In 2013, the Apple he had to temporarily close the doors of the only store he had in Shenzhen (China). The reason? In May of that year, that Apple Store registered more than 2,000 complaints and repair orders in just one week, more than any other Apple retail store in the world, as reported by The Information.
The company did not pause its activities in Shenzhen because of the large number of repair orders, but due to fraud schemes responsible for causing huge losses to Apple. She discovered that gangs were stealing iPhones, exchanging their internal components for counterfeit ones and requesting replacement of those devices that were under warranty. Then, they sold the original internal components and the iPhones that were replaced in the Apple Store.
Instead of involving the Chinese authorities due to the risks of public repercussions and negative publicity in the state media, Apple changed its internal policy and launched an online reservation system that required proof of purchase from customers. gadgets before repairs. Subsequently, he developed diagnostic software responsible for identifying counterfeit parts on iPhones.
Still, Apple received a wave of dissatisfied customers and negative comments. That is, the shot backfired. When they heard about the change in repair policies, those suspected of practicing fraud began to make scenes in stores, forcing Ma to change her guidelines again.
The devices then began to be inspected before repairs were authorized and company employees also began to immerse the iPhones' batteries and CPUs in a special dye, which could only be seen under a high frequency light, to verify the origin of the pieces.
Apple's new tactic worked and fraud in some regions of China dropped from 60% to around 20%. Despite this, this scheme will give the company more headache, since similar cases are appearing in Apple Stores in other countries, including Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
Accusations of abusive repair policies
Canadian news The National investigated a number of charges against Apple related to the company's repair policy, including the high fees charged by Ma for repairing and replacing parts at Apple Stores. The report, released by CBC, started with a camera hidden in a company store in Toronto, where the reporter had a problem with a MacBook Pro.
During the inspection, the attendant noticed that there was a lot of liquid inside the machine and recommended the replacement of the logic board and the top case notebook, which would cost $ 600 and $ 500, respectively. In addition, US $ 100 was charged for the labor, that is, $ 1,200 for all the repair.
The same MacBook Pro was taken to an unauthorized Apple repair shop, where the shop owner, Louis Rossmann, ruled out the chance of liquid damage. After finding a small defect in one of the display pins, Rossmann said he could have offered the customer a short-term solution free of charge, however, if the owner wanted to replace the same damaged parts, he estimated that the cost of the repair would be between $ 75 and $ 150. š³
The report continued to investigate abusive values āāand the āright to repair,ā a strong move in the United States and Canada that requires Apple to allow repairs and replacements at third-party stores, especially after these devices come out of Ma's limited warranty.
Despite the discrepancy between the amounts charged, the fact that Ma's employees follow a strict repair policy that caters for thousands of devices around the world; unlike outsourced stores, which analyze and determine values āādepending on the specific problem of each device that enters these workshops.
And you? What is your opinion on Apple's repair policy and the prices charged by Ma in relation to third-party stores?
via VentureBeat, AppleInsider
