Dear Apple,

I knew in my heart of hearts that it really was quite pointless given that my complaint would never actually be met with human eyes, but merely tacked on to a tally of satisfied customers versus disatisfied customers but damn, it felt so good to get off my chest.

Dear Apple,

How disappointing to discover that the ipod's batteries are not replaceable! Good thing I spent 2 years of my life "babying" mine for the sake of longevity. That really paid off when you told me that I would get a "new one with old parts" (aka refurbished). Oh, you did mention however, that I could trade mine in with a whopping 10% discount to get a new one. That's an awesome discount. No, really. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would get such a present in exchange for my nothing-is-wrong-with-this-except-the-battery-ipod.

I understand that we live in a consumer society and I understand that you exist to make a profit and your whole thought process probably includes "hey, when you come in to get a new battery and we put the screws to you, take a moment to admire the newest models of ipod. They're delicious." But the whole experience left a sour taste in my mouth and the realization that maybe Apple isn't the be all and end all that it claims to be.

Maybe I'm a PC after all.

It wasn't just the fact that I had to get a refurbished ipod to get a new battery. That was just the beginning. What irritated me the most was the refurbished ipod they sent me (after a shipping delay of a week) crapped out after 3 days of use. When I took it in and met with a genius he insisted that I just wasn't trouble-shooting the problem and sent me on my way with a long list of things to do if the problem arose again. Which it did. After one song on my way home from their store. So I made another appointment, met with another genius, and was put on a list to receive yet another refurbished ipod.

Which I have and appears to work ok as of now. For which I should probably be a little more grateful. But I say that now, only after I have hit the send button on my survey.