Gladys sent a message to Chua Sock Koong ,CEO, SingTel that said:
Hi Miss Chua,
I hope this email finds you well. Not sure if you would even get to see this mail, but I thought to attempt to contact you to seek your help over a small matter, out of desperation.
My family and I have been an ardent support of Singtel for many years, and I note Singtel's branding to "make everyday better" for its customers. However, this was not the case for me and my family. You would be able to check our billing records and phone conversation with your customer service staff. Details as follows:
Biller's Name: Toh Siew Loon
I had recently re-contracted my plan at the Singtel retail stores in Westmall, and purchased a new iPhone 6s. However, to my dismay, I found the phone to be performing below par. While the retail assistant performed her functions dutifully, her SOP lines did not help to manage any anxieties on my end at all. By procedures, she told me that this new iPhones warranty would be tagged to me once she tears off the wrapper. Prior to tearing, I asked what happens if the phone were found to be faulty. She said I would have to take it up with Apple myself. I painted another scenario - 'If we found the screen to be cracked once we open the box, would this phone belong to me and I would have to accept it', and Singtel staff answered 'yes'.
While this idea confounded me greatly, I could not push the case further and jokingly said I hope I won't get a faulty piece.
Murphy could not have struck faster. The new iPhone 6s, purchased on 13 Feb (Sat), turned out to be a faulty piece. I found the phone to be performing below par on two counts: (1) poor WiFi connectivity from my room; previously, I could connect to the WiFi with my old iPhone 6; and (2) poor GPS signal; blue arrow cannot locate itself properly.
Sent my phone in to the Apple authorized retail centre (QCD@Wheelock), only to have it diagnosed as "unauthorised modification" and my warranty void. I barely have time to set up my new phone, much less modify it!
I checked in with Singtel customer hotline on two occasions, only to the staff repeat to me the standard procedures "I'm sorry, Singtel is only the service provider. You would have to check with Apple on this. I cannot help you." Only after probing further, did I realise that Singtel allows a one-for-one exchange for new phones purchased within a week, for all brands, except Apple.
My case has come to a standstill: phone is currently sitting in at Apple's repair centre (I shall not go into detail of how I was routed from QCD to the Apple customer service centre in Ireland, then Australia, and finally Singapore, and yet have the case unsolved.
As an ardent support of Singtel over the years, while I do not fully comprehend your standing agreement with Apple on their products, but I would thought the Lemon law applies in Singapore. I certainly did not expect myself to have to bear the brunt of knocking on so many wrong doors, remain phoneless, and yet having no resolution to this case at all, when all I merely did was to re-contract my services with Singtel, and count it on (very bad) luck to have purchase a faulty piece.
I sincerely implore you to allow me for a one-for-one iPhone 6s exchange; a unit which does not cause me so much grief and inconvenience.
In gist, it is a simple case with much agency problem. Would lemon law help me? Perhaps. But what's more effective is how we can train our staff to be more discerning and customer-centric - I don't think how a staff is able to say 'yes' to my painted scenario above. It certainly did not alleviate my concerns that I am safeguarded against a bad purchase. More importantly, I don't know how I am, as a customer, able to negotiate for a pleasant outcome with Apple at the end of the day.
Please help, Miss Chua. Thanks very much.
Sincerely,
Gladys
