The genius of Apple?

When my son's Ipod Nano stopped working after 14 months I feared the worst; out of guarantee and that's the way it goes with what has come to be just another disposable electronic gadget.


So on Monday 23 February 2009 first stop was the Digital Store in Manchester's Piccadilly. I presented the item to one of the staff who had a cursory look at it and had a quick fiddle declaring that the battery was done and what did I expect after 14 months - but he could replace the battery for £65. I almost hit the roof but kept calm and said that if that was the way Apple treated its customers then they had a problem. He retorted by saying the store was not Apple. As it turned out the store is a third party reseller. I said I'd go to the Apple store in the Arndale Centre but the young man confidently said they would tell me the same.


So off to the Arndale. despite being called 'mate' a couple of times an assistant booked me in for a session with one of Apple's Genius operatives the following day at a time convenient to me.


When I arrived the next day my name and appointment time was on the display above the Genius Bar. A young lady was having her IPhone sorted - which resulted in a no-fuss replacement. This looked hopeful!


Having handed over the Nano my Genius (Dave Johnson) proceeded to undertake some diagnosis of the non-working item. He reached for an instrument that looked very similar to an ear scope and informed me that there was some fluff and chocolate in the ear phone socket and the port. He told me he would be back in a short while as he would pass some compressed air over the item to remove the offending debris. True to his word he was back quickly and then told me he would update the software. Before I knew it, the item was back in full working order.



So well done Apple but you need to keep an eye on your third party sellers who could have done real damage to the brand.