Ordering iPod
They told me at school that you tell of positive service to up to eight people, but of bad service to up to twenty people. This tops it, so Im going to write it here, and in my other blog, hoping that google hits will give it some readership.
I decided to buy the iPod from Apple's netstore, as it was about ten euros cheaper there than in the finnish third-party netstore.
So, after wondering a while what sort of iPod I would like, and what I would like to engrave to it (as it was free), I finally decided on the 30 gig iPod Black.
The iPod "Buy me" page was finnish, but after clicking the link, it changed into english, and it was quite clear that it had not been customized for Finland; there were fields not in use in Finland, and the english used wasnt exactly "first grade". Some of the words werent familiar to me either, and I have to study business english (and I have ten years of english studies behind me).
Finally I succeed in placing my order. I get an email how to send the money (wire/bank transfer, as I dont own a credit card). half of the graphics in the email are broken, but I didn't think much of it. I went to my netbank and inserted the given information. But whats this? The reference number wasnt valid. I copypasted it. I typed it. I checked. I rechecked. Didnt work.
Maybe this is a common problem, I think, and check the email given to me again. There is link marked as "OUR HELP MENU". As you can see, the picture is broken and the "Frequently asked questions" link brings up an error.
I sleep over the night and try to call them the next day (today). The number in the email isint valid either. Woman on the other side of the line, probaply a recording, tells that the number is not in use.
I try to send email. Few minutes later I get an answer telling that there wasnt anyone there atm, but if I waited for 24 hours, someone would answer me. Meanwhile, I could call them on their customer service. You know, the number that didnt work.
I dig the Apple's fi-page and try to find the phonenumber for some other department. I find one, and call, and am fairly suprised when the call center is in english. "They really try to cut in the corners, don't they?" I think, as I press number two. Some guy answers, from accent I suppose he's in Ireland, which he confirms to me later on. I tell him of my bank-problem. He tells me that the reference number given to me isint valid in North; that it isint following the standard finnish system. This is pretty queer, as the bank account given was in the same bank as my own. He says I should walk to bank and make the transfer there, with the help of bank-person.
I bring up the fact that the email had lots of other information that wasnt up-to-date, starting with FAQ and phonenumber not working. He says I should phone the number he gives me. I write it up. After closing the phone, I notice this is the same number I tried to call earlier, the one that didnt answer. I tried it anyway. Still not working.
I try to call again to Ireland. This time Im redirected to some guy named Jasquez (or something like that). I explain that it will cost me five euros to do it manually in the bank. He says that I should then pay with credit card. I tell him I dont have one. He then says I should use the reference number given in the email. I tell him its false. He says he will redirect my phone to another department. I get the call center on the other side of the line again. I close the phone.
So, what should I do? Im sure as hell wont be going to bank. The queues there are horrible, and then I have to pay five euros to some lady to work with me. Netshopping was supposed to be easy.
Should I try Apple's callcenter again in hope of getting some real service, maybe even discount? At this point, I would be satisfied if someone could say that they will look in the problems of the email, and that it will be adressed.
Personally, I start to feel more and more that I should just go to third-party store and buy my product from there. With the bank-problem, it only costs me five euros more, and I get the ipod about two to three weeks earlier.
EDIT: I called to Apple Care, which actually has finnish employees. I got some guy who told me that as the reference number wasnt up to finnish standards, I should paste it to the note-field, with my order number.
That sounds like a sane idea, and I wonder why they gave me so fucked up answers at Ireland.