Stop Core

While I have been critical of Core in the past, I was pleasantly surprised by the customer service at the iStore in Waterfront recently. As regular reader of this site might know, despite all of Apple’s issues in SA, I am still a major fan of the iPhone. I honestly believe it is one of the best gadgets I have ever spent my money on, and I have never had any buyer’s remorse.

Needless to say, I was very excited to get my hands on the iPhone 3GS when it was announced by Vodacom. Before this I went into Vodashop’s several times a week to enquire about it, put my names on many reservation lists for the phone all in a bid to get one as soon as they land here. Needless to say, on launch day not a single Vodashop in the Western Cape could help me, all with their own pathetic excuse.

I decided to phone iStore, and surely enough they had only 5 available, and yes, my reserved name was on one of them. And I have to say, the service by Justin and Darren was excellent – I told them I wanted a 32gig model, and I gave them my contract details over the phone. Now I should point out that I did not want a iPhone specific contract – I wanted to stay on a high end Top-Up contract. (When I told Cellucity this, they said no.) Through the day I got updates and confirmations that everything was in order. That night at 19:00 I drove over to Waterfront to go get my new toy. I walked into the shop, signed the final documents, swiped my card and walked out with a new iPhone 3GS.

Now I am pretty sure international readers will think nothing of this, but for South Africans this level of service is unheard of. Lets just say that if Core continues on this path, I might just give them a second chance.

You can read my initial impressions of the iPhone 3GS here.

PS: To this day, not one of the Vodacom branches I booked a 3GS with has phoned me.

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Via Email:

I have recently realised that my OS X install disks were missing. (I needed them to run the Apple Hardware Test) So, I phoned Core, got shunted from person to person and eventually spoke to some mumbling guy who refused to repeat his name.

I was told I would have to purchase OS X for the full price. (~R1300)

This surprised me as all over the internet are reports of people having their missing OS X dvds replaced for under $20 or for free.

Another example of Core only in it for the money.

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First let us be clear on the issues:

There are two that the Mac fans in SA has:

1. The pricing of Apple products in SA, whilst we realize that the pricing is speculation and not facts we have some good guesstimates.

and

2. The monopoly that Core wants to cement with humorous attempts like www.stopgrey.co.za

Our wish is that Digicape, CAB and others get the right to import Apple products directly into SA, it’s good for consumers to have choice, that’s the main issue. Even better would be for Apple to come directly into the SA market. At least we’ll know were going to get good service.

Think about how South African Customers have been ripped off by monopoly’s like Telkom, Eskom and the like and get angry, very angry. Write to Apple Europe and ask for a change.

Naturally with choice comes lower prices and better service. This is the crux of the online movement.

Nothing else.

People will then have the choice to support the company’s who give good service. How can this be a bad thing?

This movement will stop immediately when there’s better Service and Pricing.

Core via RJ van Spaandonk can be as sarcastic as they want about our aims and our comparisons.. Every Apple tree starts from a small seed.

Love the Apple.

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Redi Direko has interviewed the spokesperson of Core Group SA, and also the owner of CAB Platinum in Sandton. While I will agree we need to give the best possible service to the end user in South Africa, this interview quickly got out of hand. Redi did not allow CAB to state their facts, and was instead looking for contradictions. On the other hand Core’s spokesperson was allowed to state his views without interruption and she ate everything up.

Listen here

While I respect Redi Direko a lot, I believe this interview was not handled well. CAB is not necessarily the bad guy – we need to focus on the way Core does its business in SA. Instead of fostering competition in SA, Core has decided to become a distributor and reseller in SA, which in my books is what I would call a monopoly. It is impossible for another reseller to undercut Core’s prices which is why you do get stores like CAB looking for alternative import methods. Go look at industry – competition is what ensures success.

At one point Core said that they cant be described as a monopoly seeing as they only have 1 percent of the computer market in SA. True. But that is 100% of the Apple share, and 1% overall might be a bit more if they charged reasonable prices. And that little 1% probably consists of the most vocal fans of any brand on earth.

The interview had terrible structure and I had a overriding suspicion that Redi automatically classified CAB as the bad guy. She is entitled to her opinions. But then when you head over to the 702 website – here is what you find:

If you click on the ad, you will find a testimonial page where Chris Gibbons tells how much he likes Mac, with a direct link to one of Core’s pages. Having advertising on your page which is similiar to a product discussed on your show is not that bad – I mean, you cannot control ads these days right? But when that product is then also endorsed by one of your top radio presenters, and then it links directly to Core, I think credibility might just be lost.

I really hope 702 makes a follow up interview with RJ van Spaandonk, and that he answers some of the issues customers have with Core in South Africa. (for an idea of how many people have issues, look at Seth’s article).

A week ago I had a telephone conversation with a Apple EU representative. After posting my previous article on Apple’s pricing in SA they phoned me within 24 hours from Ireland. Now that is what you call service – at least they made me feel heard. They informed they were aware of the situation that Core is creating in SA, and they also told me that Core should have to honour international Apple warranties. (they also told me I should take VAT into account which I accept as an error). Still, I have not heard anything from Core when I asked similiar questions. In my opinion, Core is the company that does not cater to the end user. They charge ridiculous prices and their service is pathetic:

http://www.mpieters.com/2009/05/just-how-expensive-is-apple-in-sa.html

http://www.stopcore.co.za

http://www.macgeek.co.za/2009/05/31/open-letter-to-core/

http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2009/05/25/calls-for-apple-us-to-revoke-local-distributor-cores-license/

http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2009/05/19/core-group-insiders-come-forward/

To be honest, I am actually disgusted by Apple’s choice of distributor. A respectable company would come forward regarding these issues, not use scare tactics like www.stopgrey.co.za. If your prices and service was better, you would not be having all this bad press.

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To whom it may concern

I am sending you this email because I have had service from you in the past, and I was very impressed by the way Apple handled my request, even over international borders. I live in South Africa, where the sole importer of Apple is the Core Group. Currently there is starting to form a bit of a media frenzy over the high prices Core is asking for Apple products. Now this is not a complaint because of the high prices of Apple – I will by all means always pay more for a product if it is indeed better than alternatives, and I put Apple in that group.

I cannot however, understand how there can be such a big discrepancy in prices between SA and the US. While I understand the parties involved need to be make a profit, I refuse to believe that Apple will condone such high prices in other countries. In the US and Europe, Apple is trying to justify through effective marketing its premium prices on good quality hardware and great software, with which I wholeheartedly agree. However, imagine all Apple products was a minimum of 30% more expensive, and iPods an additional 50%. This is the sad state of Apple in SA, thanks to the Core group. (And do not think your recent hardware refresh, which have lowered the prices of macbooks across the board has made any difference at all, they still charge the same high markup.)

Here is some examples:

Computers:
Baseline unibody Macbook in SA: R15999
Baseline unibody Macbook in US: R11041 ($1299)
Price difference: 30%

Baseline New iMac 20 inch in SA: R14999
Baseline New iMac 20 inch in US: R10191 ($1199)
Price difference: 33%

8 Core Mac Pro in SA: R40000
8 Core Mac Pro in US: R28050
Price difference:30% (or more than R10000 on a single computer)

iPods:

iPod Nano 16GB in SA: R2699
iPod Nano 16GB in US: R1699 ($199)
Price difference: 38%

iPod Touch 32GB in SA: R5800
iPod Touch 32GB in US: R3400 ($399)
Price difference: 42% !!!!!

Peripherals:

Mini Displayport to DVI adapter in SA: R510
Mini Displayport to DVI adapter in US: R246 ($29)
Price difference: 52%!!!!

Now these are the cheapest prices available in SA. If Core is buying these machines at wholesale prices, I think it is safe to say this is plain old profiteering.

I plead you to pass this to your consumer relations department – I doubt Apple wants to do its name any damage, regardless of where it may be in the world.

Some sights against Core I have come across. I should mention some of these sites are the highest viewed sites in South Africa. If you go to Google now and type Core and Apple, and view pages in South Africa, some of these articles appear above official Apple or Core website results. You can maybe just look at how many people join the discussion at 2oceansvibe, one of SA’s top most visited sites. All the comments are negative.

http://www.stopcore.co.za

http://www.macgeek.co.za/2009/05/31/open-letter-to-core/

http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2009/05/25/calls-for-apple-us-to-revoke-local-distributor-cores-license/

http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2009/05/19/core-group-insiders-come-forward/

http://www.mpieters.com/2009/05/just-how-expensive-is-apple-in-sa.html

I really hope you can maybe just speak to whomever might be in charge of Apple’s international relations. If Apple is going to continue to be imported to SA by Core, I cannot help but believe you will do your brand irreparable harm. South Africans have no way of purchasing Apple products, whether it is iPod or Macs, through any other channel. They control the entire distribution system.

I welcome your feedback.

PS: To anyone who wants to contact them as well, PM me on twitter at @mpieters, and I will send them your request as well. If you have written a similiar blogpost or letter, send me the link as well.

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