iPhone replacement out of warranty

[Jbenn425]

Let me just say, Apple is amazing. My iPhone 5 is 15 months old, got it on launch day. My wifi antenna was slowly starting to fail. I called Applecare, the employee felt for me but was limited in what he could do. He transferred me to a manager in hopes the manager will be able to help me. The manager explained that while he personally disagrees with Apple's standard warranty and believes it's way too short, he has to enforce the company policy. I accepted this and as we were about to get off the phone, he said "Wait, let me just try one more thing, no promises though, I'll be back in 5 minutes". He comes back and says "OK, I will break the company policy this time" and set up an appointment at my local Apple store. I went in and they replaced it no questions asked. I am utterly amazed. Apple was under no obligation to replace my phone (although legally I believe they should be), but they did me a huge favor and replaced it anyway. I want to see someone try to do that with a 15 month old Galaxy S3 without any form of insurance. HA! One of the many reasons I'm an Apple customer.

Moral of the story: Be NICE to people on the phone, it's much easier to get what you want when you make people feel bad for you than when you scream like a maniac and piss them off. Unfortunately many people who've never worked retail don't understand this.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Moral of the story: Be NICE to people on the phone, it's much easier to get what you want when you make people feel bad for you than when you scream like a maniac and piss them off. Unfortunately many people who've never worked retail don't understand this.

Good advice.

Or you can purchase it with an Amex card and still have a warranty in the 2nd year (at no cost) and save yourself the hassle of being nice and uncertainty.

 

[abz1981]

Good advice.

Or you can purchase it with an Amex card and still have a warranty in the 2nd year (at no cost) and save yourself the hassle of being nice and uncertainty.

This may be true. However not everyone would always get approved for cards that give you extra warranty protection or credit cards in general. However to the OP am glad it all worked out for you though.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

However not everyone would always get approved for cards that give you extra warranty protection or credit cards in general.

Yes but they are in the minority. I see way too many people mindlessly using their debit cards with no such protection when they already have a CC with extended warranty protection.

 

[AJAAY]

Nice or not. You just got lucky.

 

[CodyPennant]

Thank you for posting this. Reading it encouraged me to try calling Applecare myself. My iPhone 5 was less than a week out of warranty when the rear camera broke. The Apple store couldn't help me, so I gave up and started thinking about what new iPhone to buy. I called Applecare last night after reading this thread, and they sent me right back to the local store for a free replacement phone.

I completely disagree that it is just luck rather than being polite. It is a combination of both. This time, I was very polite and told them I understood it was out of warranty and would just like to know if there was anything a manager could do to help. We've had two iPhones with cracked screens and one dropped in water replaced in the past for free, and once the guy replacing it expressly told me he was doing so because I was polite and didn't lie about it being my own fault. I also got a cracked iPad mini replaced under applecare but without being charged the $50 fee. Apple has always generously taken care of our problems for us when we ask politely. Maybe we have gotten very lucky, but being polite was certainly necessary.

 

[Jbenn425]

Thank you for posting this. Reading it encouraged me to try calling Applecare myself. My iPhone 5 was less than a week out of warranty when the rear camera broke. The Apple store couldn't help me, so I gave up and started thinking about what new iPhone to buy. I called Applecare last night after reading this thread, and they sent me right back to the local store for a free replacement phone.

I completely disagree that it is just luck rather than being polite. It is a combination of both. This time, I was very polite and told them I understood it was out of warranty and would just like to know if there was anything a manager could do to help. We've had two iPhones with cracked screens and one dropped in water replaced in the past for free, and once the guy replacing it expressly told me he was doing so because I was polite and didn't lie about it being my own fault. I also got a cracked iPad mini replaced under applecare but without being charged the $50 fee. Apple has always generously taken care of our problems for us when we ask politely. Maybe we have gotten very lucky, but being polite was certainly necessary.

Awesome!!! I'm really glad my thread was able to help someone. And as someone who has worked in customer service, I have to agree with you that it has much more to do with politeness than luck.

 

[1DApple]

Good advice.

Or you can purchase it with an Amex card and still have a warranty in the 2nd year (at no cost) and save yourself the hassle of being nice and uncertainty.

Wow, It's a hassle now to be nice. No wonder the world is in its current state.

 

[Lucille Carter]

Glad you got it all worked out!

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Wow, It's a hassle now to be nice. No wonder the world is in its current state.

You're taking it out of context and forgot the "uncertainty" part. You can be nice and hope they'll replace it as it may not work regardless of how nice you are.

 

[Acronyc]

It also depends what country you're in. I live in Japan and being nice has never worked for getting out of warranty free repairs. Things can be a lot less flexible here and you're unlikely to get anything no matter how nice you are.

 

[akron0488]

Apple does that a ton.

My cousin went into apple with shattered iPhone. The genius bar guy said ****** happens and replaced it.


Doesn't cost them much of anything to do it. Plus the goodwill makes them money in the long run. It's a good policy.

 

[itjw]

Awesome!

*iTJW searches for stories that begin with "I took my Samsung to the Samsung store and got a replacement out of warranty for free"... gives up... smiles and puts his iPhone back in his pocket*

A lot of people totally discount the added value of having a company like Apple behind their "overpriced" gadgets. It's worth a BUNCH.

There is almost no other consumer level product with the same level of service, and NONE that I can think of that replaces more stuff for free even after the warranty is up.

Now if people would just stop ABUSING it...

 

[Jbenn425]

Awesome!

*iTJW searches for stories that begin with "I took my Samsung to the Samsung store and got a replacement out of warranty for free"... gives up... smiles and puts his iPhone back in his pocket*

A lot of people totally discount the added value of having a company like Apple behind their "overpriced" gadgets. It's worth a BUNCH.

There is almost no other consumer level product with the same level of service, and NONE that I can think of that replaces more stuff for free even after the warranty is up.

Now if people would just stop ABUSING it...

Agree 100% And it would happen even more often if anal retentive people didn't ask for a replacement for their slightly tilted home button. I'm sure the Apple employees must be extremely jaded by all the anal/rude customers demanding replacements for stupid things.

 

[Silverbird0000]

Thank you for posting this. Reading it encouraged me to try calling Applecare myself. My iPhone 5 was less than a week out of warranty when the rear camera broke. The Apple store couldn't help me, so I gave up and started thinking about what new iPhone to buy. I called Applecare last night after reading this thread, and they sent me right back to the local store for a free replacement phone.

I completely disagree that it is just luck rather than being polite. It is a combination of both. This time, I was very polite and told them I understood it was out of warranty and would just like to know if there was anything a manager could do to help. We've had two iPhones with cracked screens and one dropped in water replaced in the past for free, and once the guy replacing it expressly told me he was doing so because I was polite and didn't lie about it being my own fault. I also got a cracked iPad mini replaced under applecare but without being charged the $50 fee. Apple has always generously taken care of our problems for us when we ask politely. Maybe we have gotten very lucky, but being polite was certainly necessary.

Two cracked iPhones, one cracked iPad, and a liquid damaged iPhone. How does that much damage happen to one families iDevices?

 

[cambookpro]

Or you could live in the UK, Apple are great at replacing/repairing things outside of AppleCare under EU Consumer rights laws/sales of goods act. There's even a whole section for it on their iPad!

Had a Thunderbolt Display and iPhone 5 replaced after a year, excellent service.

 

[AJAAY]

Thank you for posting this. Reading it encouraged me to try calling Applecare myself. My iPhone 5 was less than a week out of warranty when the rear camera broke. The Apple store couldn't help me, so I gave up and started thinking about what new iPhone to buy. I called Applecare last night after reading this thread, and they sent me right back to the local store for a free replacement phone.

I completely disagree that it is just luck rather than being polite. It is a combination of both. This time, I was very polite and told them I understood it was out of warranty and would just like to know if there was anything a manager could do to help. We've had two iPhones with cracked screens and one dropped in water replaced in the past for free, and once the guy replacing it expressly told me he was doing so because I was polite and didn't lie about it being my own fault. I also got a cracked iPad mini replaced under applecare but without being charged the $50 fee. Apple has always generously taken care of our problems for us when we ask politely. Maybe we have gotten very lucky, but being polite was certainly necessary.

You just proved it's all about luck. It depends on who you deal with at apple rather than your attitude.

You went too Apple twice about your 5. First time no luck. Second time (after reading OPs post) you tried again and got what you wanted. That's luck. And I'm sure you weren't an a** the first time around, you just got a rep you wasn't willing to break protocol.

----------

Awesome!

*iTJW searches for stories that begin with "I took my Samsung to the Samsung store and got a replacement out of warranty for free"... gives up... smiles and puts his iPhone back in his pocket*

A lot of people totally discount the added value of having a company like Apple behind their "overpriced" gadgets. It's worth a BUNCH.

There is almost no other consumer level product with the same level of service, and NONE that I can think of that replaces more stuff for free even after the warranty is up.

Now if people would just stop ABUSING it...

I agree. Apple has done some things for me that has made me a customer for life.

One being I had a two month old MacBook that was having issues, brought it in for repair and was having issues with the apple store handling my repair. Long story short, I contacted apple corporate, got a phone call from them within hours telling me a brand new sealed MacBook was waiting for me at the store with an extra GB of ram for my troubles. I was blown back by that.

 

[Jbenn425]

You just proved it's all about luck. It depends on who you deal with at apple rather than your attitude.

You went too Apple twice about your 5. First time no luck. Second time (after reading OPs post) you tried again and got what you wanted. That's luck. And I'm sure you weren't an a** the first time around, you just got a rep you wasn't willing to break protocol.

No, the first time he went to the store and it didn't work. The second time after reading this thread he called Applecare first and they then sent him to the store to pick up his replacement. Managers at Applecare have much more flexibility to break protocol than anyone in the retail store. This is the reason why I never even bothered wasting the trip to the store before calling first.

 

[AJAAY]

Unless you work or have worked at apple you have no knowledge of who has the authority to break protocol. Your personal experiences as a customer do not represent the procedures set in place internally by the company.

The original point is attitude versus luck. And all boils down to luck. When it comes to having someone willing to break protocol.

 

[harcosparky]

Two cracked iPhones, one cracked iPad, and a liquid damaged iPhone. How does that much damage happen to one families iDevices?

Maybe they are the Bundy Family!

You know, Peg, Al, Bud, and whatshername?

 

[Jbenn425]

You know, Peg, Al, Bud, and whatshername?

Kelly

 

[IpadSC400]

This is great that they treated you nicely. Applecare can be real crappers, but most of the time, they're 150% better than android services.

 

[Looon]

Why say that bit about the S3? How can you speak to how Samsung would deal with a similar situation without having actually tried? They may have been more than wiling to help you too.

 

[itjw]

Why say that bit about the S3? How can you speak to how Samsung would deal with a similar situation without having actually tried? They may have been more than wiling to help you too.

I CAN speak from experience though. A buddy of mine dropped his SGS4 the day he got it (literally within an hour, it was quite sad). He called T-Mobile. No insurance. He called his credit card. No insurance.

So guess who he called next.

No, not the Samsung Store. No, not the Samsung kiosk in Best Buy either...

He called Samsung. After nearly an hour of getting transferred around, he finally got a "supervisor" who flatly told him that Samsung does not cover accidents (of course), and that the replacement costs would likely exceed the cost of a new phone (especially because they just launched) and that he may have better luck with his carrier (which he already tried). After he explains he already tried that they reccomended a few "authorized repair centers" in the US (no nearby of course), and sent him on his way.

I'm NOT saying Samsung has "bad" customer service. Just that for all of the comparisons people make to the iPhone, one thing FREQUENTLY left out is the typical level of service you get with Apple. Not always, but most of the time. And you almost NEVER (I personally haven't) heard of anyone talking about how wonderful Samsung is.

Couple that with the complete lack of brick and mortar stores, and well, if you EVER have a problem with your Samsung, good luck! Apple products though? MOST of the time a quick trip to the store will get you fixed up in no time. Worst case scenario you can STILL pay the "out of warranty" replacement cost and get a new device heavily discounted.

You will not be convincing me that doesn't have value, and you also cannot claim Samsung has anything close. They don't. Apple does.

It's not a knock against Samsung as much as it's a big added value from buying Apple...

They make more customers for life by doing business that way. Good for them