[Public] Today's (first, don't want to tempt fate!) WTF moment....

[kniteracy]

I have received an email from Apple.

This email says,

Dear Harper,

Thank you for shopping at the Apple Store.
Your order is ready to be delivered, however our carrier UPS could not reach you.

Please contact UPS on [number] with your 10-digit customer reference [number] to facilitate delivery.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

If you have already made contact with UPS or received your delivery in the meantime, please disregard this message.

Kind regards,
The Apple Store

Now, OK. I have made an order from the Apple Store recently. I decided to bite the bullet and shell out the £ for Applecare. Let's just say the family is eating tuna and beans this month. Why'd I do it? Because I cannot replace my MacBook Pro anytime within the next two or three years at least, and Applecare gives me two more years of excellent Apple customer service, instead of perpetual 'we'll charge you for walking in the store or picking up the phone' kinda service. And, OK, my emailed receipt did come with an estimated day of delivery, and that day was yesterday.

But, people.

Applecare? It's a service agreement. It's a number. As far as I know, it does not come in a spiffy Apple-logo-encrusted box, nor does it arrived embossed on a brass plate, nor does it require any big manual: it's just a service agreement that says Apple will fix my computer if something breaks, except they'll only replace the screen once, and then maybe they'll only do that in the first year; I'm not sure. I really thought the estimated day of delivery was just something that goes on the bottom of all Apple receipts -- and frankly, I've already emailed customer service, asking why my Applecare info pack hasn't been emailed to me already--

Because why in expletive-rich hell would anybody ship something like that? What possible purpose can shipping a service agreement with UPS serve?

I understand why some credit cards are delivered by couriers: heck, I almost didn't get my new debit card because HSBC ships them by regular post and it got buried (for like a week) underneath the massive, architectural-dig levels of flyers and circulars that come through our letterbox on a daily basis.

Perhaps when you buy Applecare, they send you a useless gift, and that's what needs to be shipped via UPS? I dunno. Apple, not known for the gift-giving so much. Well, except when you get somebody good at the Genius Bar, and they're mostly just good for batteries and power adapters, and even then it only works because you're a girl with a cute American accent who can also talk shop. ;-)

But seriously. Applecare? Shipped via UPS? WTF.

Comments

[keristor.livejournal.com]

Are you sure it's actually from Apple? Check the headers carefully, it looks just like any number of spam/virus emails which I've received over the last several months (apart from the company name which varies).

[telynor.livejournal.com]

Nope, it's from Apple. The number was a legitimate UPS number, my delivery number brought up an entry from Apple, and UPS has a record of a delivery attempted at my home address yesterday.

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Please be sure to retrieve the package quickly. While there are air-holes on the box, the Apple Service Technician we have sent to you only has enough food and water for approximately 10 days, and if you do not take receipt of your Premium AppleCare Service Package within that time, your warranty (and the technician) may be voided.

Personal service is the hallmark of Apple's Customer Care. Thank you for your business, and have a nice day.

[keristor.livejournal.com]

Wow. OK, that's mystifying...

[resourceress.livejournal.com]

Believe it or not, AppleCare actually does come in a box.

[djbp.livejournal.com]

Yup about A5 in area and a centimetre thick, PITA since we have to keep the things for every machine at work

[sylphon.livejournal.com]

Applecare does actually come in a small box, or it did when I last got it. Weird but that's apple for ya :-)

[micromegas.livejournal.com]

My AppleCare thing is an actual box. I don't know what's in it because I haven't opened it. But it is in fact a physical object.

[hofo.com (from livejournal.com)]

It's been a while since I had it on my increasingly ancient PowerBook G4, but if I recall correctly, the package contains a CD or DVD that has some diagnostic software, Tech Tool Pro I think.

[telynor.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it does, and it's useful and all. I just think the whole thing could be accomplished without the packaging. I might have saved two whole pounds on Applecare that way. ;)