Apple Restores Customer’s iTunes Music, not Movies after Computer Snafu
12:02 pm, November 2nd, 2009, Nicole Martinelli
Nothing like a customer service tale with a mostly happy ending: Nathan switched computers and lost everything he bought from iTunes (music, ringtones, movies) as a result.
So he wrote to Apple (iTunesStoreSupport@apple.com) and they agreed to let him re-download all the music he bought at no extra charge:
I understand the titles you purchased from the iTunes Store with account [redacted] were lost. I know how upsetting that can be. My name is Jesse and I would be more than happy to help you with this today.
Seeing that you have been a loyal customer since September, 2004, the iTunes Store would like to give you the opportunity to re-download (at no charge) all the titles you purchased on this account that are still available. This does not include any item that has been modified or removed from the store since you purchased it. Please note that you may download your purchases only once, so this is an exception. Also note that Apple does not offer protection for the loss of data from your hard disk, so I recommend that you back up your iTunes library as soon as possible…Full email from Apple at Consumerist.
Nathan was also able to re-download ringtones, but not movies though the rep did not provide an explanation for why not.
The reasoning seems to be if you’ve rented a movie and watched it once, that’s all you paid for:
“Any movies you may have rented will not be made available for you to download again. If you rented a movie and were unable to finish watching it, please reply to let me know.”
Movies aside, whoever made it the Apple customer service standard to respond sympathetically (“I know how upsetting that can be”) is an absolute genius.
I recently went eight rounds with Apple, ping-ponged from one 800 line to the next, but was mollified by the non-defensive, sympathetic attitude of reps every time I voiced frustration. (Yeah, it says a lot about me, I know). That and the fact that almost all of them offered to give a direct line and told me to call back and let them know how I got on.
Any other recent Apple customer service tales with a happy ending, or did you not get any satisfaction after a complaint?
Via Consumerist
Posted by Nicole Martinelli in News, iTunes | Comment on this article
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Called Apple when I noticed dust under the digitizer on my iPhone. Rep said that was absolutely covered under warranty and made an appointment at the Genius bar.
I went down to the store and the tech on hand said it was not covered but would replace it regardless. He did and I was happy, until I left and had more time with it. The colours were washed out, he did a poor job putting it in and there was still dust under this new screen.
Upset I called Apple. I spoke with the nicest person alive, seriously. He transferred me to a product specialist. The specialist dug deeper and said the dust is absolutely covered and he would “educate” (his words) this tech on the matter. He booked another appointment for me and gave me his email, requesting I follow up with him after the visit.
Same tech at the Apple store. He read my file and right off, he apologized for the way he dealt with me last time. He said he would replace the screen and if I was unhappy with the colours, etc. he would do it again, and again, until I found a screen I liked.
He did a thorough job this time, I was happy with the new screen, and I sent Ron (product specialist) an email telling him how much I still love Apple.
PS: Years ago, I had a problem with my MBP battery, it was out of warranty. They kicked it up to a supervisor that said he would, this once time, send me a new one. I placed the call at 4pm on Friday. Saturday at noon I get a knock on my door; it was DHL with my new battery. How is that for customer service? I have more terrific tales. Never been left with a bad taste in my mouth…
WS, on November 2nd, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Two of the feet on my 13″ 2008 unibody Macbook fell off.
http://img2.pict.com/e9/2d/74/1899431/0/800/feet.jpg
It’s still covered by AppleCare so I called and asked to have it fixed but was told the feet aren’t covered by AppleCare. I guess they assume that the only way they could be broken is by a deliberate act of silliness, but these seriously just fell off. I get the feeling they’re a bit brittle and cracked.
Anyway, they quoted the standard flat fee of Y45,000JPY (around $499USD) to replace the feet, which I guess would be worth around 2 cents.
The AppleCare lady was as shocked as I was that the feet weren’t covered and that it had to be done at the same rate as any other repair, so she spoke to a director and they said they’ll cover it free.
Now that I’ve written this out, I can see it’s almost completely unrelated to the post, so I’ll shut up…
stupod, on November 2nd, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Glad to see this kind of customer service at Apple is less of an exception and more of the rule!
I have my own tale of good Apple customer service to share – which, for being someone who doesn’t really own that many Apple products, has made me feel a whole lot better about buying more in the future…
So I was far from home on vacation in Hawaii, preparing for a long road trip to Hana, when early in the morning, without any warning, the bottom 1/4 of my touch screen on my iPhone stopped responding to my touch. Just the lower half. Of course, this happens to be where all of the most important applications are located. I thought I was SOL. I had to make do without any real use of my phone for the remainder of the day.
The next day, we flew to Oahu, and thankfully there was an Apple store located there – so I stopped in, fully expecting to be told I’d have to buy a new phone (something I really couldn’t afford after dropping a load of cash on the trip I was on!).
After explaining my plight to the guy at the genius bar, he promptly started plugging away at his computer, searching for info. He explained it wasn’t under warranty anymore. Then proceeded to remind me that I declined to purchase any Apple Care. Then said, “Well, I can’t seem to find the document that’s detailing the issue you’re having, but I’m positive I’ve seen this before, and while it’s not really covered, seeing as how there’s no apparent signs of abuse (I take very good care of my phone) I am going to go ahead and replace the phone for you this time around free of charge.
He then handed me a new one, allowed me to watch as he wiped my old one clean, and I happily took the new phone back to the hotel and resync’d it with my laptop (glad I brought it along!).
He truely saved my ass! I had my entire itinerary, maps, plans, etc. in my phone. Without it, I would have been truely screwed!
That experience really raised my trust in Apple after that, and certainly made me feel much better about expanding my (currently limited) array of Apple products that I own in the future. As of now I am looking forward to picking up a macbook pro in the future, in large part because of the treatment I have received during my dealings with the company. It’s expensive, but I think it’ll be worth it.
Observer, on November 2nd, 2009 at 6:33 pm
I am an IT Manager for a law firm and recently had an attorney bring in an old mac book laptop. It was almost 3 years and he had fortunately bought the 3 year Apple care on the unit. The battery was dead and the unit would not even turn on when the battery was in the unit. I called Apple and they said no problem and overnighted me a brand new battery. The Apple care was scheduled to run out in 2 more months. I was very impressed, as I try this all the time with Dell and they will not do anything for you after the 1st year. This battery in the Apple was well used and should have by all means been considered a consumable part requiring purchasing a new battery by my expectations but Apple took care of it.
John Howell, on November 2nd, 2009 at 11:06 pm
I hate to be right on the bandwagon here but I had the exact same awesome thing happen to me. In the days before I understood the importance of backups (in other words, pre-time machine), I had a hard drive crash and lost a lot of purchased tracks. Although the email I received was pretty much verbatim to the email above, Apple gave me the chance to re-download my purchases with no fight at all.
CPDubbleU (twitter), on November 2nd, 2009 at 11:19 pm
what is interesting is that most of the time the vocal folks on any board are the ones with a complaint about what wasn’t done. so it can seem like a company gives crap service or has crappy products. not just Apple, but any company. but really it is a very vocal perhaps 10% of folks.
Charli, on November 3rd, 2009 at 1:13 pm