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iSee

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 25, 2004
3,539
272
I had a nice experience with Apple support.

I sent my wife's MBA to get the battery replaced (13", 1.8 GHz C2D, 128 GB SSD, 2 GB RAM). The cost was about $140 plus shipping.

A few days later Apple gets the computer and tells me the logic board is also bad. I believed them because my wife had reported some weird freezes that sounded like logic board issues, but I was hoping it was just because the battery was in such bad shape. It would be $300 for the logic board and battey... not too bad, I thought, and told them to go forward with it.

Then Apple calls and says the parts are on backorder for a LONG time...
So they just want to send us a whole new (well, refurb) MBA for the same $300!
It's significantly better in every way. E.g., 1.7 GHz Core i5, 256 GB SSD, 4 GB RAM, is a little lighter and various other little numbers are better as well.

I'm pretty happy!

Then computer even comes with a year of support and it elgible for Apple Care.

(The only potential problem was that the new OS doesn't support PowerPC apps. For my wife that meant an upgrade from Office 2004 to 2008. Fortunately we already own an extra copy of 2008, so that was no problem after all.)

Thanks Apple!
 
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TheNewDude

macrumors 6502a
Mar 17, 2010
752
0
I had a nice experience with Apple support.

I sent my wife's MBA to get the battery replaced (13", 1.8 GHz C2D, 128 GB SSD, 2 GB RAM). The cost was about $140 plus shipping.

A few days later Apple gets the computer and tells me the logic board is also bad. I believed them because my wife had reported some weird freezes that sounded like logic board issues, but I was hoping it was just because the battery was in such bad shape. It would be $3000 for the logic board and battey... not too bad, I thought, and told them to go forward with it.

Then Apple calls and says the parts are on backorder for a LONG time...
So they just want to send us a whole new (well, refurb) MBA for the same $300!
It's significantly better in every way. E.g., 1.7 GHz Core i5, 256 GB SSD, 4 GB RAM, is a little lighter and various other little numbers are better as well.

I'm pretty happy!

Then computer even comes with a year of support and it elgible for Apple Care.

(The only potential problem was that the new OS doesn't support PowerPC apps. For my wife that meant an upgrade from Office 2004 to 2008. Fortunately we already own an extra copy of 2008, so that was no problem after all.)

Thanks Apple!


I read the "$3000" and was like DAYUM, you approved that?!?! I'm glad it was only a typo lol
 

stchman

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2012
671
2
St. Louis, MO
The OP's wife could give LibreOffice a try. Unless you are doing some pretty specific MS Office VB, LibreOffice will fit the bill just fine.
 

jksu

macrumors regular
Nov 26, 2009
244
68
great story.

stories like these are what make apple's customer service legendary.
 

maxosx

macrumors 68020
Dec 13, 2012
2,385
1
Southern California
As long as you treat them well, I've always had great experiences with customer service and AppleCare. Very professional.

It's nothing special at Apple, just business as usual. They are one of the best departments company wide.

Especially nice, since they escaped the narcissistic tendencies that permeate the others.
 

iSee

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 25, 2004
3,539
272
The OP's wife could give LibreOffice a try. Unless you are doing some pretty specific MS Office VB, LibreOffice will fit the bill just fine.

Well, interoperability with others using Office is just about her number one concern (mine, too, actually, because if anything goes wrong, I'm the one who has to fix it :D). Honestly, it's not worth it if even once she can't open some document or its formatting gets scrambled.

(Not that she or I've tried LibreOffice... it might be perfect in this regard for all I know. Just the uncertainty is enough to keep her away from it.)

That's great. I would take the time to bump up to Office 2011 if you want. I think the difference between 08/11 is night and day.

She doesn't like the 2011 interface for some reason.... I think she'd get used to it and like it if she tried it for a while, but there's no point in pushing her... it can only end badly for me... anything she doesn't like about it will somehow be my fault! ;-)
 
Last edited:

stchman

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2012
671
2
St. Louis, MO
Well, interoperability with others using Office is just about her number one concern (mine, too, actually, because if anything goes wrong, I'm the one who has to fix it :D). Honestly, it's not worth it if even once she can't open some document or its formatting gets scrambled.

(Not that she or I've tried LibreOffice... it might be perfect in this regard for all I know. Just the uncertainty is enough to keep her away from it.)



She doesn't like the 2011 interface for some reason.... I think she'd get used to it and like it if she tried it for a while, but there's no point in pushing her... it can only end badly for me... anything she doesn't like about it will somehow be my fault! ;-)

I was just trying to save you some $$$$, MS Office 2011 is like $130 and LibreOffice is free.

I've been using OpenOffice/LibreOffice for years without issue. The only thing it is not good at is the VBA stuff, but from what I've read Office 2011 for Mac is pretty lacking in that area as well.
 

seveej

macrumors 6502a
Dec 14, 2009
827
51
Helsinki, Finland
I had a nice experience with Apple support.

SNIP

Then Apple calls and says the parts are on backorder for a LONG time...
So they just want to send us a whole new (well, refurb) MBA for the same $300!

Congrats mate.

I have this iBook G3 lying around, which has some shady connections on the mobo. Maybe If I send it in and have them fix it, they'll notice that they don't have any 2001 iBook logic boards left, and I get a new machine :D

Then again, with my luck, they'll probably have the spare and bill me 1000€ for a logic board replacement on a 12 year old computer:eek:

RGDS,
 

iDutchman

macrumors 6502a
May 9, 2010
676
32
Amsterdam, NL
Apple always stresses the fact that you should back up your computer before sending it in for repair. They are not responsible for data and do not back up your data onto their own devices.

I assume the OP has a back up, since this is not mentioned.
 

iSee

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 25, 2004
3,539
272
Quick question that occurred to me: what happened to your wife's data?

I had made a backup before sending the old computer in and used Migration Assistant to load all her stuff back onto the new computer. That worked out pretty well (I've had trouble in the past with it, but not this time).

Actually, I had wiped the old computer and put a fresh install of OS X on before sending it in because I didn't want to send her data off to strangers.

----------

Apple always stresses the fact that you should back up your computer before sending it in for repair. They are not responsible for data and do not back up your data onto their own devices.

I assume the OP has a back up, since this is not mentioned.

Right. You'd be crazy to send your computer off to anyone without a backup...
Actually, you'd be crazy not to make backups continuously, especially considering how easy it is with Time Machine.

Because I was sending it in, I took the extra step of taking an extra backup in the form of a Carbon Copy Cloner clone of her hard drive. Having lost data in the past, I'm a little paranoid about this stuff.
 

dbroncos78087

macrumors regular
Feb 27, 2013
132
0
Northern Virginia
She doesn't like the 2011 interface for some reason.... I think she'd get used to it and like it if she tried it for a while, but there's no point in pushing her... it can only end badly for me... anything she doesn't like about it will somehow be my fault! ;-)

Well personal preference is key but I can't say I understand why not. I think it's a marked improvement in both look and substance.
 

Mackan

macrumors 65816
Sep 16, 2007
1,421
91
I had a nice experience with Apple support.

I sent my wife's MBA to get the battery replaced (13", 1.8 GHz C2D, 128 GB SSD, 2 GB RAM). The cost was about $140 plus shipping.

A few days later Apple gets the computer and tells me the logic board is also bad. I believed them because my wife had reported some weird freezes that sounded like logic board issues, but I was hoping it was just because the battery was in such bad shape. It would be $300 for the logic board and battey... not too bad, I thought, and told them to go forward with it.

Then Apple calls and says the parts are on backorder for a LONG time...
So they just want to send us a whole new (well, refurb) MBA for the same $300!
It's significantly better in every way. E.g., 1.7 GHz Core i5, 256 GB SSD, 4 GB RAM, is a little lighter and various other little numbers are better as well.

I'm pretty happy!

Then computer even comes with a year of support and it elgible for Apple Care.

(The only potential problem was that the new OS doesn't support PowerPC apps. For my wife that meant an upgrade from Office 2004 to 2008. Fortunately we already own an extra copy of 2008, so that was no problem after all.)

Thanks Apple!

Did you still have valid Apple Care on your original MacBook Air? Otherwise I don't understand why they would give you a new laptop, in the end.
 

Menge

macrumors 6502a
Dec 22, 2008
611
3
Amsterdam
I had made a backup before sending the old computer in and used Migration Assistant to load all her stuff back onto the new computer. That worked out pretty well (I've had trouble in the past with it, but not this time).
Thanks! Just wanted to know how it was dealt with :)
 

iSee

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 25, 2004
3,539
272
Did you still have valid Apple Care on your original MacBook Air? Otherwise I don't understand why they would give you a new laptop, in the end.

No! Apple care had expired. I forget if we got the extended Apple Care or not, but it had been more than three years in any case.

I really don't know why they did this... maybe they figured out how much Apple gear my wife and I have purchased over the years and threw us a bone?
 

Marv89

macrumors member
Nov 22, 2012
36
0
Apple support is just great.

Bought my Macbook Air in Germany and it crashed in Taiwan. Didn't start or anything. Of course I didn't have the receipt and couldn't access my online account. Went to the store, they checked the online database for the serial number and got it repaired in three days.

Try that with an Asus or Samsung...

----------

Did you still have valid Apple Care on your original MacBook Air? Otherwise I don't understand why they would give you a new laptop, in the end.

Because it's cheaper than an unsatisfied customer. Just see all the good marketing only this thread here is, and the OP will probably tell others about his experience. Imagine what the reaction would be like when they tell him it takes 3-4 weeks to repair his macbook ;)
 

Mackan

macrumors 65816
Sep 16, 2007
1,421
91
Because it's cheaper than an unsatisfied customer. Just see all the good marketing only this thread here is, and the OP will probably tell others about his experience. Imagine what the reaction would be like when they tell him it takes 3-4 weeks to repair his macbook ;)

Giving a new laptop when out of warranty isn't exactly the norm. I can bet you that if I try the same (being polite of course) 10 times over in 10 different stores, they will deny me all the times.

There are much more valid cases out there. For example, there's an acknowledged problem (by Apple themselves, their online database) with the MagSafe power adapter. My adapter developed that exact problem. But, Apple only acknowledged that problem in the U.S. If you are outside of the U.S, you are screwed.

Now, there you have an example of how companies behave, according to norm. They want to slip away from their responsibilities as much as possible.
 

rdunlap

macrumors 6502
Mar 13, 2013
320
52
The reason why they did this was to make sure that you keep coming back to them in the future. Also, I'm sure with the $300 you were paying and what a refurb costs them I'm sure it worked out both parties.

:apple:
 
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