A couple months ago I bought a Griffin Elan Folio case for my iPad 3 and hated it from about day two. A couple days ago I was fed up with it and sent a “nastygram” to Griffin:

This is the absolute worst case I’ve ever used. And I can’t get my
$50 back so I’m stuck. And I hate Griffin every time I use this case, which
is daily.

Someone should be fired for releasing such a piece of crap. Seriously, fired.

When it’s used in the vertical orientation the iPad is heavy enough that it
slides down — and then the front bottom of the case obscures any buttons
that are down there.

Did nobody test this out before hitting the “Ship It!” button? Or do you just
not care?

If you had made the flap that slides behind the iPad with a rough surface it
*might* work okay, but as it’s slippery (but pretty!) the weight of the iPad
just pushes the flap down and you end up with the crappiest iPad case ever.

Pretty, but non-functional in the vertical orientation.

At this point I doubt I’ll ever buy another Griffin product again — and I’ll
continue posting online that Griffin Elan Folio sucks. People need to be
warned off if you’re going to sell a $50 piece of garbage.

Nice looking, but garbage in use.

Jay Jennings

Yes, it was harsh, but I felt it was fair. Including the part about someone being fired. (My wife thought it was horrible that I would send out such an email — but she’s a girl, so there you go.)

This morning I received such a tremendously professional response from Griffin that I just wanted to share part of it:

Sorry to hear about your poor experience with Elan Folio for iPad 3! We haven’t heard too many reports of this issue, but I’m sorry to hear it isn’t working out for you. I’ll also pass your feedback along to our Quality Assurance and Product Development departments. We appreciate any customer input, and if there is any other feedback you have for us, please let me know.

I’d be happy to replace your Elan Folio, even with a different case, if you’d like. Please send me the following information:

…

Here is a link to our current cases for iPad 3; just let me know which you would like:

http://store.griffintechnology.com/ipad/ipad-3?griffin_product_categories=Cases+%26+Covers&limit=90

I can then send you a return form via email.

Thank you,

Russell
Customer Support
Griffin Technology

And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is the correct way to respond to someone blasting you via email. I’m seriously impressed that they never sank to the level of my original letter — although I still stand by it and would send the same one again, I love that they ignored my tone and responded to only the factual part of my email.

And to offer me a different case after a couple months? Awesome.

The Griffin Elan Folio (that I have) still stinks and I don’t recommend it for anyone who might want to use their iPad in a vertical orientation.

But as a company that listens to customer gripes Griffin has proven to be superior. Thank you!