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A great Genius Bar experience

R

RCGMac

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 21, 2007
198
12
So my MacBook developed the dreaded palmrest crack. I didn't have AppleCare on the computer so I called Customer Service after about 15 minutes I had a case number and a box on the way to send it in. I was told I may be without my beloved MacBook for 5 to 7 days if I shipped it in, so I called my local Apple Store and set up an appointment.

My appointment was at 11 am, but I arrived at the store about 35 minutes early. The Genius was professional and very friendly, he helped me even before my appointment time. I showed him the crack and without hesitation he said we can fix that. I told him it was out of warranty, but he said that wasn't a problem. The store was able to fix my MacBook in less than 30 minutes. It's like I have a brand new computer, they replaced the top case, keyboard and trackpad. They also cleaned out the dust and any pet hair from under the keyboard and even cleaned my screen. They handled it with kid gloves, when I picked it up it was wrapped in bubble wrap and the Genius handled it gingerly.

I thought this was worth posting since we rarely hear good experiences on here. I will agree the palmrest should have never cracked with normal use (I treat my MacBook like a baby), but Apple stepped up to the plate and did a great job fixing this. :) Service like this makes it worth the small premium I paid for an Apple product. I am willing to bet if I had a Dell I would have had a much different experience.
 
Great story! I once made a mistake in buying an Acer Notebook for a friend of mine and let me tell you. After 3 months the laptop's hard drive died. So I went a head called Acer and all of that they had me shiped the laptop to their facility. In a nutshell, they called me a week later to tell me that they could not fix it because they have a policy that if the product is missing any original part from computer the customer has to pay $299. So guess what was missing on the laptop? You know the little plastic or rubber thats on underneath on each corner of the laptop. Well one of those was missing and because of that they were charging me $299. So, I had them shippped it back and replaced the hard drive for $100. I will never buy an Acer Product again. eheheheh Apple rules!
 
You definitely get what you pay for! I have had several budget laptops and they have always felt cheap and I was worried what would happen if anything broke. I love my MacBook, at first my gf wondered why I paid $1,100 for a laptop, but now that she uses it I have gotten her hooked. After today's experience she understands why I bought an Apple product! :D
 
Encanto said:
Great story! I once made a mistake in buying an Acer Notebook for a friend of mine and let me tell you. After 3 months the laptop's hard drive died. So I went a head called Acer and all of that they had me shiped the laptop to their facility. In a nutshell, they called me a week later to tell me that they could not fix it because they have a policy that if the product is missing any original part from computer the customer has to pay $299. So guess what was missing on the laptop? You know the little plastic or rubber thats on underneath on each corner of the laptop. Well one of those was missing and because of that they were charging me $299. So, I had them shippped it back and replaced the hard drive for $100. I will never buy an Acer Product again. eheheheh Apple rules!
Click to expand...

Now that is stupid.

@OP
Glad you had an awesome experience with Apple!
 
broken keyboard before, and mouse, replaced within 10 min for free ^_^. If this was dell it would be a different story.......
 
things like this are the reason i couldnt care less that i pay so much money for a computer. its worth every single penny. the people who think apple products are stupid and cost too much are the ones suffering lousy customer service when their dells break
 
Not to turn this into a bash PC customer support thread but of course I have a "wonderful" experience with HP/Compaq to share.

On Black Friday 2006, I was looking for a slightly more powerful desktop than my PowerBook (see my signature) and got a Compaq (1GB RAM, 15" LCD, 250 HDD, good for its time) for about $400. On the fourth of July, not even a year in, the fan on the computer says that it has failed when it is clearly running. I called HP and after an hour of confirming that the fan are running and that I will not disable the fan, I got a box and shipped it out.

I get it back about 4 days later, I turn it on and right away I get the "System fan has failed" message all over again. The processor and the CPU fan were replaced, but not the fan that actually "failed." Yahoo. I call up HP, get my case "escalated" and have to wait a day for a case manger to call me back. The "case manager" calls my house, barely knows any English, and tries to tell me that I have to send my computer back in to be "fixed" again and that I should buy more RAM.

I send the computer in yet again, and I get it back with the same exact issue. I call my "case manager" back again, this time a lot more annoyed, and he apologized and said that he would personally oversee the next repair to ensure all goes well. I asked for a replacement, but HP no longer makes the model I currently have and god forbid they gave me an equal current one. I asked for someone to come to my house and fix it, nope.

Finally, the third repair gets it done right. I went a week and a half without a computer in result of HP's horrible service. I know that this would never happen with Apple and I would have got a replacement after the second repair and would have actually had a store to go to and talk to someone who is fluent in English about any issues that wouldn't encourage me to buy RAM for a broken machine...
 
I had my first Genius Bar experience recently. I thought it was very easy to set up an appointment online. I got there a bit early. My 1st Gen iPhone took great pics. My new 3G was not good at all. Everything was grainy. When looking at the camera, you could see like a chip or shaving of something in between the lens and glass. The Genius saw it as well and replaced it on the spot. The new one takes pics just as good as my 1st Gen one did. I have a handful of other Apple products, but have never had any other problems.
 
MysticMage said:
Finally, the third repair gets it done right. I went a week and a half without a computer in result of HP's horrible service. I know that this would never happen with Apple and I would have got a replacement after the second repair and would have actually had a store to go to and talk to someone who is fluent in English about any issues that wouldn't encourage me to buy RAM for a broken machine...
Click to expand...

The great thing was that the OP was able to get the computer fixed at the store. I actually didn't know Apple could do case repairs in store. That's rather cool. How ever I have heard of may stories similar to yours with Apple products. I have not had this displeasure luckily, but around here I have heard a few.

I think when your able to get face to face with someone things just turn out better. There is the chance for interaction.

Of course I am sure that if you brought your laptop to best buy to have geek squad look at it the experience would be much different.

It's nice to hear something good around here every so often.
 
RCGMac, I see you are located in Indiana, was that at the Keystone store? My dad's Macbook has developed cracks and it would be nice to have it fixed in the store.
 
Vivid.Inferno said:
I'm just wonder where in Canada you are? I'm in Ottawa (the nations capital) and we don't have an Apple Store. That annoys me because Toronto has 4!
Click to expand...

Thankfully I live across the street from one of those 4 :)... I am a recent switcher and I have been dying to go to one of their workshops... hasnt happened till now, but will post my experience as soon as I do...
 
RCGMac said:
So my MacBook developed the dreaded palmrest crack. I didn't have AppleCare on the computer so I called Customer Service after about 15 minutes I had a case number and a box on the way to send it in. I was told I may be without my beloved MacBook for 5 to 7 days if I shipped it in, so I called my local Apple Store and set up an appointment.

My appointment was at 11 am, but I arrived at the store about 35 minutes early. The Genius was professional and very friendly, he helped me even before my appointment time. I showed him the crack and without hesitation he said we can fix that. I told him it was out of warranty, but he said that wasn't a problem. The store was able to fix my MacBook in less than 30 minutes. It's like I have a brand new computer, they replaced the top case, keyboard and trackpad. They also cleaned out the dust and any pet hair from under the keyboard and even cleaned my screen. They handled it with kid gloves, when I picked it up it was wrapped in bubble wrap and the Genius handled it gingerly.

I thought this was worth posting since we rarely hear good experiences on here. I will agree the palmrest should have never cracked with normal use (I treat my MacBook like a baby), but Apple stepped up to the plate and did a great job fixing this. :) Service like this makes it worth the small premium I paid for an Apple product. I am willing to bet if I had a Dell I would have had a much different experience.
Click to expand...

I wonder if I would have the same luck. I bought my whitebook last August and my warranty is up now. I have very small cracks down on the palmrest, so when i went down to the store to look at the new macbooks, i asked a genius how much it would cost to fix. They told me about $700. :eek:

I didn't have the computer with me, and I ended up buying a new aluminum macbook, but it would still be nice to get my casing replaced to try to up the resale value. I just don't want to drive all the way back down there since it's about an hour away, if they're going to tell me that I need to pay for it.
 
dell:
im sorry sir, thats a microsoft problem. youl have to.... OH CRAP! THAT IS ALL US! UMMMMmmmmmmm *click*
 
MysticMage said:
Not to turn this into a bash PC customer support thread but of course I have a "wonderful" experience with HP/Compaq to share.

On Black Friday 2006, I was looking for a slightly more powerful desktop than my PowerBook (see my signature) and got a Compaq (1GB RAM, 15" LCD, 250 HDD, good for its time) for about $400. On the fourth of July, not even a year in, the fan on the computer says that it has failed when it is clearly running. I called HP and after an hour of confirming that the fan are running and that I will not disable the fan, I got a box and shipped it out.

I get it back about 4 days later, I turn it on and right away I get the "System fan has failed" message all over again. The processor and the CPU fan were replaced, but not the fan that actually "failed." Yahoo. I call up HP, get my case "escalated" and have to wait a day for a case manger to call me back. The "case manager" calls my house, barely knows any English, and tries to tell me that I have to send my computer back in to be "fixed" again and that I should buy more RAM.

I send the computer in yet again, and I get it back with the same exact issue. I call my "case manager" back again, this time a lot more annoyed, and he apologized and said that he would personally oversee the next repair to ensure all goes well. I asked for a replacement, but HP no longer makes the model I currently have and god forbid they gave me an equal current one. I asked for someone to come to my house and fix it, nope.

Finally, the third repair gets it done right. I went a week and a half without a computer in result of HP's horrible service. I know that this would never happen with Apple and I would have got a replacement after the second repair and would have actually had a store to go to and talk to someone who is fluent in English about any issues that wouldn't encourage me to buy RAM for a broken machine...
Click to expand...

Your lucky, mine's even WORSE.

I had to send it in 2 times. LCD problem, and USB's stopped working. The LCD got fixed but not the USB's so then the second time it got sent in, they said I spilt someting :confused: when i didn't! I was pissed off, so I told them to send it back, and I noticed that they did more than just attempting to repair my laptop. THEY DAMAGED MY SCREEN! So, I called them and was supposed to have a case manager call me back but never did. So I called about 4 times.. and no one ever called me back. THEN I email the CEO of HP or w/e and he emailed me back saying that a case manager will contact me, nope.

Oh... but guess what, last month HP called me. A case manager LOL. Screw them, almost a year later you want to help me out?!?! Wow.

I should also add that I tried calling this case manager back using the extension he left, and I got redirected to another msg saying HP is on holidays when it was 2-3 days after the holiday weekend. What a joke.
 
J.Bell said:
RCGMac, I see you are located in Indiana, was that at the Keystone store? My dad's Macbook has developed cracks and it would be nice to have it fixed in the store.
Click to expand...

J.Bell, it was the Keystone Store, just set up a Genius appointment online and they should help you. If they have the part in stock it should take no longer than 30 to 45 minutes.
 
What a refreshing experience! It's a shame it varies from store-to-store. Monterey, CA location put me through the gauntlet when my iPhone battery was failing. I went to the Los Gatos, CA store and problem solved in 5 minutes.
 
RCGMac said:
So my MacBook developed the dreaded palmrest crack. I didn't have AppleCare on the computer so I called Customer Service after about 15 minutes I had a case number and a box on the way to send it in. I was told I may be without my beloved MacBook for 5 to 7 days if I shipped it in, so I called my local Apple Store and set up an appointment.

My appointment was at 11 am, but I arrived at the store about 35 minutes early. The Genius was professional and very friendly, he helped me even before my appointment time. I showed him the crack and without hesitation he said we can fix that. I told him it was out of warranty, but he said that wasn't a problem. The store was able to fix my MacBook in less than 30 minutes. It's like I have a brand new computer, they replaced the top case, keyboard and trackpad. They also cleaned out the dust and any pet hair from under the keyboard and even cleaned my screen. They handled it with kid gloves, when I picked it up it was wrapped in bubble wrap and the Genius handled it gingerly.

I thought this was worth posting since we rarely hear good experiences on here. I will agree the palmrest should have never cracked with normal use (I treat my MacBook like a baby), but Apple stepped up to the plate and did a great job fixing this. :) Service like this makes it worth the small premium I paid for an Apple product. I am willing to bet if I had a Dell I would have had a much different experience.
Click to expand...

Exactly the same thing happened to me two weeks ago at the Soho NY applestore. My out of warranty blackbook got a free palmrest repair. Took under and hour too. I'm pretty happy.

Or was pretty happy, I should say. Ironically I was planning on selling it around Christmas to get a new macbook but the lack of firewire has left me stranded because my music interface needs it.

I kinda don't know how to feel about apple right now because I think that was such a boneheaded move, but I was really pleased with the customer service.
 
det2004 said:
....I asked a genius how much it would cost to fix. They told me about $700. :eek:
Click to expand...

There's your problem! You don't ask how much, you state it's a common problem, due to poor design, and you want it fixed. ;)

Oh...and when I had mine done I was billed accidentally when I got my MacBook back and it was around 80 euros or so....so that Genius clearly isn't as smart as his t-shirt proclaims!
 
I've asked the Apple Store around here to fix my palmrest at least 4 times, and have been shot down every time. I'm going to try again this week, this time telling them I won't be able to buy a new macbook without fixing the one I have. I hope they have improved in this area. Perhaps with the down economy they are taking a more customer-centric view.
 
RCGMac said:
So my MacBook developed the dreaded palmrest crack. I didn't have AppleCare on the computer so I called Customer Service after about 15 minutes I had a case number and a box on the way to send it in. I was told I may be without my beloved MacBook for 5 to 7 days if I shipped it in, so I called my local Apple Store and set up an appointment.

My appointment was at 11 am, but I arrived at the store about 35 minutes early. The Genius was professional and very friendly, he helped me even before my appointment time. I showed him the crack and without hesitation he said we can fix that. I told him it was out of warranty, but he said that wasn't a problem. The store was able to fix my MacBook in less than 30 minutes. It's like I have a brand new computer, they replaced the top case, keyboard and trackpad. They also cleaned out the dust and any pet hair from under the keyboard and even cleaned my screen. They handled it with kid gloves, when I picked it up it was wrapped in bubble wrap and the Genius handled it gingerly.

I thought this was worth posting since we rarely hear good experiences on here. I will agree the palmrest should have never cracked with normal use (I treat my MacBook like a baby), but Apple stepped up to the plate and did a great job fixing this. :) Service like this makes it worth the small premium I paid for an Apple product. I am willing to bet if I had a Dell I would have had a much different experience.
Click to expand...

I was not aware Apple were this great! I have the palmrest cracks on my macbook, and would LOVE them fixed for free! I too, am outside of warranty.

I may have to go to my local mac store soon :)

Cheers for the story

JC
 
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