Apple Developer Support – WTF?

OK, I know that some people expect Apple to go to pot with the loss of their main visionary, Steve Jobs, but SO SOON?

I recently submitted an app to the App Store and requested promo codes to enable me to give free copies to reviewers. Every time I tried, I would get an error message telling me to email support, so I did:

Hello,

I requested 50 promo codes for my newly released app, Texas Wine Traveller and the site returned the message: “We’re having double generating the codes…”. The Accept checkbox has the label: “MZLabel.LCContractPage.contract.agreementString”, and the PDF has “MZLabel.LCContractPage.contract.downloadCopyString”. Will you be able to issue the promo codes, or should I wait until iTunes Connect is working properly?

Thank you,
Jim Baker

App Info:
AppleID: nnnnnnnn@mmmmm.com
App ID: (bunch of numbers)
App Name: Texas Wine Traveller
Bundle ID: com.caces.texaswinetraveller
SKU: TWT201101
Version: 1.00
Bundle Version: 1.0.1317233607

Here’s the reply (emphases mine):

Re: iTunes Connect

Hello Matt,

Thank you for contacting Apple Developer Support regarding iTunes Connect.

To assist you with troubleshooting your issue, we ask that you please first confirm the following information:

Please confirm that all of your contracts are in effect. You can check on the status of your contracts within the Contracts, Tax and Banking module within iTunes Connect. If this information has recently been changed, please let us know how long ago the information was edited.

If all of the above information is correct, and you are still experiencing an issue, we ask that you please provide the additional information:

– The Apple ID of the app (if applicable)

– The name of the App (if applicable)

– App Store on which the issue is being viewed on: Desktop, iPhone (1st gen, 3G, 3GS, or 4), iPod touch (specific generation), iPad or Mac App Store – Version of the OS or iOS is being run on the specified platform

– A screenshot of the error message or of the details you would like us to review

– Steps to reproduce the issue

– Browser and version

– Indicate if you are behind a proxy server

Once we receive the above requested information, we will further investigate and let you know once we have an update on your request. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Best Regards,

Joshua
Apple Developer Support

And my slightly miffed response:

Hello Joshua,

I am not sure whether you are responding to my issue or not as my name is Jim, not Matt, and I included almost all of the information you requested in my initial email. It would really help if you would tell me what information is missing from my issue report that is critical to diagnosing why I cannot get promo codes for my app. Since I am working on my iPad and you did not include my original email in your reply, I am unable to reference it and will have to gather all that information again…

Please confirm that all of your contracts are in effect. You can check on the status of your contracts within the Contracts, Tax and Banking module within iTunes Connect. If this information has recently been changed, please let us know how long ago the information was edited.
YES

The Apple ID of the app (if applicable)

Identifiers

TWT201101

com.caces.texaswinetraveller

(bunch of numbers)

iOS App

The name of the App (if applicable)

Texas Wine Traveller

App Store on which the issue is being viewed on: Desktop, iPhone (1st gen, 3G, 3GS, or 4), iPod touch (specific generation), iPad or Mac App Store – Version of the OS or iOS is being run on the specified platform
Not relevant as my original email indicates; this is an error on iTunes Connect.

A screenshot of the error message or of the details you would like us to review

Steps to reproduce the issue

1. Request Promo codes exactly as instructed to by iTunes Connect.

Browser and version
Chrome (latest) on OS X and Windows,
Safari (latest) on OS X and Windows
Firefox (latest) on OS X and Windows
Safari on iPad iOS 5 GM Seed

Indicate if you are behind a proxy server
No

Now to address my original question: can someone issue me the promo codes, or will I need to wait until the website issues are resolved?

Looking forward to your reply,

JIM Baker

Oh, it gets WORSE:

Re: iTunes Connect

Hello James,

Thank you for contacting Apple Developer Support regarding iTunes Connect and promo codes.

You can obtain promotional codes by accessing your individual app within the iTunes Connect – Manage Your Applications module and clicking on the Promo Codes button:

<http://itunesconnect.apple.com>

You can then enter the number of promotional codes you would like as long as it is less than or equal to the listed amount of codes remaining.

The number you enter must be less than or equal to the listed amount of codes remaining for that app update. If your app has not been approved for release onto the App Store, you will be unable to request codes for your app.

Developers are able to request 50 promotional codes per version of their application. Promotional codes are good for four weeks from the day they are generated or until your contract expires, whichever comes first.

You may view the exact time and date stamp for each set of codes generated by clicking on “View History” in the Promo Codes section for each app. This should help you determine what the date of expiration would be for your codes.

Please know that information regarding promo codes can be found in the iTunes Connect User Guide:

<http://itunesconnect.apple.com/docs/iTunesConnect_DeveloperGuide.pdf>

We hope that this information is helpful to you.

For additional iTunes Connect information you can review the iTunes Connect Contact Us information and FAQ:

<http://www.apple.com/itunes/go/itunesconnect/contactus>

We hope that this information is helpful to you. Thank you for your continued participation in our programs.

Best Regards,

Tina
Apple Developer Support

And my reply:

Hello Tina,

Did you even bother reading my email? Or did you look at the picture that I included (at Joshua’s request) of the error on iTunes Connect from when I tried to request the Promo Codes?

Please forgive IN ADVANCE all the capital letters that I will be typing in the hopes that someone will actually READ THE WHOLE EMAIL.

I know how to request Promo codes from Apple, and I have checked all of my contract information to make sure that everything is up to date. The problem is that iTunes Connect WILL NOT ISSUE PROMO CODES TO ME!!! I stated this and gave all the relevant information in my FIRST email to support; however, no one bothered to READ IT, because the reply I received from Apple Support asked for the information that I sent in my first email.

CAN YOU PLEASE ESCALATE THIS ISSUE TO SOMEONE THAT ACTUALLY READS EMAILS AND CAN FIX THING??

Again, I apologize for all the capital letters, but I am officially frustrated. I go through the effort to provide you with sufficient information to diagnose my issue, but all you do is send me emails requesting information I already provided or giving me information I already have (and have already stated that I have).

Thank you,

Jim Baker

Published by JCBaker