Apple's quality control...or..."Misadventures at Costco"

[secondimpact]

Hey, so I'm not too sure if this post belongs here but I'm pretty positive it does since I do talk about an iPod 5.5 80 gig in the post. I dont post often..but when I do post, its not junk so read it! I also feel like the poeple that hang out here would probably be sympathetic to me and understand me better. So please, mod squad, read it before you move it every which way.

Friday...
My 5g regular 60 gb iPod was acting up...after about 2 months of usage. The hard drive was working but it just wasnt sounding right. Im around hard drives all day and I know what hard drives sound like when they're sick..and this one was sick. So as opposed to taking it to Apple (The Apple Stores out here in Los Angeles are pretty stone cold...and I quote regarding an earlier issue; "Sir, if it does not affect the way the iPod acts, there is really nothing we can do. The hard drive is obviously working as it is storing and playing songs but the noise alone does not warrant a replacement."). I fell back on my Costco stone-cold, bullet proof 100% satisfaction guarantee. Plus I heard Costco was carrying the new Johnny Depp-ized 80 gigs so I switched it up for an 80..

Saturday...
After about a day of using it, one of the click wheel buttons (the menu button) sunk in. And stopped clicking. I searched and searched in vain for a solution on iL..but I guess no one had the problem. Disheartened, I took the iPod back and switched it for another one. Switched it out, return process was smooth. Brought 80 gig number 2 back home..and I found out the casing on the ipod is loose. Really loose. The black part of the ipod had some play between the chrome backing. I could press it down and I could feel it kind of pinch my fingers. It felt like if I were to drop it, the two halves would separate...so I took it back..for another one. 80 gig number 3 had a bent dock connector...It wasnt bent like someone bent it..like slot at the bottom didnt align correctly with the chrome backing...(I wish I took some pics for you)..so I couldnt push the dock connector in..Unf**kingbelievable I said to myself and tried to cry myself to sleep..

Sunday...
I took it back and this time I bought 2 80 gig iPods...(so..numbers 4 and 5 respectively)..number 4 seemed okay but the LCD inside looked like there was something pressing up against it..(Kind of like when you push your thumb to your laptop screen..do it, its fun)...cant settle with that if im gonna watch movies on it..Number 5..finally, the "decent" ipod. It wasnt perfect..but it was a lot better than the other ones..I really wasnt up to exchanging it again and risking getting one worst than the others. In adddition I lacked the gumption, gas, and the stamina to change it again and deal with the same person at the return counter again (she memorized my name..:rolleyes:)

I took back the extra iPod to costco..and this time the manager was working the returns counter..

"Hey hows it going. Yeah I just wanna return this one, I decided I dont want it.."
"Thats fine.." And at this point he proceeds to open the package..He rips open the headphone/dock connector/dock adaptor packet (It wasnt opened and it was still sealed...I dont know why he decided to do that..)..then he proceeds to rip open the product manual packet...and his face went blank..

"Where's the CD?"
"What CD? The 80 gigs dont have CDs.."
"Sir..the 30 gigs, the 60 gigs, and the nanos all have CDs..how else would you get the iPod to install on your computer?" He rolls his eyes like im an idiot..

At this point im just like....what the hell are you talking about..so I say..
"Im almost positive, the new 80 gigs dont have CDs..Same with the new nanos..their box isnt even big enough to fit a CD."

(A baby behind me begins to cry loudly..so as to add more tension and aggravation to the situation..and the voices will escalate..)

"Sir..I am the manager here and as far as I have seen ALL iPods come with a CD, it has always been that way and it always will.. I dont know what kind of fraud or trick you are playing here but I cant give you your cash back unless I see CDs for these iPods.."

"Listen, they dont have CDs, why dont you just process the return, take my word for it, and we can move along..If i wanted a CD, dont you think Id burn one and return it? Why would I need TWO iPod CDs? There are instructions in the book that say to download it from the itunes website.."
"Sir please do not tell me how to do my job..I reserve the right to suspend your membership for fraudulent returns."

At this point..im kind of ####ed because I just got wrongfully accused of fraud..

"I really dont know what to tell you..they dont have CDs...you know what? How about if I BUY and OPEN and iPod right now, before your eyes and you can see for yourself it has no CD."
"Thats fine.." the manager says with a smirk thinking that hes gonna win this arguement..

So I buy one..and I open it right in front of his eyes..and I open the little box section and take out the product manuals still wrapped up. The whole time the manager is wearing some cute smirk..so I look at him and say..

"Here..I want you do to the honors, you open it.."
He opens it up and..surprise.. no CD..He gave me my cash back. All the while being deathly silent...I took down his employee badge number and his name on a piece of paper..and I said rather clearly; "Youll hear from corporate about this..."

As I walk out of the warehouse and reach the doors, he jumps over the counter and apologizes profusely for the ordeal. He tells me; "Sir...I mean Mr. (My last name here)..I am really sorry about that..um..if you would just be willing to take this cash card of 100 dollars..do you think we could maybe keep this between you and me..?"

I give him a hard stare and walk out of Costco with my cash...and a cool 100 dollar gift card.

So what was the final point of this post?
Two things..One..what is up with Apple's quality control..or lack thereof?! When I bought my 4G 20 gig, the thing seemed solid as a rock. Well built, the click wheel was flush with the body, all the buttons clicked (and still click) crisp and audibly. The touch wheel feels solid. The casing didnt move around with the backing..The 60 gig video iPod i returned was acceptable..the wheel felt cheap but it was still volumes better than the 80 gigs I had to trade out for earlier. I know Apple changed manufactureres Foxconn to something else..but damn it what the hell happened, Steve? Lets hope I just had a streak of bad luck and the first 80 giggers that were produced were rushed to get to market as soon as possible..I've read about so many problems with 5g iPods on this board than 4g iPod problems combined..

Am I picky? Hardly. I scoff at posts that sound like "ZOMG! Deres a piece of dust under teh screen wut do I do?!?!"

The other thing..Im not hating on Costco...this isnt the board to be doing it on...As far as I know Costco still has the most reliable return policy ever. ("We will strive to continue to have the best return policy in the industry" the sign says..). Returns are quick and easy..with the exception of this one..and they do strive for 100% member satisfaction..but damn it, I wish their people would learn more about the stuff they sell. At the very least, the electronics staff should know this right? They didnt.

Also, to add some more salt to the wound, the iPod box only says "Includes iPod, earbuds, and dock connector" ...and the product manuals that the manager ripped clearly state "Step 1: Go to apple.com/ipod/start and download iTunes do your computer." Again no mention of a CD.

Whatever. I got 100 bucks for my time and stress. Apparently, people are scamming Costco out of iPod CD roms..

[BluSoul]

Sorry to hear your ordeal. I would be pretty ####ed off too if i got that many poorly made iPods. I hope that its costcos product handling that caused that and not a fault of apple :-\ anyways its cool that you got 100 bucks out of it ;)

[secondimpact]

Sorry to hear your ordeal. I would be pretty ####ed off too if i got that many poorly made iPods. I hope that its costcos product handling that caused that and not a fault of apple :-\ anyways its cool that you got 100 bucks out of it ;)


Im almost positive it is Apple's quality control..because all of the iPods I opened were hermetically sealed in shrink wrap..Costco didnt touch them...but honestly a bent out of shape dock connector...someone is falling asleep at Foxconn

[nate_aight]

Wow dude that really suck but in the end you got the last laugh id have to say. costco does have some of those "stupid" return clerk people, but yeah seems like there are lots of messed up ipods

[enjoilax]

Look.


Don't be a #####, becuase honestly its not his responsibility to be accomidating to you but to make sure no one steals from the store.

Is it #### what he did? Sure, but still... he had a valid point.

[secondimpact]

Look.


Don't be a #####, becuase honestly its not his responsibility to be accomidating to you but to make sure no one steals from the store.

Is it #### what he did? Sure, but still... he had a valid point.


For the record...I stayed calm throughout the whole thing...
He was the one picking a fight..and lets think about this...who steals CD roms?!

[enjoilax]

For the record...I stayed calm throughout the whole thing...
He was the one picking a fight..and lets think about this...who steals CD roms?!
Hrm, my previous post censored 2 words I thought wouldn't be, but whatever.

Who cares? Its still missing merchandise. What happens when the next customer asks comes up to the counter and asks why they were missing a CD?*

*if they re-sell their inventory

[JazzyMac]

Uh...the manager was in the WRONG. Accusing a customer of fraud without checking the hard, solid facts first is beyond reproach. One hundred dollars? He got off easy.

[jhollington]

Well, since they also sell software they may overestimate the significant of an iTunes software CD (since for all this guy knows it's commercial software that you can only get by purchasing an iPod). Since Costco is not a computer store per se, I can even forgive the manager for not being particularly educated on the product itself (beyond knowing that every previous generation of iPod did in fact come with a CD).

However, that's still no excuse for handling the situation as rudely as he allegedly did. Asking why the CD isn't in the box is one thing, accusing a customer of lying is quite another. As evidenced by the post it would have been a simple enough thing for the manager to check these facts, rather than simply assuming that he was in the right.

As for the quality control problem, I do think that you had a run of bad luck, or more likely Costco received a batch of iPods that were all dodgy. I ordered an 80Gb 5G directly from Apple, and although it took a while to get here, I have had absolutely no problems with it. In fact, my 60Gb that was produced last year had a slightly "loose" clickwheel (nothing so serious that it wasn't usable -- just a small noticeable space). My 80Gb has a perfectly flush clickwheel.

I chalk it up to manufacturing differences between assembly lines and the fact that Apple is producing significantly more iPods than they once did. It's a fairly standard industrial concept that as production volume increases quality control decreases of necessity (in short, you can't check every iPod that goes out the door, so the percentage of the ones you do check decreases).

[secondimpact]

...

I chalk it up to manufacturing differences between assembly lines and the fact that Apple is producing significantly more iPods than they once did. It's a fairly standard industrial concept that as production volume increases quality control decreases of necessity (in short, you can't check every iPod that goes out the door, so the percentage of the ones you do check decreases).

I agree with you here...but I would definitely pay 50 or maybe even 80 dollars more for better quality. Because companies save money when they spend more to ensure that the quality on their products is up to par. I would for sure pay more to have Apple certify its products as Six Sigma (that is...more stringent quality control..type in firefox "wp six sigma")

Motorola has been doing it for years and they have saved 17 billion to date..Quality does pay.

[jhollington]

Unfortunately, my recent experiences with Motorola products would seem to contradict that.

I am still very much a fan of their radio equipment, but the quality of their cell phones, IMHO, has been rapidly decreasing in recent years, so I suspect they're suffering from the same sort of issues.

As for Apple and the iPod, the problem is that they're already in a very competitive market. While I agree that I wouldn't mind paying more for improved quality either, I suspect that adding $50-$80 to the price would sell far fewer iPods to the general public, which is their target market.

At the end of the day, most manufacturers just decide to strike a balance between the cost of improved quality control as opposed to the cost of replacing/repairing faulty items. I do think that Apple's image suffers as a result of this, but it probably makes little difference to their actual bottom line.

[tsweimer]

I work for costco and I'm not surprised the manager acted that way nor am i surprised he sucked up to you. If you did go to head office about his behavior he would have gotten in deep you know what and he knows this full well. Some of the managers act as if the company belongs to them and they try and throw their weight around forgetting they neither own the company nor are they un-accountable for their actions. I don't want to get into a long Costco bashing rant here but I will say this, there are people who abuse the return system but they are few and far between. Costco will always have the best return policy. That's it.