Cracked the ipad screen, got a free replacement from the apple store

[gajendran.sundaramurthy]

Dear All, we are not very lucky in India to get such replacements. Post Steve's departure, think no one is bothered on customer service. We even called Apple service centre for such accidental damage. Ipad is in working condition, except for the damage on the front screen. no replacements, no exchanges - in fact, I was asked to pay more price than the original one for replacement.

 

[leelai]

Hi and Welcome to the Forum!

I'm sorry to hear of your experience with the Apple store there. It is a courtesy only and I have heard that some stores do not do it at all. I cannot see how they can charge you more than you originally paid for your iPad though, that is just wrong.

The IPad Forum is a Community of members from all walks of life and from all over the world coming together to share our experiences and to help each other learn about this wonderful piece of technology the IPad.
There is a wealth of information already here in the many threads we have so doing some searches will answer most of the questions that you have. If then you can't find the answer you are seeking, then by all means post your question. You will find many friendly and informed members here only too willing to help you.

We also have our own App - Discussion Forum for IPad Users It is a very simple app to navigate.
Reading the iPad Manuals is a great place to start, so please download a copy of these http://www.support.apple.com/manuals/ipad/
A very informative thread from which you will learn many tips and shortcuts for the iPad
http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-general-discussions/21590-tips-tricks-those-us-who-dont-know.html
We have rules like any Community so please read these also
http://www.ipadforums.net/forum-rul...um-rules-everybody-please-read.html#post14697

Once again we welcome you here and are so pleased you have joined us. Enjoy!!

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[lollardo]

No such luck at Covent Garden or Bluewater in the UK. Bought my iPad 2 August 2011; dropped it last Friday and the glass cracked. No other damage and still working to touch and so on. Apple wanted £200.00 plus VAT to replace/repair, no allternatives. I can't afford this, so said no. Just have to risk cuts to fingers. Bit sad.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Try another Store. Don't give up...several Members in the UK have had their screens repaired for free. Remember, too, that many/most Apple Store front personnel don't know about this policy, so you might need to ask - politely and humbly - to speak to a Manager.

Tim

 

[Gabriel1]

No such luck at Covent Garden or Bluewater in the UK. Bought my iPad 2 August 2011; dropped it last Friday and the glass cracked. No other damage and still working to touch and so on. Apple wanted £200.00 plus VAT to replace/repair, no allternatives. I can't afford this, so said no. Just have to risk cuts to fingers. Bit sad.

As Tim said, give it another try, there are a number of other Apple Stores in and around London including Regents Street and Stratford.

The Archangel

 

[FaithKeeper]

I bought my iPad from Dubai, UAE. We travelled to the US immediately after. We had a day's stay in Scottsdale, AZ where our 2 yr old dropped the iPad from the second floor balcony of the hotel we stayed at. We were absolutely clueless as to how to fix the problem and really upset because we had been saving all our vacation pics on the iPad with no backup. Luckily the iPad still worked! However, the screen was shattered and the back bent out of shape.

We took it to the scottsdale store the next morning where the guy goes like "I think that's just adorable, obviously she had no idea what she was doing so we will give you a free replacement!" we were thrilled with such service. We explained our problem with the pics and no access to any computer to back them up on, so he's like do the backup tonight I will enter the info onto our database and give you some paperwork to take to any Apple store where they will replace it.

We drove like crazy to Orange County which was our next stop and used a friend's pc to backup our pics and the next morning we went to the Mission Viejo store. There we met a Genius who was racist and thoroughly ill bred. He flat out refused said the guy at the Scottsdale store "obviously does not take his job seriously and this is ridiculous blah blah" making us feel like we were committing a crime. We asked him to call the store and talk to the guy which he refused to do. He said the paper we took was useless and fraudulent. He said that'll be $350 and that's final.

We called the Scottsdale store where the guy on the line said 'we don't replace iPads for free but since you have that commitment from our employee come back here or try another store' he also said that we should complain about the guy at Mission which we couldn't as he had hidden his ID tag. Half prepared to drive back to Phoenix, we thought a last attempt at another store may work. We then went to the Apple store at Irvine Spectrum, spoke to another Genius told him our entire story and out he comes with a free replacement iPad. He did say it's unusual for us to do so but based on your case notes I know you're telling me the truth so here you go and we do sincerely apologize for any rude behavior. I asked just by the way, did the guy in Scottsdale actually write anything in your database? He's like of course he did therefore the replacement. So the Mission guy was being a royal bleep. Anyway, thats our story and happily we have a new iPad and all our vacation pictures as well!!!

Same thing happened with my 5 year old while she was taking pictures a couple months back. We've tried to use it while cracked because we can't afford a repair right now, but it has gotten worse and worse and it's unusable right now.

So I work down in Chandler, AZ so I setup an appointment with the Genius Bar at the San Tan Village and the Genius there said he saw this thread and he used to do this but last week Apple came down on all stores for doing this and they were told they can't do it anymore (and he got in trouble). He said he's sorry and wishes he could, but the best he could do was offer 50% off a new iPad or refer me to a repair service.

Is it worth the 30 minute trip to North Scottsdale to try at the Apple store there, or is this something that just can't happen anymore ()?

 

[Mad_Maru]

No such luck at Covent Garden or Bluewater in the UK. Bought my iPad 2 August 2011; dropped it last Friday and the glass cracked. No other damage and still working to touch and so on. Apple wanted £200.00 plus VAT to replace/repair, no allternatives. I can't afford this, so said no. Just have to risk cuts to fingers. Bit sad.

I never tried any of those stores I went straight to the Lakeside store as they had a genius appointment the same afternoon that was more convenient for me.

I think the stores in question only offer this replacement with items they have had returned or reconditioned and have currently in the back room. So if they have repaired one etc it's held for exchange purposes as they cannot sell it as new despite repairing it.

Guess its the luck of the draw and if the store has faulty repaired stock to offer?


Sent from my  iPhone® using Tapatalk

 

[col.bris]

Apple service has not changed

Dear All, we are not very lucky in India to get such replacements. Post Steve's departure, think no one is bothered on customer service. We even called Apple service centre for such accidental damage. Ipad is in working condition, except for the damage on the front screen. no replacements, no exchanges - in fact, I was asked to pay more price than the original one for replacement.

Steve's death has nothing to do with the service you received. It is Apples decision to replace or charge.. Why do you expect any retailer to replace something you damaged.

 

[sarahhassan]

Same thing happened with my 5 year old while she was taking pictures a couple months back. We've tried to use it while cracked because we can't afford a repair right now, but it has gotten worse and worse and it's unusable right now.

So I work down in Chandler, AZ so I setup an appointment with the Genius Bar at the San Tan Village and the Genius there said he saw this thread and he used to do this but last week Apple came down on all stores for doing this and they were told they can't do it anymore (and he got in trouble). He said he's sorry and wishes he could, but the best he could do was offer 50% off a new iPad or refer me to a repair service.

Is it worth the 30 minute trip to North Scottsdale to try at the Apple store there, or is this something that just can't happen anymore ()?

As we were visiting the US I really can't say anything about whether this happens regularly at any given store. However, of the 3 apple stores I did visit the people at the Scottsdale one seemed the nicest and most cordial. That I felt even before our appointment as the other staff members were trying to help us find a way to backup our info etc. I dunno if Californians have a different approach towards CS, but although largely polite (sans the horrible Genius at the Mission Viejo store) they did seem less warm- maybe its all in my head.

 

[lollardo]

Try another Store. Don't give up...several Members in the UK have had their screens repaired for free. Remember, too, that many/most Apple Store front personnel don't know about this policy, so you might need to ask - politely and humbly - to speak to a Manager.

Tim

Tried Covent Garden and Westfield Stratford City - same response - 200.00 plus VAT. Went back to Bluewater. And was appropriately polite and humble. No deal. 200.00 or no replacement. In the end I had to agree as I had cut myself on the broken screen; bill was 239.57. Later that afternoon, the screen froze as I was trying to restore my backup from my PC. Back to Bluewater. Asked to see the manager and she did a soft reset on the replacement machine. I pointed out that I had just paid serious money for this, and she graciously offered me a 25.00 iTunes voucher "for my trouble". She was charming and personable, but unbending in her conviction that there was nothing else that the store could do. I graciously accepted the voucher and retired home to lick my wounds. So there you have it- in effect over 700.00 for my iPad 2. Apple have it all stitched up don't they?

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

So maybe there really is a change in policy over this...

What a pity because it generated so much good publicity and good feeling for Apple.

Very short-sighted if they have changed this.

Tim

 

[DragosaniBOB]

Yesterday morning my iPad2 fell from my truck when I opened the door and landed on the pavement face-down. All four courners were shattered, and spider cracks crisscrossed the screen.

I made an appointment at the Genius Bar at the store here in Houston near me. I had read this thread prior to scheduling an appointment, so my expectations were low.

When I showed up, I kept the broken unit in my bag and told no one what I was there for. When My time came, they came to me and asked how they could help me. Looking properly distraught, I shhepishly pulled out my poor iPad and showed her, and asked what my options were.

She took it, looked at it, looked up how long I had it (65 days, according to their records, and I had purchased it with Apple credit directly from them) and told me she would take it in the back and she would see what she could do. A few minutes later she came out and told me that my warranty doesn't cover this, and that normally I would have to pay $270 for repairs and replacement... but..they would replace it just this once for nothing. She then produced a brand-new unit, still in the plastic, and set it up for me and updated it right then and there. I signed my name and that was that. She even mentioned that they could save the engraving if I could wait to have it mailed off for six weeks.

It did seem that the unit was only in the plastic, but not the packaging, which tells me that these units are fleet units reserved for the emploees. My unit also was the low-end model (16GB WiFi), which is probably what they use for the fleet units.

There was an over-all feeling of "this is not something we do all the time", and I think it still depends on whether you walk into the store with an appointment, if you come in with a sense of expectation, and if the particular agent/manager combo you get are intrested in helping you, or just there for a paycheck. I did get the impression that this is something that the employees have to stick thier neck out the tiniest bit for, so they may be cautious about replacing a unit at all. It may also have to do with how many they have already replaced in the last few months, and if they are alloted any more for a given period.

Having worked in IT since the mid 90's, I can tell you that this kind of service is unheard of. I have vendors I worked with for years, some of which I consider personal friends that wouldn't replace a unit due to accidental damage for free. I went to a Sony store to try and get a brand new Viao laptop replaced that was dropped, and they wanted 800 bucks to repair it, and that thing was three weeks old!That free replacements happen at all is amazing.

So to sum up, the dream is still alive.

 

[leelai]

Hi and Welcome to the Forum!

Thank you for sharing your story with us. I believe your insight on being distraught and not to expect it is also the way to go. This will give others hope!

The IPad Forum is a Community of members from all walks of life and from all over the world coming together to share our experiences and to help each other learn about this wonderful piece of technology the IPad.
There is a wealth of information already here in the many threads we have so doing some searches will answer most of the questions that you have. If then you can't find the answer you are seeking, then by all means post your question. You will find many friendly and informed members here only too willing to help you.

We also have our own App - Discussion Forum for IPad Users It is a very simple app to navigate.
Reading the iPad Manuals is a great place to start, so please download a copy of these http://www.support.apple.com/manuals/ipad/
A very informative thread from which you will learn many tips and shortcuts for the iPad
http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-general-discussions/21590-tips-tricks-those-us-who-dont-know.html
We have rules like any Community so please read these also
http://www.ipadforums.net/forum-rul...um-rules-everybody-please-read.html#post14697

Once again we welcome you here and are so pleased you have joined us. Enjoy!!

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[Denibeth]

I just cracked mine that I have only had since August!!! I called a store 5 hrs away to see what I could do about it - $279 will get it fixed...there isn't an Apple store near me so I couldn't make an appointment right now, not to mention so close to Christmas.

THEN I read that they might do it for free....wonder if there is a note on my account now that I called about my screen?
Grrrrrr....

 

[Mahirali]

This is good.I have entirely different experience. Apple support is one of the worst I have come across. My IPad2 64GB 3G bought recently. The front screen cracked. I checked on-line and encouraged by your threads. I have booked an appointment over the phone. The gemtleman was so nice & helpful. He advised that the nearest store is about 65 miles from I live and he booked me an appointment. I told him what was the problem, he said this can well be sorted out on the spot within 10 minutes! He did not mention any charges. After waisting all day travel from North Wales to Manchester (total 155 miles travel), only to be disappointed by the worst ever store (Apple in Trafford Centre - Manchester). They have very bad people, who treated me very rudly and badly. After waiting considerable time, they asked me to book another appointment to replace the front glass of the iPad with a cost of £350 !!!!! Is this not a a reubesh care from Apple. I have iPhone 4 and was planning to buy an I mac 27 inch for over £1650 from Manchester today, but after their treament, desided not to do so. I am also getting rid of my iPhone4 (if any one in the form wanted for free please ask), I am now going to get Galaxy instead. This copmany is unfortunately going downhill for sure