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BY PETER SOLIS NERY
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I ALWAYS have Apple Care for my Apple products. From my 27” iMac to my iPad Air 2, to my iPhone 5s, and in June, to my limited edition iPhone Red, which is, of course, an iPhone 7 plus.
Almost always, I don’t get much for this Apple insurance because I take very good care of my gadgets. Strong impact-resistant cases, screen protectors, and so on and so forth.
Until I got my iPhone Red, which is really pretty with its deep red color.
Now, with 254 GB of memory, plus the Apple Care, I paid over a thousand bucks for it; and even ruined my car because of it. I was so excited to get my phone, I sideswept a pillar at the mall’s garage parking!
So, anyway, I decided it that was going to be my first status symbol phone. I don’t believe in phone updates as a status symbol, that’s why I was stuck with an iPhone 5s for a while.
I didn’t buy a case for it. It would ruin the design! And why hide all that red that makes it distinctively limited edition iPhone Red (Product)*?
I also didn’t put a screen protector. Because the screen was supposed to be so strong that you can even drive a hammer into it.
On the very third week I got my phone, I got two scratches on its screen. I don’t know how I got them, but I suspect it’s the keys in my pocket. I was so not happy.
But the scratches weren’t humongous. Nobody can see it but me. Still, I was unhappy.
I checked Apple Care stipulations. Screen crack repairs, likely screen replacements, would cost $149 without Apple Care. With Apple Care, $29.
$29? I thought I should postpone screen replacement. I was going to the Philippines, and something more terrible can happen with my new phone. I’ll wait.
Nothing much happened in the Philippines. I mean, with the phone.
It was a rich man’s phone. No casing, no screen protector. The idea was, I am so rich I can get a new one anytime I want. I can afford it. Plus, I got Apple Care.
Nobody but me noticed the scratches. You have to turn off the phone to scrutinize and see the scratch marks. But I was unhappy that it has two scratches.
I asked myself, I’m going to be in Europe and the UK for four months starting mid-September, do I want to be unhappy about this phone all these four months?
So, I went to an Apple Store on Sept. 13 at 1:30 p.m. for a 1:50 p.m. appointment. I was told to come back at 10 minutes before my appointment time. Like an obedient child, I did what I was told.
I’ll be a little racist here. A young black woman attended to me. She told me, a scratch is not a crack; and therefore my situation is not covered by my Apple Care. I just looked at her.
She dismissed me saying she cannot help me anymore, but I wouldn’t leave the store. So she called someone in the higher up.
It was a black guy, another black person, allow me to be racist, and I’ll tell you why.
After 30 minutes of circular arguments, he concurred what she said. Still, I would not leave the store. And I already exhausted my facial and physical acting. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, I went through all that using my highly expressive face.
Finally, I asked the black guy to call someone else not from the store. Some Apple support center or something.
I got to a woman, and we talked. And although I did not ask if she was black, I could pretty much tell she wasn’t. Allow me to be racist and stereotyping here, but her English and vocal quality can only be a white woman’s.
She was pretty indulgent of me. I told her, the iPhone Red is a thing of beauty. I bought it for its aesthetics, not its functionality. Its Apple Care should cover aesthetics and cosmetic issues.
I told her, it would be a crime against iPhone Red’s design to cover it with a screen protector, and/or put it in a phone case, however clear.
I told her, I was proud of this phone and was bragging about it, but now, I’m generally unhappy with Apple. So what can she do?
The (white) woman on the phone said she needs to talk to her boss. Would I mind waiting for 30 minutes, or so? It was already 4 p.m.
I told her, I would wait. In my mind, if your boss is a white guy, I would definitely wait.
At 4:55 p.m., the boss (presumably a white guy, or a Filipino) made a one-time exception, and gave the go signal to replace my phone’s screen for free. Yes, at no cost to me. As in $0!
So, they took my phone and asked me to come back after an hour. Which again, like an obedient child, I did.
After an hour, I asked the black guy if he could please check if my phone is ready for pick up. Not ready.
After 15 minutes, I asked another black girl to follow up. The phone is done and will be out of the backroom soon.
After 30 minutes, the phone is not yet out.
So, after 30 more minutes, I walked up to a white boy, and asked if he can follow up my phone. He checked, and a black guy promptly came out and gave me back my phone.
I asked the black guy if he can put the screen protector now. He pointed me to a black girl in the screen protector aisle.
I smiled, nodded thank you, got my phone, and went straight out of the store!
I don’t believe only white people can solve the problems of the world. But in my experience, they seem to handle my cases well. Either smart white people, or smart Asians. (500tinaga@gmail.com/PN)
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