Thursday, December 29, 2011

Broken iPad Glass

Christmas for our family was filled with happiness and excitement and...devastation.  My family was making one last stop at my in-laws to pick up some forgotten gifts, and the unthinkable happened.  As I went to get my three year old out of the truck, the family's iPad came crashing to the concrete and SHATTERED!  I took a deep breath, and said, "It will be okay." However, on the inside, I was in complete panic mode.  How would we afford to replace the glass?  Santa had just blown the yearly budget, and we have a family wedding in seven days that requires all of us to get gussied up.  How would my kids handle not having the iPad; it has become so engrained in their daily activities.  How would I tell my grandma, the purchaser of the iPad, about the incident?  How would I check my twitter and facebook so discretely every hour?  I was scared!

Upon returning home, I went online to do some research.  Good thing my husband fixed the laptop screen last week.  Funny how the laptop screen being out of commission for six months did not bother me, but the iPad screen being out of commission for fifteen minutes had me sick to my stomach.  At any rate, my research took me to one forum that said Apple did not replace broken screens.  The author compared it to returning a car to the dealership after being in a crash.  I understood, but I kept reading out of desperation.  I found a couple of places that replaced iPad screens for about $180 which was a bit cheaper than the reports about what Apple charged.  I still couldn't afford $180 at this time not to mention the time my iPad would be away from our family.  Finally, I read a post that gave me some hope.  Apple had apparently replaced this woman's iPad free of charge, and her advice to other customers was to be humble, nice, honest, and non-expectant.  She advised that the second you say you have heard they do this for others; they don't do it for you.

It was settled; I had to go to the Apple store in the morning, and hope for the best.  I made an appointment at the store, and I managed to do a little shopping and eat lunch while I waited for my turn to share my story of the broken iPad.  At 1:40, I was greeted by Paul at the Apple store.  My hands shook and my voice quivered as I explained what happened to the iPad and how vital it is to our family.  He explained the $269 swap out practice because it costs more to replace than to buy a new one.  I listened intently and shook my head as if I totally understood and would do whatever it took because we could not live without the iPad.  Finally, he said, "But, we have two iPads in the back, and I'm willing to swap one with you AT NO CHARGE TODAY.  WOULD THAT BE OKAY WITH YOU?"  Holy Bologna (pronounced balony)!  Yes, of course that would be okay with me.  "THIS IS DEFINITELY A ONE TIME ONLY TYPE OF SITUATION."  Seriously, I had tears, and I was still shaking.  Paul went to retrieve the new iPad.  While I waited, I watched another customer hug an Apple employee and say, "You are all angels today."  Her daughter had dropped her iPod touch and Apple had swapped it free of charge as well.  WOW!!  

So, one might now believe that Apple does this for everyone, but I'm not convinced.  All of the posts I read prior to going to the Apple store were written by real people, and not everyone had such a happy ending.  The person who wrote the post that gave me hope was on to something.  Swapping broken iPads is definitely not done for everyone, but it happens often enough that one should attempt visiting the Apple store.  If your iPad has broken glass, this is what I would do:
1.  Stop using the iPad to prevent further cracking
2.  Say a prayer (continuously throughout the process)
3.  Go to an Apple store ASAP (people in person are better than people on the phone)
4.  Make an appointment with the genius bar and do not ask any questions of the sales people
5.  Be humble and honest when meeting your genius
6.  Never mention that you heard they swapped for others (they do this on a case by case basis...my situation will not help you)
7.  Take complete responsibility (don't put down how the product is made)
8.  Be super thankful no matter what...     

Apple is a great company, and I am super thankful for them swapping out my shattered iPad.  I hope that no one else experiences the shattering of iPad glass, but I know it will happen to someone somewhere, so I'm sharing my story.  I wish you the best.

And...Thank you Paul!  

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