Screwed by the Apple Store

[Sonar]

Hey everyone i am in need of suggestions. My old iBot never worked well on my firewire and a couple of weeks ago i couldnt get it to work. So i went to the apple store yesterday to take a look at iSight. I was also there to buy an iPod. I wasn't crazy about the iSight so i decided to wait with that. I bought a 15 gig iPod. So i took it home and could not get it to work on my emac. It worked fine on the iBook but for some strange reason it didnt work with the emac. So i thought that there might be a problem with my firewire ports. So i tried the digital camera and it didnt work either. Now i am certain that my firewire is dead. So i check my warantee today after running a ton of stuff to try to fix it yesterday. And I find out that the warantee cancelled 4 days ago. And now it will cost me four hundred to fix it. The apple store really screwed me. I tried to explain that this problem was going on for weeks but i thought it was just my iBot. But they wont let me use the warantee. Does anyone have any suggestions. Usually apple is understanding, what happened? well if anyone know where to complain or what to do please reply. Thanks for all the help.

[Six]

warrenties expire. sorry, but it happens with everything. the fact that it expired four days before is not really apples fault. so i wouldnt say that they screwed you

[TMA]

Hi,

First let me say that is a very sad story and I hope you manage to get your eMac fixed fairly cheaply or you manage to sort out a refund for your iPod (I don't know Apples policy on refunds for non damaged goods)

Warranties do expire and it's very bad luck that you noticed this firewire problem just days outside of it. I wouldn't give up straight away if I were you. Many companies would fix problems like this even outside the warranty, because they could be accused of designing products that fail after the warranty or they might fix it simply as a nice gesture. They're afraid people will get their story published in the press or on TV (we have a program called Watchdog here full of things like that)

Speak to the highest person you can and without being rude make sure you relay your dismay and maybe throw in a fib or two (e.g "My experiences with Apple have always been terrible") if that fails try again with someone else in person or via phone. You could also say that the firewire failed inside the warranty but you've been out of town or too busy to get it sorted out.

Anyway that's what I would do, it might work, it might not. Let us know what happens and good luck!

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by TMA
Speak to the highest person you can and without being rude make sure you relay your dismay and maybe throw in a fib or two (e.g "My experiences with Apple have always been terrible") if that fails try again with someone else in person or via phone. You could also say that the firewire failed inside the warranty but you've been out of town or too busy to get it sorted out.



I agree for the most part. Keeping moving up the management ladder until you get to someone that can fix your problems. The first teir of support are all peons and can only do what they are told. They aren't supposed to bend the rules. The higher up you get you will encounter people that are able to bend the rules for you.

Also, I would suggest praising how wonderful your Apple experience has been upto this point and how you are dissapointed and let down w/how the currnet problem is being handled. Speaking from experience (I'll deal w/customers all day) you'll catch more flies w/honey than w/vineagar<sp?>. If someone starts off by saying, "My experience w/yer company has always sucked" I usually think to myself, "then why the hell don't you go someplace else" and I'm reluctant<sp?> to do them any favors when they are being so negative towards me and my company.


Lethal

[Macpoops]

did you purchase it under the edu discount? they are always more leaniant then the regular apple people i had a 700 dollar repair done on my powerbook for free out of warrenty by a month.

[iJon]

should have bought applecare, why didnt you return th ibot if you thought i was broken. you had 4 weeks, sorry.

iJon

[Kwyjibo]

I would tell your story to anyone that will listen until you get the answer you want..just because some kid at the applestore or even some uppoity manager says they cant' help you or one of the sometimes inept applecare people says no it doesnt' mean you can't gget it done. ... after my second ibook reapir i was irate (not an apple product) and i wrote an email to steve jobs sjobs@apple.com two days later i had an executive assitant on my message machine asking if i had gotten the applecare box yet and if there was anytihng she could do ...

[medea]

man don't blame someone else, you should have check the problem a few weeks ago when you noticed your iBot wasn't working properly, warranties expire period. By not checking on the problem beforehand you screwed yourself.

[Sonar]

Originally posted by TMA

Speak to the highest person you can and without being rude make sure you relay your dismay and maybe throw in a fib or two (e.g "My experiences with Apple have always been terrible") if that fails try again with someone else in person or via phone. You could also say that the firewire failed inside the warranty but you've been out of town or too busy to get it sorted out.

Anyway that's what I would do, it might work, it might not. Let us know what happens and good luck!

THANK YOU SO MUCH
greast idea and it worked. I kept on calling people and if they said no i asked for their boss. Until i got one of the head apple store dudes, like the national sales dude, watever, and he let me buy the apple care plan for 170 instead of paying 400 bucks to get it fixed, so now i have 2 more years anywho. Thanks again.

[TMA]

Originally posted by Sonar
THANK YOU SO MUCH
greast idea and it worked. I kept on calling people and if they said no i asked for their boss. Until i got one of the head apple store dudes, like the national sales dude, watever, and he let me buy the apple care plan for 170 instead of paying 400 bucks to get it fixed, so now i have 2 more years anywho. Thanks again.

Cool glad you got a good solution!

I was actually just about to write a post saying I think LethalWolfe was probably right about catching flys with honey. I work alot with customers too and you always feel more inclined to help someone when you understand how they feel but they are not rude towards you or the company.

Nice work and happy iPodding! (dreams of owning a nice shiney 30gigger)

[Kwyjibo]

i think you need a good balance of compassion mixed with atleast a few hard edges....i'm really glad you fought your way to the top....

[tazo]

Originally posted by Sonar
Hey everyone i am in need of suggestions. My old iBot never worked well on my firewire and a couple of weeks ago i couldnt get it to work. So i went to the apple store yesterday to take a look at iSight. I was also there to buy an iPod. I wasn't crazy about the iSight so i decided to wait with that. I bought a 15 gig iPod. So i took it home and could not get it to work on my emac. It worked fine on the iBook but for some strange reason it didnt work with the emac. So i thought that there might be a problem with my firewire ports. So i tried the digital camera and it didnt work either. Now i am certain that my firewire is dead. So i check my warantee today after running a ton of stuff to try to fix it yesterday. And I find out that the warantee cancelled 4 days ago. And now it will cost me four hundred to fix it. The apple store really screwed me. I tried to explain that this problem was going on for weeks but i thought it was just my iBot. But they wont let me use the warantee. Does anyone have any suggestions. Usually apple is understanding, what happened? well if anyone know where to complain or what to do please reply. Thanks for all the help.

ouch that really sucks. Apple didn't really screw you. And if you think about it, if they gave you special treatment....

[jbomber]

glad it worked out.

my suggestion was going to be to go back to the store and sleep with one of the clerks....

[iJon]

Originally posted by jbomber
glad it worked out.

my suggestion was going to be to go back to the store and sleep with one of the clerks....
not a bad idea, keep a strictly sexual relationship witha chick at the apple store and use her discounts.

iJon

[Kwyjibo]

there aren't any hot chicks at thhe apple stores i've been too...I rarely see any hot geeks, even rarer a hot mac geek

[iJon]

Originally posted by Kwyjibo
there aren't any hot chicks at thhe apple stores i've been too...I rarely see any hot geeks, even rarer a hot mac geek
i agree. i saw some in the apple training videos though. well im converting my girlfriend so im doing ok. she looks pretty damn hot with an ipod. even though she could care less about computers, she is interested in what i have to say about them, which makes her geeky enough for me.

iJon

[scem0]

bitch enough and they'll fix it.

It works, my mom's a pro.

Just yell unintelligent things about half an octave above your normal voice until they agree to fix it.

It'll work.

scem0 :)

[buffsldr]

I am really sorry to hear that.

I guess I am not sure what the title of your thread has to do with what happened to you. Where in all of this did Apple screw you?

[Kwyjibo]

originally he couldn't get his emac repaired under warranty...that made him mad

[slowtreme]

I once had my Mac (SE) die exactly 48 hours after my warranty expired. the mainboard just failed. I brought it in and the dealer and they replaced it on the spot.

Maybe customer service was different back then.

[Macpoops]

The one manager at the King Of Prussia store is pretty hot. To be honest i was a bit distracted during my interview

[iJon]

Originally posted by Macpoops
The one manager at the King Of Prussia store is pretty hot. To be honest i was a bit distracted during my interview what could be better, working at an apple store and having a hot managaer. well our secretary is pretty good looking, i wonder if that still counts.

iJon

[jbomber]

Originally posted by Kwyjibo
there aren't any hot chicks at thhe apple stores i've been too...I rarely see any hot geeks, even rarer a hot mac geek


yeah, it'll definitely make you question your commitment to the platform. Are you willing to EARN that mac on your back?

Lie back and think of England.... :D

[Abstract]

......the most disturbing part about Sonar's problem is that it would have cost $400 to fix this problem.....

[iJon]

Originally posted by Abstract
......the most disturbing part about Sonar's problem is that it would have cost $400 to fix this problem.....
not really, its not like you are replacing a firewire port, its the whole mobo.

iJon