We’ve all heard of iPod’s vaunted “clean design,” but this is ridiculous.

Reader Sean bought what he thought was a box-fresh iPod from Smalldog.com. Imagine his surprise when he ripped off the shrink-wrap and instead found inside two bars of Irish Spring soap and a package of cheap batteries.

“I picked up the phone and gave Smalldog a call,” writes Sean, “I was ready to really tear into someone when…”

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“…when a supremely polite and nice customer service rep answered the phone. When I told her about my situation (and not too nicely, I might add), she started laughing.”

“For a second I was shocked! I mean, first you screw up, and then you laugh at me!? But the next thing I knew, I started laughing too. She used just the right amount of humor and seriousness in helping me figure out what had happened.

In the end, she put in an order to have it inspected by UPS, and put another unit on hold for me, and gave me her direct line, informing me that the second UPS is done inspecting the package that I was to call her, and she would ship it right away. She also wanted to know if I took any pictures, saying that she’d love to have a few to show the other people in the office.”

“UPS showed up the next day, and right after they left, I gave her a call (she answered after two rings), and shipped the iPod overnight express. Needless to say, I was thrilled with the sophisticated level of customer service at Smalldog.”

It was good to see that someone could have a sense of humor and still be incredibly accommodating at the same time.”

Kudos to Smalldog for fixing this so quickly, and with such grace and humor. However, they should track down where they got the iPod from and wack somebody’s grubby little hands. And then wash them. And then clean their mouth out with soap. And while the soap is still in there, shrink wrap their mouth shut.

Oh, and just because something is in the box and shrink-wrapped, doesn’t mean it’s new. Shrink wrap devices are not hard to come by. All you need is a roll of plastic, a heated cutting device, and a section of table.

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