Memo Tells Apple Employees How to Deal With Upset iPhone 4 Customers

By Ian Bell June 30, 2010

Apple doesn’t appear to be giving up any ground on the issues surrounding reception with its hot-selling iPhone 4. Many have reported issues with the phone losing bars (which leads to dropped calls and neutered internet speeds) with some even posting on YouTube to voice their frustrations.

Steve Jobs first suggested that users need to adjust the way they hold the phone to improve reception and Apple later released an official statement which noted that all phones can suffer from reception problems.

Now, however, Boy Genius Report has secured an internal Apple memo which describes to Apple Store employees how to deal with customers that come in with problems. In typical Apple fashion, the memo starts off by praising the iPhone 4, stating, “The iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. Our testing shows that iPhone 4’s overall antenna performance is better than iPhone 3GS.”

The memo goes on to say that, “If you are experiencing this on your iPhone 4, avoid covering the black strip in the lower-left corner of the metal band.” The problem with that suggestion is that for many people who hold their phone in their left hand, your palm naturally rests on black strip that Apple references.

The memo also notes that no warranty work will be performed for iPhone 4’s that are afflicted with reception problems and echoes earlier statements that customers should use a case to alleviate the problem.

For customers hoping to get a free case out as a result of these reception problems, Apple has an answer for you:

We ARE NOT appeasing customers with free bumpers – DON’T promise a free bumper to customers.

Updated 6/30/2010 @ 8:23 am

Engadget is reporting that Apple is now hiring Antenna Engineers for the iPhone/iPad. Coincidence?

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