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Monday 13 May 2019

Going around in circles ... but getting there in the end!

I own and use an iPhone 8 ... and late Friday on evening it ended up hitting the Tarmac surface of a car park, screen-side down.

I had been to a Masonic meeting in Watford, and as I was getting into my car, the iPhone - which was in my coat pocket - slipped out of its protective case and hit the ground. There was an unpleasant sounding 'crack', and when I picked it up, there were crack lines from one edge of the screen radiating outwards.

I was not happy, and may well have used a few words that are not repeatable in polite company. I drove home, and on Saturday I searched and found the details of the insurance policy I took out just for this sort of eventuality. The covering letter with the policy gave me a 'phone number to ring to register my claim. I did so, and after selecting several options from the automatic telephone answering system, I was informed that a text message would be sent to me.

I opened the text message ... and it directed me to a website.

I visited the website using the link in the text message, and after logging on and going through a whole load of online options, I was given a telephone number to ring ... the same one I had wrung several minutes beforehand!

Despairing of trying to use an automated 'help' system that seemed to have been designed to do anything except 'help', I decided to go to the Bluewater branch of the iPhone service provider in the hope that I could talk to a real person.

Sue and I went to the retailer (Vodafone) on Sunday morning, and explained what had happened to the young assistant who greeted us at the entrance of the shop. She told us that we had to register a claim with the insurers before they could do anything. In reply to my 'But I've already tried doing that!', she used my iPhone to contact the insurance hotline on a number that the general public aren't usually made aware of! I explained the situation to the 'adviser' at the other end of the telephone call ... and they informed me that as I had AppleCare as part of my insurance cover, I could either:
  1. Hand the phone to the retailer, who would send it off to be repaired
  2. Take the iPhone to the nearest Apple shop, and let them decide whether or not to repair the iPhone or give me a new one
As the former option had a £75.00 excess and the latter only had a £25.00 excess, I chose the latter.

Within five minutes, Sue and I had walked to the nearby branch of Apple and were in the short queue at the entrance. The 'meeter and greeter' we spoke to took a look at the iPhone, said that she thought that the damage looked worse than it actually was, and then passed us on to an assistant who took a much more detailed look at the 'phone's screen. The conversation then went something like this:
'You've got a toughened glass screen protector on this, haven't you?'

'Yes! Hasn't everyone?'

'No, they usually don't bother. In your case it's the screen protector that has cracked, not the screen itself. I'll remove the screen protector to check, but I'm sure that is the only damage.'
The assistant carefully removed the screen protector ... and as soon as she did, it was apparent that the iPhone itself was undamaged. I thanked her for her help, and Sue and I then left the Apple store to do some shopping, during which I visited one of the small mobile phone accessory kiosks to have a new toughened glass screen protector fitted to my iPhone. It only cost me £15.00 ... which is a lot less than the excess I would have had to pay if the 'phone had needed to be repaired or replaced. I also bought a new protective case, as the original one I had purchased had not done a very good job. After all, the damage to the iPhone had happened when the 'phone slipped out of the protective case, something that should not have occurred.

There is an interesting aside to this story. All of the people I dealt with face-to-face whilst sorting this problem out were female, a point that Sue made after we had returned home. In retrospect, it struck me that at no point was I spoken down to, a problem I have had with some male assistants in technology retailers, who think that they know what you want, even before they have listened to you explain what you need! They had all listened to what I had to say before telling me what was wrong. They were assistants who actually assisted, which is something of a rarity in this day and age.

10 comments:

  1. Good news Bob, those glass screen protectors are well worth having (I have one, although it too is currently cracked from a drop!). They can save a lot of money. It's nice to read of good old fashioned customer service too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 'Lee,

      It was my wife who suggested that I ought to have the toughened glass screen protector rather than a normal plastic one. The original one certainly paid for itself over the past few days, and I am recommending them to anyone who has yet to have one fixed.

      I was very pleased by the level of courtesy and customer service we received. All too often these days, it can be the exception rather than the rule. Mind you, having worked in a shop many, many years ago, I know from personal experience that it is much easier to deal with polite and pleasant customers than rude and arrogant ones. The latter are also more prevalent these days, which may well account for the level of service they are often met with.

      'As you sow, so may you reap' seems to be as true today as it was when those words were originally written!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. So, to recap, in order to report a claim on your phone, you must dial a phone number, which, in turn, generates a text message that is sent to your (wait for it)...phone, that thing that isn't working the first place. The assumptions behind processes are making it progressively more difficult to opt out of the "smart phone" syndrome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ed M,

      Yep, that pretty well sums it up!

      It is surpassed by the idiocy of our internet/land line provider, who expects you to use your internet or ‘phone to notify them if there is a problem. We lost both for nearly four days some time ago, and I had to use my iPhone to inform them. When the service was restored, I complained and asked for compensation. Eight weeks later I was telephoned and offered £10.00 compensation ... for the lateness in dealing with my complaint! The latter is still ‘being investigated’. I’m not sure why it needs to be investigated because almost every home in our area suffered the loss of service.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. Hi Bob,
    Your very lucky the Phone itself wasn't damaged- and to obtain a replacement Protector Screen for 15GPB is very good indeed. It seems that with technology to-day to get help over the Phone to solve a problem can be fraught with confusion, frustration and time wasting from the Phone Service/Provider- their system for 'help'- which should be as smooth as silk for their customers isn't so good nor foolproof. Certainly I dread anything going wrong with my Computer- fortunately I have a Professional Tech Friend who's occupation is all to do with Industrial, Commercial and Home Systems - his knowledge is outstanding...though at a price...but well worth it- 'Red' can solve anything. Regards. KEV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kev Robertson (Kev),

      It was lucky that my iPhone wasn't badly damaged ... and that was thanks to my wife's suggestion that I have the toughened glass screen protector.

      So-called customer help lines are too often far from being of any useful assistance whatsoever ... and when they are automated as well, they can become a nighmare-like electronic labyrinth that leads the user round and round, spending money on a tediously long telephone call that is being charged at premium rate.

      If you have a handy technician who can sort out your computer problems, you are extremely lucky, and I am extremely envious!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. Glad you got it sorted Bob- I will recommend to you a Tech21 case, I've got one for my Samsung and it has protected it from many falls over the years. I even stood on it (all 19st of me) and it was fine. I'm due a new phone soon to replace my 5 year old one and I'll be getting a similar case for it again.

    Cheers,

    Pete.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peter.,

      Thanks for the tip. I'll have a look at the range of Tech21 cases to see if there is a suitable one that I can use.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. Geordie an Exile FoG,

      What I wanted was help and understanding ... and that is what I got. I somehow suspect that I would not have received the same level of help from an all-male group of assistants.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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