“You may have heard of Matthew Peterson, the individual behind the now infamous (and defunct) website flawednanoplayer.com. Matt is done complaining about his broken nano screen (now that Apple has given him a replacement) and has moved on to bigger and better things. Mainly harassing innocent Apple store employees about issues out of their control,” Clint Ecker writes for Ars Technica. “Matthew posted this excerpt on his website on 9/25/05 and while I think Matt might have had a legitimate complaint behind his LCD problem, his rhetoric and over the top attitude about the whole thing really shine in this little ‘sting operation’ he pulled.”
Ecker provides an excerpt from Peterson’s website:
Well I had gotten a few emails from people saying that the Nano’s in their local Apple store were severely scratched. I couldn’t believe that Apple would have scratched models on display. I have never seen a scratched iBook or PowerBook, so I decided to investigate for myself. There were several Nano’s on display. The one nearest me was a white model that looked like someone had taken a steel wool pad to the screen. You could barely see the LCD underneath through all of the scratches. When Amanda was finished speaking to a customer I started asking her questions. It went a little something like this:
Matt: This iPod looks really scratched. How did this happen?
Amanda: Well we have had thousands of people handling them.
Matt: This happened from people just touching it? They weren’t rubbing them on something or putting it in their pocket? Is it really this easy to scratch?
Amanda: Yes it can scratch easily but I don’t think that really matters.
Matt: Well most people buy an iPod for the look. You don’t think they are concerned with an iPod that scratches this easily?
Amanda: No, I mean I have an iPod for the music not how it looks, but if someone is concerned about scratching we do sell cases for them.
Matt: I have seen some sites on the internet where people complain of scratching and cracked LCD screens. Has your store had any returns for this problem?
Amanda: No it is still a new product. I don’t think we have had any returns yet.
Matt: So you sell a product that scratches easily, so that you can sell a case. That is a pretty good marketing strategy
Amanda: Well, that’s how they get you.
Matt: Interesting. May I have your card?
Amanda: Sure
Matt: By the way, I run a website that is collecting information from Nano owners about all of the problems they are having. I am going to post the information you have given to me on my website. I really hope you don’t lose your job. Have a good day.
Ecker writes, “Wow! Talk about a class act. Matt goes on to post the information on his website (taken down, but mirrored here) claiming that Apple’s official position on iPod nano scratching is ‘we’re screwing you and we don’t care!'”
Full article here.
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