Who Does Apple Think is Buying iPods?
Recently Choice, an Australian consumer watchdog organization, seriously questioned the iPod’s quality and Apple Australia’s iPod service. In the quest for humor, Choice undermined its own integrity with the implication iPods - all iPods - could be lemons. A line from the report “An iPod is a significant investment, so you don’t want your Apple to be a lemon”. Chortle, chortle.
But as far as I can recall, no iPod has been universally labelled a lemon.
For Choice, an organization that by its very nature challenges the integrity of manufacturers and service providers, it was a moment that questioned its own integrity.
Choice this year established what it calls the “Shonky Awards”. In the introduction to the event (as shown on a video on the Choice website), the presenter says “Welcome to the inaugural Shonky awards where we name and shame the ten worst products of 2006.”
The iPod was among the ten worst products of 2006? Excuse my disbelief. People must be returning them in droves…
Another presenter says “...we celebrate another year of awesomely dud products”. Wow! Think how good the iPod can yet become! The same presenter after reading out the spiel for why the iPod received a Shonky Award, said “In other words the thing is complete junk.” (No wonder they aren’t selling…) Interestingly that line seemed to be followed by a murmur of disagreement from the audience, although the video was edited so I can’t be certain.
I accept that these awards were delivered with the classic Australian tongue-in-cheek, and were somewhat lighthearted and exaggerated, but once this information gets to the consumer, especially via the tabloids, it is reduced to headlines such as “iPods labelled ‘lemons’”.
Not the sort of misinformation any product wants.
Choice awarded the iPod the The Choice iShonk for Dual-level Shonkyness and said of it:
An iPod is a significant investment, so you don’t want your Apple to be a lemon. And if there is something wrong with it, you’d expect an easy repair and warranty service. Podluck.
Level 1. Several readers complained about cracked screens, faulty batteries and problems with sound reproduction.
Level 2. Apple doesn’t allow retailers to handle complaints under warranty (which is their obligation under Fair Trading laws) — you have to send your faulty iPod to Apple yourself via Australia Post. And if they decide the fault isn’t covered by the warranty, you’ll have to foot the entire bill.
Level 1 is a bit iffy, particularly as it implies all iPods. (I’m yet to find anyone who’s had a cracked screen on a shuffle.) Even though these same complaints have been made around the world, the implication of “Several” is that only a small segment of the review audience had these problems. Hardly enough to suggest iPods - all iPods - are lemons.
Level 2 is more interesting because it is likely to cause more ill-feeling towards Apple and the iPod than Apple should risk. Especially with the Zune soon to be released. Australians tend to follow the popular crowd, so were late getting to the iPod party, and equally, will get on the Zune party more readily simply because it’s Microsoft.
My wife works for a retail giant and has customers complain about the problems of getting iPods serviced for the very reason Choice mention. I don’t know about the rest of the world, but the average Aussie consumer wants returns and repairs to be as simple and streamlined as possible. That means handing it to the retailer and saying “Call me when it’s fixed.” Unfortunately, as Choice rightfully point out, Apple doesn’t allow that in Australia.
My wife has even had people offering to give her their iPod as they hate it and are going to chuck it out anyway. Reality is they hate the hassle to get it fixed. If it could be easily repaired and then work fine, they’d have no complaint and probably even talk up iPods and Apple’s service.
All this raises a worrying question: Who does Apple think is buying iPods?
Who are iPods really for? Are iPods actually for people who:
- Are happy to send their iPod to Apple for service
- Can afford the cost if it falls to them
- Are somewhat unquestioning of Apple’s practices
Hmm? It sounds like a description of a faithful Mac user. Are Apple still selling iPods to “Mac” users? That is, assuming iPod users will display the same faithfulness and forgiveness? Surely not.
Apple usually does very well in reports on consumer satisfaction with its service, but that’s like asking a Knicks fan who’s the best basketball team. Apple’s forgiving faithful are probably not the best ones to ask how good Apple is at anything.
Whereas, PC users are less forgiving and faithful because they have choice. If they get jerked around by Dell, they can go buy HP, Lenovo, Gateway, Acer or whatever. Apple Mac users don’t have that choice and so, having to either take it or leave it, usually take it on the chin, eventually growing blind to Apple’s failings.
The iPod crowd though aren’t the same, despite Apple’s attempts to create an iPod or nothing mentality and therefore that same faithfulness in iPod users.
Most iPod users come from a Windows background and want and expect choice. So when they discover the hassle of getting an iPod serviced, they will have no qualms about switching.
The one thing the Choice Shonky award does highlight is Apple (in Australia at least) is taking its iPod customers for granted, customers that don’t posses any sense of loyalty or faithfulness to Apple. With the Zune on the horizon, that disrespect could yet be Apple’s greatest mistake.
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Comments
I seem to remember macintouch finding that the black and white 40gig 4g iPod was a bit of a lemon. But otherwise I agree with you.
So Apple’s service down under still sucks. It’s not news, unfortunately. This is one area where Apple really needs to fix their poop.
Just to clarify, as I’m left somewhat confused, the point is that Apple requires you to take the ipod back to Apple rather than back to the point of purchase, this constitutes a “demand of loyalty” from the consumer and thus apple is “taking their customers for granted”.
I’d like to see a proper comparison with the end-to-end experience of getting rivals’ players repaired, personally, before I accept the idea that this puts apple at a disadvantage.
Though it does seem to me it’d be little skin off apple’s nose to allow their resellers to handle the posting-for-repair of broken ipods.
Good Point Ben: How does this service compare to repair issues with other players.
Mr Author (Chris Howard): iPod or nothing? What about Zune or nothing, Creative or Nothing, or any other MP3 or nothing. They’re all trying to achieve vendor lock in. The statistics I’ve read say DRM music is used by 20% of users or less. The rest of the music is an import away from any MP3 Player.
The real genius of iPod is Efficiency. It’s very fast to get it to do what you want when compared with other mp3 players. Large storage and fast FireWire transfers may have launched them to success, but even after USB 2.0 came out on PCs, the iPod was still easier to use by far. More graphical, less mundane. I bought and returned a lot of MP3 Players before paying the high price for an iPod, but have been happy ever since, like the overwhelming majority of iPod users.
Mac users LACK of CHOICE? I have PCs and Macs… When one doesn’t suit me I use the other and I usualy use the Mac. Mac, Dell, HP are all choices in the same group. Once you buy one you’re locked in until it’s time to upgrade, then they’re all options again.
Mac Faithful list. Your list doesn’t seem to be derived from iPod buyers, nor does it seem to be supported by your points of Apples actually treatment of them, so where’d you get it? You put a list together of mac faithful qualities and they say it sounds like the mac faithful?
Knicks fans: Ask the fans if the Knicks do a good job of training, practicing, and playing… that’s more the point. Customer Satisfaction.
Apple consumer satisfaction: You imply that apple’s customers aren’t the right people to ask whether or not Apple provides a satisfying customer experience? Who else would you ask?
You say Apple customers just take it on the chin because they have no choice. I take it on the chin from Apple because it’s no where near as harsh as taking it from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Gateway, or Acer. Ever bought a computer loaded with adware, Windows defaults changed, buggy device drivers, annoying background apps, software that sends info the manufacturer w/o getting permission? Even Apple puts trial software, but it’s easy to remove from a Mac. There’s less dissatisfaction to be taking on the chin from Apple.
The kind of loyalty you speak of from Mac Users is what every manufacturer wants, but precious few ever get or even deserve.
Wm
P. S. “Choice” is accusing Apple of breaking the law. If that’s true then Apple should be held accountable, and if it’s false then “Choice” should be held accountable.
“Apple doesn’t allow retailers to handle complaints under warranty (which is their obligation under Fair Trading laws) ”
I think I have a good comparisson for this here in the UK. I don’t know if this is true of the manufacturer in other countries, but in the UK, Merceded-Benz require all owners to bring their own car to the garage for servicing.
That might not sound too bad, but what this means is that the (undoubtably important if they have that kind of cash) owner of a 60 grand car has to find a way to get their vehicle to a Merc garage. What makes this worse is that there’s not even the option to PAY to have the car collected and returned - the service simply isn’t offered!
Notice a parallel?
Apple usually does very well in reports on consumer satisfaction with its service, but that’s like asking a Knicks fan who’s the best basketball team. Apple’s forgiving faithful are probably not the best ones to ask how good Apple is at anything.
This is a perfect argument for why consumer surveys that rank Apple customer service so high are more or less meaningless.
That said, I think calling the iPod a lemon is completely absurd, but maybe it’s meant to be cheeky (is that the proper use of that word?). The iPod is no more or less a pain than any other consumer product. They’re ALL kind of a pain. My DVD player broke after 6 months and I had to ship it to the manufacturer to get it repaired - and this is while it was under complete warranty.
I’m guessing they rank the iPod so high because of its popularity, and that the service relative to the praise is so disparate.
I work in IT in Australia and I think Chris is incorrect on a couple of points. Firstly, a consumer can take any product back to the retailer if they have a legitimate complaint. The retailer is obliged to replace or repair the product. If the consumer insisted on the retailer handling their iPod issue, the retailer would be forced to oblige the customer - or face an enquiry from the relevant state consumer bodies.
In practice, retailers probably do not handle warranty repairs because Apple do not reimburse them. From Apple’s point of view, it is much more efficient, and cost effective, to have the device returned to Apple or their nominated repairers without going through the retailer. Given that the retailer almost certainly has no facilities to effect a repair, all that they are going to do is mail the iPod back to Apple on behalf of the consumer.
As for end users complaining that this is too hard - why is it any harder to take the iPod to the post office instead of the retailer?
If you buy a consumer electronic product today, you will find that most warranties require you to return the product to the manufacturer or retailer. But most manufacturers encourage you to return the product directly to them. Look at the Olympus australia site for example. Again, in most cases, the retailer merely acts as the post office for you so it is faster and there is less likelihood of things getting lost if the end user sends the device directly to the manufacturer…
I havent asked Apple about their policy, but I think Chris that you will find, if you ask Apple (or read the iPod warranty) that the consumer can return the iPod to Apple OR their retailer, as the various state laws require.
And my suggestion to your wife is: She should organise some padded post bags and some stamps and make up a standard warranty repair form which she can help her customers fill in. That would be an appropriate level of customer service for those customers who don’t know where the post office is, or can’t fill in the form…
SydneyStephen, Choice said: “Apple doesn’t allow retailers to handle complaints under warranty (which is their obligation under Fair Trading laws)”
Not me.
But that has been verified by my wife’s experience.
The big retailers in Oz usually handle warranty issues for customers. Kmart and BigW for example, you just return the product and wait for a call. This is significantly more appealing to the customer than sending back to the manufacturer themself.
“And my suggestion to your wife is: She should organise some padded post bags and some stamps and make up a standard warranty repair form which she can help her customers fill in. That would be an appropriate level of customer service for those customers who don’t know where the post office is, or can’t fill in the form”
Or she could just keep the iPods she is offered.
(I did ask her if maybe these people she met weren’t intelligent enough to lick a stamp, but she believes they are.)
My wife does not work in either complaints or returns. What you suggest is impractical and not within her job. She’s a casual checkout chick.
Yes, she could make the suggestion to her store manager though.
Apple usually does very well in reports on consumer satisfaction with its service, but that’s like asking a Knicks fan who’s the best basketball team.
You’re suggesting that people who are actually dissatisfied with apple’s customer service are reporting that they are satisfied with it.
Extraordinary.
Chris, i take your point that Choice made the comment about Apple’s policy. You have already said that their article lacked credibility - I suggest that they are wrong on this point too…
On your final point - that because the majority of iPod users are Windows users they will find it easy to switch… I don’t see that. Switch to what? What would they do with their iTunes libraries?
I really don’t think this is an Apple Service issue. And I think Choice is wrong.
Oh, and if you think this is an opportunity for Zune, you have obviously had little experience with Microsoft support. You would be hard-pressed to find a more arrogant, less helpful IT support organisation than Microsoft. Believe me, I have been a MS partner since 1992 - they are the pits!
iShonk! hell yeah, i do wish someone offering me the things they dont want, i love free stuff.!! haha, yeah!
Ben said: You’re suggesting that people who are actually dissatisfied with apple’s customer service are reporting that they are satisfied with it.
Extraordinary.
Not the way you’re trying to twist it, Ben, into a simple black and white, with no explanation.
But if you want to put it that way, then yes. Apple Mac customers become tolerant (because it’s Mac or nothing) of Apple’s shortcomings, and so eventually, when asked, then yes, they do think they’re satisfied.
I mean, before I switched to Macs, I thought they were *perfect*. Hell - Mac OS never crashed! For years I got fed that from Mac users.
When you become one, you discover Mac OS crashed a lot (altho it took OS X for Mac users to really admit it) and that Apple and Macs aren’t perfect.
SydneyStephen said: i take your point that Choice made the comment about Apple’s policy. You have already said that their article lacked credibility - I suggest that they are wrong on this point too…
Agreed that the credibility of their first point undermined the credibility of the second. But the fact that my local big retailer is telling customers the same message, kinda validates it somewhat.
Switch to what? What would they do with their iTunes libraries?
They convert them. MS will flog how easy that is. Maybe even provide an easy means (if they don’t someone else will) Now although these are the same folks who find mailing their iPod back to Apple hard, they also are the same ones who put up with Microsoft’s own support, and Windows.
Why? Why? Why? Doesn’t that contradict me?
No. People buy their music online using… a Windows computer. If they could do it direct from their iPod, the Zune wouldn’t have a snowflakes’. But bring Windows into the mix…
People buy MS for familiarity and compatibility. They’ll buy Zune’s for the same reason. There’s an assumption going on in their head that an MS player and an MS OS will all work easier.
And when *any* issue with the iPod comes along - eg service hassles, or articles calling them lemons - it just reinforces that notion for them. Despite the “Microsoft support” oxymoron you raise.
iPod users are not Apple users. A lot of Mac users don’t get that. Or it’s implications. And as my articles states, I’m concerned Apple doesn’t even get that.
Chris, I am afraid i think you are talking through your hat…
My father had an expression for the kind of people who can’t get it together to find a post office. He called them “faulty customers”. They exist, but not in huge numbers - and Microsoft are welcome to them…
IamWm said: Apple consumer satisfaction: You imply that apple’s customers aren’t the right people to ask whether or not Apple provides a satisfying customer experience? Who else would you ask?
As I say, Apple (Mac) users are more forgiving than PC users EXCEPT for Windows. PC users seem to be very forgiving of Windows. Altho, when it crashes, they are more likely to blame the hardware.
You say Apple customers just take it on the chin because they have no choice. I take it on the chin from Apple because it’s no where near as harsh as taking it from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Gateway, or Acer.
ROFL. Good point. But doesn’t help PC users see the light.