Self-explaining:
Dear Mr. Jobs,
I'd like to share with you how disappointed I am with my recent iPhone 3G purchase. I've been an Apple fan for years and an active Apple user for about two years now. I even plan on getting a license for my own Premium Reseller Apple store here in Slovakia and I'd also like to register as an iPhone developer some time soon. I have never ever developed anything in my life, but I decided that the iPhone is worth learning how to do it, no matter how long it takes. I'm just about to start working on these things. But as I mentioned, that's not the reason I'm writing you.
I had been looking at getting an iPhone since it was announced, but as I live in Central Europe, I hadn't had much of a change getting one. Of course, there were ways to get it, but I wasn't much into the whole cat&mouse unlocking game. Plus, our carries didn't offer any suitable data plans. So I decided I'd be patient and wait for the iPhone's official introduction in Slovakia. To be honest, I didn't think it would happen before 2009, so I was really pleased when the August release date was announced. I just finished my masters degree studies the day I finally bought the new iPhone 3G. That was just three days ago, August 26. Well, this morning I was browsing through the App Store, all happy and playing with my new iPhone when I noticed that are a few burned out pixels on the screen. Just a few light-blue shining dots that did not disappear even after restarting the phone. Naturally, I thought I was eligible for a replacement as it was clearly a case of a production flaw. So I took it back to the Orange store where I bought it to have it replaced. However, the nice lady at the desk said she could not replace it, even though I bought it three days ago, and that I had to claim warranty. Claiming a warranty in Slovakia means that they take your product and since that moment they have a month to get it fixed or replaced. Now, I spent some time in the UK and I had absolutely no problems with replacing anything I bought at the local Apple stores up to 14 days from the original purchase. It looks like Orange Slovakia does not care for the standards of customer services Apple users are used to. They said they could offer me a loan, meaning they'd lend me another phone for the time being, until my iPhone gets fixed or replaced. I assumed that'd be another iPhone. But the nice lady brought me Siemens C65 !!! She said that was the only one they offer for loans right now. At that point, I was seriously blown away. If you're thinking right now that this is a joke, it's not. It's very sad, but it's not. So here I am, stuck with a crappy old Siemens phone, just three days after I got my first iPhone.
Long story short, after a year of waiting not only I had to return the iPhone I'd dreamed of for so long and I probably won't see it for another month, but I even have cope with this so-called 'temporary compensation'. I don't expect there's anything you can do about it, I just wanted to express my disappointment. Despite this unfortunate experience, I still plan on opening the Premium Reseller store and during the process I'll try to raise the customer services to the level Apple users in Slovakia deserve.
Best Regards
Marian Minarik
