macrumors 68020
Jul 3, 2007
2,176
307
Chicago
When it comes down to it (this may be a little off topic) it wasn't McDonalds fault that she spilled it on herself. Sure it sucks that it happened, but coffee is a hot drink. Do I think it's right that she sued McDonalds? No. Do I feel very bad for her being in such a situation? Of course. But I don't see anyway how this was McDonalds' fault.

No, certainly not their fault for her spilling. The suit was more to the fact of the coffee being served just below a boiling temperature. Even a spill would cause redness, and discomfort. Third degree burns that require skin grafts was the issue. This goes beyond "Clumsy me, I spilled my coffee in my lap." This caused serious damage, when it shouldn't have.

In the manual for the MacBook pros, it tells you NOT to use the computer on your lap, because of the heat. No such text about a phone in your pocket. This is a legitimate lawsuit if they wanted to pursue it, although without significant skin damage, you would likely lose. You know the phone gets warm, even hot when used, but you don't expect to get burned by it. Same with the coffee. You know it's hot, but even with a spill, you don't expect third degree burns, and skin damage from it. There's a fine line here.
 

Diode

macrumors 68020
Apr 15, 2004
2,443
125
Washington DC
And it wasn't ridiculous to sue McDonalds for spilling Hot Coffee on oneself years ago? What happened in that case? Oh that's right the person got rich and now every cup of coffee has 'Caution HOT' on it as a result. This is very similar in nature if you ask me. I'm not for frivilous lawsuits but if he wanted to he could get some thing out of Apple in exchange for NOT suing...

If you knew anything about that case your would realize McDonald's knowingly sold a defected product (IE a cup that was structurally unsound without it's lid - you have to remove the lid to put things like sugar etc in) and purposely superheated their coffee at dangerous temperatures to make the coffee seem better.

If you sell a faulty product on purpose and in that faulty container have a liquid heated to a temperature that will leave 2nd and 3rd degree burns (Most coffee will burn you but not make the skin on your leg melt) you will be liable at some point.
 

AustinSTI

macrumors 6502
Jul 2, 2007
394
0
If you knew anything about that case your would realize McDonald's knowingly sold a defected product (IE a cup that was structurally unsound without it's lid - you have to remove the lid to put things like sugar etc in) and purposely superheated their coffee at dangerous temperatures to make the coffee seem better.

If you sell a faulty product on purpose and in that faulty container have a liquid heated to a temperature that will leave 2nd and 3rd degree burns (Most coffee will burn you but not make the skin on your leg melt) you will be liable at some point.

Wow so many different reasons for the lawsuit seems like those telling me 'if I knew anything' shouldn't be talking **** since they obviously don't know themselves...one guy says the coffee was below boiling, the other says it was a 'defective cup' (I believe the former is right). Point was people have sued for less (remember the guy who sued McDonalds because he was fat - talk about frivilous).

Now as far as the conversation with apple went - they won't offer up ****. No company in their right mind will offer anything UNTIL you ask and then and only then will they do so. I bet if he asked he'd have gotten with little fight (depending on what he asked for). Ex: Overnight Shipping

I find it funny and sad that they ask him the same thing multiple times...so typical of CSR. Nothing annoys me more than when an automated system asks for your information and you get on with a CSR and the CSR just asks for the info again...WTF did I give it to the automated system for?
 

LonginottiFilms

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 30, 2008
57
0
I'm thinking the same thing. That's why I'm asking for an update... He's watching, but not responding...

I actually needed some sleep after the call I made, It happened at about 1AM, and I had to wait for phone support to open to be one of the first...

also I am a big time procrastinator...:D


I posted the conversation!
 

PAH Mac

macrumors member
Jun 10, 2008
44
0
I quickly pulled my iPhone out of my pocket this morning due to heat. It was asleep. I turned it off and the restarted. I have 3g, airport, fetch on @15. Also the camera was the last application i had running. I wonder if the sleep function doesn't fully shut down the camera app. I wasn't burned and the case didn't melt.

The exact same thing happened to me the other day. I had put the phone to sleep with the camera app open and had to pull it out of my pocket after about 30 minutes. Very hot. Be careful people. I think apple may have a problem here.
 

Diode

macrumors 68020
Apr 15, 2004
2,443
125
Washington DC
Wow so many different reasons for the lawsuit seems like those telling me 'if I knew anything' shouldn't be talking **** since they obviously don't know themselves...one guy says the coffee was below boiling, the other says it was a 'defective cup' (I believe the former is right). Point was people have sued for less (remember the guy who sued McDonalds because he was fat - talk about frivilous).

Huh? Reread what I wrote. I talked about the coffee being too hot AND a faulty cup. It was both that led to the case being valid. There were more facts about the case such as McDonald's knowing that the coffee was too hot and caused injury (there were 700+ claimed injuries before the woman sued etc) and were well aware of the risk but did nothing to prevent it.

The point I'm trying to make is this is nothing like the McDonald's case. Apple is not selling a faulty product with known risks. This is just a case of a random malfunctioning product. This would not hold up in court but I'm sure if he really tried he could get a out of court settlement.
 

bentonm

macrumors newbie
Jun 26, 2008
6
0
I actually needed some sleep after the call I made, It happened at about 1AM, and I had to wait for phone support to open to be one of the first...

also I am a big time procrastinator...:D


I posted the conversation!

Where did you buy your phone in AR? Because I did as well, and I don't want something similar to happen to me!! :D
 

Auzburner

macrumors 65816
Apr 11, 2008
1,255
1
Syracuse, NY - USA
Alright. Thanks for typing all that up! This is very interesting and it would be amusing to see what they would say if you had gone "For all my pain and suffering, I really would not like to have to pay anything for this phone again." -I wonder what they would do at that point. I'm genuinely surprised they didn't offer anything or something. I'm not quite sure what I expected, but getting a replacement is what you were aiming for, and that's what you got. Keeping us up to date on any developments would be great! Thanks.
 

nl-jeffrey

macrumors newbie
Aug 1, 2008
1
0
I'd sue them just because they created a bad product. You're paying more than hundreds of dollars on a two year contract. Another two years thinking about what might happen, because it can happen again! I think lots of other iPhone users can't rely on their phones anymore.

Dell had a battery incident a while back and I think Apple may be looking at the same here...It's ridiculous that they don't test their products better.
 

AustinSTI

macrumors 6502
Jul 2, 2007
394
0
Get this everyone, I emailed Big Steve about the issue... I am awaiting the response...

You'll be waiting for a while...he'll delegate it to someone else (best case).

Huh? Reread what I wrote. I talked about the coffee being too hot AND a faulty cup. It was both that led to the case being valid. There were more facts about the case such as McDonald's knowing that the coffee was too hot and caused injury (there were 700+ claimed injuries before the woman sued etc) and were well aware of the risk but did nothing to prevent it.

The point I'm trying to make is this is nothing like the McDonald's case. Apple is not selling a faulty product with known risks. This is just a case of a random malfunctioning product. This would not hold up in court but I'm sure if he really tried he could get a out of court settlement.

My Bad it was early :)
 

arkitect

macrumors 604
Sep 5, 2005
7,069
12,387
Bath, United Kingdom
Get this everyone, I emailed Big Steve about the issue... I am awaiting the response...

You realise of course the fact you were able to shave your leg after the "burn" somewhat downplays the severity of the incident.

If I had scalded my leg there is no way I would have taken a razor to it… or worse rubbed it with an electric razor.

;)
 

LonginottiFilms

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 30, 2008
57
0
You realise of course the fact you were able to shave your leg after the "burn" somewhat downplays the severity of the incident.

If I had scalded my leg there is no way I would have taken a razor to it… or worse rubbed it with an electric razor.

;)

You do realize I took a pic before the shave...

I just had complaints in the other forum...

100_0792-1.jpg
 

lmcintyre

macrumors regular
Jun 22, 2006
174
0
yea, you wont actually hear back from steve. Tim O'neal will call you back and probably send you a bluetooth headset or something.
 
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