Apple Nightmare

So one of my families iPhones has been acting up. No big suprise given it is a new technology (and an apple product - CRASH DIFFERENT ;) So we take it up to the local apple store... Big mistake. I had heard tales of the horrors of the Apple store but had never personally experienced until now.

As we entered the fruit lovers paradise we were greeted by no one. After 10 minutes of standing in what seemed to be the line we realized that the idea of a customer service line was just one more fully functional standard Apple felt it must reinvent.

We soon realized that in the Apple store world it was necessary to stalk busy clerks until they were for a split second freed from one customer and then attacked by the next. Now that we had reeled in our apple "genius" we asked what we had come to ask. It was no suprise when our clerk us no idea why the phones battery would not stay charged( clearly a bad battery). The apple associates, refusing to believe their beloved company could produce a malfunctioning part, argued out irrational theories. It was 15 minutes later that they put their racked their brains of apple intelligence (if there is such a thing)together they came to the conclusion of ... A bad battery!

However the long and irritating journey was not over yet. To a desk we went. I was informed that the station's mac book had locked up. Not unexpected but annoying just the same. Surprisingly it took only 1 more mac and 15 more minutes to finish what should have been a 10 minute ordeal in the first place. Total time spent in the midst of greatness: Over an hour.

That last sentence really sums up the apple store and apple in general. Pretty on the outside, but slow and unproductive on the inside.

What the apple store is supposed to look like:

What the apple store is actually like:

Apple - iPhone - Store Credit

This is finally available. Here is the quote from Apple's own website:

If you bought your iPhone before August 22, you may be eligible for an instant $100 electronic credit toward the purchase of products at the Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. See the terms and conditions below for more details.

To receive your credit, follow these three easy steps.

Step 1: Identify your iPhone

To confirm eligibility, simply enter your phone number and iPhone serial number in the fields provided.

Step 2: Enter your access code

You will receive an SMS text message on your iPhone containing the access code to redeem your $100 credit. Enter your phone number and your access code in the fields provided to generate an electronic store credit.

Step 3: Get your $100 Apple Store credit

You will receive a $100 electronic store credit to purchase products at the Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store.

The link to "get started' is here. I personally going to hold off until some better head phones are release before I redeem mine.