iSpam

One last note before I leave the cybercafe and trudge up the hill to Ivycliff for some lazing around the house with magazines.

I love Apple, I really do. But. I was having an issue with my bluetooth mouse and when I went to their support site to look for help, I found that they were demo-ing something new: a web chat applications that lets you chat online with a support agent 24/7. At the moment it's only available to iMac owners but they seem to be trialing it before a broader rollout.

I quickly got the help I needed, and got my issue resolved. Fabulous, and it kind of makes up for the horrifying lack of a email-based support system at apple.com. A day or so later I got an email asking me to complete my survey, and I happily did, giving them positive feedback on the whole experience.

The next day I got an email asking me to fill out a survey on my experience.

Then, the next day, I got an email asking me to fill out a survey on my experience.

Then, the next day, I got an email asking me to fill out a survey on my experience.

We're up to six messages now. You can't reply to the messages (well you can, but nothing seems to happen). I could call them and complain, but I refuse to deal with the phone menus from hell over this. I guess I could use the web chat app to tell them about it, but then I'd probably be getting two emails a day.

I tried clicking the link to go back to the survey and leave a comment about the emails, but it now takes me straight to the "thanks for your input" page - in other words, the system sending the survey email has my survey marked as completed.

Very frustrating. I used the apple.com general web site feedback form to tell them "Stop it god dammit!" We'll see what happens.

But they have turned a very positive interaction into a negative one. Meanwhile, I'd recommend staying away from the web chat app unless you have a high tolerance for junk mail.