Apple admits problem in Korea after-sales service
By Yoon Sung-won
Richard Yoon general manager of Apple Korea
Apple has acknowledged that its after-sales service in Korea has problems.
On Sept. 14, Apple Korea General Manager Richard Yoon attended a parliamentary inspection on the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning as a witness and talked about claims of unfairness in the company’s refurbished product-based after-sales service in Korea.
But Yoon said the company will not change its policy.
This is against Apple’s earlier promise that it will adjust its after-sales policy after the Fair Trade Commission in Korea (FTC) demanded it should change the way it handles defective products.
“Although we acknowledge that Korean customers are feeling burdened by the refurbished goods-based policy, Apple believes it is right to remain this way regarding the after-sales service in the long run in order to raise customer satisfaction,” he said during the inspection.
In exchange for a problem product, Apple provides a refurbished one. This cost them around 400,000 won. Once submitted, customers cannot send their request back even if they decide to keep using an unsatisfactory product.
Rep. Bae Deok-kwang of the ruling Saenuri Party pointed out that the policy was forcing customers to overspend in order to have their products repaired.
He said customers had to replace an entire handset for a small problem because it was impossible to repair it partially. This meant people had to pay a lot of money just to replace a small part.
“The company does not return submitted broken handsets to customers once it provides a refurbished replacement,” he said. “This also makes them overpay. Many domestic customers are complaining about such a policy.”
Apple Korea’s after-sales service policy was been criticized for similar reasons five years ago. But Yoon maintained the policy aimed to provide the best service even though it might be unfamiliar to Korean customers, hinting that there was a small possibility of a policy change.
Bae also blamed Apple for being lukewarm in creating jobs and making investments even when it has made huge earnings in Korea.
“Apple Korea has recorded an estimated 2 trillion won in sales in 2010. But most of the earnings were sent back to the U.S. headquarters as dividends,” the lawmaker said. “The company did not pay its corporate tax last year. It is a shame that the company seemed to regard Korean customers as patsies.”
Yoon said, “I understand that we are abiding by the Korean laws regarding sales and taxation. The Korean market is very important for Apple’s sales strategy.”
Earlier on Sept. 10, Google had been criticized for being unclear about its personal information protection policy.
The company was asked whether it had provided user information to a third party. But Google said only, “We protect people’s rights and abides by the law.”
Korea Communications Commission chief Choi Sung-joon said, “Google Korea has been approved as a location-based information service provider here. We will look into such issues again.”