Apple Horror Story

[ectocooler]

I need everyones input on this! Help helps!

I have an iBook, 700mhz 14" yada yada yada.

It is 4 months old, but about a month after I had it, the ethernet jack started to become loose. It continued getting even more loose. Eventually, about a month ago, it stopped working completely. This ended up being the cause of regular, however frequent, student use, as it was getting plugged and unplugged in EVERY class I went to. Anyways, I brought it to CompUSA and they said everything was cool and that it would be sent for repair as I had applecare. Yay. But wait! That was last month! Actually the 30th of last month. And it is stillllllll gone!! CompUSA has no idea where it is, and apples repair status page says they havent touched it since april 4th in which on that day it says "GSX Case Created" and status "Closed". Where's my iBook?! I was told by an apple rep that repairs take no longer than 2-10 days and thats including shipping time. Is my ibook gone?

 

[janey]

wow
i think your laptop is gone...bug apple one more time, e-mail steve jobs, bitch to compusa then start crying. usually repairs take about 2 to 10 days and if your iBook hasn't come for that long...

 

[Kwyjibo]

do you have case and or dispatch numbers. I would start makign as many calls as possible to finid a status update. A wait like this without a holiday or anything is very unsuual. I would honestly just wait until someone tells you exactly where your iBook is and when it will be home. Never rest. Go back to Compusa if you must.

mmmmm ectocooler....slimer....that takes me back....do they even make that flavor nemore? i may make a run to the store tomorrow.

 

[iJon]

i would be happy, because you are getting a 800mhz ibook if they cant find yours.

iJon

 

[funkywhat2]

Originally posted by Kwyjibo
mmmmm ectocooler....slimer....that takes me back....do they even make that flavor nemore? i may make a run to the store tomorrow.

Yeah, I think they do. But it's under a different name now. Don't know what it is.

That sucks man. But, hey, look on the bright side. If they lost it, you may get one after the next revision. Hope you didn't lose much of your work.

 

[ectocooler]

thanks for the feedback! im seriously missing my ibook, but i do have a receipt from compusa saying that i dropped it off with them, and if i could get a new ibook, i would be SO happy. who should i take this up with....apple? or compusa? and what exactly is gsx?

i do have everything backed up on an external hard drive though.

and yes, they still make ectocooler, but its called something with the word "tangerine" in it. not the same, but slimers mouth is still on the front.

 

[Kwyjibo]

http://www.minutemaid.com/mm_products/hic-7.html this link says it all. Shoutin Orange Tangreen!! yes going to the store as son as I wake up which probably won't be till late due to the lack of school.

 

[ectocooler]

i went to that website and it froze. im on my girlfriend's gateway. a gateway. a gateway....

.....

.... *Cries*


i need my computer....

 

[Kwyjibo]

i wrote a little blurb about it on my site which also includes those funny puma pcitures i found here at macrumors. Take a look for my small story on ectocoooler.

 

[ectocooler]

hehe cool

are ibook revamps expected soon? im so worried i wont get a computer now. i have school work and work work to do on my computer and i dont have it. this sucks beyond imagination.

a friend of mine said that apple will take good care of me if they lost it, but i can totally see them giving me the run around. apple wouldnt even send me rubber feet for my ibook when they fell off...what makes me think that they're going to replace my ibook that they lost.

im sooooooooo angry. aurghahhh.

 

[Squire]

Originally posted by ectocooler


a friend of mine said that apple will take good care of me if they lost it, but i can totally see them giving me the run around. apple wouldnt even send me rubber feet for my ibook when they fell off...what makes me think that they're going to replace my ibook that they lost.

im sooooooooo angry. aurghahhh.

I think either Apple or CompUSA HAS to take care of you. Ever lost any baggage on a long flight? That happened to me once and it was awesome. First of all, the lost baggage was too much for one of my connecting flights so I saved $80 on overweight charges. And, secondly, it was a pain to carry around. I arrived home and a van with my 3 huge bags showed up at the door 30 minutes later.

My point: I think big corporations have insurance and/or money set aside for little mishaps like that. It probably happens all the time. But I'd take a day off and just sit at the phone all day until I got some answers if I were you.

Good luck.

Squire

 

[ectocooler]

AHHHH!!

IT GOT SO MUCH WORSE TODAY.

I finally tracked it down at apple. Apple says "oh yeah, we're not covering this repair. Even though you have applecare, these ethernet ports dont break like this usually. We're considering this abuse. That will be $705 dollars."

WHAT?!!?!?!?!??!

REGULAR STUDENT USE IS NOW CONSIDERED ABUSE? This is me unplugging and plugging an ethernet cable into it 6+ times a day. That IS a lot, but NO WHERE in my documentation does it say that if I do that it will void my warranty. I'm sorry apple, but you're the only people who puts PLASTIC ethernet jacks on a notebook computer. Every other company puts a metal jack on there because they know what kind of use it will get. Now because of apples poor product design I am stuck with a repair I can't afford. Oh and thanks for filling me in! Wow! So nice of you!
No one broke this jack, it became loose on its own. I cannot believe apple screwed me over like this. They're shipping it back to me now, broken port and all. This logic board bs is horrible. The plastic port breaks and the entire computer needs to be repaired?

Someone please help! Does anyone know of a place that will fix the ethernet port without charging me 705 dollars? I might have to buy a airport card and carry the base around with me everytime I want to use the internet now...I wanted to find a usb ethernet adaptor but they dont sell them for the mac.

Any solutions? Please help!!

 

[biscool]

You're school doesnt have wifi access? You should call Apple and complain some more. Or sell the ibook to someone who doesn't need ethernet and buy a refreb...

 

[ectocooler]

my friend is telling me to buy this:

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10331738&hdwt=30701&loc=101

anyone think it will work?

 

[ectocooler]

Originally posted by biscool
You're school doesnt have wifi access? You should call Apple and complain some more. Or sell the ibook to someone who doesn't need ethernet and buy a refreb...

I would get about 600 dollars for this ibook, and thats if im lucky. Either way im short about 700 dollars thank to apple.

I had a dell for about three months prior to my ibook and it broke constantly, the ports stopped functioning, the screen needed to be replaced, the the entire motherboard needed to be replaced all b/c things stopped working. Seriously, worst computer ive ever owned, but you know what? They fixed it every time. No questions asked.

Anyone know if that usb ethernet adapter will work?

 

[glennsan]

USB Ethernet

I have no personal experience with this on a mac but I do know that the local DSL/cable companies sell modems that connect via USB on the pc. If it has a mac driver it should work just fine.

 

[ectocooler]

i do know what you're refering to but it wont work when im at school b/c i can only plug the jack into the wall. Its looking like I need to buy an airport card / base + get this usb ethernet adapter. i hope it works.

 

[Maclicious]

Originally posted by ectocooler
AHHHH!!

IT GOT SO MUCH WORSE TODAY.

(...)

Any solutions? Please help!!

I had something similar happen with my old iBook. In this case, the CD tray got stuck, and I couldn't open it no matter. Sent it back to Apple under 1 year warranty.

Then, I'm informed of a 'spill' in the enclosure that voids the warranty. What!? A spill?

As you can imagine, I flipped. There had been no such spill. But, now I was worried that someone at apple had spilled something into the enclosure. Or, they were lying. Either way, very bad. My price to have this phantom spill fixed? About 700--800 dollars.

Worse, if I don't get it fixed, they'll be charging me at bare minimum a $240 dollars diagnostic fee.

So, I called apple several times. Every number. Worked my way up several chains of managers. Each time, I was unfailingly nice, explained my problem. Each time, I noted I wasn't angry at the person I was speaking to, just frustrated at the situation.

In the end, it seemed like I would only get my iBook back if I paid the 240 dollars (actually $340, 'cause I had gone through a 3rd party reseller that would tack on another $100 if the book was found not to be under warranty).

Then, miraculously the day arrived. I got the call from the reseller who said, "You silver-tongued devil--Apple sent the iBook back fixed, no charge, under warranty!"

So, I don't know if my many calls had some good effect, but I believe so. Moral is, keep plugging away, even if all hope seems lost.

 

[ectocooler]

Wow you really got lucky! I've called apple many times now in regards to this issue. They always forward me to a senior tech and the senior tech shuts down any willingness to repair. They absolutely will not budge on this, they've told me so and they've told me to stop trying. I was told to try 1800WEFIXMACS by small dog electronics because apparently they do component level repairs, but either way, it wont be covered under warranty.

 

[gbojim]

Originally posted by ectocooler
Wow you really got lucky! I've called apple many times now in regards to this issue. They always forward me to a senior tech and the senior tech shuts down any willingness to repair. They absolutely will not budge on this, they've told me so and they've told me to stop trying. I was told to try 1800WEFIXMACS by small dog electronics because apparently they do component level repairs, but either way, it wont be covered under warranty.

Not luck. Persistence. Work your way up to the VP of customer service if you have to. Like Maclicious said, if you are polite and professional when talking to those folks, sooner or later you will win.

For example, I've heard many times that Apple will not fix the peeling paint problem on TiBooks. I've managed to get a dozen of those reparied at no charge. It took a little work, but in the long run it was not problem.

 

[bousozoku]

Considering how long they've had the machine, they could have contacted you by now and told you that the situation was bad.

They should take care of it at no charge, if you've not been throwing the machine across the room while connected to the Ethernet cable.

This is the first time I've heard of the Ethernet jack going loose but not hard to believe. It's harder to believe that Apple seem to be slipping further into disarray. My recent dealings with Apple Developer Connection have been interesting.

Good luck. If nothing else works, point them toward this thread and they'll see how many people read the threads here.

 

[MacBandit]

Too bad you didn't wait more then 30 days to contact them. I don't know if it's the same for electronics but for motor vehicles if a repair takes more then 30 days and there is no explanation for why. As in the customer hasn't paid. Then it falls under the lemon law and they would owe you a replacement product or full money back.

 

[alxths]

If you problem is indeed a result of mere plugging/unplugging, you should NOT let them get away with they way they're treating you. That is completely rediculous, especially since you've already shelled out around 300 for applecare. If I were you, I'd make a site describing this situation in depth and advertise it as much as possible; being sure to continuously update Apple on the everclimbing hit counter

Good Luck!

 

[markomarko]

This is the "new" customer service

and I really didnt' think apple would become infected...

The new customer service mantra seems to be "the customer is always wrong"

I thought apple would be better than this.

 

[Swisschick]

Ectocooler,

I would write a letter to the consumer division of one of your local television stations. I know this sounds bad, but choose the slimiest. It may take a while for you to get through to the producer of the unit, but keep writing. Send an e-mail and a hard copy of the letter to the station explaining the situation. Also, right now before you forget, write down the dates and times of your calls to Apple, include the names of the people you spoke with. Read through your warranty again and take notes. The more ammunition you have the better your case...and the better your chances of getting the station to help.

Depending on how strong your case is, a lot of times companies will cave before the story hits the air.

Good luck,

Swisschick