Cracked IPad 2

[texasipadgal]

So I finally got to the Zurich apple store today. I had a rental truck to go pick up some doors in Zurich for a house project, so it was the best time to stop in and ask about my poor iPad. Never mind how impossible it was to find parking for a delivery truck...

They were very busy, and wanted me to make a genius appointment for tomorrow. I explained I live an hour away and have to have the truck back ASAP, and he put me on standby right away. I figured mine was a black or white case- either they replace it or I live with the crack in the corner. The first guy was nice, said no problem, but the genius was a bit touher. Definitely not the guilt trip or inconveniencing feeling, but wasn't about to offer a free replacement. I told him a case was on it since day one, and the drop was from the couch to a wood floor. I was totally honest and nice and easy. And he said "ok that'll be 425 bucks to replace it." I stepped it up a notch and said, "oh, you're going to charge me?" "Yes, it's not covered under warranty." "Well", said I, "I've owned 13 macs and every iOS device they made, etc etc so you guys have a lot of my money, ahem, and I've never seen such a fragile apple product before. Are you sure there's nothing you can do?"

"I'll be right back."

So he cam back and said they'd waive the fee this one time, but I have to come back in two days to pick it up. So I suspect it's a refurb because they seemed to have iPads in stock. We'll see.

The moral is, be nice, honest and ask if you don't get what you want. I was serious- never have I seen such a fragile apple product, and I'm a bit worried about this thin thing they've got going on. I loved the original iPad. Solid as a rock. I've seen people letting their children play with them unsupervised. Not so sure that would go over with the ipad2.

I know! We are about to order about 70 for our school. 20 of them will be checked out to classes with children ages 3 to 8 using them. I am very worried.

 

[rwilts]

Sorry I thought you said the crack appeared overnight. Then you said it was dropped! Either way good result from apple.

 

[robogobo]

Sorry I thought you said the crack appeared overnight. Then you said it was dropped! Either way good result from apple.

Yeah, I forgot to post after my wife admitted that maybe the crack could have happened, or started, when she slid the iPad off the couch accidentally, two days earlier. She said she wasn't using it at the time, the case was on and closed, and she thought nothing of it. The same scenario happened when the wheel bearing went on our car at the same time I discovered a bent sway bar link- the result of a really hard collision into a curb or a pothole or something. She said, "oh maybe that happened the other day."

Anyway, either the crack went unnoticed, or the drop was just enough to start a crack that grew later with pressure or temperature. I don't know. Either way, the couch is exactly 18 inches off the floor, which is old soft wood, and the case should have been enough to avert a crack from that height.

So the end of the story, I went in to pick up my refurbed iPad, and out of the box there were two scratches on it, which the genius noticed before I did. He went and got a manager and they pulled a brand new one out of stock, which made me very happy since I actually considered keeping my old one instead of taking a refurb. A crack my wife "may have" made is better than a dinged up refurb from who knows where.

Happy ending.