Apple telling reps to smooth over iPhone 4 reception complaints, not to offer free bumpers?
BGR appears to have nabbed a document being distributed by Apple corporate to AppleCare reps tasked with handling iPhone 4 customers miffed with the antenna performance fiasco -- and for the time being, the recommendations are focusing on managing expectations, not fixing the problem. In a nutshell, reps are being instructed to pass on a more politically correct version of Steve's email by telling customers that they should "avoid covering the black strip in the lower-left corner of the metal band." Interestingly, they agree that bumpers might fix the problem, but they're emphatic in saying that they "ARE NOT appeasing customers with free bumpers – DON'T promise a free bumper to customers." And yes, that statement is complete with caps and bold in the source document, so they mean business, it would seem. If it's any consolation, Apple says that "the iPhone 4's wireless performance is the best [they] have ever shipped," but let's be honest: for those zapping their calls into the afterlife every time they brush their phone the wrong way, it's not much consolation at all.
