Don't buy iPods from Apple Retail Store

[DesignerOnMac]

IOt least you go replacements after more than a month after the 14 days...

I didnt mean to raise such a ruckus.

Let me clarify a few things. First, Apple has offered more than once (and has done so) to take the iPod Touch back. The catch is that they won't give me anything in return except another new or refurbed (its up to them which one) iPod Touch. I don't want another stinkin' IPT. I've had enough of them. I got a feeling they haven't done enough to make sure the flash memory in them are protected from pressure changes in an airplane cabin. The IPT should not be affected by traveling on an airplane the way it is. No other electronic device (including any other iPod I've had) acts this way. I think either I just got extemely unlucky and got 2 crappy ones, or theres a design defect. I feel like its a design defect bc others on here have complained of the IPT acting quirky on a plane.

My problem with Apple, is that they won't let me exchange it for another item or store credit. Every other retailer I've dealt with has let me bring an item back even without a receipt and given me store credit. Shoot, Bed Bath and Beyond has even given me cold hard cash before. I've even gotten an exchange from CompUSA on some opened software. But the Apple store in Charlotte is stickin' to their 14 day guns.

I have not talked to a CCR at AppleCare yet. I've only spoken with a couple tech guys. I'll try that out and see if I can get anywhere. Otherwise I'm taking it back for another new one and selling it on eBay.

Try this: A friend just bought a Panasonic answering machine with 3 handsets. Out of the box, the handset bases would not charge! Called Panasonic. He had to mail them to Panasonic at HIS cost, and he will get not new but refurbished!

Did your wife put the original Touch on a CC? what is their policy? I'd check it out.

 

[DesignerOnMac]

Yeah, both times I've been as nice as possible. I haven't yelled, I haven't thrown around threats or anything. Just politely asked them to offer the same service as all other retailers. Still no dice.

Each retailer has their own return policies you can not tell Apple, or Wal-Mart what someone elses is.....

I bought a night light at Wal-mart with a 5 year warranty. When back to the store because it died in a year and a half. Was told they could not replace it beyond 30 days. I showed them the back of the package where the manufacturer says: "return to retail store"..... end of story was it was thrown away.

 

[CalBoy]

I didnt mean to raise such a ruckus.

Let me clarify a few things. First, Apple has offered more than once (and has done so) to take the iPod Touch back. The catch is that they won't give me anything in return except another new or refurbed (its up to them which one) iPod Touch. I don't want another stinkin' IPT. I've had enough of them. I got a feeling they haven't done enough to make sure the flash memory in them are protected from pressure changes in an airplane cabin. The IPT should not be affected by traveling on an airplane the way it is. No other electronic device (including any other iPod I've had) acts this way. I think either I just got extemely unlucky and got 2 crappy ones, or theres a design defect. I feel like its a design defect bc others on here have complained of the IPT acting quirky on a plane.

My problem with Apple, is that they won't let me exchange it for another item or store credit. Every other retailer I've dealt with has let me bring an item back even without a receipt and given me store credit. Shoot, Bed Bath and Beyond has even given me cold hard cash before. I've even gotten an exchange from CompUSA on some opened software. But the Apple store in Charlotte is stickin' to their 14 day guns.

I have not talked to a CCR at AppleCare yet. I've only spoken with a couple tech guys. I'll try that out and see if I can get anywhere. Otherwise I'm taking it back for another new one and selling it on eBay.

I think you need to just call. Forget the long drive. Speak to someone on the phone, and they'll have a brand new Apple Giftcard on your doorstep by the end of the week.

Best of luck.

What about the law? I keep seeing this kind of thing in threads - is there really no law in the US that says you get a refund when something's broken?

There are lemon laws, but nothing that says you have the absolute right to a refund. As long as the company tries to make amends (give you a new product, etc), it's usually within the law. As long as Apple doesn't refuse to give the customer anything in the event of a defective iPod, they're in the clear.

 

[f1]

BONUS POINT: An Apple Store employee told me that when customers are dicks to them, they will put them through the ringer. But when customers are nice, the sky's the limit. Which are you?

Anyone who has ever worked in retail know this. This just doesn't apply to the Apple Store.

 

[jbg232]

Yea, I completely agree. Don't get mad when your product doesn't do something it is not supposed to do. You should have checked this first if it working at high altitudes was important to you. I think the problem here is consumer ignorance, and Apple is at fault in no way.

People never seem to take any responsiblitly for their actions these days. It's always someone else's fault....

This seems like a ridiculous defense of apple at the sake of the consumer.
+1 to this post being about apple fanboyism with no consideration to giving helpful advice.




My advice: Call Applecare. I had a really crappy situation with a wireless keyboard upgrade and they just sent me one to make up for the annoyance I had to deal with (which made me really happy with apple and much more likely to support them in the future - which will make them more money from me in the long run than the price of the keyboard). If applecare can't help I don't know what to tell you aside from emailing the big man himself.

One more thing: Sometimes what seems like it should be obvious (ie that you shouldn't take your ipod above 10,000 feet) is really NOT obvious to the lay consumer. It's really annoying when people assume that it is when the masses of people really don't know that much about electronics, just enough to eek by with some help from their local computer nerd.

I'm a plane geek. I'm pretty sure that 8,000 ft. is typical for most aircraft but newer a/c like the 787/Dreamliner will pressurize to 6,000 to provide a more humid and more comfortable environment in the cabin. This should help alleviate many of the health problems that result from the thin dry air you get exposed to on most flights. The 787 will also have larger windows and is designed to have a more open feel to the cabin which should help on long-haul flights.

10,000 feet is the maximum altitude at which humans can survive without supplemental oxygen. If pressurization is lost the emergency procedure involves a rapid descent to 10,000 feet or lower as the emergency oxygen bottles in the cabin don't last longer than about 8-15 minutes (I forget the exact time). They are there to keep you alive for the amount of time it takes for the flight crew to descend to an altitude that can sustain life.

So no, you should never "exceed 10,000 feet" on a commercial flight. If you did, you would be dead without an oxygen mask within a matter of minutes.

Sorry to repost, but just saw this and have to admit that my life is now enhanced knowing this piece of information. Thanks for the cool fact!

 

[gvegastiger]

Update: I finally got in touch with someone at AppleCare who seemed to actually give a damn, but it still wasn't an acceptable solution to me. All he could offer was a 160 GB iPod Classic. I said I dont want a 160 GB classic bc I will never need that much space and its not the full $400 worth that I paid for my Touch. How about an 80 GB and an iPod nano? He said no dice, they can't do a 2 for 1 replacement, even though dollar for dollar its the same thing. So now I've emailed him back and have requested an 80 GB and a giftcard. We'll see if I get an offer back. I'm still pretty upset with this whole thing. As of right now I'll never buy anything directly from Apple again. If the guy contacts me back and offers something close to what I want, I'll change my tune.

 

[pjpoon]

Leaving money and your hassles out of the equation, you can never have too many songs, movies, pictures or too much hard drive space

 

[heatmiser]

I think for him, though, it's more about getting the financial equivalent of his purchase back. Since the iTouch is more expensive than the classic, he'd still be losing money (as well as getting a product he never intended to purchase). OP, instead of holding out for a Classic and gift card, why not ask for a card equivalent in purchase power to the product you bought?

 

[Stridder44]

Did you read the tech specs which state Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m).

OK, the aircraft is pressurized, but not to 1 atmosphere at ground level. Have you checked what the equivalent/corrected altitude in the aircraft was.

Bull$%!*. iPods, mobile phones, and billions of other expensive devices (Sony PSP's, blackberries, etc.) have been going on airplanes since day 1 and no one else has had issues. Stop defending Apple. They need to man up and take some responsibility for once.

Thank you O.P. I'll avoid buying from Apple stores from now on.

 

[kingtj]

re: iPods from Apple retail

I can only add that I had a bad experience buying a "refurbished" iPod video last year from our local Apple store.

They had a discount table set up after Xmas with a number of items on it, including several 60GB iPod videos. Knowing that in the past, I've bought a few Apple refurbished products off Apple's web site and always been very pleased with them, I grabbed one of their black iPod videos as a gift for a friend of mine.

When I actually gave it to her and she opened it up, I was horrified! The iPod was all scratched up on both the front and the back. It did work properly, but it looked VERY used. (At least the earbuds in the box were still new ones.)

That's when I found out that retail stores marking their products "refurbished" is NOT the same thing as a "refurbished" product bought online from Apple. The stores can use that label for any demo models or even returns that a tech tested and thought were still good. All they do to "refurbish" them is replacing accessories (like said earbud headphones) with new ones.

 

[sushi]

10,000 feet is the maximum altitude at which humans can survive without supplemental oxygen.

This is not true.

If pressurization is lost the emergency procedure involves a rapid descent to 10,000 feet or lower as the emergency oxygen bottles in the cabin don't last longer than about 8-15 minutes (I forget the exact time). They are there to keep you alive for the amount of time it takes for the flight crew to descend to an altitude that can sustain life.

So no, you should never "exceed 10,000 feet" on a commercial flight. If you did, you would be dead without an oxygen mask within a matter of minutes.

If an airliner experiences a rapid decompression situation where they cannot maintain cabin pressure altitude, they will decent to 10,000 feet or less, so they can maintain flight without supplemental oxygen.

Simply put, you can fly all day 10,000 feet without supplemental oxygen and not die.

As for flying above 10,000 feet, here is some interesting data concerning Effective Performance Time (EPT) for some altitudes:

Altitude (ft.) --> EPT (min.)*

18,000 --> 20-30
25,000 --> 3-5
30,000 --> 1-2
40,000 --> <.5

*May be reduced 50% with rapid decompression.

By the FAA:

At 12,500 feet, pilots must be on supplemental oxygen any time they are at 12,500 feet for 30 minutes or more.

At 14,000 feet, pilots must be on supplemental oxygen during the entire flight.

At 15,000 feet, all occupants must be on supplemental oxygen.

 

[MovieCutter]

I can only add that I had a bad experience buying a "refurbished" iPod video last year from our local Apple store.

They had a discount table set up after Xmas with a number of items on it, including several 60GB iPod videos. Knowing that in the past, I've bought a few Apple refurbished products off Apple's web site and always been very pleased with them, I grabbed one of their black iPod videos as a gift for a friend of mine.

When I actually gave it to her and she opened it up, I was horrified! The iPod was all scratched up on both the front and the back. It did work properly, but it looked VERY used. (At least the earbuds in the box were still new ones.)

That's when I found out that retail stores marking their products "refurbished" is NOT the same thing as a "refurbished" product bought online from Apple. The stores can use that label for any demo models or even returns that a tech tested and thought were still good. All they do to "refurbish" them is replacing accessories (like said earbud headphones) with new ones.

That's why they're labeled as "refreshed", not "refurbished".

 

[JBaker122586]

I've had mostly good experiences at Apple retail.
I purchased a 4G 40 gig iPod around Christmas '04.
Around the fall of '05, I started getting the hard drive clicking error that those things were famous for.
I took it into the Apple store and he handed me a new one.
In the Spring of '06 my new iPod had the same error. I took it into the Apple store, where I was told that since I had purchased my original iPod more than a year ago, I was out of luck, and could get a $100 or something credit for parts.
I said that this was unacceptable, and that this is the second iPod I had been given that lasted fewer than 10 months, and it was clearly a manufacturing defect and that my $400 shouldn't be wasted because of their poor quality control. I also asked if he'd like to look on my account for my recently purchased iMac or Powerbook and expressed my concern that they might suffer manufacturing errors.
At this point, he offered me a new iPod for a $30 restocking fee.

It's worked without flaw since.

 

[tennisplaayer11]

BONUS POINT: An Apple Store employee told me that when customers are dicks to them, they will put them through the ringer. But when customers are nice, the sky's the limit. Which are you?

LOL this reminds me of a time I was in an Apple store and there was this kid literally SCREAMING at the guy behind the counter because his iPod wouldn't work...

BTW, I've been going to the same Apple Store here in Bethesda, Maryland for a year or two now, and I have yet to have a problem with the customer service.

 

[mac-er]

If you purchased this on a credit card, they usually have their own warranties (thanks to those regulations and government rules you hate so much).

Call your credit card company, and they will give you your money back and probably charge it back to Apple.

 

[CKtoph]

Hey OP, what exactly do you mean by "crashes constantly"? It is definitely very odd that you receieved two iPTouch units that act in this way in the air. Did you use it primarily in the air? Did you use your iPTouch on the ground just as much? I ask these questions because it seems far more likely that you received two faulty iPTouch units than receiving two IPTouch units that simply do not operate properly in the air. I hope this makes any sense. I'm just trying to bring this up to put to rest this argument of pressurization and such. Honestly, it really doesn't make much sense for the unit to not work properly exclusively while flying. One of the many reasons for purchasing an iPod is to listen to music or watch a video on a long, boring flight.

I'm also really sorry to hear that you've had a difficult experience at the Apple Retail Store, but I've had nothing but very, very good experiences at the Apple Stores in my area. However, I'd be wary of purchasing products from certain online sources such as Macmall especially. I've recently had a very poor experience with them which was echoed by several other purchasers as well.

In reference to the refurbished issue, I actually just purchased a refurbished 24" iMac from Apple, and it's perfectly fine so far. I spoke with a friend of mine who also owns a refurbished model, and he actually recommended that people buy refurbished units as opposed to new units because these units have been tested to a more rigorous extent before re-sale. This is at least what I have heard. I guess this may or may not apply to refurbished iPods.