A world class brand isn’t defined solely by a product or service. It isn’t just about its people. And it’s much more than customer service, marketing and sales.
It’s the sum of every single tiny interaction between a customer and an organisation.
Last week a 40mm black bar appeared across my Apple iPad screen. I was gutted. As was my five year old son. It’s one of the original devices shipped in May 2010.
I was travelling at the time with limited web access and so tweeted an image of the screen seeking advice from my network.
I hoped that it might be a memory fault. My Twitter network said that if a factory reset didn’t work the screen had blown.
On Sunday back home I booked a session via the web at the Genius Bar at the Apple Store in Newcastle. At 5.30pm today I turned up for the appointment.
The Apple rep welcomed me by name and diagnosed the issue immediately. iPads are sealed units and are recycled rather than repaired he explained.
A replacement was offered for £85. That’s around a fifth of the price of a new unit.
My old iPad was wiped in front of me and the new unit configured. I left the store within ten minutes of entering. I received a guarantee by email on my iPhone as I walked out of the store.
Thank you Apple.
Now that is impressive service but failure within 19 months not very impressive re product quality .