Okay, so I am apparently a special case. However, it appears that there are some glaring holes in Apple's purchasing process for us rural-types. 
Here's the scoop..
I just bought a house 10 miles from the nearest town, so for now, I have no home internet access (I'm dyin', trust me).
Using my cell phone, I called 800-MY-APPLE and proceeded to order 2 new iBooks (one for myself and my girlfriend). I don't have enough cash to buy both of them at once, so I attempt to obtain Apple Credit.
The conversation went something like this:
Rep: "Just log on to Apple's website and click on the link to apply for Apple Credit"
Me: "I cannot do that. I have no internet at my location. What are my other options?"
Rep: "You don't have a computer, sir?"
Me: "I have 6 computers, but no internet."
Rep: "Well, use your computer to go to the Apple website."
Me: "I cannot do that. My computers cannot access the internet."
Rep: "I thought you said you had a computer."
Me: "Correct. I have computers, but no internet."
...pause...
..I had nothing to say here.. I had to bite my tongue to prevent evil things..
Rep: "If you can't get online, then you'll have to go to an Apple Store"
(the nearest Apple store is 2+ hours away, traffic permitting)
Me: "That's quite a trek for me.. Will the Apple Store be able to help me? Can I get credit and leave with my iBooks the same day?"
Rep: "Absolutely. You need to go to an Apple store. They can help you."
I hung up in disappointment, and looked up the Apple store. Called them, and determined that they had 2 new iBooks in stock, they could help me apply for credit, and I'd leave the same day with them.
The next afternoon, we left immediately following work and battled rush hour traffic to make the Apple store before they closed. The place was busy. We finally flagged down a store employee and they set us up on a 2GHz G5 iMac (sweeet) to apply for credit. Upon entering our info and submitting the form, the page said that it would take a "couple days" for Juniper to process. ?????
So we flagged down another employee and asked if this was normal, since we were assured by several people that this was a same-day shopping spree. The employee said the usual time for approval is 15 minutes or less.
We waited 15 minutes.. 30 minutes.. No luck. We called Apple again and got told we were out of luck.. Called Juniper and were told we were out of luck. Bear in mind, this was not a credit denial.. they simply weren't going to process our request until a lot later.
Needless to say, the 2 hour drive home was very.. VERY silent.
So.. after that lengthy tale, my question is, HOW do I inform Apple of their obvious process holes?
1) No internet= no Apple credit? People are applying to buy a computer... but they can't buy the computer unless they already have one?.. with internet? That's like a 'need a car vs need a job' endless loop.
2)Apparently Juniper isn't in a big hurry to process applications, while Apple has no clue they're feeding people a line of bull regarding instant approval.
..or am I just the "Black Angel of Death"(tm) when it comes to buying Apple products?
Here's the scoop..
I just bought a house 10 miles from the nearest town, so for now, I have no home internet access (I'm dyin', trust me).
Using my cell phone, I called 800-MY-APPLE and proceeded to order 2 new iBooks (one for myself and my girlfriend). I don't have enough cash to buy both of them at once, so I attempt to obtain Apple Credit.
The conversation went something like this:
Rep: "Just log on to Apple's website and click on the link to apply for Apple Credit"
Me: "I cannot do that. I have no internet at my location. What are my other options?"
Rep: "You don't have a computer, sir?"
Me: "I have 6 computers, but no internet."
Rep: "Well, use your computer to go to the Apple website."
Me: "I cannot do that. My computers cannot access the internet."
Rep: "I thought you said you had a computer."
Me: "Correct. I have computers, but no internet."
...pause...
..I had nothing to say here.. I had to bite my tongue to prevent evil things..
Rep: "If you can't get online, then you'll have to go to an Apple Store"
(the nearest Apple store is 2+ hours away, traffic permitting)
Me: "That's quite a trek for me.. Will the Apple Store be able to help me? Can I get credit and leave with my iBooks the same day?"
Rep: "Absolutely. You need to go to an Apple store. They can help you."
I hung up in disappointment, and looked up the Apple store. Called them, and determined that they had 2 new iBooks in stock, they could help me apply for credit, and I'd leave the same day with them.
The next afternoon, we left immediately following work and battled rush hour traffic to make the Apple store before they closed. The place was busy. We finally flagged down a store employee and they set us up on a 2GHz G5 iMac (sweeet) to apply for credit. Upon entering our info and submitting the form, the page said that it would take a "couple days" for Juniper to process. ?????
So we flagged down another employee and asked if this was normal, since we were assured by several people that this was a same-day shopping spree. The employee said the usual time for approval is 15 minutes or less.
We waited 15 minutes.. 30 minutes.. No luck. We called Apple again and got told we were out of luck.. Called Juniper and were told we were out of luck. Bear in mind, this was not a credit denial.. they simply weren't going to process our request until a lot later.
Needless to say, the 2 hour drive home was very.. VERY silent.
So.. after that lengthy tale, my question is, HOW do I inform Apple of their obvious process holes?
1) No internet= no Apple credit? People are applying to buy a computer... but they can't buy the computer unless they already have one?.. with internet? That's like a 'need a car vs need a job' endless loop.
2)Apparently Juniper isn't in a big hurry to process applications, while Apple has no clue they're feeding people a line of bull regarding instant approval.
..or am I just the "Black Angel of Death"(tm) when it comes to buying Apple products?
