iPhone Support: High-tech MacGyvering

I got a kick out of something that Apple sent me. My iPhone has intermittently been acting up (not making sounds when it ought to — when typing or, less importantly, talking to someone). I’ve worked both ends of so many hardware support cases that I’m fine with that, stuff happens. The mark of a good company is how easy their tech support is to navigate, how quickly you get results out of their tech support, and the magnitude of those results. So far, Apple rocks.

Quick phone response, intelligent questions, and I had a replacement service loaner iPhone this morning, the next day. The very best part came when I opened the box and surveyed the contents.

Before I opened the box, I thought about looking for something to open the SIM card holder with. Then I thought, meh, I bet they have some tool in there for that. Indeed they did and it’s now my favorite support tool included by any company with any product:

Sure, they could have developed some elaborate tool to fit this purpose. But I applaud them for the simplicity of this solution. It’s the tool I would have rummaged for in my desk drawer for 10 minutes, so it’s really great that they included one. I like the packaging, too, the little plastic bag with the worth-a-thousand-words directions.

The recovery of my original iPhone’s contents onto the new one was remarkably complete. I was impressed by this — even the log of my phone calls made it back.

Of course, I’d rather have had no problems with my beloved iPhone, but it may have been worth it for the chuckle I got when I saw the paper clip in the bag.