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Atheist · Jan 22, 2009, 02:39 PM

I bought a pair of the $30 headphones for my iPhone last November. Within a month or so they developed a buzz in the right ear. I was at the Apple Store today to buy a keyboard and pulled out my headphones and asked about getting them replaced. He looked very perplexed and asked me to hold on a minute while he went to consult a "Manager". (Funny how half the employees in the Apple Store are "Managers"). He came back and informed me that I need the original packaging (I did have the receipt, but that wasn't enough). Additionally, I would have to schedule an appointment with a "Genius" to have them looked at first. And of course they didn't have any appointments available so I left with my busted earphones. Is it just me or is that a lot of crap to have to go through just to get a pair of headphones replaced?

Luca Rescigno · Jan 22, 2009, 02:46 PM

Yeah, that's pretty dumb. I guess schedule an appointment and then put your foot down and insist they allow you to use just your receipt. Refusing to let you return something without the original packaging is really stupid.

Atheist · Jan 22, 2009, 02:53 PM

Originally Posted by Luca Rescigno

Yeah, that's pretty dumb. I guess schedule an appointment and then put your foot down and insist they allow you to use just your receipt. Refusing to let you return something without the original packaging is really stupid.

I can only imagine the guy was misinformed about the original packing thing. That just seems silly. I understand the need for a Genius to check out problems with Macs and iPods and such.... but for a cheap pair of headphones I think it's overkill.

osiris · Jan 22, 2009, 03:30 PM

Sounds like overkill for headphones. I'd go back there with some large friends and make an offer they couldn't refuse.

I think this is a sign of the times - retailers are very cautious with returns/damaged goods. I wasted two hours at Best Buy doing an LCD exchange. They needed ALL the components (speakers, computer, cables) in the original box just to exchange a simple monitor. I straightened that crap out, but it took me two hours to do it.

Chuckit · Jan 22, 2009, 03:47 PM

I think geniuses are the only ones allowed to do replacements. And if my experiences with them are any indication, they probably won't fuss too much about the original packaging nonsense as long as it doesn't seem like you're pulling a fast one.

Art Vandelay · Jan 22, 2009, 03:52 PM

Go to Apple Support and initiate your own online repair request. You'll have your new headphones the next day.

jersey · Jan 22, 2009, 05:36 PM

Originally Posted by Art Vandelay

Go to Apple Support and initiate your own online repair request. You'll have your new headphones the next day.

Winner.

I've done it 3 times. The usually next day air them. It's awesome. Also, have your busted pair handy and you can usually send them back with the person that drops the new ones off .... if they are willing to wait 2 minutes for you to repackage them.

tooki · Jan 23, 2009, 07:54 AM

Originally Posted by Atheist

I can only imagine the guy was misinformed about the original packing thing. That just seems silly. I understand the need for a Genius to check out problems with Macs and iPods and such.... but for a cheap pair of headphones I think it's overkill.

It's correct that Apple Stores must have the packaging in order to send back an item -- but what I did in situations like that was to simply do the exchange and keep the packaging from the new 'buds, into which I'd place the broken ones. The customer then just left with new buds with no packaging, which they never, ever complained about. Happy customer, happy inventory people. Everyone wins. Seems to me that employee didn't think this situation through too well!

(Note that iPod earbud replacements are handled entirely differently from iPhone earbuds, which are much more expensive to make due to the mike/button assembly.)

OldManMac · Jan 23, 2009, 08:14 AM

So, everyone who walks in, requesting a new set of ear pods should just be given them, and Apple's inventory is depleted, and they're stuck with piles of ear pods? There are reasons they have procedures in place.

Atheist · Jan 23, 2009, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by OldManMac

So, everyone who walks in, requesting a new set of ear pods should just be given them, and Apple's inventory is depleted, and they're stuck with piles of ear pods? There are reasons they have procedures in place.

Sorry dude, but your post makes no sense. If the "piles of ear pods" are defective, then yes, they should be stuck with them.

Any other retail store would have simply looked at my receipt, saw that they were still under warranty, and done the exchange. As a customer I don't give a crap about their process and inventory tracking. I care about the overall customer experience. There is absolutely no reason to make a customer jump through such hoops to do a simple exchange like that.

Sorry... but as much as I like Apple products, I refuse to drink the kool-aid.

I should probably note that I've never liked the Apple Store experience anyway. I find the stores cold and sterile and the overall pretension off-putting.

TETENAL · Jan 23, 2009, 12:27 PM

Companies can not put up unreasonable terms and conditions to fulfill the warranty. At least that's the law in Germany. They can not request the original packaging. If consumers had to do that for everything, everybody would have to rent an extra garage just to keep all the packaging for every device. Unreasonable.

By the way: http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/

The "Accessories Warranty", which I guess applies here, doesn't mention packaging at all. Others do, but only to state that Apple might send you packaging for shipment if you don't have the original one any more. That clerk was obviously just bullshitting you with the original packaging thing. Next time simply demand the fulfillment of the warranty. Friendly but firmly.

Railroader · Jan 23, 2009, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by Atheist

I should probably note that I've never liked the Apple Store experience anyway. I find the stores cold and sterile and the overall pretension off-putting.

Compared to every other computer store in existence they are like grandma's house after a day of sledding and siping hot chocolate and smelling fresh baked bread.

tooki · Jan 24, 2009, 06:36 AM

Originally Posted by TETENAL

They can not request the original packaging. If consumers had to do that for everything, everybody would have to rent an extra garage just to keep all the packaging for every device. Unreasonable.
...
That clerk was obviously just bullshitting you with the original packaging thing.

As I already said, the clerk was clearly mistaken in not knowing how to process this return, a simple "POS exchange" (that is, at the cash register, ringing it as an ordinary exchange) would clearly have been the easiest way to do this. That said, Apple in-store warranty exchanges are fundamentally handled via the Genius Bar, not via salesmen.

And as I said, iPod and iPhone earbud exchanges are handled completely differently; iPhone buds are inventoried service parts that must be tracked and exchanged only with full paperwork via Genius Bar, save for being able to do a POS exchange. iPod earbuds are provided to service providers as consumable parts at low cost, so a store can simply trash the broken ones and give a fresh pair (doesn't come with packaging) with zero paperwork.

Jan 24, 2009, 04:50 PM

Last month my friend's pair of 15 year old Koss headphones broke. Koss has a lifetime warranty. He called them up, got an RMA, and had the new ones within a few days. No package, no receipt was required. Koss really stands behinds their lifetime warranty.

ghporter · Jan 24, 2009, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by tooki

-- but what I did in situations like that was to simply do the exchange and keep the packaging from the new 'buds, into which I'd place the broken ones. The customer then just left with new buds with no packaging, which they never, ever complained about. Happy customer, happy inventory people. Everyone wins.

Amazingly naked customer service there, tooki. Like "the rule says this, and here's how we can fulfill that requirement" not "I can't do that." Attitude is about 95% of a customer's experience, and "I can..." is orders of magnitude above "I can't."

By the way, how does this all work when the store is nearing the fire marshal's occupancy limit (like the two here in San Antonio on any weekend day)? I've had problems finding ANYONE to talk to me about products in such cases and have actually come back on a weekday...

(Sorry for the venting sidetrack...)

Atheist · Jan 26, 2009, 12:20 PM

Update: I was flying back home yesterday and had a super-long layover in Miami so I hopped in a taxi and headed down to South Beach for the day. As I wandered around I happened upon an Apple Store. Thought I'd try my luck. Did the exchange in a matter of minutes. No hassle. No fuss. Totally different experience than with the Tyson's Corner store.