!Apple Store. Well, the screen of my iPod nano broke. It was in a case and has a protective cover. Uh oh, $189 down the drain I thought. Wandered over to the Palo Alto Apple Store. First, it is an incredible retail experience and I can’t believe how crowded it was with people buy $2,000 desktops. They have an online system where you register and what order you are in. so 10 minutes later, the resident genius says, “yup, you broke it, here’s a replacement. Wow! So I now have an unbroken 4GB nano and Apple didn’t have to do it, but they sure earned my loyalty.
I had forgotten what buying technology should be like. I almost bought a $2700 Macbook Pro 17″ notebook right there. So if you are buying an MP3 player, remember you also get this level of service with Apple, I don’t expect the same with PC products. And Apple is right about controlling the retail experience, it does make a difference.
For double protection, I recommend buying your iPod at Costco, but in the first year, Apple has an amazing iron clad product guarantee. Beyond that Costco will take anything back that they sell for a replacement.
