By Kim Tong-hyung
Smartphones are hot, but so are the tempers of users griping about what they claim as lousy customer service when they return their faulty handsets to stores.
Now, with government regulators moving to massage their egos, mobile-phone operators and handset vendors can no longer afford to be casual about improving their after-sales and repair policies.
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC), the country’s broadcasting and telecommunications regulator, will reveal a set of guidelines next Tuesday that distinguishes the minimum requirements in after-sales services for smartphone providers.
KCC officials are declining to comment on the details of the ground rules, saying they haven’t been finalized yet. However, they did confirm that mobile-phone operators will be required to explain the specifics of their after-sales services ― including warranty periods, the free and paid services, and prices ― when selling a smartphone to a customer.
The same information should be published on the websites of the carriers, who will also be obligated to provide the after-sales services from its sales outlets, not only their repair shops.
Any after-sales service should be completed within 15 days, and customers will be allowed to use their mileage points to pay for the adjustments or have the costs tacked to their monthly bills, according to KCC officials.
The regulator refused to confirm whether it will decide on the standard prices for different types of repairs or enforce a refund policy for software applications used on the data-enabled handsets, which are more widely called as ``apps.’’
``The guidelines will be announced in a forum of experts, including the representatives of wireless carriers, law experts, academics and consumer rights advocates. They will discuss the content of our guidelines and we will reflect their opinions in the finalized version,’’ said an official from KCC’s consumer protection division.
The main target of the guidelines looks to be KT, the country’s second-largest mobile-phone operator that is the sole provider here for the immensely popular Apple iPhones.
Despite being enamored by the iPhone’s sleek design and wealth of features, there have been growing complaints over Apple’s after-sales policies, which some users here believe lag behind what has been provided by Korean vendors like Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.
Although Apple provides free repairs for minor defects during the iPhone’s one-year warranty period, consumers are charged between 290,000 won to 830,000 won (about $708) for more serious problems.
There seems to be an emotional resistance among Korean iPhone users that they won’t be getting their handsets back after repair, but rather a random refurbished phone among Apple’s vast inventory.
The Korea Consumer Agency recently suggested that Apple should lower its repair prices, but after being rejected by the American device maker, it took the matter to the consumer dispute settlement committee.
``The users of foreign-made handsets have been provided after-sales services that greatly differed from what local companies have been providing and the costs have often been significantly larger as well. This is why wireless carriers should be required to provide more specific information to customers,’’ said the KCC official.
Apple appears to be moving to change its after-service policies here as well, as it would be easier for them to take care of the problem now when the size of their Korean customer base remains manageable.
The public’s love affair with Apple products is showing no signs of waning. KT has sold more than 800,000 iPhone 3GS handsets since its release last November and received nearly 300,000 preorders for the iPhone 4.
From next month, Apple will receive the after-sales applications from iPhone users at its own customer service centers, instead of through KT’s outlets. The company will offer refurbished handset to users who report defects within 14 days of the purchase and also provide a limited range of repair services here as well, according to industry sources.