My Gravis Store Experience
Today with temperatures baking in the low 30s (Celsius) I took my defective iPod Shuffle to the main Gravis store in Berlin. Took my bike for the 10 km journey from Lichterfelde to Charlottenburg, that meant lots of perspiration so I took along an ersatz T-shirt not too look like a wet jerk in the store (I was self-concious enough to bring along an extra T-Shirt which I changed before entering the store). Took me 37 minutes through medium to heavy traffic. Not bad considering that the same journey would have taken me 45 minutes with public transportation according to BVG.
I have not yet revealed to my readers that I am an avid biker in the human-powered sense. Berlin is especially bike-friendly not only because of the many designated bike paths and broad thouroughfares (as a cyclist you are allowed to use the bus lanes). What makes biking a pleasure in Berlin is simply that it is very flat, and it is the hills that usually kill biking not as a sport but as a mode of transportation versus motorized vehicles.
But I am transgressing here. My iPod Shuffle was not functioning in a sporadic way: sometimes the FF (skip to next title) -button does not register when I press it. So I had to press many times until it sprang to the next title - very unnerving. Something I didn't expect in an Apple product after only 6 months (in fact today was exactly six months, I bought the Shuffle on the 10th of March).
Gravis store on Franklin Street in Berlin is quite a big store. Since my last visit they have expanded a bit and rearranged the setup. Very impressive considering that this is almost the only place in Berlin where you can see and feel Apple products. Funny, you live in the capital city, 3.5 million inhabitants and there is only really one store to see Apple products - give me a break, Apple, we really need an Apple store here! Send in your emergency crew, Gravis has monopoloy written all over its carpet. Help!
A few souls with minor problems before me in the make-shift line of the Service department. Only one guy at the counter, even though three terminals suggested three Gravis people to take your concerns. One big brawly chap with mean look on his face and a G5 Box at his feet was having a discussion with one of the ghost customer service guys, I overheard "...I want my money back, and no, I will not sign this...I have work to do, I can't return here...". Your typical customer, I would say. The line around me grew and grew and finally it was my turn. Took about 15 minutes to check my data, he said that if they found the problem I would probably get a new shuffle, repairing those things cost more than replacement, bla, bla. OK.
I have not yet revealed to my readers that I am an avid biker in the human-powered sense. Berlin is especially bike-friendly not only because of the many designated bike paths and broad thouroughfares (as a cyclist you are allowed to use the bus lanes). What makes biking a pleasure in Berlin is simply that it is very flat, and it is the hills that usually kill biking not as a sport but as a mode of transportation versus motorized vehicles.
But I am transgressing here. My iPod Shuffle was not functioning in a sporadic way: sometimes the FF (skip to next title) -button does not register when I press it. So I had to press many times until it sprang to the next title - very unnerving. Something I didn't expect in an Apple product after only 6 months (in fact today was exactly six months, I bought the Shuffle on the 10th of March).
Gravis store on Franklin Street in Berlin is quite a big store. Since my last visit they have expanded a bit and rearranged the setup. Very impressive considering that this is almost the only place in Berlin where you can see and feel Apple products. Funny, you live in the capital city, 3.5 million inhabitants and there is only really one store to see Apple products - give me a break, Apple, we really need an Apple store here! Send in your emergency crew, Gravis has monopoloy written all over its carpet. Help!
A few souls with minor problems before me in the make-shift line of the Service department. Only one guy at the counter, even though three terminals suggested three Gravis people to take your concerns. One big brawly chap with mean look on his face and a G5 Box at his feet was having a discussion with one of the ghost customer service guys, I overheard "...I want my money back, and no, I will not sign this...I have work to do, I can't return here...". Your typical customer, I would say. The line around me grew and grew and finally it was my turn. Took about 15 minutes to check my data, he said that if they found the problem I would probably get a new shuffle, repairing those things cost more than replacement, bla, bla. OK.
posted by Georg at 7:06 PM
1 Comments:
Biking is great! Glad you hear you're a fellow biker. If only there were no hills around here though!!
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