fbpx
Don't Bring Your Cash To The Apple Store 1
Photo via: http://www.clevelandleader.com

This Retail Store Purchases Policy of Apple is rearing its ugly head once again and it's becoming a PR nightmare…again.

Here's the deal. Ms. Diane Campbell lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is disabled. She enjoys playing the guitar and wants to learn how to play more songs. So naturally, she wanted to get the latest “gotta have” tech gadget, the iPad to go online and download manuals, sheet music and maybe some instructional apps.

With her being disable and on a fixed income, Campbell held off on buying a computer until the Apple iPad came along. It was small, mobile and perfect for her needs. So, little by little she saved up the $600 she needed to get one.

“It took quite a long time for me to just save up this small amount of money to go down and purchase one,” she said. “I had my cash in the backpack and I went up proudly to the counter and told them, ‘I would like to purchase an iPad.'”

She was at the Apple store in Palo Alto, about to pull out the big wad of cash and take home her first computer. Instead, she received a terrible blow.

“They said, ‘Sorry, we don't take cash.' And, so I looked at her and I said OK she's kidding,” Campbell recalled.

However, the clerk was not kidding. The Apple sales policy says if you want an iPad, you must pay by credit card or debit card. Diane didn't have any plastic and amazingly her cash was useless.

“It's sort of astounding to think here is this U.S. dollar, this money put out by the U.S. Treasury Department, and it's being turned away,” Alan Fisher says.

Fisher, of California Reinvestment Coalition, advocates for low-income consumers who have trouble getting credit or mortgages.

“Apple is coming at this in a very heavy-handed way, and it means that their nice products are not being able to be enjoyed by people who already have many difficulties accessing the rest of mainstream society,” he says.

“When you save for months and then you say OK I finally get to do it, finally get to have some type of internet, and all of a sudden no you don't,” Campbell said.

She contacted the local ABC affiliate station (KGO) and their 7 On Your Side investigative reporting team. 7 On Your Side contacted Apple Computer and was only pointed to their purchase policy. It says there is a limit of two iPads per customer and you must pay by credit or debit card. Gift cards will not work either.

Apple did not respond to a 7 On Your Side request for an explanation of the policy, however, the store clerk told Campbell it was to prevent con artists from buying lots of iPads and selling them overseas.

“They heard of people buying 50 and 100 iPads at a time and going overseas and selling them triple the amount, Campbell said.

Campbell walked out of the store without her iPad. She's still playing the same Eric Clapton and Elton John songs and waiting for the day Apple will take good old cash.

“Come on Mr. Jobs, give a sister a break, okay,” she says. “I'm not going to go sell my iPad.”

The U.S. Treasury Department says there is nothing in the law that requires companies to accept cash as payment, even though it is “legal tender.” The Apple no-cash policy applies only to iPads and iPhones, although you can at least use a gift card to buy an iPhone.

Steve…you owe this lady a hand delivered iPad dude !

Your thoughts / feelings on this situation?

[via]
Don't Bring Your Cash To The Apple Store 2


James Hicks

James is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of HicksNewMedia, a Digital Publishing and Technology Consulting team providing effective and relevant solutions to individuals and businesses looking to more effective utilize the social interweb. Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.

View all posts

5 comments

Leave a Reply!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

James Hicks

James is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of HicksNewMedia, a Digital Publishing and Technology Consulting team providing effective and relevant solutions to individuals and businesses looking to more effective utilize the social interweb. Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.

Get The Newsletter

Enter your email address to subscribe to ITN and receive notifications of new posts by email.

  • Advertisement

Instagram

Instagram has returned empty data. Please authorize your Instagram account in the plugin settings .

Book Recommendations

Brilliantly

SAFE!

2022

Categories