This may or may not be an Apple rant. I have been an Apple customer since before the days when you had to pay for that mac.com address.....it was extraordinarily expensive and who knew you would be stuck using whatever you chose for your name or forever lose the mac.com. But we were die hard mac users. And never mind that I think a smart 15 year-old could probably figure out how to change the user name without crashing your entire iTunes library.

But I digress. That is old "mad at Apple".....I have new "mad at apple."

My husband bought me a new phone. Now, I am not a phone connoisseur. I just want one that works, stays charged for a reasonable amount of time, and holds my small (by some standards) music. I've had 2 apple phones.....both the same space grey.....nothing fancy. I never do a special case--just something that protects the product--in fact, I've only ever used two ring tones. X Files and Doctor Who. Both free. Oh wait!.....I had to buy the X Files one....that was way back when I had my very first phone and ring tones were all the rage. When I had to migrate my phone info to a new phone it was a big deal that I keep my one $3.00 ring tone.

So, it was no small feat when my husband convinced me to live a little a get a phone that wasn't space grey. I got rose gold. It's very pretty--it is going into the same case I've had for ages now which defeats the purpose, perhaps?

Anyhow, the short story is the phone had issues. I don't know what it is with me and apple....several times the demise of my devices has occurred with the launch of an updated item. Being forced to choose a new 'off the block' device (when anyone who knows anything Apple knows you NEVER buy first gen Apple) has always resulted in at least one exchange of the item in question.

Well, the phone they gave me wasn't a new phone. Now, I did not know it was Apple policy to exchange your new item with a refurbished item.

HUH????

Let's get this straight. You buy a brand new ______fill in the blank______ and it is faulty. You take it back. They give you a cleaned up but used item in return.

"I'd like to return this mixer please?"

"Sure, is there a problem with it?"

"Well, I plug it in, but it won't turn on. I've tried several different outlets, and it still won't work."

"I'd be happy to exchange it for you. I have a used one in the exact same colour. We made sure it everything works and buffed it up for you. Some of the parts are new."

Am I the only person who sees this as a problem?

Now, it may have been one thing for Mr. Apple to have said, "We have a refurbished one we can let you have for $100.00 less, considering it is used.....or you could wait and we could order you a new one. Which would you prefer?"

I might have taken the re-do.....I may have waited. But at least I would be aware of what I was getting.

I'm all for recycling and so forth. But I paid for a new item. I did not pay for a refurbished, slightly used item however it had been 're-certified.'

And anyhow, the slightly used-new phone didn't work much better than the first one.

So I called Apple again.

I spent half my day talking with 3 different people. The one guy I spent the longest with insisted there was no one else I could speak to aside from him, and kept on repeating the party line -- they would try and fix this phone first. I was pretty clear. My husband sprung for a new phone. I wanted a new phone. NOT a refurbished phone at new phone prices. I suggested they send me one of those Apple boxes and I would send them my broken phone, and they could send me a new, unopened not refurbished phone.

I think he had a script in front of him because he kept saying the same thing over and over. Rinse. Repeat. I was getting dizzy.

It finally dawned on me that this guy was:

a) not going to let me talk to anyone else
b) not going to give me what I wanted

I told him I would just return the phone myself and get my money back.

He hung up.

I took one or two deep breaths and decided to call back and insist on talking to someone else. There is always someone else to talk to.

And there was.

So, let's see......I started with a 45 minute call at about 9:15 this morning. Then, about 1 hour with the "Senior specialist" guy who kept stone-walling me....another hour back and forth with two different customer service reps. And finally......a shipping label for a box with a replacement phone on order.

A new one. Like the one we paid for.

That is waaaayyyyy more time than anyone should have to spend getting a company to stand behind what they sell. This has been a problem with Apple from day one. And I know.....because we have had several instances of needing Apple to make good on their products when things go wrong through no fault of the customer. And it is always a struggle to do so.

Why is this, I wonder? Is it arrogance because we will buy their products anyway? Are they so used to being on top they see no need to cultivate loyalty through customer service? It's really silly. Costco has it figured out.

Costco's return policy is about customer satisfaction. For all of those BBQ's you see coming back, they are doing twice profit in everything else. My best return at Costco was the time their Kirkland batteries (brand new batteries) leaked at ruined my husband's really expensive Nikon motor drive. Costco replaced the motor drive. No questions asked.

That, my friend, is customer service.