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Will I ever get a decent mid-2010 MBP?

J

jkic2003

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 15, 2010
17
0
Hi Everyone

:apple::apple::apple::apple::apple:WARNING: LONG READ:apple::apple::apple::apple::apple:

Here is the on-going tale of my quest to find a decent MBP...

Back in January my MBP was stolen, so I was looking to replace it. I decided to wait until the new i5/i7's came out, which they did in April.

I ordered the 2.4Ghz i5 with HR-AG, and received my first MBP at the end of April. Since then, I have been in the process of continuously getting it replaced, and am now waiting on my 9th MBP/replacement. I guess I have the worst luck in the world.

Here is the history of my replacements...

From Online Store:
MBP #1: Cosmetic issues, yellow screen
MBP #2: Cosmetic issues, yellow screen
MBP #3: This one looked entirely used, and packaging and laptop were scratched to heck
MBP #4: Very noticeable yellowing...Apple geniuses confirmed it was bad

From here I decided to get a refund and try my luck in the store. However, they only sell the i7 with HR-AG in-store, so i figure I'd shell out and get it, since it took over a month for the other 4, and I just needed a laptop for work. I decided it would be better here since I can exchange on the spot if needed.

In-store:
MBP #5: Dented bottom
MBP #6: The entire inside of the box was scratched and the plastic covering was mangled to crap. Before I even touched it, I asked one of the workers if it was normal for the packaging to come this bad. He said yes, it does happen, and the laptop should be fine. I then take the MBP out of the wrapper, and the entire topcase is scratched like heck
MBP #7: Noticeable yellowing

I finally get frustrated at the situation, and not wanting to open anymore of their boxes, as the manager was getting a bit aggravated, I left and decided to try the online store one last time (I refuse to go back to PC).

I ordered another i5 from the online store, and everything went smoothly and after a week the UPS tracking said it was on the truck and out for delivery. I was excited. It never came...for 3 days it just had the 'Out For Delivery' status on the site.

I called Apple and UPS, and after a few hours of back and forth, basically no one knows where it is. Obviously you would think they'd ask the driver since he scanned it onto his truck last, but it's basically missing. Not Apple's fault in this instance, but a stressful situation nonetheless as a trace investigation now has to be opened to see where it went.

MBP #8: Missing

So Apple called today and said they will send out another replacement while they investigate where the missing one is, and this is the one I'm currently waiting for.

MBP #9: Order Submitted

Now, Apple has handled the situation very well, and I am happy with their service so far. They have treated me great and thrown in some freebies for my troubles....however, at the end of the day, I just want a working laptop (it's been 2 months already).

Has anyone else had issues this prolonged/consistently?
I am generally not an OCD person about how it looks/works, but their quality control is just not what it used to be...I don't expect something perfect, but near it for the price premium we pay. The manager in-store told me one guy brought an iMac back 30 times for exchange, and I figure that's just overkill and OCD. Hopefully I don't hit 30...


Perhaps Mac and me was just never meant to be.....
 
R

robotmonkey

macrumors 6502
Apr 24, 2010
419
0
Yep, though I only went through 6 at best buy and only for minor scratches. Apple needs to up their build quality :mad:
 
runebinder

runebinder

macrumors 6502a
Apr 2, 2009
904
121
Nottingham, UK
Ouch, that's seriously unlucky. My first a refurb was great for the first 6 months till the Air Port card stopped working and had major issues with repairs by an authorised service centre, which ended up with it being refunded.

My new one has been perfect so far, so on condition when received, no I haven't had those sort of problems.
 
O

onne2slick

macrumors regular
Jun 9, 2010
138
0
Wow :( that's terrible!
I had the same experience with my iPhone 3g - 8 replacements, and still don't have the right one. Hairline cracks everywhere. Whenever I exchanged, there were more, light leak, or dead pixels, etc.
 
L

lcseds

macrumors 65816
Jun 20, 2006
1,197
1,073
NC, USA
Some of you think you're buying a Picasso. I have owned and evaluated dozens and dozens of Mac products and have found little reason to return any of them. If anyone returns more than two, they should try switching to Dell or something. If you look hard enough, you will NEVER be satisfied. Good luck.
 
dsprimal

dsprimal

macrumors 6502a
Mar 27, 2010
628
0
agreeing on the cosmetic flaws. for 2+ grand you would expect a laptop with no small dinks or scratches....common now apple. take your time when building these bad boys. i've seen the videos! their shouldn't be ANY cosmetic issues on these things if they all single handedly DO get built like whats advertised on the mbp video on the apple site.
 
dsprimal

dsprimal

macrumors 6502a
Mar 27, 2010
628
0
lcseds said:
Some of you think you're buying a Picasso. I have owned and evaluated dozens and dozens of Mac products and have found little reason to return any of them. If anyone returns more than two, they should try switching to Dell or something. If you look hard enough, you will NEVER be satisfied. Good luck.
Click to expand...

+1 thats how i got over my small cosmetic flaw.
 
R

Reapur

macrumors regular
May 5, 2010
185
0
I went through 2, and am on my 3rd.

First 2 both had yellowing screen and light leaking in at the bottom of the display. Manager told me in store i would not be allowed to exchange the 3rd one. Lucky for her it was in good shape, and I didnt need to write an email to sjobs@apple.com

Each box had external damage on it with crushed corners on the cardboard to some degree. Thats a good indication that they have been mishandled. I cringe to think that these things are being tossed around with no regard at some point during shipping. Simply unacceptable Apple step it up.
 
E

Edmoil12

macrumors member
Jun 1, 2010
51
0
If you're going through 9 laptops, I don't think you have a bad luck problem so much as an expectations problem. To all of you whining about 'cosmetic issues' or having the corner of the box a little crushed, all I can say is suck it up buttercup. If there is actually a significant defect in the product, then by all means return it. After a certain point you have to remember that everything is still mass produced and thus inevitably prone to slight defects. If you want Apple computers to be handmade and completely flawless every time, the price would be closer to $10,000 rather than $2000. If you get a bad laptop or even two, I could see that but in this case I would say you need to get some help.
 
L

Lola M

macrumors member
Aug 11, 2008
82
0
California, USA
And I thought I had bad luck. I finally got my replacement MBP after first one was lost on delivery. This is 6 weeks later. Ive only had him for several days and havent had any major issues. I battled slow Time Machine and Safari 5 but it was fixed with repairing permissions.
Good luck with your 9th!
 
kny3twalker

kny3twalker

macrumors 65816
Oct 25, 2009
1,241
0
robotmonkey said:
Yep, though I only went through 6 at best buy and only for minor scratches. Apple needs to up their build quality :mad:
Click to expand...


Their build quality is fine; in fact, its outstanding.
This is a quality control issue, and an expectations issue.

That said, my macbook pro came scratch-free, as far as I can tell, but my laptop's display is not as nice as my Dell UltraSharp. :D
 
M

Macmangulpgulp

macrumors newbie
Jun 6, 2010
4
0
...what's wrong with you people. okay maybe that's a little harsh, but this sounds so ridiculous that i'm beginning to think there are tech companies out there who hire people to discredit apple. i've used apple products for 9 years and have had to return/exchange only once.
 
R

Reapur

macrumors regular
May 5, 2010
185
0
kny3twalker said:
These laptops are precision machined, so if you really believe this, you will never find any laptop that will meet your expectations.
Click to expand...

Is it really that hard to believe that these things are coming from the factory with chunks of aluminum missing along edges, plus dents and scratches ?

Ive had it on one of my exchanges. These claims are not being made up, its actually happening, if it was untrue then Apple stores would deny you the exchange. I love my MBP, but if its not pristine like it should be coming out of the factory then they are taking a return.

Sorry to say it but I paid over 2k for a computer that should be in perfect working order and be free of blemishes and physical damage. If they dont get returned/exchanged then Apple will never know there is actually an issue with their quality control and will never fix it. For those of you that have never had to deal with this, consider your self lucky, but it is a HUGE problem that needs to be fixed.
 
R

Reapur

macrumors regular
May 5, 2010
185
0
Edmoil12 said:
If you're going through 9 laptops, I don't think you have a bad luck problem so much as an expectations problem. To all of you whining about 'cosmetic issues' or having the corner of the box a little crushed, all I can say is suck it up buttercup. If there is actually a significant defect in the product, then by all means return it. After a certain point you have to remember that everything is still mass produced and thus inevitably prone to slight defects. If you want Apple computers to be handmade and completely flawless every time, the price would be closer to $10,000 rather than $2000. If you get a bad laptop or even two, I could see that but in this case I would say you need to get some help.
Click to expand...

B.S. The computers do come in perfect condition from factory. Unfortunately a substantial number of them are getting to their customers with scratches and chunks missing from them. $2000 is still a lot of money that people work very very hard for.

As for the corners of the box being damaged, I couldn't give a rats ass about that as long as the computer inside is un damaged, but if the screens colours are off due to the box taking a hard hit during shipping/handeling then I do have a problem with that. And I will continue to exchange my computer until I get my monies worth, which means no physical damage and the computer is free of manufacturing defects. Every issue the OP has listed is 100% valid and totally unacceptable for a customer, Apple needs to wake up and go over to their suppliers and slap some sense into them, this is bad for their company image which they have worked many years building up.
 
kny3twalker

kny3twalker

macrumors 65816
Oct 25, 2009
1,241
0
If problems overseas have really became this bad, then apple should consider moving production, possibly back home. It really sounds like quality has fallen off dramatically. And while wages are significantly higher here, productivity is much higher as well as quality control.

It really is sad to hear that apple's high end, high quality, high precision computers are getting acer quality control.
 
C

Chansp1970

macrumors newbie
May 8, 2010
12
0
kny3twalker said:
If problems overseas have really became this bad, then apple should consider moving production, possibly back home. It really sounds like quality has fallen off dramatically. And while wages are significantly higher here, productivity is much higher as well as quality control.

It really is sad to hear that apple's high end, high quality, high precision computers are getting acer quality control.
Click to expand...

I think Acer's QC might be better than Apple's. :p

I don't see OP is being ridiculous for 8 replacements. If there is a problem in the production line or QC, the chance is great that you keep getting bad products. I went through 5 replacements for the first generation MBP all because of the same backlight leaking. Half an inch of the displace bottom is noticeably brighter and the color is washed out. I believe the problem is due to bad alignment of backlight module and the LCD. As a consequence, 1/3 of the panel, just above the washed-out zone, is brownish and the color is wrong.

I went to an Apple store and opened two i7 high-res AG MBPs and they both are affected by the backlight leaking plague. As in another thread I started (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/912823/), not only the half-an-inch brighter bar is an issue but also the brownish region above it. I will go back to the store this week and try to get a better one, not to expect a perfect leaking free one though, till the manager says enough. I believe Apple must be aware of the displace issue since backlight leaking test is one of the standards in the LCD industry. I start to think that Apple allows using of B-grade panels to mass produce >$2000 MBPs and expects 90% of consumers won't notice.
 
S

Super7668

macrumors member
Mar 7, 2008
78
0
IF your story is true, I said IF, I will ask Apple offer me a free MBP; otherwise I will email SJ ask for a satisfied answer.

It's ridiculous, IF it's true.
 
B

brianfast

macrumors regular
Jun 11, 2010
165
0
Yeah, quality control at Apple seems to be abysmal. I am totally disillusioned with their quality claims.
 
J

jkic2003

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 15, 2010
17
0
Edmoil12 said:
If you're going through 9 laptops, I don't think you have a bad luck problem so much as an expectations problem. To all of you whining about 'cosmetic issues' or having the corner of the box a little crushed, all I can say is suck it up buttercup. If there is actually a significant defect in the product, then by all means return it. After a certain point you have to remember that everything is still mass produced and thus inevitably prone to slight defects. If you want Apple computers to be handmade and completely flawless every time, the price would be closer to $10,000 rather than $2000. If you get a bad laptop or even two, I could see that but in this case I would say you need to get some help.
Click to expand...

I agree with you that I might have high expectations, but I don't think they're unrealistic. The issues I've had were pretty bad (I guess it has to be seen to be understood). I've had two others Macs that were great and didn't require a single exchange, so that's why I'm more perturbed by this situation. I even kept some of the units with minor cosmetic blemishes, but in the end it was the yellowed screens that made them unusable.

In regards to boxes being dented, marked, etc., I couldn't care less....but it was often on the inside of the box, indicating that it might have been handled rough. All the bad boxes I received usually had the more marked up units inside.
 
J

jkic2003

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 15, 2010
17
0
Super7668 said:
IF your story is true, I said IF, I will ask Apple offer me a free MBP; otherwise I will email SJ ask for a satisfied answer.

It's ridiculous, IF it's true.
Click to expand...

I did email SJ after the in-store incident, but no reply :(
 
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