Here is the full text of the email I sent to Changi airport. I am awaiting a response. [EDIT: the original formatting isn't showing in what I just pasted below - there were indents for the quotes and plenty of bold and underlining as well!]
And can someone give me an email address I can contact Apple in Singapore at? I can only find phone numbers on their website.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I wish to register a formal complaint about the shop iStudio which is operating in Changi airport.
iStudio are an authorised distributor of Apple products in Singapore but I am very angry about their current sales policy regarding iPads and iPad minis in the airport.
Put simply, they are offering many of those products for sale with a mandatory additional purchase of a screen protector. It is not possible to opt out of the purchase of the screen protector, even if one already has one or doesn't want one.
Essentially they are selling these Apple products for more than Apple's recommended retail price and I shall be contacting Apple separately about this matter as well.
However, I wish to know what action Changi airport will be taking as I believe the reputation of the airport as a place where one can take advantage of GST-free prices is being damaged if this type of sharp business practice is tolerated.
I am particularly angry because I deliberately did not buy an iPad 4 when it was released a few months ago because I knew that I could save around $50 by purchasing it in the airport when I next took a flight. With iStudio's dubious sales tactic in place, most of that saving is wiped out by the mandatory purchase of the screen protector, which comes to around $32.
Furthermore, the generally understood meaning of the term "bundle" is that the customer gets a better deal with a bundle as some or all the items in it are sold at a discount. Customers at iStudio are being misled by the use of this term as they may simply assume they're getting a good deal when in fact they are buying the screen protector at face value with no discount at all.
Moreover, it is normal practice to allow the customer the choice of whether to take advantage of the bundle or to purchase individual items separately. This is the first time in my life I have encountered a shop where the entire bundle was compulsory, and I am very angry and disappointed. More so by the fact that it is being allowed to happen in Changi airport, of all places!
The practice is misleading and unethical. Customers expect to be able to get good deals in the airport, not to be forced into buying overpriced accessories to get the item they want.
And if you permit iStudio to continue, what is to stop other shops in the airport from following suit? Want a sandwich? Sure, but you have to buy a drink too. Want some women's perfume? Of course, but you have to also buy some men's perfume. Is this the treatment that I and other customers can expect in future at Changi airport?
There are numerous threads and forums online where other people are also complaining about this same matter. One person has already complained to you and directly to iStudio and they posted iStudio's statement, which I wish to quote from:
It is not our objective to exploit passengers at our airport by 'forcing people to buy things they doesn't want'. This is not our business policy. We do not force passengers to make purchases and we have not received any complaints of similar nature before.
How can they say they do not force passengers to make purchases of things they don't want? I said I did not want the screen protector and they refused to sell me the iPad without it. This is the very definition of "force".
Apple's full range of products are sold at very few airports globally. Their lack of availability is testimonial of what iStudio have achieved at Changi Airport. The availability of iPad mini as a bundled package is an example of this achievement.
Here iStudio are claiming that their policy is leading to a lack of availability of Apple products! Such a claim is absolutely ludicrous. Everyone knows how popular Apple products are and that there is a shortage of them due to this high demand. It has absolutely nothing to do with iStudio and it is outrageous that an insignificant retail shop is trying to claim some of the credit for the years of research and development Apple have invested in their product line!
Your statement that additional profits are made from this sales of accessory is not accurate. We sold many iPad mini to-date at our airport stores and depending on stock availability from Apple, we will continue to ensure they are available to our airport passengers.
And this is simply manifestly untrue. Of course additional profits are being made by forcing people to purchase the screen protector. Is iStudio claiming that each screen protector costs them $32 and they are just passing on this cost to the consumer? In fact with every single iPad they sell with the bundled screen protector, iStudio are making additional profits. A small child can understand that that is their sole motivation for instigating this sales policy.
I refused to buy the iPad from iStudio and I shall never be visiting their shop again. I trust you have understood the points I have made in this email and I look forward to receiving from you a timely and satisfactory response detailing the course of action you intend to take as a result of this email.
Yours faithfully,
Mr Nicholas Stone
The British Council, Singapore