iPhone Screen Repair - we don't actually count the pieces when determining warranty status.

I have a way with words. I like to exaggerate to get points across. I tell people who inquire about warranty after their screen repair, the following, to paraphrase.

"If the screen stops responding to your touch or has an electronic malfunction, we will replace it for free within one year. If it cracks into hundreds of pieces, you're on your own."

What I wasn't expecting to ever happen was for someone to hold me to the hundreds of pieces part. I don't recall if I said dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions, etc. Whatever - it was an exaggeration. Clearly a figure of speech. When someone walks in and actually says

"it's only cracked in three pieces. You said hundreds. I want a free screen."

The first thing that comes to mind; WTF?

It was a funny exchange. The mild mannered dude who does most of our data recovery and difficult repairs is a good listener, a passive guy, and a soft spoken person. On this occasion, he looks and cuts this off mid sentence. It went something like this, after the customer explained what I had said in terms of the number of pieces shattered with the implication that it should be replaced for free.

Customer: It dropped and bro...

Tech: So you dropped it. And it broke.

Customer: Yes. So can I have a di...

Tech: No.

Which is how it should go. I guess part of the humor was in him not even entertaining this long enough to let the sentences come out. It's already $65 for an original LCD, 1 year warranty, installed by a professional. That's a nationwide record low. Consider the fact that we're in the most expensive city on Earth(hint, that's also an exaggeration to get a point across, don't hold us to this now), and it's an impressive price. We don't feel like wavering from this nationwide low price; especially after you tried to get a free repair on the pretense that less than 100 pieces were cracked!

One thing I have mourned since opening a retail location is the lack of personal touch. It starts with having to make people sign a waiver of liability so they can't sue you when the hard drive in their 7 year old computer that they dropped while it was turned on stops working and their data is lost. It ends with the silly post-service requests & accusations. You have less leeway being yourself, or being kind, because it will often be taken advantage of. You have to be a little more on your guard, and it makes the job less fun sometimes. Today was a rare point, because it made it just a little more fun.