Apple has been getting pounded by the Chinese press lately for its warranty policies service and not talking to the press whenever they want a statement (welcome to Apple news my friends). Hoping to end the onslaught from the government-supported press, Apple issued an apology letter to Chinese customers signed by Tim Cook.
The letter, which was written in Chinese and posted to Apple’s website, said that Tim Cook and the rest of the company have been reflecting on the feedback regarding its warranty policies and apologizes the poor communication that has made customers so angry.
In the letter Cook states:
“We are aware that a lack of communications…led to the perception Apple’s attitude was arrogant and that we do not care and attach importance to consumer feedback. We express our sincere apologies for any concerns or misunderstandings this gave consumers.”
According to Cook’s letter, Apple has changed its warranty policy so that a repaired iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S will be covered under warranty for one year after it’s been repaired. Apple also says it will replace any broken iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S with a new phone rather than replacing all the parts.
China’s warranty laws require companies to issue a full one year extension on replaced products, but Apple has only been offering a 90-day warranty on replaced parts. Cook says Apple has pledged to educate the company’s resellers so that warranties are honored appropriately.
Source: WSJ
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
5 responses to “Tim Cook Publishes Letter Apologizing To Chinese Customers For Warranty Policies”
Jobs would never cave in like this. Now China will bully them forever.
This is a brilliant PR move on Apple’s part. China is attempting to cast Apple in a bad light in retaliation to the US denying 2 Chinese companies’ products into the US (because of alleged spying capabilities). The apology by Tim and the change in warranty policies to align with Chinese standards is EXACTLY the right action, because now the Chinese government has nothing to kick about — at least until they invent something else to say about Apple. The apology and warranty change defuses the whole situation and costs Apple only a small part of its HUGE profits from iPhone sales in China. Tim has handled this beautifully, and I’m even more impressed with him with the speed of handling the situation.
This looks like more than a PR move to me. If the rules are 1 year warranty on replaced parts, then Apple needs to warranty parts replaced for 1 year, not 90 days. That’s black and white and you naysayers can spin that to next Wednesday if you want. Also, I’m surprised Apple would simply replace parts rather than give the customer a new iPhone like they would in the United States. Seems like they really were cheaping out on the Chinese people. Some of these grievances by the government may have been justified after all.
Its a very clever way to undermine the Communist Government over there and their underhanded tactics towards a great company. Nice one Apple!
iApologize. Cook’s new innovation at Apple. A new product line called “iApologize”. Whining is the new CEO’s best quality I guess. The old Chinese have an old saying “do what is right in the beginning”.