An (almost) happy ending to my Apple story

Posted May 18th 2005 2:05PM by Marc Orchant

Based on some excellent advice from Jan in a comment to my post last night about the horrific experience I had trying to buy an iPod for one of my customers in Norway, I contacted Apple Customer Relations and spoke with a representative named Dan. I explained the situation to him and he immediately opened my order which is being processed by the Apple Norway store. He was prepared to correct the quantity (I ordered one, they made the order for two) and resolve the situation for me.

Bad news: The order has already shipped.

Good news: My customer in Norway now has an extra iPod he can give to a family member or friend. I am not about to ask a customer to send something back to me internationally. There's no reason to create a hassle for him.

Best news: Dan was a real pro - he was patient, understanding, and empathetic. He agreed with me that the situation was mishandled at every turn yesterday. I asked him why not one of the people I spoke with had the idea to give me the number of Apple Customer Relations yesterday when I still could have intercepted and changed the order. He had no good answer but promised to follow up on the situation to try to improve their internal process. He also agreed to make sure I received documentation for that purchase (which I still haven't received from Apple Norway).

Dan thanked me for calling the situation to his department's attention. He suggested that feedback like this was the only way they could know there was a problem and take action to address it. I suggested that a prominent link to Apple Customer Relations on the Apple Store FAQ might be a good idea. He agreed and said he would pass that suggestion along. He also agreed that it was crazy for an Apple employee to give me a number in Europe that cannot be dialed from the US.

In other words, Dan did everything right. He took care of the customer to the best of his ability. He couldn't completely fix the problem but he expressed a genuine desire to try.

Should you have an issue with a phone or online purchase experience with Apple, call the Customer Relations department at (800) 767-2775. They exhibit the can-do attitude I've always encountered from the company in the past and that still exists, at least in this group.

Reader Comments

(Page 1)

1. Unfortunately I had a similar rant yesterday on jkOnTheRun about a piece of business software that wouldn't activate due to a database error on their system. In my case the company noticed the morning post on my blog and before I even had time to notify customer support they emailed me promising a solution, which they provided this morning. It shows how correct Scoble is in his many statements that companies must be searching the web for negative comments about their products. A proactive approach like the company I dealt with can turn a very negative situation into a very satisfying one. Glad you had a happy ending, Marc.

Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by James Kendrick

2. Dan did a good job, to be sure. But one guy doesn't make Apple good at customer service. Their system is broke. You have to have a good system because there aren't enough Dan's to hire.

My auto insurance is through USAA. When I call them, whoever answers can help me. It doesn't matter what the question is, there's absolutely no "you have to call such-and-such department". I know they just didn't happen to hire 100 good people. They have a good system. That's what Apple (and a lot of other companies) needs.

If you're going to have a broken system, it's good to have guys like Dan around. Somebody needs to promote him to be in charge of fixing the system.

Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Dick

3. The only thing I could see this Dan doing to make Apple shine even better would be to offer to refund the $99 for the extra iPod on that order. They can certainly afford to eat the cost to make a customer happy.

The rest of what he said was absolutly the correct things to say. Whether he actually does any of the things he said he would is to be seen. But he said the right words.

Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Dave M.

4. Unfortunately I had a similar rant yesterday on jkOnTheRun about a piece of business software that wouldn't activate due to a database error on their system. In my case the company noticed the morning post on my blog and before I even had time to notify customer support they emailed me promising a solution, which they provided this morning. It shows how correct Scoble is in his many statements that companies must be searching the web for negative comments about their products. A proactive approach like the company I dealt with can turn a very negative situation into a very satisfying one. Glad you had a happy ending, Marc.

Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by James Kendrick

5. Dan did a good job, to be sure. But one guy doesn't make Apple good at customer service. Their system is broke. You have to have a good system because there aren't enough Dan's to hire.

My auto insurance is through USAA. When I call them, whoever answers can help me. It doesn't matter what the question is, there's absolutely no "you have to call such-and-such department". I know they just didn't happen to hire 100 good people. They have a good system. That's what Apple (and a lot of other companies) needs.

If you're going to have a broken system, it's good to have guys like Dan around. Somebody needs to promote him to be in charge of fixing the system.

Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Dick

6. The only thing I could see this Dan doing to make Apple shine even better would be to offer to refund the $99 for the extra iPod on that order. They can certainly afford to eat the cost to make a customer happy.

The rest of what he said was absolutly the correct things to say. Whether he actually does any of the things he said he would is to be seen. But he said the right words.

Posted at 6:20AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Dave M.

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