March 29th, 2007 by 
Christopher Thompson Never Succumb to the Lethargy of Ethics in Customer Service
Case in point. As many of you may remember I had the great previous misfortune of doing business with an Authorized Apple Reseller in the picturesque Midwest. The city, though not small, was far from metropolitan. You might assume values of the highest standard to be rampant throughout all of servicedom in this city. In fact, based on what many have been told about the Midwest, you might assume that the sincerest form of morality and ethics were practiced by all businesses. Let us see if this is the truth.
A Little History
Previously, I made mention of receiving several defective units from Apple. The first unit I received gave off a most unsavory odor with several stuck pixels adorning the display. The longer the unit was in my possession the more yellow the left side of the display became and the stronger the odor. A call to AppleCare and we were on our way to having the problem solved. Or so I thought. The clerk at the Authorized Apple Reseller, which shall remain unnamed, recorded the pertinent information, gave me a general ETA, and away I went.
Having waited the general length of time, I called the shop to inquire about the repair. I was told the display and its housing had been replaced and I was transferred to the technician who had completed the repairs. When I inquired of the technician about the source of the strong odor emanating from the machine, he informed me that there was in fact a strong odor. However, he was more than adamant in assuring me it was cigarette smoke. This should come as a great surprise as (1.) I do not smoke, (2.) the unit was kept in a clean environment, (3.) the outside of the case was pristine white and crystal clear.
The technician further informed me that he had asked for a second opinion from one of the other technicians and that said technician concurred. Again, I point out the lack of any sign of smoke on the outside of the case. I jokingly asked, “What did I do, pipe the smoke in?” At which point he assured me there was nothing wrong and to come in an pick it up.
I picked it up and utilized throughout the day. That night, or the night after, is when the trouble occurred. As I sat working, feeling dizzy, nauseous, with a dry throat I began to feel the air get heavy around me. As I backed away from the computer, pulling myself away from my work, I looked up. The unit had been emitting a haze of sorts, apparently for some time. (I would later find out the unit had been smoking.) I could see the wall behind the unit rippling as if I was sitting in front of a vehicle on a hot day. I quickly threw open the windows and opened the doors to ventilate the room. Within seconds the unit was powered down. I immediately called AppleCare and left a message with the representative who had authorized the initial repair. That incident became one close call with my health at risk and possible stint in the hospital. If I had passed out and awoken in a hospital you can rest assured there would have been lawsuits all around. Any reasonable business would assume as much. Fortunately for the Authorized Apple Reseller I’m not prone to filing lawsuits.
Beginning of the End
The next day an official report was filed on the unit through AppleCare and a replacement unit was prepared for shipment.
At this point, a series of events occurred having to do directly with Apple, but that is another story. Three units later I finally had a halfway decent unit after the fans had been replaced.
Let us finally return to the point of this story - lethargy and unethical behavior. By this time I had filed a report with Apple against the supposedly professional and very experienced technician that had diagnosed the unit with emphysema.
Fast forward 4 months. I was fully prepared to purchase several products to replace hardware that needed to be retired - an amount to the tune of $5,000. A small sum when you’re in the design business, but a sum worthy of any consumer and the store with which any consumer would do business. I was informed by the owner that, “We would prefer you do all of your purchasing and repairs through Apple.” Not to put too fine a point on it, they didn’t want me to spend my money at their store due to the trouble I had caused them by filing a complaint with Apple. I will not apologize for this. A technician that doesn’t know the difference between a unit with a bad case of cigarette smoke and one whose parts are frying doesn’t need to be a technician and should have his license revoked unconditionally. Especially when Apple doesn’t ship desktop units in for repair. Although ordering custom-built units is much simpler through Apple. An even better solution would be for Apple to build an Apple Store here.
This finally brings me to the question of ethics. There isn’t another Authorized Apple Reseller for about 300 miles and these two stores are owned by the same person. In this city of over 60,000 people, a city that grapples everyday to retain the trappings of a much smaller town, even going so far as to revert to black and white patrol cars a few years back, the Apple market is so small as to allow a single store to have a monopoly and treat their customers any way they so desire.
I really don’t understand why I’m complaining about this one incident. It is symptomatic of 80% of the professional interactions I have had while conducting business in this city. From what I have learned from other citizens, my experience matches theirs to a perfect “T.”
What Do You Think?
So, gentle readers, have you had similar experiences from Authorized Apple Resellers who have a monopoly in your area? Have you had to wrestle with other businesses just to get the smallest of tasks completed. Do you feel my opinion is too far to the Left or the Right? Let us know. Oh, and there’s one more thing. I think I should launch a new business here and boldly place the slogan across the building. The slogan would read - “We never do anything half ass - especially customer service.”
