Considering the effort involved in getting my iPhone 3G, the first phone I’ve ever been happy with, last Friday was not the best of days for me.  During a trek across a parking lot, I found myself running along next to my iPhone which had slipped out of my coat pocket and was sliding across the icy asphalt.  My clumsiness knows few bounds and this wasn’t the first time I had dropped my iPhone.  This was the first time I was to pick it up and find the screen shattered.  

Devastated, the phone was actually perfectly usable despite a dense spiderweb of cracks.  I was just waiting for the glass to fall into pieces and taped it up — possibly the tackiest iPhone accessory.  

Today, I finally made it to the Apple Store to find out what sort of options I had to get it replaced.  I’ve had to go to the Genius Bar only once before and was amazed at the customer service.  The monitor on my older iBook had stopped functioning and 2-3 days later, I had my laptop back in my hands, sent straight from the repair facility back to me.  The turnaround time was pretty remarkable and I have to admit, it helped solidify my interest in buying Apple products.

With some dread as to what sort of options I would have regarding getting my iPhone fixed, I suppose I shouldn’t have worried.  I scheduled an appointment this morning for 11:30, was called at more or less 11:30, and walked out of the Apple Store with a brand new replacement phone at 11:40.  Considering buying a new iPhone unlocked is something like ~$600, I had a feeling my out-of-warranty phone was going to cost somewhere in that ballpark.  The $200 I paid, while nothing to scoff at, was well below the minimum I was hoping.  

While I wouldn’t consider myself an Apple fan-boy, just a happy user, that kind of customer service is one very good reason why others are.