New Delhi: The craze around Apple iPhones is hard to ignore. The tech giant recently unveiled its newer iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, which achieved record sales in first weekend of launch, along with a really tempting Apple Upgrade Program for those who want to upgrade to newer iPhones every year they are released.
They say the experience of even visiting an Apple Store is exquisite; VIP treatment to those who have prior appointments to purchase something and an almost equal, polite welcome to those who come just to see the magic dust glowing on the Apple devices.
Willing to utilise the upgrade program along with purchasing the new iPhone 6s Plus, ZDNet's David Gewirtz, made an appointment for an Orlando store, going by the rule book, and took the hour and half drive from his home with hopeful eyes to lay his hands on the 128 GB Apple beauty.
While the drive to the store wasn’t as tedious, what followed once he and his wife reached the store shall stay with them every year a new iPhone is introduced, just like the Apple Upgrade Program.
A crazy 82 dB noise-filled, poorly-designed store at the Florida Mall, a buggy transaction device, undecipherable policies, unclear buying guidelines, and more than patient Apple Store employees, Gewirtz undoubtedly had the most horrible experience of his life just to buy a smartphone.
At first, the unlocked, Sprint iPhone 6s Plus devices refused to set up an account based on the PO Box address. Even after trying for over an hour, the Sprint servers just did not budge to register Gewirtz. Seeing Verizon as the alternative, he decided to switch to the other provider.
What followed must have put off any other customer, but Gewirtz still hoped for some miracle. Their Apple representative, Brian, told them that since they had asked for a Sprint device while making an appointment, they couldn’t be offered any Verizon device. After a good two and a half hours at the store, Brian told them about a secret inventory, for situations like these, where spare phones with other carriers could be found.
After all this, the couple agreed to opt for Verizon, but had to compromise on the colour choice; a Gold variant for his wife and the earlier-desired Silver for himself.
Now, came the time for the Apple Upgrade Program. Another room of fire that Gewirtz had to run through, thanks to his PO Box address.
Gewirtz warns in his blog for ZDNet, “if you want this (Apple Upgrade Program) specific program, you must-must-must show up at an actual retail store,” and this, even if you have a prior appointment doesn’t necessarily mean a private, hassle-free process.
He had to actually get his address changed by calling up the bank, standing right in the middle of the store, buzzing with noisy customers. The application process was reinitiated and the Apple Upgrade Program was approved.
Explaining his horrible experience at the store, Gewirtz recalls how initially the devices failed to accept his address and later the policies were unclear about whether a PO Box address (public-facing address) or the street address is acceptable for the program. Despite coming geared with all the documents required for the purchase, he double checked the Apple website for details, Gewirtz could not get the phone of his choice.
The turmoil finally ended for the Gewirtz couple 3 hours and 58 minutes later and they tiredly walked out of the Apple Store, with two iPhone 6s Plus devices; perhaps staring blankly at them and wondering the value of the devices. Suddenly, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 seemed a better choice, but it was too late, their patience had already been tested. The only good part about the experience was their representative, Brian, who stood by them throughout the battle.
And we thought an appointment-based iPhone purchase was a smooth ride.
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