I came into your store today (July 28th, 2009) to make an appointment to meet with one of your Genius Bar staff, to inquire about having my iPod repaired or replaced. It’s still under the AppleCare warranty and the replacement you gave me back in April has, to put things mildly, exhibited flagging battery performance lately. (To the tune—clever, no?—of about an hour of play on a full charge.) I spoke with a friendly store employee who directed me to a gentleman named Brandon who would set me up to have a technician look at my iPod and see what could be done.

Brandon was, at the time, also working with another customer on an iPhone-related issue. This customer was in his mid-50s, tattooed up, and wearing a ponytail. Brandon began typing in the necessary information to make my appointment, and command-tabbed over to another program to check on the other customer’s iPhone. This is where things get interesting.

In this other program (iTunes, perhaps?) the customer’s photos were displayed on the 30” Cinema Display. These photos were of the customer’s penis, and they were openly displayed for anyone who happened to walk by to see. They remained on the screen for a couple seconds, after which Brandon command-tabbed back to the appointment screen, said “uh, sorry,” and continued on as though nothing had happened.

I am not entirely sure what to say here. I was basically shown a stranger’s penis without warning or consent, and I don’t think it unreasonable that some sort of compensation be offered for my discomfort and offense taken in an absolutely unacceptable situation. The store was full of customers at the time, including plenty of children—what would have happened had a child been exposed to these images?

For the purpose of needing to review security cameras to verify my claims, this occurred between roughly 1:00 and 2:30 p.m. while I was on standby waiting to meet with a technician at the Genius Bar. The computer in question is on the third table on the left, I believe, next to the printer section on the wall of the store.

I do not want to give the wrong impression. I love Apple products, and have spent thousands of dollars on them—a 12” PowerBook G4, a 15” MacBook Pro and numerous iPods. I’m currently considering an iPhone, and I’ve encouraged many of my friends to also purchase Apple products because I have always appreciated Apple’s excellent customer service and durable products. I have nothing against the company; I merely feel that in this disgusting situation, I deserve fair compensation, beyond an offhand “uh, sorry” from one of the staff in the store.

Sincerely,
Patrick Wilson
E-Mail Address: [redacted]
Phone number: [redacted]