A big thank you to Mr. Steve Jobs
Through complete fault of my own I managed to more or less destroy my iPhone two weeks ago. It got wet, dirty, smashed, and otherwise ruined. I assumed I would have to buy a new phone. I just upgraded to the 3GS at the beginning of the year (yes, I’m behind) for $50 and couldn’t see myself spending $250 to replace it given its impending obsolescence. I had a Best Buy gift card burning a hole in my wallet and had already picked out an unlocked GSM phone to tide me over for a year until I was upgrade eligible again. I figured it couldn’t hurt to make an appointment at the Apple store, though. Maybe a $99 screen replacement would be all I needed? When it was time for my appointment I explained what was wrong and that it was completely my fault. My attending Genius (also Patrick) went into the back to see if a new screen would do the trick. He came out after a few minutes to tell me that a new screen didn’t fix things completely. To my utter disbelief he said, “But how about we just give you a new phone?” I felt a bit like I was stealing, but sure enough he handed me a brand new phone, no questions asked. To be clear, I’ve never submitted for warranty service in my three years of owning an iPhone. They didn’t say as much, but I’m assuming this is my mulligan. I’d be shocked if I went back next week with another broken phone to be handed a brand new one. All I can say is what a company; Apple really knows how to mold loyal customers. Now if only I could get my hands on an iPhone 5…