Having aspiring to own an iphone and after researching and saving up for over 3 months, I was so excited going to the Premium Reseller store, futureworld at Annanagar.
I recently lost my entire right arm in a motorcycling accident and my phone usage was restricted to one hand and the iphone 5s seemed to fit my purpose exactly. My previous phones were the Samsung galaxy S4 mini and the Lumia 730. The S4 mini was by far the best I have used, and the only reason I decided to switch was the 4G and metal body features of the iphone 5S that prompted me to upgrade. Keeping this in mind I headed to Futureworld at Annanagar, a premium reseller of Apple products.
After a brief discussion on payment terms I picked up a space grey iphone5S for Rs. 45, 120/-.(the reseller wanted to charge a 3% card charges if I wanted to swipe my debit card, so I withdrew Rs.20, 000 cash and swiped the balance Rs.25, 000 with a 120 additional fee).
I had waited a long time to own this product so I headed to the Vodafone store to get a nano sim instead of cutting my micro sim to nano size. Once that was done and activated, I went about installing the phone and started using it.
That was when trouble started.
Every time I dialled a number, the connection started with a loud crackling and jarring sound similar to the jarring sound when cheap speakers are operated at high volume levels. Then during the middle of a call, the voice from the other end drops suddenly.
I panicked and immediately took it to the store and asked them to check. The sales guy and service guy agreed that the crackling and jarring sound was there and said that it could be a software glitch and reinstalled the OS. As I was leaving one other sales guy told me there was nothing to worry about and this was a problem with all iphones and not just mine.
While I was trying to convince myself to ignore that and get on with using the phone, there was a message from the call centre asking me to confirm if the experience was satisfactory. Deciding to tell the truth I registered for a call back after 2 days since I was travelling out of the city.
Two days later the call was received and the executive advised me to go to the service centre at Future world and wait for the call. Once I was there, they called and took the phone and went into the service area. After a while I got the phone back with the person on the phone telling me that the defect will be taken care of and they will take the phone, replace the ear speaker and return it. I told them it was unacceptable and wanted a replacement of the defective piece. After a few hours waiting in the service center, I was again called back and the guy at the other end said that a replacement is not possible and only the repair will be done.
When I asked to speak to someone higher up and who can take decisions, I was connected to one Mr.Shekar. he was extremely arrogant and rude and said that their decision is final and I have to live with that defective instrument or get the phone repaired to fix the ear speaker. That meant the phone is going to be opened and refixed which was annoying to say the least as it was less than a week since purchase and my complaint noted with the Futureworld service since the second day of ownership.
What appalled me was that while I was narrating the whole episode and questioning their ethical values, the guy Shekar cuts me off and orders me to stop talking and listen to him! That was the final straw and I started getting annoyed and asked if I could talk to someone higher up who can reverse his decision and give me a replacement, he says that ‘i am the last and highest authority that you will get to talk at Apple and my decision is final and I will go by what my service team says and that is repair the speaker and not replace the entire instrument’.
Then I had no other option but to head back home and tried to register a complaint against this arrogant behaviour and non-resolution of the problem.
There was a chat session with one Sidhartha who after nearly an hour of chat told me that there is definitely not going to be a replacement. I also received an email of the chat transcript soon after. Then there was a chat with a USA call center with one Allison and later Karl who were sounding surprised that I wanted a replacement phone. She in fact patiently explained that a replacement phone is technically a defective instrument that has been repaired and given to whoever requires one(tthat seems to be Apple’s recycling policy) and that I should actually be trying to get the replacement from the reseller.
When I wanted to get the chat transcript of that chat, so that I can take it to the reseller and ask for a new instrument, that chat session just disappeared from records!. Not letting it go, I again reopened the complaint and when asked to email the chat transcript, I only get a link to request their privacy team. When I clicked the link, all I get is a ‘could not load page as the page no longer exists’.
Then I requested a telephone callback the next day and the same tactic of making me run around in circles and tiring me out, happened. The only contact I could establish was with one Mr. Rudra who was thankfully polite and promised to take it up with Mr. Shekar’s(Chandrashekar) superior. I do know that that is not going to happen and will be brushed under their carpets and they will write it off as a one-off crazy customer episode.
Now comes the surprise part.
In my bitterness I overlooked the fact that the reseller could have easily given a replacement instrument and felt genuinely insulted and harassed and decided to cut off all ties with this brand. The sales executive then took the phone(45120/-) and my ipad(17, 000/-) and told me I will get 37, 000/- for both which I had no option but to agree. At least that transaction went very smooth and both the instruments(iphone-10 day old and ipad mini-10 months old)went out of my life forever. This lesson of corporate thuggery cost me nearly 28, 000/-(includes the accessories, phone covers) and I am trying hard to brush it off as a lesson in trust and human values and how I should be wary of such companies and brands that can take advantage of you whenever they can. Its going to be another long wait till I can save up enough money to buy a decent phone and that time I will be a lot more wiser and better prepared in making sure I get a fair and proper shopping experience.
Futureworld seems to a den of crooks and thieves who take advantage of unsuspecting customers by offloading defective products and duping them of hard earned money.
Apple itself is a unethical organisation which turns a blind eye and totally biased opinion about customer issues.
Apple definitely has no respect for human values and encourages its staff and partners to be rude and arrogant.
The products themselves have no real quality and performance unlike the competition and Apple is just pushing sub standard products into countries like ours knowing that we can do nothing about this.
I hope this sort of thing doesn’t repeat for others aspiring for this phone and my sincere advice is to avoid this brand and go for products which have better quality and service standards and most important of all, genuine, ethical treatment and respect for human values of politeness and courtesy which seems to be lacking in this brand.
The core of the Apple is rotten!