AppleInsider Staff
According to a report on Monday, Apple has switched to an expedited shipping service for returns coming back to the Online Apple Store, speeding up processing time and allowing customers to receive refunds in less than a week.
In a study conducted by retail research firm StellaService, Apple now supplies customers with FedEx 2Day shipping labels when they return a product purchased through the company's online storefront, reports Reuters.
The expedited service can get packages to Apple's warehouse in three days, thus accelerating the refund process, the firm said. Customers can now expect to receive refunds on returned items in less than one week, down from about ten days with the prior shipping method.
As part of its research methodology, StellaService makes multiple orders on the Online Apple Store each day and assumedly returns at least a portion of those items to track processing times. In its ongoing study, the firm also found incoming packages marked with the FedEx 2Day stamp.
It is unclear when Apple began using the expedited service, but the change was first noticed last November. The improvement was first attributed to the tumultuous holiday shopping season which sees a massive amount of product returns.
A person familiar with Apple's new procedure said the expedited shipping labels come at no extra cost to customers, suggesting the unadvertised move is another step in the company's bid for total customer satisfaction. Apple has not commented on the change and specific shipping methods are not mentioned on the company's Returns and Refunds webpage.
Christine McKee
Andrew Orr
Charles Martin
Marko Zivkovic
Wesley Hilliard
4 Comments
[quote name="AppleInsider" url="/t/179510/apple-now-using-expedited-shipping-to-cut-down-on-refund-wait-times#post_2532847"] The improvement was first attributed to the tumultuous holiday shopping season which sees a massive amount of product returns. [/quote] Relative to normal. After all, Apple products make great gifts. ;)
Who would return an Apple product... it... it ... does not compute???
[quote name="AppleInsider" url="/t/179510/apple-now-using-expedited-shipping-to-cut-down-on-refund-wait-times#post_2532847"]As part of its research methodology, StellaService makes multiple orders on the Online Apple Store each day and assumedly returns at least a portion of those items to track processing times.[/quote] WTF??
Given the sub-one-percent rate of return on savings, expediting refunds isn't that big a deal. What would help would be expediting repairs, particularly at third-party, Apple-authorized facilities. My Mac mini has issues that will almost certainly require a board replacement, and yet the only way to get it fixed it to bring it in, get a part replacement authorized, and then wait for Apple to sent the part. I simply can't afford to lose my primary computer for the four or five days that takes. Why not send out replacement parts on spec, to be returned if not needed. It'd cost Apple only a little more, but make customers who don't live close to an Apple store much happier.