hi, im mcdavis

writer-a:

Anyone who has attempted to carry on a phone conversation with me for more than thirty seconds will attest to to the fact that my iPhone service with AT&T is abominable. Usually when I call AT&T to complain, I endure their useless tech support and receive my credit, sometimes even before the call drops. This morning however, I decided to go another route. I selected the option to speak to an Apple representative, who, after looking at my service record insisted that even AT&T can’t be this bad, and perhaps they should replace the phone. Okay, sounds reasonable to me. He continued to give me two options: A) walk into a UPS store and drop off the phone; I’d receive a replacement in 3-5 days. Obviously, this wasn’t an option. B) Pay for Applecare which will extend my warranty for two years, and they’ll ship me a phone by tomorrow, advanced replacement. 

“Well, I now know that a new phone is imminent, and considering the new features, it’d be foolish for me to pay for Applecare at this time.” I might as well open my window and throw cash out on the street.

He completely concurred, and I could tell from his voice it wasn’t the first time he’s heard this argument as of late. 

Resigned, and being a very good customer service manager, he arranged for me to pick up the new phone at a nearby store, which I plan on doing shortly. 

I wonder how many others have gone this same route.

That could be the case but, due to the habit Apple has of releasing the iPhone the same time every year, you were likely already aware a new one was coming out in the summer of this year (prior to the Gizmodo leak).  They probably do hear this reasoning a lot when attempting to get people to do an upgrade around this time of the year.  But, I’d bet it’s mostly due to the Pavlovian response they’ve created more than a leak of a prototype.