~~Update on page two~~
So. Basically what it says in the subject line
I mentioned in a previous thread that my first MBP arrived with a warped lid on the front right corner, and after being reassured by numerous Apple agents on the phone that that wasn't right, I initiated the exchange.
After some mixup with the labels not being sent in a timely fashion, my second one arrived a couple weeks later. It was beautiful. No warping, no sound issues, no screen yellowing...and one dead pixel almost exactly centered on the display. At first I didn't even realize what it was, and kept trying to clean the screen After I finally caught on, I was so in love with the machine I tried to ignore it. It was not even noticeable when watching movies, or doing many other tasks, but the minute I would do things on a white background it would bug me. Like a tiny little speed bump when I was trying to scan through lines of text quickly, and in a location that I couldn't work around. After two days I became concerned that instead of getting used to it, I would just get more annoyed by it, so I called back to Apple. First I got the line again about taking it to a service center, and they would evaluate if it was worth repairing. When I said it seemed odd to send in a new unit for repair, he said my only other options were another exchange or a refund. Not seeing any other choice, and after many reassurances from him that most MBPs don't have any flaws, and it is extremely rare that I have gotten two in a row, I accepted another exchange.
Fast forward through some issues with FedEx not coming when the pickup was scheduled for, and then taking 3 days to scan the return into their system, and we arrive at this week. I waited again all day on Monday for another delivery. It came around 1:30, and I hesitantly opened it to find....
....a MBP with a warped lid. On the left front corner this time, and a little more pronounced than the first. Now I know this is not 'normal', not only from the reassurances from the Apple representatives, but because the second one didn't have this issue. I didn't even turn it on. I called apple, and waited on hold for about 50 minutes for a nice guy named Andy to "get me taken care of". He finally got in contact with a product specialist, and then cut me off while trying to switch lines.
I called back. Amanda apologized profusely, but said there was no way to reconnect me to the same agent I had just been on hold with for so long. We started over again. At this point my back was spasming so bad all I wanted was painkillers and bed. Instead I got another 25 minutes on and off of hold, while Amanda got in touch with sales and set up another exchange.
All of the service people I have talked to have been nice, apologetic, sympathetic. It's not their fault, but after so many times my patience is wearing thin, if not completely beaten to death Yesterday when I called to let them know that the latest return is on it's way (at least that went very quickly and only took a day this time around, maybe they just needed some practice?), I asked if there is any procedure in place. Anything I am supposed to be doing to get these things straightened out that I'm not, because right now I feel trapped in an endless loop of getting units with tiny little defects and having to decide if they are tiny enough to ignore on a $2500 machine. After another 20 minutes on hold while Michael conferred with his supervisor, I was presented with the helpful suggestion of going to a retail store to pick out my computer in person. And I got to explain again that that's how this whole story started, me driving 3 hours to find that they didn't carry the exact configuration I wanted, despite being told on the phone that they did. And again I was told that "On behalf of Apple, we are very sorry for your inconvenience."
After hanging up, I was having trouble letting this go so I sat down and wrote a letter, saying basically all I have told here, explaining that the whole reason I was getting the laptop was due to back pain and the act of opening and repacking computers over and over again has actually physically hurt me, and even if this latest computer is perfect I am sadly going to have to find somewhere else to buy all my accessories for it since not one thing in this whole ordeal has given me a reason to ever order straight from Apple again (hopefully all in a somewhat coherent manner). Then I slept on it - that whole thing about never doing anything when you're upset - but it's a day later and I'm still upset. I can't decide what to do.
Since each defect really was a minor little thing that I'm sure some people would just accept, I doubt this issue has really escalated to the point of using that sjobs or whatever it is email address I see floating around here. But who else would I send it to that it would make a difference? Is there some customer service email that would actually get me a response or explanation? Should I just let it go and hope fourth times a charm?
So. Basically what it says in the subject line
I mentioned in a previous thread that my first MBP arrived with a warped lid on the front right corner, and after being reassured by numerous Apple agents on the phone that that wasn't right, I initiated the exchange.After some mixup with the labels not being sent in a timely fashion, my second one arrived a couple weeks later. It was beautiful. No warping, no sound issues, no screen yellowing...and one dead pixel almost exactly centered on the display. At first I didn't even realize what it was, and kept trying to clean the screen
After I finally caught on, I was so in love with the machine I tried to ignore it. It was not even noticeable when watching movies, or doing many other tasks, but the minute I would do things on a white background it would bug me. Like a tiny little speed bump when I was trying to scan through lines of text quickly, and in a location that I couldn't work around. After two days I became concerned that instead of getting used to it, I would just get more annoyed by it, so I called back to Apple. First I got the line again about taking it to a service center, and they would evaluate if it was worth repairing. When I said it seemed odd to send in a new unit for repair, he said my only other options were another exchange or a refund. Not seeing any other choice, and after many reassurances from him that most MBPs don't have any flaws, and it is extremely rare that I have gotten two in a row, I accepted another exchange.Fast forward through some issues with FedEx not coming when the pickup was scheduled for, and then taking 3 days to scan the return into their system, and we arrive at this week. I waited again all day on Monday for another delivery. It came around 1:30, and I hesitantly opened it to find....
....a MBP with a warped lid. On the left front corner this time, and a little more pronounced than the first. Now I know this is not 'normal', not only from the reassurances from the Apple representatives, but because the second one didn't have this issue. I didn't even turn it on. I called apple, and waited on hold for about 50 minutes for a nice guy named Andy to "get me taken care of". He finally got in contact with a product specialist, and then cut me off while trying to switch lines.
I called back. Amanda apologized profusely, but said there was no way to reconnect me to the same agent I had just been on hold with for so long. We started over again. At this point my back was spasming so bad all I wanted was painkillers and bed. Instead I got another 25 minutes on and off of hold, while Amanda got in touch with sales and set up another exchange.
All of the service people I have talked to have been nice, apologetic, sympathetic. It's not their fault, but after so many times my patience is wearing thin, if not completely beaten to death
Yesterday when I called to let them know that the latest return is on it's way (at least that went very quickly and only took a day this time around, maybe they just needed some practice?), I asked if there is any procedure in place. Anything I am supposed to be doing to get these things straightened out that I'm not, because right now I feel trapped in an endless loop of getting units with tiny little defects and having to decide if they are tiny enough to ignore on a $2500 machine. After another 20 minutes on hold while Michael conferred with his supervisor, I was presented with the helpful suggestion of going to a retail store to pick out my computer in person. And I got to explain again that that's how this whole story started, me driving 3 hours to find that they didn't carry the exact configuration I wanted, despite being told on the phone that they did. And again I was told that "On behalf of Apple, we are very sorry for your inconvenience." After hanging up, I was having trouble letting this go so I sat down and wrote a letter, saying basically all I have told here, explaining that the whole reason I was getting the laptop was due to back pain and the act of opening and repacking computers over and over again has actually physically hurt me, and even if this latest computer is perfect I am sadly going to have to find somewhere else to buy all my accessories for it since not one thing in this whole ordeal has given me a reason to ever order straight from Apple again (hopefully all in a somewhat coherent manner). Then I slept on it - that whole thing about never doing anything when you're upset - but it's a day later and I'm still upset. I can't decide what to do.
Since each defect really was a minor little thing that I'm sure some people would just accept, I doubt this issue has really escalated to the point of using that sjobs or whatever it is email address I see floating around here. But who else would I send it to that it would make a difference? Is there some customer service email that would actually get me a response or explanation? Should I just let it go and hope fourth times a charm?
