STEP TWO: RESEARCH
Immediately I took advantage of the Interwebs and was contacted by iResQ.com, a site which had previously been recommended to me by a friend. Not strangers to mustaches or technology, this is a company I can really get behind. Their blog mentions John Oates and ’staches on several occasions but the deciding factor was a blog post entitled “RIP Jeff’s Mustache.”
Sold. Even though my phone is only a month old I’ve heard Apple stores
would still charge me unless I could think of a way to convince them it
was the phone’s fault. Somehow I don’t think they would be persuaded
that the iPhone conspired to jump from my hands or that it somehow
tazered me and I flung it away from myself in self defense. My choice
is clear. Jeff’s mustache > Apple Store.
STEP THREE: GAME TIME DECISION
After an amiable email convo with Sales Rep Brian, a mustache fan and
all around upstanding citizen (i.e. a Mizzou grad), the deal was on.
Like a parent sending her child to kindergarten, by 6 pm Monday I had
mailed my injured iPhone off to Kansas. Thus began my radio silence.
Arguably the worst part about the whole process: going phoneless until
yours returns safely to you. I discovered my iPhone was more like an
extra limb than previously thought and it was hard to coordinate things
like directions (to and from the UPS Store).
Without the GPS my phone so lovingly provided, I found myself
frustratingly lost in what I call the “iPhone Blackout of 2009.” Lest I
become a hermit and never venture out again, iResQ’s 24 hour turnaround
deserves two thumbs up.
STEP FOUR: PHONE REPAIR
Luckily, by noon the next day I was emailed by the iResQ team to assure
me my phone had arrived and no shady business was going down. Also
provided with a job number, there was nothing to do but wait. Overall
their customer service was handled well at every step of the game. They
save you the trip of taking off work, wading through Mall traffic and
standing in line at the Apple store for hours, but if you don’t have a
backup phone, as previously mentioned, you’re *** out of luck.
The entire process was very simple, kind of like refurbishing for dummies.
-If you aren’t sure if what you have is an iPod, iPhone, Portable, PSP,
or desktop, the website provides step-by-step visuals for selecting the
services you need.
-If you feel brave, they also offer a DIY kit. (Fair warning, there are
no directions provided so you should be pretty damn tech savvy to try
to put together a digitizer yourself).
-If you don’t know what the hell is wrong with your iPhone, send it to
them anyway and they’ll call you back pending a diagnostic test and let
you know the problem.
-If you don’t want to fix it, so be it. They’ll even recycle it for you.
Once you choose what you want, prices and shipping are revealed.
STEP FIVE: TRIUMPHANT RETURN
At 4:30pm on Tuesday, UPS alerted me that my package was on it’s way
back to me. Wednesday morning’s ETA of 9:15am had me obsessively
anticipating the arrival of my precious cargo. The phone didn’t
actually arrive until 2:30pm but when that moment came it was
glorious. My iPhone’s premature face-lift paid off. Playboy spread to
be determined.
The MVP of this whole process was UPS, using the tracking number
iResQ provided me at every turn. Without them I would have been under
the impression that my phone was halfway to Mexico
and never coming back. As for price, though, iPhone repairs online are
all over the board, some as low as 24.99 and some higher than 200.00.
In store, there is no guarantee Apple will fix it for less than 79.00,
which is iResQ’s holiday outer screen repair rate without shipping. So
not the lowest price but certainly not the highest, at least you know
their price is guaranteed before you send your phone away.
YAY OR NAY:
It’s obvious these techies know what they are talking about and they
back it up with great customer service. This being my first time fixing
my infant iPhone I have no modes of comparison, but I give iResQ a
’stache of approval.
–
*THIS CONTEST HAS REACHED ITS CAPACITY AND IS NOW CLOSED.
The first 10 people to contact mick@iresq.com with AMI2009 as your subject will receive free 2-way overnight shipping with any repair service.