The hero in blue

When it hit the cement floor and bounced, I gasped.  I picked up and cradled my traumatized iPhone, but it was lifeless in my hands, its screen - black and unresponsive.  The next 18 hours were full of false hope.  Sometimes my phone would work and then not.  Sometimes I could write an email and sometimes it would power down in the middle of my typing.  

I mourned my baby….only five months old.

The next morning I went to see the “geniuses” at the Apple Genius Bar.  They stood behind the counter in uniform royal blue t-shirts with “not all heroes wear capes” inscribed in small print.

I had weighed whether to be transparent with my “fault” in the situation.  Yes, I had dropped it, but if the Genius didn’t ask, did I have to tell him?  The phone by outward appearances didn’t have a scratch on it.  I contemplated saying, “My phone just turns on and off randomly….”

“Can I help you?” the Genius asked with a smile.

“Hi there!  I dropped my phone yesterday and since then, it’s been turning on and off at will,” I said handing it to him.

He held the phone, turned it over in his hand and said, “I’m sorry, but since you dropped it, it’s not covered under warranty.”

He put his palm on the back of the phone and noticed it was warm in an unusual spot.   

“Since you dropped it, it isn’t covered under warranty, but….because there’s no noticeable external damage, I’m going to give you a new one.  The strange hotspot in the back is a sign something’s wrong in there.”

So, after thanking him and syncing all my information onto the new iPhone, I walked giddily away with it clutched in my hands.  I didn’t think I could develop a stronger appreciation for Apple, but with that exchange, my fandom jumped to a new level.

Good customer service keeps you coming back…it makes you want to write a blog…it makes you believe heroes wear blue tees.