Fast forward to nine months later. I shattered my screen and had sweat in the phone (running without an armband), so I needed a new phone. The Droid still works, but it just didn't look nice. I went to Verizon and joined the Apple cultists with an iPhone 4 in February 2012.
The iPhone 4 stood up to hell and high water, literally. In August of 2012 it took a bath, but ended up working just fine after an extended stay in a bag of rice. In January of 2013 it took a dip again. This time, it didn't bounce back the same. It was functioning but fickle for about a week. It died on a Friday two weeks after the incident, and I purchased an iPhone 5 just before the one year anniversary of the 4.
The iPhone 5 was great until the top lock button stopped functioning about three months after getting the phone. I had been meaning to take it to the Apple Store, but there isn't one in Tallahassee and I never had a convenient time to visit an out of town store.
During my conference in Clearwater, I found some time to visit the Apple Store in Tampa. I had never been to an Apple Store so I wasn't sure what to expect. There were so many blue-shirted team members that were incredibly personable.
I arrived about 10 minutes before my Genius Bar appointment and was seen immediately. It took a bit of time to actually get helped at the bar, but the service was exceptional. The customer service agent who helped me set me up with a new iPhone 5 (for free!) and even answered ancillary questions about sharing contacts between phones, using the Find My iPhone feature and how to add multiple email accounts to Apple devices.
Overall, the Apple Store experience was great! I was so impressed with the customer service, how quickly I was seen, and that there was no paperwork involved to get a replacement phone under warranty! Apple really knows how to take care of its customers. Kudos to you, Apple! I'll be back!
