Poll: What do you think of Apple's Customer Service?

[MacRumors]

Vote: Poll: What do you think of Apple's Customer Service? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=254&ref=forums.macrumors.com)

[pimentoLoaf]

The few times I've had to deal with them in various ways, I talked to people who knew what the problem was and were able to figure things out rather quickly.

No difficulties.

[MrMacMan]

I think they are pretty good, I've had a couple problems most of them were solved quickly.

Execpt they weren't 24/7 it was great.

[theipodgod16]

Online, i find that obtaining the information that i need is a strenuous process, yet in an apple store is a completly different story.

When i was in new york, the people at the genius bar were great. They replaced one ipod and 2 pairs of headphones for me no charge at all. They were helpful and informative, and best of all they didn't treat me like i didn't know what i was talking about, as i have been treated in the past.

Here's to looking forward to the Apple Store/Genius Bar coming to Downtown San Francisco!!

[j33pd0g]

I had to vote no experience as I never had any problems that a quick google search wasn't able to fix.

[tazo]

in my limited experience they have been better than comcast and compuserve [the only custoemr service people i have dealt with]

[Wonder Boy]

They are like college professors in that they talk and talk until I figure out the problem on my own.

My vote- not so good.

[Nermal]

The people here at MacRumours have been able to solve most of my problems for me :)

The one time I've rung Apple, they didn't put me on hold (maybe because I rang at about 8pm), and I wasn't treated like an idiot (nothing stupid like "is the power cord plugged in?").

[pyrotoaster]

My best experience has been with the Genius Bar at the retail stores.

My first iPod went completely out of whack about 11 months after I got it. After failing to fix it myself, I took it to the Genius Bar. I left the store with a brand new iPod free of charge (they sent the old one off to AppleCare for an autopsy).

[Doctor Q]

Apple was 3 for 3 the times I've asked for help. Let's see, that's... um... 27, carry the 5, err... 100%!

My worst customer service experiences have been with Adobe.

[nagromme]

The IBM HD in my PowerBook G3 went bad after a couple of months. I bought a bugger HD myself and replaced it.

Then, close the end of my AppleCare 3 years, I figured I may as well get the bad drive replaced. (I then put my bigger drive in an external case as a handy backup unit.)

I took the PB to CompUSA (they ship it to Apple and back if the in-house Apple guy can't do the repair). Along with the HD, I reported a list of 8 other problems. Two were questionable: the modem and CD reader seemed to be flaky, and I wanted them looked at for my peace of mind. The others were more "wear and tear" type issues, which I didn't expect would necessarily be covered at all. The most serious was the hinge being loose. Beyond that were a few little case cracks, missing feet, and two keys that took slightly more pressure to trigger. I was not always gentle with my PowerBook!

The icing on the cake of this big list of iffy problems was the fact that I was taking this in on THE last day of my AppleCare--and had never activated my AppleCare! (Never needed to--I never needed any tech support.) Making this worse, I purchased AppleCare on the last day of the original warranty, and so didn't receive it until after the original time was over. Add in the fact that I had lost all my documentation about the computer AND the AppleCare... and the fact that a friend bought the computer on THEIR credit card (I paid the friend by check) since I didn't have one at the time... and you have a real mess that Apple didn't make.

The guy on the phone at Apple tried to find a way to prove that I had bought the AppleCare, and it wasn't easy. But they bent over backwards and handled it. My repairs were done--they fixed EVERYTHING in my list AND more: they even replaced the motherboard itself, for what reason I do not know.

I ended up with all-new:

HD (replaced with a bigger one than the bad one)
motherboard/CPU
modem
keyboard
much of the outer case
hinges

Basically, I now have a brand-new PowerBook with a bigger HD and my old screen (which still has no bad pixels or other problems).

This was above and beyond the call of duty. I was pleased with Apple--and, for that matter, CompUSA.

[nagromme]

A tip for getting info online: try the AppleCare channel in Sherlock. It's faster and easier than using the web site directly, I find.

[Bunzi2k4]

fortunantly, i have had no problems hard enough for me to call apple, i've used their forums for airport configurations ect. but nothing serious that i couldn't fix :-D

[MacManDan]

All of my calls to Apple have been great. The people have been nice, had immediate answers to all my questions .. generally a very good experience.

My only thing with Apple is that I asked them to take a look at the logic board since my hard drive has failed twice in a year (almost a third time .. give it a couple of days) and I don't think it's just bad coincidence that the hard drives are dropping like flies. They didn't give me any confirmation whether they checked it or not (especially whether it was bad or not) so I don't really know if anything has been fixed. Well, if there's a next time (which I hope there isn't) .. maybe it will get fixed. They're good people

[mproud]

I've generally had good luck. And they've certainly be knowledgeable! I felt like I was talking to an experienced technician, I tell you!

Covers parts and labor - NICE! Had to get fan replaced. CompUSA screwed it up and made it worse. Called up AppleCare, Took down information so as to scold or blacklist repair guys at CompUSA!

Went to friendly reseller/repair center instead. Great results. All covered.

Can't renew my AppleCare plan, however. I guess after 3 years you just can't do it anymore. Won't let me.

Apple makes it very difficult to pinpoint the number for Apple Customer Service (probably to curtail extranecessary traffic with quick web answers, etc.)

Could be better, but could be WAY WAY WAY WAY worse. Way.

[mproud]

My only thing with Apple is that I asked them to take a look at the logic board since my hard drive has failed twice in a year (almost a third time .. give it a couple of days) and I don't think it's just bad coincidence that the hard drives are dropping like flies.

Failed as in, blinking question-mark failed?

First aid check here and there may be necessary once in a while. With OS X still getting some of those chinks out of the system, I've had many a hard drives not get recognized on restart.

I don't know if this is really a logic board problem. Sometimes on system crashes, tree catalog numbers and whatnot can get slightly off, and more times than none, a simple Disk First Aid is all that it takes.

OS X should run a version of Disk First Aid at startup (command+v while starting up to check it out) but you know, sometimes a double-click of that OS 9 application or perhaps the Disk Utility in OS X on a monthly basis is a good thing. And backing up (sigh)...

Back in junior high, I was an "aide" for the computer center lady who had to address a few failing PowerMacs where the problem simply lied in re-initing the things by zeroing the entire drive. So, if you ever end up re-initializing, it might be good to do that (although very SLOW, esp. if you have a really large drive).

Not doubting you, of course, but simply providing my own thoughts and suggestions. :)

[Snowy_River]

My experience with Apple has been, on the whole, very good. I have had some trouble in arguing with some techs at their resellers, thought.

Oh, and I also have a slight problem with a policy that they implemented last December (or so). Prior to that time, you could specify that, if the computer needed the HD reformatted, they would charge $50 to backup and replace your data, but if they didn't need to reformat the HD nothing... Now, if you want them to back and replace your data if they have to format the drive, then you have to pay them $50 whether or not they end up actually doing anything. Personally, I had no problem paying for the back up if they had to do the backup. I do, however, have a problem with paying $50 if they don't end up doing anything. It just strikes me as a gouging policy.

[bluedalmatian]

Apple store & Quicktime Pro sales don't respond to emails.

[ipman]

Apple Australia and Apple USA are by all accounts very different beasts. As background, Apple Australia does warranty work through licenced resellers.

Within 2 weeks of getting my iPod the remote's cord sheath started coming loose. I take it in, they first tell me they aren't sure if they can do anything. I tell them I've had it two weeks, it's a quality issue and it's their problem and also that I've spoken to Apple Aus. on the phone who suggested I go to them. I tell them this very politely - I want my pod fixed.

Two weeks later I've heard nothing. I call them, they say "Oh yeah, it's been done for a while now" Hmm... thanks for telling me. So I go and get it, it has basically been glued back on with a rude note on the warranty form that tells me not to pull it out of the socket by the cord, use the plug. Excuse me? I've had this thing for two weeks. I'm still treating it like my first born child.

So far, very cranky, but not really apple's fault, just the fault of people who go under the Apple brand-name. Australia, for those who don't know, have had "AppleCentres" - less lavish versions of Apple Stores for a long while now. I called Apple and my reply was basically "Oh really, too bad so sad". That sucks arse.

Australia is a fairly small market, but once you lose good will in your brand name, you'll be fighting damn hard to get it back Apple. BTW: I'm a mac nut and have been for many years. This won't change my purchasing habits, but that's only because Apple products are good enough that I don't often have to deal with Apple Australia - I hope they hire some competent customer service reps fast!

[pauld]

when i recieved my new iBook the cd tray was sitting half a centimetre out (not in line with the iBook).
Applecare UK (Ireland) tried to tell me this was how it was meant to look!
even though i know about 10 people with iBooks and their models are fine.

In the end they did align it, but only after scratching the iBook's casing like crazy.

so "not so good".

[MattG]

Overall, pretty good. My last experience however was a nightmare.

Just got a 12" Powerbook--right after they were annouced. Well, the modem didn't work. Spent probably over an hour on the phone with tech support until they finally decided that they 'probably' needed to replace it, and that they would call me back with more info. A day later, they finally call back and say they're sending a call-tag. I get it, send it back, and then a day later I get a computer back in the mail. Nice, except...

IT'S NOT MINE!! It's somebody elses personal Powerbook 15" 1ghz that they sent in for repair, and this person received my 12" Powerbook! They realized the mistake before I even got it, and told me that when I get the package just to hold onto it and wait for another call tag. They finally got it all straightened out and I got back a brand new, fully functional Powerbook.

I ended up selling it later anyway...didn't like the screen on that thing. But besides for that one time, Apple's support has always been great.

[iGav]

Ranges from very good...

Pick up Wednesday PM, returned Friday AM with a new SuperDrive and it had to be shipped from the UK to Germany.... that was very, very impressive...


To very poor...

Picked up November, not returned until January the following year, and told a ***** load of lies in the process and required me to take legal advice about my rights about ********* over Apple in court... And I really wish I had...


To almost as poor...

Having the machine picked up, waiting a week and a half, and then having it returned with the repairs not done, only to be told that it was within tolerances even though the problem was obviously going to deteriorate.... and here I am a month and a half later and the problem has gotten worse and requires it to be sent back again!


So basically I don't think they're (Apple UK) are that special at all...

Although their female staff have incredibly soothing Irish accents... that is a nice bonus....

[Jerry Spoon]

Only had to deal with them once with a hardware issue, and the problem was taken care of within a day.

I did have to make several calls about an iPhoto book issue. I think much of my problem was that the book was of course farmed out to another company. Apple wasn't fully aware of some limitations of the book that the ordering process didn't reflect.

[smegdude]

my only experience was excellent, my ibook screen got multiple vertical lines of dead pixels. I took it to the applestore San Jose and they said they would send it to texas to get it repaired. they said it i should come pick it up in 5 days, which i thought was reasonable.... but much to my amazement on the third day of waiting i got a call saying that my ibook was ready to be picked up!!
That must have been some turnaround, a day to get to texas, half a day getting fixed, and the rest of the time getting back to the west coast. You can't really complain about that sort of experience.

[DStaal]

I've had the opportunity to use Apple support in several countries and, well, given the chance I will ship to the US first.

Apple support in the US is always fast and efficient (in my experience), and rarely condescending. For outside the US, if they decide the can do the service it may or may not work, and may or may not be covered by an 'all-inclusive' warranty.

I've been required to drive 3 hours, both ways, twice, just to be told that they can't do anything without charging more than we paid for the item in the first place.

Support in the US though, is great.

[AhmedFaisal]

Bought a Powerbook G3 about 3 years ago, broke after 1 month with random power failures, spent 2 hours on the phone waiting for the support line finally to get free. Broke again 2 months later. This time the FPU died. Same story, long wait, and even longer wait for the Powerbook. 8 months later, again the FPU died. Same story, you get the idea, and it was close to the end of warranty also. Called them up and told them I want it replaced, 3 times within a year is too much. They started to bitch, since it was close or just after the warranty ran out (we are talking 2-3days here folks). Finally after I became a bit angry with a supervisor on the phone, I got a replacement. But alas, my Powerbook had a german keyboard and they sent me one with a british keyboard...... duh. Called them up, told them I want my original german keyboard back.... a month goes by, I call again, I finally get my keyboard. While I did that, i asked them if I could get AppleCare for the replacement Powerbook, nope, since its an EOLed product.... Besides that, I also had bought a Quicktime 5 licence without knowing that 2 weeks later, Quicktime 6 was to be released, I asked in a friendly manner whether there is a discount since it was so close to my purchase of Quicktime 5, nope, no discount either.... It may be that this is something about Apple Europe only but nevertheless, if they are like that with everybody here, no wonder their sales in Europe suck! :mad:
Cheers,

Ahmed

[ColoJohnBoy]

Nothing but bang-up, high class, high quality. Especially the guys at the Genius Bar in the stores. Having worked at one, i can tell you first hand that all of them (at least, all of them that I know - a good 20 or so) are great guys/gals that love their job, and are just happy to be helping. They're one of the reasons I love Apple so much - great customer service.

[gopher]

On the whole pretty good, though on a couple occasions I have stumped the customer service technicians, and a couple they wanted to reinstall the OS when that wasn't necessary. The good thing is, if customer service doesn't have the answer, I can usually ask to speak to customer relations who does.

[stockscalper]

Nothing to write home about, or not as good as it was a few years ago, but still better than dealing with Macrosux.

[jzieske]

I have never had to call tech support but the Apple Genius' are amazing. Anything I ever need to know they answer without even thinking about it. Services is one of the reasons to go Apple.

[Chappers]

My old iMac was up for trade-in. My wife took it to an Apple authourized dealer. One of the technicians there tried to install MacosX without updating the firmware. This can lead to the trashing of the analogue card (according to Apple service) and this happened to me. Of course the trade-in had not been completed and this dealer faced with a large repair bill decided to try and say that we had given him a damaged mac. Now this is a long story so I won't go boring you to death, but I was in a catch 22 situation. The dealer refused to take responsibility and wouldn't give a trade-in.
So when I emailed Steve Jobs - I wasn't expecting a reply. And I didn't get one from him but I did get one from Apple Europe. They were amazing and considering that I was very unhappy and arkward by this point, they could not have been nicer. End result - my iMac will be repaired free of charge.
I haven't sorted out the trade-in yet but one day I will.

[mproud]

So I go and get it, it has basically been glued back on with a rude note on the warranty form that tells me not to pull it out of the socket by the cord, use the plug. Excuse me? I've had this thing for two weeks. I'm still treating it like my first born child.

So far, very cranky, but not really apple's fault, just the fault of people who go under the Apple brand-name. Australia, for those who don't know, have had "AppleCentres" - less lavish versions of Apple Stores for a long while now. I called Apple and my reply was basically "Oh really, too bad so sad". That sucks arse.

I'm surprised they didn't take down the names of those who "fixed" it. Apple (well, at least here in the US) specifically told me that they could write down an incident report when my computer's fan was not correctly fixed the first time around.

Sorry to hear they just sluffed you off. That's disappointing.

[wdlove]

I voted good, because I feel that there is always room for improvement. My experiences with Apple has been positive for the most part. Technical support was able to fix my problem in one or 2 calls!

[OutThere]

the quite high number of people who had "no expierience" with customer service says something good about apple's products.

[bousozoku]

I've had varying experiences. The people working for Apple at CompUSA are great. The people working at the local Apple Store go from okay to stupid to dangerous. I've had mostly good service from ADC with an e-mail mess with one employee when I made an inquiry about AppleCare and my ADC hardware discount in Floriduh.

[helmsc]

I've been playing/working around Apple/Macs since the Apple IIe...never once had to call tech support.

Great machines, if only I could find a car that reliable. ;)

[NavyIntel007]

No problem that I couldn't do a google search for or ask someone here.

[Chilton]

It's hard for me to say this about my favorite software/hardware company, but every experience I've had with Apple's customer service in the last four years has been horrible.

1) They LOST my PowerBook G3 Firewire for 8 MONTHS when I sent it in for a screen problem. Think about that. Anything on your computer you'd rather not have 'lost' for 8 months? They completely lost it. Had no idea where it ran off to. Meanwhile I kept paying my Apple loan like a good little shmuck. By the time they 'found' it and mailed it back, it had more dead pixels than when I sent it in, and it was considerably louder (though to be honest, this last one might not have been. I could have forgotten just how loud it was to begin with).

2) I sent in my first TiBook (which I'd paid dearly for--top of the line model, maxed out ram, etc.) for the evil vertical line across the screen problem. It was still under its hardware warranty. Unfortunately, I was no longer under the free phone support warranty, so I was charged $35 or whatever. I called back a week later to inquire about the delay, and was charged for the call *AGAIN*.

When it arrived a few days later, it had a bad keyboard. To their credit, they did ship me a new keyboard and I arrived it the next day.

3) My new TiBook (again, top of the line, fully loaded) had a horrible problem in the back of the screen, where portions of the hinge had broken off, and ripped through the back (and front) shell of the screen. I spoke at two Apple conferences in Texas right after it happened, and had lots of eye-witnesses. No screen damage though, just the shell. It is still under warranty. First, they charged me for the call. Then they told me that it was not covered under warranty. THEN, they told me that if I bought an extended warranty, I could probably get the screen fixed, as Apple sometimes gives you additional support if you buy the extended warranty. WTF? It was still covered under the original warranty! The guy I talked to said there's no way that part could 'just break'. Said I had to have done it. I asked him how that was possible, I would have had to cram a tiny screwdriver or wedge or something into the back of the case and hammer on it for a long time to make it break. He asked if that was what I did. Of course, he also told me there were no cases of hinge problems with TiBooks that he'd heard of.

Anyway, my next Mac will be a bottom-of-the-line iBook unless Apple releases a Tablet. I'm tired of spending upwards of 4G for a laptop that Apple won't even fix under warranty.

-Chilton
(I've owned nearly 50 Macs since 86, and frankly have never had problems with their CS folks until the last few years, and now absolutely fear sending in anything for warranty work.)

[Le Big Mac]

over time my experience has been good on technical support (how do i . . . ), but pretty bad when there's a hardware problem requiring the potential replacement or repair of a product.

And, no, I don't abuse my computer.

[kylos]

Interesting story. My iBook came with the "yo-yo" power adapter. The adapter shorted out just where it plugs into the laptop (caused by twisting due to a poor connection, I should have gotten that replaced right away, but I couldn't bear to part with my little beauty for any length of time). I called Apple and they sent out a replacement. No problem, they'll just send out the new square adapter. I think, "cool, this will come with the extension cord as well as that nifty new device that allows you to plug the adapter directly to the wall without the extension. less cord when i don't need it." Well I got the power adapter but no 'handy device'™ and no extension cord. And the yo-yo adapter uses a three prong adapter which will not fit into the two pronged new model. So I called them again and told them I needed the cord for the new adapter, since the cord I had just wasn't going to work. Ok, they say, we'll ship it right away. When I got the package in 1 day I was quite pleased (I had been working off of a very poor splice job using nail clippers and scotch tape, I know how bad that sounds, I can already imagine what you're all thinking). But only for about 2 seconds until I opened it up and found a three pronged extension cord. I thought we had discussed that it was for the new adapter!?!?! So I called them again, very specifically told them I needed the extension cord and thing™ for the *new* adapter. They sent out the thing™, but no extension cord. Frustrating, but I couldn't bring myself to call once again for a much lesser problem. At least they managed to complete this fiasco within a week.

[scem0]

It's OK...

nothing spectacular. Not bad though.

scem0

[The Samurai]

Meh, I know im touching on old soil here but...

I am pretty sure I read a 'news story' on MR about Apple achieving the best Customer service in the industry. I've tried searching but have failed.

Could someone kindly point me to the correct article.

Much appreciated.

[spacecadet610]

Best CS of any company. consistent too.

[DiamondMac]

Always have been extremely happy with it

[mithrilfox]

One-on-one they'll address issues that you have in a timely and professional manner.

However, publicly, the company has to sweep problems under the rug in order to maintain their "it just works" image. This means that bugs that they are well aware of in their products are not openly confirmed, so that people struggle with these things amidst Apple's silence.

[63dot]

Vote: Poll: What do you think of Apple's Customer Service? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=254&ref=forums.macrumors.com)

Right in the middle.

Better than Dell and AOL but not as good as a big box stores like Office Depot or Circuit City and those stores' decent warranties.

Apple's actual retail stores and their attentive customer service are slightly better than store experiences at Office Depot or Circuit City. But when it comes to backing their own gear with warranties, those big box stores are better than Apple.

So to sum it up, the in store experience at an Apple Store is above average, but their warranty backup is below average, so overall Apple is average.

To find a below average customer service experience, AOL and SBC-Yahoo internet service are generally not up to par most of the time.

So here's how I see it, both as a customer and as a Microsoft, Dell, Compaq, and Apple Warranty technician:

Dell service on phone: C-
AOL service on phone: C-
SBC/Yahoo service on phone: C-

Apple warranties: C

Office Depot warranties: C+
Circuit City warranties: C+

In-Store Apple Store experience: B or even B+

Basically, the best way to buy an Apple product, if you don't mind the ignorance of a PC salesman in a Big Box store, Best Buy near me, just do your research first, know what you want, and then take advantage of their great warranty. If only Apple had a warranty as good as their products, they would garner a much larger market share.

Apple is friendly in their stores, and even on their phones, but they are so unwilling to put anything as far as warranty coverage anything similar to how they push their product.

Part of why Apple Inc, still my favorite company, has not picked up more market share, is their well-known less than stellar warranty. When Apple Inc. starts thinking of their warranty as a service and not another easy income stream, then the company will match service with product.

Even Steve Jobs, who has been very alarmed with the weakness of Apple Care, has not been able to make the company deliver on that front.

At the end of the day, Apple is not Microsoft and does not have the kind of funds to back all their products that well on warranty. If they backed their warranty as well as some others, they would end up losing too much money, but at the same time, shedding their less than average reputation for shoddy warranty service.

While reading a Macworld article some years back, it was interesting when Steve Jobs became so desperate that he simply told the Apple warranty division to: "Get their ****** act together."

In the end, they only improved their warranty coverage by a little bit. And to be fair, it may not be the fault of Apple, but a realistic ability with a 2.9% percent market share in computers, to put only so much money to fix issues with Macs, which is much less than any PC companies out there.

[mabittin]

ok

[63dot]

It's OK...

nothing spectacular. Not bad though.

scem0

Hey scem0, jefhatfield here from the old days.

The consensus seems to be that Apple Inc. is just OK when it comes to customer service. I have thought that for years and people mis-translated that as me thinking that their products were just OK.

Apple products have always been above average, and sometimes simply great.

[A Mac Gamer]

I have had only 1 problem with my MacBook Pro, but I called up, answered a few questions, and told me what to do to replace my battery. It was very painless, and the guy on the other end was knowledgeable and very nice. I give a thumbs up, even though it wasn't a difficult problem to solve.

[brad.c]

Wow. Seeing how it's 6 years since the thread was started, does anybody from 2003 want to change their vote?

Could someone kindly point me to the correct article.

A little Googling later:

Consumer Reports (http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2008/05/pc-tech-support.html?resultPageIndex=1&resultIndex=6&searchTerm=apple) from May, 2008

[scott523]

Apple's customer service is awesome unless you run into one of those guys from India on the phone. Except there was this one guy that wasn't from India, I asked for a replace in-ear headphones w/ remote+mic and he sent me the prevous generation headphones.

[SFStateStudent]

I've always felt that Apple's Customer Service has done a great job and sometimes they've gone above and beyond what I expected of them. Many times AppleCare is more stringent on certain issues, while the Apple Store will easily exchange or replace damaged hardware, (in my opinion, and in my situations). AppleCare listens and attempts to fix your issue, and the Apple Store seems like a last resort, if they can't convince you to send your hardware to them in a shipper that they mail or deliver to you. I'm hoping people are considering that AppleCare (customer service by phone and warranty experts?) and the Apple Store are both Apple's Customer Service Team...

[cedar]

It stinks. Apple's warranty is a joke.

[bki122689]

I like that when i talk to them on the phone i speak to someone from my country (USA) an american not someone from India. When that happens with my other products i can barely understand what they are saying.

[MikeTheC]

In my experience, they've been excellent. Their policies and processes in the instances I've actually needed them were far superior to the ones at Sony (this is not an opinion, it's based on expert knowledge since I worked there).

The only thing I would say, and this is not directed specifically towards Apple, is that it's best to never buy a BTO system if you can at all help it, since it is always harder to return, exchange and oftentimes otherwise deal with service work on them than a standard configuration system.

[PCMacUser]

The poll results show that only 22% of voters have not had to use Apple's customer service. Does this mean that 78% of Apple products are faulty? :p

[macgrl]

I have found the US call centers to be much more helpful than the ones you get from the UK

[NightSailor]

Vote: Poll: What do you think of Apple's Customer Service? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=254&ref=forums.macrumors.com)

Online Store: I find that online, they are pretty good for general orders. They have always been courteous and professional.

Telephone Tech Support: Mostly very good. Only one exception. They sometimes route called to employees that work at home, instead of call centers. I once was put with a woman working at her home (with loud music playing in the background). She could not hear me and asked me over and over again the same questions. I gave up and demanded a supervisor.

ADC Store: The ADC Store customer support is horrible. The make mistakes, don't document conversations, and they will screw you over. Be sure to document every person you speak to, what was said, and ask for email confirmation. Don't trust them even a little bit.

Retails Stores: Horrible also. I've wasted so much time with these idiots. Ask them a question and you are sure the get a wrong answer. Ask a second time, they will tell you garbage nonsense. When you get to the store you will find something completely different to be the case. For me this is an hour driving each way. I've tried two different stores and been lied to twice.

Once I needed to make a second trip because they did not have an operating system disk for a Mac Pro. Can you believe it? Mine was bad it turns out.

The second time I asked for an appointment and was told I didn't need one, they were not that busy. When I got to the store, they were busy and wanted me to drop it off and come back later when all I needed was a Wifi card installed--a 10 minute job.

[dmlogs]

I've never been a fan of going to ANY store for customer service. I always seem to know more, especially about the issue, than the service rep.

I called apple customer service once because my MBP's battery was crashing consistently when not plugged into the wall. I told the rep my battery was shot, of course they had to run me through about an hour or two of tests to confirm that it was indeed the battery and not my fault. But once through, they shipped me a new battery in a couple days and I was back up in running in no time. I'd give their customer service an A+ :apple:

[erratikmind]

Apple's customer service has always meet my needs and expectations. Very satisfied, to say the least.

[MikeTheC]

I already discussed Apple's over-the-phone support. However, I'd like to take this occasion to talk about Apple's in-the-store folks.

I need to qualify this discussion a little bit before I begin, otherwise I'm going to come off sounding like the biggest jerk, jackass and egotistical person you've ever heard (and I'm not: really, I'm a great guy!)

The first computer I owned was a Mac Plus which I got in 1986 for my birthday. In the 1980s, to be "into computers" actually meant something. It meant you were a tech enthusiast, that you were self-reliant, and that you tried to learn as much as you could about a lot of different things. Well, by the old-school definition, I am definitely "into computers". I've worked in the graphic design/desktop publishing industry, I've done network and system administration, tech support, repair, building, etc. I'm experienced in many kinds of things, but then, I've been at this for 23 years, so one should expect any such individual to be knowledgeable.

Anyhow, whenever I walk into either of the two local Apple Stores, without question I am the most competent, knowledgeable, seasoned and experienced person in the room. I go there to look at stuff. I don't go there so the sales people can help me. Quite probably, I could sit down and do one-on-one training with every single employee, sales, tech or management, on many different subjects and at a considerable number of levels. So, when I say "their staff is useless", please understand that even if they walked on water they'd be useless to me. But I'm not saying they're "useless to me".

I'm saying "they're useless, period." Talking to many (not all, to be fair) of them is no better than talking to sales folk at Best Buy, CompUSA (in the old days -- of late, the one in my area has gotten a lot better), the cell phone sales dude at the kiosk in the mall, etc. They don't know stuff, sometimes they try to make stuff up, and generally they portray Apple (to me, at least) in a bad light. The problem is that spreading incorrect info -- or info without any real experience to back it up -- is harmful to Apple's customers.

Now, to be fair, on the whole they're doing a better job than the retailers who used to sell Apple products, and arguably they're still better and more knowledgeable on average than, say, a floor sales dude at BestBuy (though I did reference them above), but they're frequently not that much better.

I don't expect anyone in a retail store to match me, move for move, or be able to trade blows with me. If they did, I would be shocked and probably ask them what the aich - ee - double-hockey-stick they were doing working in retail. But at least one should take pride enough in oneself to care about helping your customers appropriately (which, of course, is what being in business is all about).

[Stinkysteve]

AppleCare phone support has been very good the few times I needed it.

As for AppleCare repairs I go to an Apple Authorized service center very close to Grand Central Terminal in New York City and they have been stellar in getting the authorized repair done quickly.

[marbles]

Not as slick as OS X that for sure , but on the whole they are not too bad,

Maybe a customer satisfaction based salary would be an incentive for better performance all round.

.....they could email out questionnaires after each contact with some kind of sliding pay scale based on the customers satisfaction...now there is a way to up customer services .

give them a basic salary, if they don't perform they just get the basic with obvious benefits for those that perform well.

[sosaysiburke]

i am pleased to say its one of the reasons i enjoy my mac. I had to call them for a problem with my macbook the woman i talked to was extremely polite and took her sweet time and got the problem fixed . far as the apple store in my town goes they are a bit eccentric but nice people.

[macgrl]

Never had a problem with customer service. They have been helpful when I have needed them:)

[doubleohseven]

I think Apple's Customer Service is one of the best out there. I didn't have to wait long, the Customer Call Representative was friendly and helpful, and they solved my problem. They're great. :)

[tayshon]

I only had to call them a couple of times and no complaints here.

[Little HZ]

I have never had to call them ... which is its own commentary on service ... ;)

[ZeroCorpse]

I've always had good experiences with them.

You know who sucks? Microsoft's XBox 360 " XBox Live" support. Terrible. I think they're in Mexico, and they basically say "tough luck." to everything.

They also caused me to have a HUGE overdraft when they tapped a debit card on an account I was no longer using. I told them not to use that account, and they did it anyway. They said there's no way to remove a card from your account-- even if you replace it with another-- once you've entered the data.

Apple is wonderful compared to that.

[ZeroCorpse]

I forgot... Apple has sent me stuff for free to make up for problems. They're very cool about it when it's their fault.

[marbles]

I forgot... Apple has sent me stuff for free to make up for problems. They're very cool about it when it's their fault.

Getting them to admit it is sometimes very difficult though! , but when(if) they do they're cool.

[rwilliams]

My first experience with Apple support was outstanding. I had a dead pixel line running all the way across my MacBook's screen last week, and made an appointment with a Genius at the store. He ran through several tests to determine that it was a problem with the LCD and not anything software or otherwise hardware related. He then told me that I would have to send it to their repair depot since it would be faster than them ordering the LCD and repairing it in the store. This was on Thursday. It was shipped and received at the depot on Friday, and repaired the very same day. It was shipped out on Friday night and arrived at my local FedEx sorting facility on Saturday. The MacBook was delivered to my door around 8:45 am this morning, with the screen fixed and no other problems. Had it not been a weekend, I would have gotten my machine back within 2 business days. Outstanding. I have never received satisfactory service with this kind of speed before, and couldn't be happier with the results.

[fef714]

It's above average as far as usual customer service goes, but it could still be better.

Like once my computer was not recognizing my keyboard, mouse, or any USB devices, so it was stuck on the login window. When I called support, they asked me for the serial number.

It was only about twenty minutes later that he grasped the concept of no keyboard or mouse, and that I couldn't go to the Apple menu to find my serial number (needed to see if I was over my 90 days).

Eventually he told me the serial number was also on the bottom of my stand. Looking at the bottom of an iMac is no easy task.

So after thirty minutes of getting the serial number, he told me to restart the computer. AS IF I HADN'T ALREADY DONE THAT!!!



So the customer service? ya their okay.

[dmmcintyre3]

I have only had to have support for obvious hardware issues and they fixed it first time. If your screen died (died not cracked) they would fix it for $310. Logic board is the same. (on PB's and that is if you have not modified the hardware)

[hande ozen]

i have called there 2 times and they answered very quickly. They were so helpfull!!

[gülce kilinc]

i do not think any negative thought about apple's customer service. but they could be more faster.:)

[Melrose]

My sole experience with Apple Support was great.

The latch on my MBP was stuck 'open' and even though AppleCare was expired by two weeks they fixed it anyway.

Me saved dollars.

[Blue Fox]

Wow. This thread is from 2003. Who's digging these old threads up? :rolleyes:

[JuanGuapo]

AppleCare is excellent, my wife and I have had very good experiences w/ them; it is one of the reasons I suggested a Mac to my dad who just recently bought his first Mac.

Retail customer service has improved a bit since last year at least at my local store. I can't say for certain what has changed, but it appears that there has been some churn b/c they have a lot of new faces and very few that I recall from previous visits. That said, I've had nothing but good-to-excellent experiences at the Genius Bar recently.

[jhsfosho]

The only time I've dealt with Apple's customer service is when I had to have my ipod photo fixed. It was a smooth transition from my old one to a refurb, and it only took 4 days for me to send in my old one and get the refurb. Just in time before I went on a 12 hour road trip.

[MacTurd]

I couldn't afford their customer service.......

[BLOND37]

genuis bar: A
support website: B
telephone support: A- (would be A+ if 24/7)
corporate customer service: A+

[anamznazn]

It's pretty good the last time I visited the genius bar

[jpma]

I was reading all the pages on this topic and find sometimes experience can be opposite of each other from very good to horrible service.

could this be different country & places or apple store you get different results.

[JSteezy]

Excellent. Except fir the whole part of them not dealing with jailbroken devices. Grrr!!!!

[shivermetimbers]

I have had really good luck with them. Enough to leave an excellent impression on me.

[Kiffko]

really happt with the german support

[007bond]

one word: Amazing

[kmiahali]

Apple customer service is amazing! according to laptop magazine's study, Apple has an A, over acer and asus which both got a C- each. Everytime, my Mac or iPod got messed up, they instantly fixed it for me and they gave my bro a new keyboard when that got messed up.

[caligurl]

i had great service the one time i had to go into the :apple:apple store for my 3GS....

one of the phone calls prior to going into the store left a bit to desire.... but overall i'm pleased....

[rational]

I used to beleive in Apple support until their recent insulting and incompetent dealings with me over my 10.6 order.
I ordered 10.6 on the 24th and was told I would receive it on the 28th. I had recently gotten a new Mac and qualified for the $9.95 upgrade.
Then I got an email stating that it would ship by the 28th
As of this morning it showed that it still hadn't shipped.
When I called a Customer rep, who must have been in their texas support center, stated that the order was on a pallet ready to be shipped. When I pointed out that having it ready to ship on the 28th did not meet the criteria of shipping it BY the 28th he choose to argue the point, So like Barney Frank and not wishing to argue with a dining room table I hung up.

I called back to cancell the order and a different rep told me that I was to receive my order either today (28th) or Saturday (29th) I said if that was true fine but if I did not receive it I would call over the weekend to cancel my order. He stated that was ok I could do that

Next I received an email stating my order had been mailed on the 27th and that I would receive it on Sept 1. This was not acceptable so for a third time I called and was told that sorry they had my money and they weren't giving it back no matter how misleading and false their actions had been.

Then they offered an insulting pittance of a coupon that would have required me to spend even more money with an organization that within 8 hours had given me 3 differnet stories on when my software was shipped. Three different stories of when I was to receive it and two different stories on whether I could cancel my order.

This creates an either/or situation.
Either
the hardware and software that Apple rep's are using are so buggy that tracking a single order is beyond its capabilities
Or
The Apple reps are told to be as misleading, confusing and to spread false information.

So the question Which is it? is Ineptitude or Dishonesty. Either way their creditability is zero.

[londonmystery]

Nothing but good to say from Apple in the UK. Both the Regent Street flagship store and Bluewater have been excellent.

Better than any other UK retailer I've dealt with.

Oh and I used to be a retail Manager. :):)

[rational]

Nothing but good to say from Apple in the UK. Both the Regent Street flagship store and Bluewater have been excellent.

Better than any other UK retailer I've dealt with.

Oh and I used to be a retail Manager. :):)

I'm glad that the UK has decent service but it does not excuse the absymal ly poor service I received. Not to mention inaccuracies, false statements, incorrect shipping and delivery dates etc.

[electroshock]

But my few experiences in dealing with Apple in general (mostly indirectly) over the years has been superb.

Note: the title of this post means I never had to deal with specifically Apple's Customer Service -- whether directly or indirectly. :)

[flakes8]

Haven't had to use it yet

[Rampant.A.I.]

I think it's gone downhill from where it used to be.

But it's still very good, especially compared to some companies.

[Chimpy]

I've always found their customer support staff to be courteous, knowledgeable, and helpful.

[sacnunun]

That's a very interesting topic. But this field is still new to me. It will be grateful if you give me some more information about it. Thanks in advance.

[macsarethebest]

They are like college professors in that they talk and talk until I figure out the problem on my own.

My vote- not so good.

I agree:D

[Eastend]

I'll have to agree with those who say Apples Service and Support is Excellent.
However, if you purchased a lemon from Apple (I mean a computer that Apple does not admit is a lemon like the Dual G5 water cooled junk) then be prepared for charges when the warranty expires. Their actions on the G5 Water cooled machine were erratic at best. When the computer went South, some received a new machine, some were fixed for free and some had to pay for repairs (sometimes paying way too much or paying Apples flat service rate, which is also high.). Some were repaired quickly while others took a long time. There was really no standard procedure for dealing with the issue. Over all, Apple is Excellent when compared with other computer makers, probably because they make fewer lemons.

[Rampant.A.I.]

I'll have to agree with those who say Apples Service and Support is Excellent.
However, if you purchased a lemon from Apple (I mean a computer that Apple does not admit is a lemon like the Dual G5 water cooled junk) then be prepared for charges when the warranty expires. Their actions on the G5 Water cooled machine were erratic at best. When the computer went South, some received a new machine, some were fixed for free and some had to pay for repairs (sometimes paying way too much or paying Apples flat service rate, which is also high.). Some were repaired quickly while others took a long time. There was really no standard procedure for dealing with the issue. Over all, Apple is Excellent when compared with other computer makers, probably because they make fewer lemons.

I think it's VERY true that Apple just doesn't deal with machines that are obviously lemons. They just pretend they don't exist, and keep avoiding fixing the real problem in different ways until you give up or are out of warranty.

It's a pretty slimy way to run a company, and I'm disappointed that they seem to be going this route.

[Abacab]

Apple needs to have one lane in the stores exclusively for enterprise support.
I usally know what the issue is and I don't need to wait 3 hours to see a "genious" to tell me something i alrady know. Then to ad insult Apple wants me to pay 100.00 for "Pro Care" so I only have to wait 2 hours. it's not the money but I resent the fact that I spent thousands of dollars to wait for some moron ahead of me who can't sync his or her I-pod.
THEY NEED TO GET THIER ENTERPRISE SUPPORT TOGETHER!!!

[Trek2100]

In my experience with PCs (since 1984) and Apple during the past 3 years, Apple customer service is the best in the industry. But thats only my personal experience, others may have had less than stellar results. Thats the nature of any company's customer service. Its nice to speak to an English speaking American rather than an online chat because the rep speaks incomprehensible English.

[chillspike]

Apple's customer service? What is this "Customer Service" you speak of? Is that something for people whose computer's break? :confused:

[mac-ho]

Have not needed customer service. I bought my first Imac in 1998. (G3) Another later. (G4). Have had zero problems. (Machine related) Am waiting for the Quad 4. I expect it to have the same appreciable reliability. For you eggheads out there; I know I did not answer the question EXACTLY!!!:apple::apple::apple::apple:

[JuanGuapo]

Apple as a whole is good, but I think it better to rate each of them separately.

Apple Corporate: Excellent

Only had to talk and deal w/ them twice, each time was very good.

AppleCare: Good/Excellent

I think I've only had 1 time when I had to call back b/c the guy on the other end was an ass. Other than that, they've always been very friendly and accommodating. I can't complain about AppleCare.

Retail: Marginal/Good (depends on the store, really)

This so depends on the store. Really, it does. I've had such piss poor service in one particular store, but had stellar service in another. As it is right now, I drive out of my way an extra 10-12mi to go to a different Apple Store than the one near me just to avoid it.

[Akhan]

It always seems when I have to deal with Apple, it has always been a positive outcome. Which drove me to purchase a MBP. Keep up the good work.

[flakes8]

They Are Second Too None !!!!!

[COSE23]

There was some problem with the battery or the connection in my Macbook. I sent it to them, they fixed the problem and I got it back extremely quickly.
Alltel and Verizon both have terrible costumer service. I have spent hours on the phone with them. And I get no results.

[JuanGuapo]

I think a more interesting conversation is not how good Apple is but how poor their competitors are...

[roadbloc]

After reading all the posts... seems I was just unlucky. When my iPod's HDD broke they refused to fix it, becuase they failed to see what was wrong with it. I called them up for a second time, explaining that despite the menu system working fine... NONE of the songs would play and I was unable to sync any tracks or restore it in itunes, they took it back, and failed to see the problem again.

[emailboy]

I've always had excellent to outstanding experiences with Apple call centers. I usually ask where they are near the end of the call, just to be friendly, and they've been in various U.S. and Canadian locations. I've found the agents to be very knowledgeable and genuinely interested in helping. They seem to have access to the information and resources to help.

However, I had a couple calls that were almost surreal. It was like being in a joke about Rogerian therapy, where the counselor just mindlessly echoes back whatever you say. The agents had no interest in helping me, seemed totally incapable of understanding the situation or my request, and either didn't have the usual case information transferred with the call or forced me to repeat everything just for kicks. These calls were frustrating, unpleasant experiences. This had nothing to do with accent and everything to do with interest and ability. Yes, these calls to Hell were routed to India.

I know India has a great number of talented, smart, helpful people. A large portion of the engineers I work with are from India, and my company has engineering facilities in India. But the employees of the Apple call center there are obviously not the best. I've read that in India working in a call center is considered slumming, and working for an American company or answering calls from America is even worse. So, people who can do so get hired at higher status places. If true, this would explain a lot. It doesn't answer why Apple would send calls there, however.

This blog post (http://www.afterapple.com/adam-knight/blog/2006/09/thank-you-come-again)by a former Apple call center employee has the view from inside Apple.

[irkprohul]

I accept with information:Many times AppleCare is more stringent on certain issues, while the Apple Store will easily exchange or replace damaged hardware. AppleCare listens and attempts to fix your issue, and the Apple Store seems like a last resort.

[Consultant]

But the employees of the Apple call center there are obviously not the best. I've read that in India working in a call center is considered slumming, and working for an American company or answering calls from America is even worse. So, people who can do so get hired at higher status places. If true, this would explain a lot. It doesn't answer why Apple would send calls there, however.

this blog post <link snip>...



There are some major problems in the false assumption that Apple sends calls to India.

Wrong.

1. Even if Apple sends phone calls to India (which doesn't happen). You think call centers don't have any training or quality control?

2. It is well known that a number of US companies that moved call centers to India have moved the call centers back to the US.

3. Apple looked into call centers in India, but pulled out in 2006.
http://www.macrumors.com/2006/06/04/apple-pulling-support-center-out-of-india/

Calling the US Apple phone lines, I have never talked to someone who has an accent.

[emailboy]

There are some major problems in the false assumption that Apple sends calls to India.

Wrong.

1. Even if Apple sends phone calls to India (which doesn't happen). You think call centers don't have any training or quality control?

2. It is well known that a number of US companies that moved call centers to India have moved the call centers back to the US.

3. Apple looked into call centers in India, but pulled out in 2006.
http://www.macrumors.com/2006/06/04/apple-pulling-support-center-out-of-india/

Calling the US Apple phone lines, I have never talked to someone who has an accent.
Hi Consultant,

1a: I don't know why you say Apple doesn't send calls to India. Both times I had poor experiences, the agents told me they were in India. When I did get back to an agent in North America, he told me that Apple has call centers around the world, and does send calls from the U.S. to India during peak times.

1b: I have no knowledge of Apple's training nor quality control, but from my own experiences, I can say that the North American agents I've interacted with have been excellent or outstanding, while the two from India were awful.

2. Yes, and some companies have taken out ads touting this. Of course, being in the U.S. is no guarantee of a good experience. I've dealt with some U.S. based call centers that were worse than dreadful. However, I suspect it is easier to attract good agents for U.S.-facing call centers in North America, due to the time zone and culture (it not being highly regarded in India).

3. My understanding is that apple pulled out of a plan to add a call center in India. They had one before and still have it, from what I've heard.

As for your own experiences, I'm happy you haven't had this happen to you. In 15 years or so, I've only had a very small number of calls to Apple go to India (the two recent ones are the only ones in the past few years).

[Mac Princess]

Hi all,
I live in Amsterdam, and travel quite a bit for work so I have had to deal with loads of Mac centers and retail outlets around the world, and it is a mixed bag. But usually when I call the Apple Service in the US, I can't really complain.

[cv735]

they're great! so far anyway!

[OGDaniel]

Apple's customer service is the most superb in the whole world, superior to any other company. That with the combination of great products and a great community is why Apple is the only company in the modern world that really GETS it, if you know what I mean.

[melchior]

good, but not as phenomenal as some make out.

however, if you have a legitimate issue and end up with customer relations they do have the power to do amazing things. fedex replacement MBPs to bangladesh, give away free ram, etc.

they can also be unfairly obtuse in restricting their liability to repair faults making excuses for unrelated things.

[melchior]

I just bought a new macbook pro 13" online and I'm wondering how well apple's shipping services are? I'm guessing since apple prides itself in customer service that it should be pretty good? I'm just worried that the people handling my new laptop could be rough with it and I don't want something damaged coming in the mail considering i spend 1900 bucks. Have any of you had problems with apples shipping services?

you have nothing to worry about, further, if by some cruel twist of fate you do end up with a damaged machine call apple and they'll immediately ship out a replacement. nothing to worry about at all.

[FastEddy]

Two recent experiences, both quite positive.

Boulder Store is great but crowded :D ... I needed an appointment to get an OS refresh. (I refreshed the OS on my old laptop, gave it to my niece, then bought a new laptop = Happy as a clam.)

Santa Rosa Store is a great experience, always has the info and will steer customers toward the advanced models if asked.

Tech support has always been prompt and correct = no BS, can always find the definitive answer.

Being in the cpu/network tech support & service arena for decades, I do appreciate a well trained crew = I always recommend Apple first when asked. :apple:

[bzollinger]

haven't had much exposure. but when there needed to replace my ipod wall charger it was quick and they didn't harass me to send the "defective" one back in! :D

[alec]

It's been great to me... the free repair for the discolored palm rest on the MacBook (even though I am 2 years out of warranty!) really won me over!

[marthasp6s]

I think they are pretty good, I've had a couple problems most of them were solved quickly.

Execpt they weren't 24/7 it was great.

Agreed. They are generally much better than the customer support of some of the other "high profile" corporates I have dealt with in the past. :)

[JuanGuapo]

My last experience w/ Apple customer service was with AppleCare.... the battery on my MBP came up with "check battery". I called Apple and told them what happened....they asked for my to send a report from System Profiler, and had a battery Fedexed to me rather quickly. The tech I spoke with even gave me his name/extension should I have any further problems. Nice. A+ experience there.

The last time I was in the retail store was for my uneven, loose battery plate. I brought it to the store in South Coast Plaza, the lady genius ordered me a new one and said it would be there in a few days. They called....scheduled me a genius bar appointment...and I was back at the store three days after I initially came in. The crackpot that I dealt with on the 2nd visit told me there was nothing wrong w/ my battery plate and was not going to replace it (mind you after they already ordered it, and the prev. genius said it was defective). I very calmly asked for the manager, and he replaced the battery plate promptly. Unfortunately, Apple's customer service (esp. in the retail stores) is completely at the mercy of the person they decided to hire.

We took my wife's cracking white MB to this same store and was told that they were not fixing cracked plastics anymore. Since the cracking was already documented, we told the guy that we would handle it with Applecare since he was not helping us. He looked in the computer and relented. My wife (ballsy woman that she is) called Apple's corporate office about it and were told that it was "100% not true" what the tech at the store said, wanted to know who/what/when/where about what we were told.

I think Apple's customer service is suffering from it's own size....a good analogy is this.

Even if 1% of their employees are completely substandard, that is ten employees for every thousand.....and they've got a lot of stores and employees.

[macgrl]

I have found apple to be very helpful whenever i have had a problem

[Reventon]

I don't know. I never had to use it. Both my iMac and Mac Book Pro have been functioning perfectly since I bought them. *knocks on wood* Although, I do have Apple Care on both if I ever have to.

[iMacThere4Iam]

Never had anything but great service from Apple. Maybe I've been lucky to talk to the right people, but they've always been professional, knowledgeable, and helpful. The Stores are getting more and more crowded, so appointment times can lag, but they seem to do their best to get to you in a reasonable time. Phone support has been great too. No complaints.

[NIPRING]

I havent had to do very much customer service calling in my life , but i'd say they have been very good, waaay better that M$ xbox live service!

[the rookie]

it is much better then microsoft
and there system works much better to
had this mac for 2 years and have falling in love with how it all just works
and i do every thing on this little mac mini

[GGJstudios]

I rarely have a need to call, but when I do, I find them knowledgeable and helpful.

[chuanist]

I haven't used it for some years but ... customer service on the phone was great; going to the Apple store to pick up a mailing box for my laptop was a three-hour ordeal, capped by the snottiest 'mac genius' I ever hope never to meet again.

[ajwells1]

So far it has been great. I just got a MBP and I accidentally bought an Apple Care plan for iMac. Of course the plan for the MBP cost about $70 more. They took back the wrong plan, sent out the correct one right away, and gave me an extra $100 back on the MBP! All to make me happy. It worked:)

[AV8TOR]

I have used them twice and I have to say it was the best I have ever used. That is not saying much because most of them plain our suck. But I cannot not give them anything less than a 9 on one and a 10 on the other.

[kazmac]

Recently with the exception of the person I spoke on the phone to return my iMac not very good.

At the actual stores, I've had snotty and/or clueless staff along with some staff who were very polite and helpful at other stores.

I haven't used the Genius bars yet so can't comment there.

Right now: I'd say a 5 out of 10.

[ElaineAbigayle]

Excellent 26.37 % (548)
Good 29.40 % (611)
OK 12.70 % (264)
Not so good 4.86 % (101)
Poor 4.38 % (91)
No experience 22.28 % (463)

[uaecasher]

Best customer service I've ever gotten

[kernkraft]

The usual experience:

- I'm calling from the UK, but I get to talk to somebody from India, US, Canada, Ireland and only occasionally UK.

- They don't know basic stuff, like Automator and Terminal. I expect phone support to be able to help me out with these. In-store 'Genius' teens are not better either, in fact they can be even less technically advanced.

- return policy and attitude is very good.

- repair is good and relatively fast

- general attitude is nice.


But this was the last time that I purchased Apple Care with the hope that I would get useful technical support.

[Blue Fox]

Only had to call them once, back when I had to get a replacement keyboard for my iMac as my 'F" key seemed to just stop working. Person helping me was great, she overnighted me a new keyboard with instructions on sending the defective one back. Best experience I've ever had with a warranty exchange.

[Blue Fox]

The usual experience:

- I'm calling from the UK, but I get to talk to somebody from India, US, Canada, Ireland and only occasionally UK.

- They don't know basic stuff, like Automator and Terminal. I expect phone support to be able to help me out with these. In-store 'Genius' teens are not better either, in fact they can be even less technically advanced.

- return policy and attitude is very good.

- repair is good and relatively fast

- general attitude is nice.


But this was the last time that I purchased Apple Care with the hope that I would get useful technical support.

If you don't mind me asking, why were you calling in for technical assistance with terminal and Automator?

[khrisz06]

Overall rating for apple is really good. For their costumer service, Sometime you will find a good costumer service of on of their agents sometimes not. My point is, it depends on the agent whom you are talking to because they are different through experiences or knowledge regarding the issue.

[AV8TOR]

I have only used them twice and both times they were professional, patient and knowledgeable solving my issues.

[Zepaw]

When I had to service my MacBook Pro they were quite helpful on the phone and since it was under AppleCare I just had to send it back to them in the package they shipped me. They didn't fix the problem because somehow it wasn't covered(too cosmetic an issue I guess) and I would have had to pay, so they shipped it back to me. Annoyed that I would have had to pay, but still a pleasant Customer Service experience.

I took my iPod touch into the Genius bar because the Unlock slider stopped responding and walked out with a new iPod Touch.

They have good customer service made great in comparison to some other terrible services out there. (F*#K GameFly)

[RedRaven571]

it is much better then microsoft
and there system works much better to
had this mac for 2 years and have falling in love with how it all just works
and i do every thing on this little mac mini

Did you just write a haiku to Apple??:p

[emailboy]

- They don't know basic stuff, like Automator and Terminal. I expect phone support to be able to help me out with these. In-store 'Genius' teens are not better either, in fact they can be even less technically advanced.I wouldn't consider Automator or Terminal to be "basic stuff." I suspect that the vast majority of Apple users have never run either of these. To me, "basic stuff" is what my aunt or partner's mom uses.

Automator and Terminal, to my thinking, are reasonably advanced.

That said, I agree with you that Apple should have people available who can help with these, both in-store and over the phone.

I'm curious what kinds of questions you needed help with for these: how to accomplish certain tasks, weird behavior that you suspect is a bug, something else?

[emailboy]

I think everybody outside th US knows what a big joke iTunes is! The Indian music and movie is way larger than Hollywood! If they have reasonable prices for music and movies iTunes can be a major hit here! For movies Apple can conceive ties with moserbaer (India), which sell latest movies on DVDs for not over $4!!! For original music there is much prospect for Both American and Indian music that can be sold on iTunes! Apple can make hefty profits here! The market is virtually BLANK! So what's the deal with them?If I understand, your complaint is with the content sold via iTunes, not with customer support, right?

[RetepNamenots]

My experiences with repairs have been mixed. My iPod 3G broke within 1 year, and they refused to give me a replacement in the 2 or so weeks in which it was being repaired.

However when my iPod Touch broke around September time, they were more than happy to replace it in-store.

However, from a customer's perspective... I absolutely hate shopping at the Apple store; my local one, at least. The managers are completely unwilling to go out of their way to help me, and I usually go in knowing exactly what I want, having already done my research!

[davidp158]

I've had mostly bad experiences with Apple service. Phone support has suggested a hard drive reformat and reinstallation for just about any problem that has come up. Rather than trying to solve problems, it seems that they just try to send you away so they can take the next call.

I purchased a new G5 that came with defective install discs. Neither the install disc or tools/repaid disc would mount on my G5, G3 or a friends G5, but I couldn't convince Apple they were defective. I had to pre-pay for a replacement CD drive (nearly $400 as I recall) to confirm the CD drive wasn't defective. I purchased Apple Care with the G5, and Apple sent someone to work on the G5 on-site. The tech also wouldn't believe the discs were bad, so he spent a couple hours tearing the G5 apart, to no avail. BTW, he had to call his support center 3 or 4 times for help, as he had never worked on a G5 before. I FINALLY got him to try the discs on his laptop, which proved they were defective. Apple sent an older set of discs, claiming that they no longer had that install version available, and refused to send me the retail version. So after installing older OS software, I had to download a large updater combo. It was an absurd waste of time, my brand new G5 was down for over a week, and I lost a lot of time from work in the process.

[forex123]

I havent had to do very much customer service calling in my life , but i'd say they have been very good, waaay better that M$ xbox live service!


I think so
forex broker (http://forexmetatraderbroker.com/)

[Face Ache]

Years ago, Apple couldn't fix my out-of-warranty B/W 17" monitor which was making exciting explodey noises at startup, so they gave me a new free one.

In late 2009, after the local Apple Store had repeatedly cocked up the repair of my out-of-warranty 2005 iMac, Apple sent me a free bigger, better 2009 model.

No complaints here. :)

[JuanGuapo]

Sometimes it's not about how "good" Apple's service is....it's how mediocre or otherwise poor others' are.

[Young Spade]

Sometimes it's not about how "good" Apple's service is....it's how mediocre or otherwise poor others' are.

Here here.

Second week with the machine, I called because temps in bootcamp were in mid 90s when playing a game. Lady picked up and basically told me "there's no set temperature, the computer will shut itself off when it gets too hot".

No ****; I want you to tell me something I don't know. I then asked her for an estimate in temperatures and what she thinks is "too hot". Of course, she stammered and gave vague rehashes of the aforementioned comment.

On the other hand, when my grandmother's HP locked up and wouldn't register the fingerprint scanner or her password, talking on the phone for 40 minutes to a guy in India who talked to me like I was a complete idiot was no better.

I think Apple people are just trained to be friendlier.