Apple starts refunding Bumper purchases automagically
By Vlad Savov 
posted July 23rd 2010 1:32AM
posted July 23rd 2010 1:32AM
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
posted July 23rd 2010 1:32AM
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".....we suspect the biggest price to pay will be in the form of pride and reputation."
What?? Will Droid X Screengate suffer the same pride and reputation fate? LOL. Until the world sees the Engadget ePhone or gPhone from Gizmodo I doubt childish editorials will resonate with a majority. America has a history of flocking to leaders not roadside followers. When is the Universal 2.2 Froyo supposed to drop? Ooops, open source cannot get organized to to launch, this so parallels their lives.
@OpenSourceSux tell me how a manufacturing error is equal to a design flaw?
The Droid X screen issue is not even remotely comparable to the iPhone 4 antenna detuning issue (not to be confused with the signal loss that occurs when all antenna are blocked by human skin.)
Automagically FTW!
I think that's really cool that u don't even have 2 ask they just give u your money back, that's really nice. That's like them saying yeah we messed up but were gonna try our best 2 make it up 2 u witch is really kinda sweet.
i'm not sure whether this means anything, but today i received a griffin iphone 4 case with no charges. i didn't order it or anything, it just arrived. not gonna use it though, it's horrible.
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=33e6k2d&s=3
If you look at history, Apple will never say they have a design flaw as they have too much pride. G4 Cube is a good example to a design flaw, as it looked good but over heated.
Sony is another company who never accepts their design flaws. One thing to note though, is that Apple will acknowledge their "flaw" and do something about it without hurting their pride whereas Sony will not.
In the case of the iPhone, they pointed fingers saying everyone else has the same problem. As childish as it was, no one knows the American market better than Apple hence why they showed the videos. It worked besides 'some' techies like us on the forums, the general public will take it.
The one thing that Apple haters, fanboys, and the like should understand is that Apple will do what is takes to make you happy even if it's temporary.
My first post. Thanks.
@HeyBooBoo, didn't Apple just admit their way of calculating cell reception bars was flawed? So Apple actually does admit design flaws.
It's a shame to see so many issues with the iPhone 4 after so many people waited for it's release. What's more of a shame is that it seems Apple knew about some of these issues already, such as the problem with reception. Making steps to refund cases wont make up for the lack of function over form.
If a brand new company brought out a product and then told you needed to pay a further £25 to make it work properly, you wouldn't bother. But Apple have created such a loyal following that people may just put up with what issues there are for the sake of owning the latest Apple product. Personally, I'd be happier with an older iPhone - at least then the issues are all ironed out.
However, it's also interesting to see how much excitement new technologies can bring. New technology and innovation is important for new business, illustrated by entrepreneurship grants and new business competitions like http://www.ukesnc.com.
Guess it's not all bad!
@galile0 So many issues? Huh? The only rampant issue is the antenna dropping bars......which isn't happening for everyone and really isn't a big deal in real-world use. The only other issue very few people were having was with the proximity sensor.......which Apple said will be fixed in a software update. Other than that the phone is awesome. I have zero complaints with mine!
How about all of the people that waited for the Droid X? Now it's users are having major screen issues and I just read where tons are having problems with their WIFI not connecting or constantly disconnecting from wireless routers!
Point is, no phone is perfect and they all have their flaws. Especially new designs or form factors. I'm certain Apple is working on a manufacturing fix and will push the corrected phone into the market around the end of September........hence the reason they are offering free bumpers until September. Calm down and stop hating.
i bought 14 bumpers in total and i got a full refund.
14 * 29 = $406 + tax
i love you apple
Oh Noes!
$175million lost, in relation to their nearly $43billion revenue.
My heart bleeds.
Lets face it people, Apple could just have easily have totally afforded a full iPhone4 recall, but just saved their own asses from public reputation.
It surprises me actually too, that some people actually paid Apple $175million total for sales of a bumper probably worth $2 to make, sold by Apple for upwards of $30 was it!? Goes to show how stupid the paying public really are.
@Heliosphan ...bet they at least regret overpricing those bumpers. You know...greed bitch slap.
@Taller Why would they care what price the bumpers were?
What about someone like me who purchased a $19 case from Radio Shack? And no, I don't have my receipt. And they should throw in an extra $100 for putting up with that smarmy ass ATT Store Manager who refused to give me a free bumper in the first place and had the gall to tell me that I was holding the phone wrong because Steve Jobs said so in an email.
what i find funny is that they though they'd get away with it by throw a $30 bumper in and it didn't work out all that well.. but it didn't work too bad either
APPLE SHOULD NOT ! Do you agree ? ( I don't - they should)
Well, at least if what I was told by an iPhone owner is true. That the case was made at the same time as the phone to protect the brushed aluminium. It has nothing to do with the antenna. In that case, the description of the antenna should have read it was to protect it. Which still does not necessarily prove it was for protection, the aluminum could have been slightly recessed and had a
@Bervick
(it truncated at the less than symbol)
a less than 1mm metallic bumper ridge at its edges if that was a concern.
the title makes me laugh everytime i read it...
Wow...this means that the bumper costs more than 2 cents to make...(Around $5.85 if you do some math)
Steve open up MAC osx save us POs windoze 7
I got my automatic refund notice this morning too.What Apple has done here is simply amazing.
If this had been Dell, or many other companies, they would have made the customer come and initiate the request for refund. That alone would have saved them 20 percent of refunds and gobs of money. Then they would have made the form long and complicated to save another 20 percent. Then there would have been restrictions like those who had bought their bumper within the first 5 days of the phone coming out before anyone knew of antenna problems (those people bought a bumper because they wanted one so why give them a refund?). Or especially like Dell, they would have just ignored the problem and tried to hide it as best as possible.
But instead I have received a automatic refund. No questions asked, and no effort on my part. Apple you have earned my unending loyalty for the rest of my life, or until Steve is gone and the penny pitchers finally take over.
What makes this amazing is no other companies do this. While it should be standard operating procedure, it is because the state of customer service is so bad, that simply doing things right seems......magical.
As a EVO owner we owe iPhone to make a real smart phone ..Innovators always have issue but Steve lay down so ego plz
So let me get this straight, I WAIT for the white iphone to release, then it gets delayed beyond the date for free bumpers. F this $hit. I'm an angry fan boy right now.
Isn't that message just going to be confusing for people who haven't followed the underlying problem? It sounds like the bumper is the defective part so they're offering a refund on it.
Another price to pay are people like me who won't buy the iphone 4 until the next iteration with a real permanent fix.
$175 000 000 to send out rubber rings?
"but we suspect the biggest price to pay will be in the form of pride and reputation"
What?!! In what planet will that hold true?
This is called "goodwill" baby. Customers will actually like the company more.