i Passed out, dude...

That should be the Apple iPod service station motto. Cause that's what customers go thro when they call the service station. I almost passed out myself!

I recently bought a 20gig colour iPod and after a couple of days, the left earbud of the headphones started to crackle, as if something has come loose inside & that is hitting the membrane.

So I went to the Apple site & registered a complaint requesting for a replacement of the headset. I got a Case Number & everything. And I was told to wait for a couple of days.

When I checked my case, it showed up as "Closed" and no other information.

So I called Apple and asked them for an explanation. The service rep said that that system is not valid for Singapore (THEN WHY HAVE IT THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?). The rep also suggested that I take the pod to a service center.

When I did, the service center told me that Apple does not allow it's service centers to stock replacements & that they would have to send my headphones to Apple for "problem analysis" and to "ascertain if it has to be replaced" and that it will take, get this, a minimum of 10 days!

Now for a device that I bought a few days ago to listen to music & which broke down to no fault of mine, I think 10 days is unacceptable. So I decided not to give my headphones to them & tried calling Apple instead.

This time around, the conversation lasted for less than two minutes...with me being on hold for more than fifteen minutes.

Now I have been told that the replacement headphones for my pod will be shipped to me and should reach me "within the next two weeks". It "might be sooner", but there is no guarantee on the time it will take. And they "dont know whether the delivery is international or local".

All of this for a pair of earphones.

It would have been easier to just go out & buy another set. But then, I would be helping Apple sell a piece (which is bad & something that they should pay for) and another piece since the first didn't work OK.

There's a principle involved here. If you can find it, tho, let me know.