After almost five months of pretty heavy usage, my iPhone decided to give up. Although the phone still worked properly, the screen was barely visible and contained all kinds of streaking vertical lines. Since I was outside of the country when this happened, I called my cellular company (Rogers) and setu p an appointment to bring it in and get a floater. Fortunately, a friend on Twitter advised me that it would be better to make an appointment at the genius bar since I was still within the warranty period.
Making an appointment with the genius bar (http://www.apple.ca/retail/geniusbar/) was quite painless. You simply pick the store you would like the appointment at and then input your personal information. The web site will then come back with a list of open times you can select from.
When I got the store I had to register so they would know I was there. The appointment was set for 7:00PM and I did not get to see my genius until 7:20PM. He actually apologized for running late and noted they were short staffed that night. In the next few minutes I was reminded of how Apple shines and thrilled with the level of service provided. The genius informed me had never seen this happen before and actually apologized again for the inconvenience. He then went to the back of the store and got me a replacement. There were no further questions, no hassles just one signature and a new iPhone.
When I got home I plugged the new phone into the computer and was able to restore the phone just as it was automatically. This made me realize again how much I love Apple and that if there is such a thing as an Apple tax it is worth every penny. Had this been a Blackberry/other smartphone I believe it would have been days before I was up and running again. Even then I likely be installing software and tweaking settings for several more days.
Have you been to the genius bar? If so what was your experience?
[photo by: Christopher Chan]
