Form and Function

Well, thus far the iTunes "Genius" has quickly allowed me to fill some gaps in my music collection by finding some obscure tracks that I did not know existed without me having to lift a finger.   It was a win-win for me and Apple, I got to listen to some new cool music, and Apple got to take even more of my $$$.

But alas, the Genius ain't so smart.  On three separate occasions I have now purchased tracks that the Genius said I was missing, only to realize I actually owned the song.  It is a little hard to keep track of the thousands of songs I own in my head, and I have mistakenly trusted the Genius when it says I am missing those tracks.

The biggest benefit I see to Genius is that it is a time-saver and reduces the friction for me to find music that interests me and at the same time reduces the friction between my bank account and Apples ;).  But, if I have to go validate each Genius recommendation by doing a manual search (on the same song title) each time, it completely undermines the benefit and REALLY makes it for an annoying experience.  

Now I am stuck in the unenviable position of having to go figure out where I purchased music I already own and then struggle with the abysmal "refund"  UX in iTunes to get my money back.   So far, I have purchased about $30 of music via iTunes Genius, of which about $10 was music I already owned.  The cost for me to get my $10 back will easily be $100 of my time.   So not only did Apple abscond with my $10, they make the friction to get it back very high.

Way to go Apple, excellent customer experience.