why is customer support so bad?

Name a company that has sent out a free $1700 computer upon request to anyone that calls them and asks for it, without requiring some form of deposit or credit card hold.

You got asked for a credit card HOLD, which would only be charged if you did not return the original device.

As far as the email, I doubt it was 'threatening'. It was 'cautionary', at best. And if it was sent in error, mistakes happen. This is the real world.

Now, about the NSA and Apple being in cahoots?

Excuse me for a moment...

LOL!!!

*ahem*

Thanks for that laugh, that's a good one.

Got any 'proof' of that claim, or are you just paranoid?

Pretty snarky response. So what would you do if Apple sold you a phone that is incompatible with Verizon, and then they refuse to replace it? I've been an Apple fan since buying my first Macintosh computer in 1984 (which I still have), but there really has been a steady deterioration of their customer support.

This is a user-to-user technical support forum. You're not addressing Apple here. If you have a technical support question, we'd be glad to help. If you have an issue with Apple, you'll need to contact them using the contact information found at the Contact Us link at the bottom right of every page. The email you received may also have contact information.

Warranty replacements that are shipped to you usually require that you send the old device back in some relatively short period of time. I know that for Verizon, it's 5 days.

Recently ordered a WiFi booster. By mistake I requested it be available at home store. Unfortunately the home store linked to my phone was not the closest (2 hours away). After reallizing the mistake I immediately called customer service to have the order transferred to the store nearby.

They said they could not do this because it was already delivered from the warehouse to the store. Now we know there is no “warehouse” and it’s most likely a back room where inventory is maintained for customer availability. It hard to believe they could not simply change the location of the order. Ended up canceling the order, waiting for the credit to be placed back on the car and the $150 ecoupon we got for purchasing a new computer. For a tech company their customer service stinks.

You have no idea what you are talking about. If you actually PAID for a second phone, of course you'd keep it. But you aren't PAYING for a second phone. You are putting down a hold on a card.

You are not paying for two devices, unless you don't return the original one. You don't get to buy one, keep two.

Do the math again. You are paying out of pocket after all is said and done for ONE PHONE. But while you have TWO PHONES, Apple is requiring a hold on a credit card.

This is simple logic.

Nope. You paid for, as you stated "a REPLACEMENT PHONE". Note the key word replacement.

Yawn....

Also, you say that your replacement phone arrived on Friday, the 9th. That means it was probably shipped on the 7th or 8th. You get 10 business days from when Apple sends the replacement to return the original phone. That corresponds with the 21st you mentioned.

Plus, you're the one that chose the express shipment. You could have avoided ANY hold on your card with the drop-off option. You are the one that preferred to get a replacement phone ASAP. And, you could have visited an Apple Store for an in-store, free replacement.

Minus the $49 for breaking your phone, of course. So, out of pocket, you've paid $148 to replace a $799 device. And you still have one more incident of damage under your AppleCare Plus. So, if you break your phone AGAIN, then you only are out of pocket $197 to replace $1598 dollars worth equipment.

Explain to me how saving $650 - 1400, when you're the one that broke your device, is 'unfair'.

No. A replacement is "replacing one item for another". In this case your defective phone was replaced by a working one. Exactly as it works with any warranty replacement.

You definately are granted a new device for that $50 deductable in the insurance contract...with the return of your original device. Which is why AppleCare doesnt cover lost/stolen devices, because you cant return them.

Your AppleCare repalcement program SPECIFICALLY STATES that you must surrender the original phone. If you didn't read the fine print, don't whine about it.

Does your insurance company allow you to keep your old car if they total it out and replace it? No. They claim the vehicle.

Replace means you swap it out. If McDonald's replaces your Big Mac because you asked for no onions, you don't keep the first one.

Lookof the definition of the word 'replace'.

Synonyms

You don't get the original and the substitute. You get to REPLACE the damaged device with a replacement device, for a discounted fee.

Grow up. Use some common sense, and stop trying to 'work' the system.