 Tim Cook in China |
On China's "Consumer Rights Day," an investigative TV show called "315" ran a report accusing Apple of not giving Chinese citizens the same sort of consumer protection it gives other people around the world.
The Wall Street Journal reports there were interviews with Apple resellers who accused Apple of "cheating Chinese consumers, ignoring Chinese laws and using tactics to avoid providing full warranties."
The network said Apple doesn't fully replace iPhones that are busted. Instead it fixes the internal parts, then replaces the back plate. This means the phone isn't a complete replacement, and therefore it's still under Apple's one-year warranty, Mike Elgan of Cult of Mac reports. The Chinese report also said Apple's warranty violates China's law mandating two-year warranties.
Around the time this report was airing, a few Chinese celebrities trashed Apple on Weibo, a Chinese Twitter-like service.
Singer Peter Ho posted this message. Make sure you read until the last sentence:
"Cannot believe Apple is playing so many dirty tricks in customer service. As an Apple fan, I feel hurt. Won’t you [Apple] feel ashamed in front of Steve Jobs? Won’t you feel ashamed in front of those young people who sell their kidneys for your products? You dare to bully consumers simply because you are a famous brand. Need to post around 8:20 pm."
The "Need to post around 8:20PM," had everyone believing Ho was part of a bigger smear campaign against Apple coordinated by the Chinese government.
After everyone started to mock him for the 8:20 tweet, he claimed he didn't post it.
Earlier this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he believed China would soon become Apple's biggest market, passing the U.S.
China has not been known for being very hospitable to non-Chinese companies. We're not sure what's going on with this seemingly state-sanctioned attack on Apple, but it should be a wake up call for Apple if it's really planning on trying to do big business in China.