andylangager.net

This story about a girl who made a big fuss after a Mac Genius told her she's have to pay to get her computer fixed because it looked like accidental damage has been floating around the 'net the past week or so. It looks like her original blog post has been deleted but you can still read the Google cache.

Long story short, she was denied warranty coverage, made a big deal about it, started gabbing to other customers how Macs are no good and got herself kicked out.

I can understand her frustration, especially if the computer never really was dropped. People make mistakes, even those with titles as lofty as Mac Genius. The genii at my old store were always pretty good at giving people the benefit of the doubt. Many customers don't understand that manufacturer's warranties do not account for any type of accidental damage. Otherwise, you could just drop your computer down the stairs every time you wanted a new one. You are at the mercy of the technician, who is just trying to do their job.

As a Mac Specialist, I always dreaded telling people who brought their non-functional iPods with huge dents in them that they'd have to pay big bucks to get it fixed. For some reason I always felt like it was my fault they had to shell out money to get a new one, even though it was them who ran over it with their car six times. Never underestimate how indignant people can get with these things.

I saw our genii and managers make exceptions that were impressive. It was always to either A) the utmost courteous customer who was polite every step of the way and expected absolutely no special treatment or B) the "I really wouldn't be surprised if this person got violent any second" angry customers who have never heard the word no before. Please do not ever go with B). You have a much better chance of getting your way with A) and a much better chance of getting arrested with B).

So, here is your guide to getting good service, both repair and otherwise in retail, from a former insider (note: this will not work if you are nuts):

• Always be polite. Do not expect any special treatment. If you are dealing with a heartless employee, however, this will not work. They will just be thankful you are being cooperative about the whole thing and will wave as you walk out the door without your problems solved.

• Ask to speak to a manager. Politely explain your situation. It does no good to explain that you are a loyal customer, how far you've driven, or how much money you've spent at the store. They have heard it all before.

• Managers vary WILDLY on how flexible they are on these types of things. Some will be very kind-hearted and want to help you out. Some will be very by-the-book and won't budge no matter what you say. Irritating, I know, but I saw it every day at work. If you are shot down once and you think you still deserve help, it's worth a shot coming back on a day with different employees working. However, if your cover is blown and someone spots you as someone who has tried it before, things could backfire and your situation might be worse-off. If you happen to know any of the employees, ask which manager you should try to talk to.

• Don't necessarily trust the sales people. Some know what they are talking about but others don't. If they tell you the warranty will cover everything but water damage, get a second opinion. If they tell you something that just feels off, get a second opinion. They could very easily be telling you something wrong. I saw this all the time as well. Ask to speak to someone higher up. Often times, the most confident sales people were the ones that were wrong about the policy. The ones who actually have to go ask someone are usually a little more trustworthy because they care enough to walk to the back of the store and ask someone, instead of just going with what they think is right.

• If you are repeatedly denied for help in the store, get the contact info for the next highest person up. Write a snail-mail letter with all the relevant info.

• 1-800-MY-APPLE also works. I don't want to say too much, but the store gets feedback very quickly from phone complaints. Of course, if it's not a legit complaint, it still won't get you very far.

• If they still fail you, don't shop there any more. I never saw anything on the job where I thought, "That customer sure was treated unfairly. I wouldn't shop here again if I were her." On the contrary, I've seen customers placated to a point of being overly generous on behalf of the store, sometimes with no gratitude whatsoever on behalf of the customer. Here are some examples, which may or may not be true:

A customer bought .Mac and thought he was getting iWeb along with it. He called the store. He was on a previous version of iLife and lived about two hours away. The manager mailed him a free copy of iLife '06. Not a word of thanks.

Another customer didn't have enough money for the mouse they were buying. The manager said not to worry about it and to pay for it next time they were nearby and let them walk out with the mouse. Seriously. The guy came back and paid.

These were pretty rare exceptions, and depend a lot on the mood of the employee at the time. If they've had a bad day, forget about it. If you try to pull something by citing one of these cases, then you can definitely forget about it. "But you did it for this person" will never work. A rain dance would be just as effective.

All in all, you can get your way, but it mostly depends on who you happen to talk to.

Posted by alangage at October 5, 2007 07:37 PM

Comments

Posted by: siskow at October 8, 2007 03:46 PM

Posted by: SEAN'S DAD at October 8, 2007 06:33 PM

Posted by: siskow at October 9, 2007 04:02 PM

Posted by: Cody at October 9, 2007 08:20 PM

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