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Apple Customer Relations experience?

TheBritishBloke

TheBritishBloke

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Jul 21, 2009
2,532
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United Kingdom
Has anyone here had any good experiences with Apple CR? I'm talking to them again on Monday regarding getting a replacement MBP (Multiple issues affecting use of the machine :/ )

However, I've been advised to possibly wait until the next MBP update to talk to them about it, as I should then get upgraded to the next MBP?

Has anyone else ever experienced this? I've heard a lot about getting upgrades to the newer models when people have taken them in for repairs and been told it has to be replaced.

Thanks in advance :)
 
Mm, that's what I guessed. However I've heard of times where they have replaced it with the similarly priced current model, not sure how long after the update that would've been though.
 
Replacements under Apple's lemon policies are almost always the same model, and even after discontinuation, there's a fair stock of refurbs as well. About the only time you'd expect to get a new model is if the replacement came a couple years after the model switch and there's no refurbs left. That's not to say they absolutely wouldn't just move you into the newest one.
 
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I had an iMac G5 1.8 that were famous for the bloated capacitor logic board failures and problems with the power supply.

After the 4th repair (two power supplies and two logic boards), Apple actually called me and said that the number of repairs on the unit was found to be unacceptable. They asked if they could send out a box to ship the iMac G5 back to be replaced with a Aluminum iMac.

So, I went from a iMac G5 1.8/1GB/160GB to a iMac 2.0 (Core 2) 2GB/250GB for nothing.


AppleCare is the bomb!
 
my black late 2006 macbook got replaced mid 2009 for a 13" macbook pro.

they were going to give me a white macbook but i said i got the black and didnt want a white comp they just said oh yes its the black one you have you get the 13" macbook pro :) i upgraded myself to a 15" :D

go apple care :)
 
JNB said:
Replacements under Apple's lemon policies are almost always the same model, and even after discontinuation, there's a fair stock of refurbs as well. About the only time you'd expect to get a new model is if the replacement came a couple years after the model switch and there's no refurbs left. That's not to say they absolutely wouldn't just move you into the newest one.
Click to expand...

I my experience they always upgrade you to a new one not a refirbished i had a whitebook and they gave me the al book even when there were white one is the clearance section. I also had a mbp 17 non unibody they gave me the unibody. The only way they give you the same one is if that is still the current one.
 
Just a quick update for you all.

I phoned Apple CR, who informed me that 'there's nothing wrong' Which is total bull***t. He put me back through to someone in AppleCare (Level 2 or something like that) who is helping me fight my case (Incredibly friendly Italian dude ;) Love the accent) I've shown him pictures of the manufacturing problems, and he's going to be fighting for me to get a replacement.

He also confirmed that they ALWAYS replace Macs with the current model, even if it's 2 days after that model came out, they always replace them with the current models, not the previous models, he actually said to me if he manages to get me a replacement, he may be able to put it on hold until the new models come out, hence how awesome he is xD.

He's phoning me back tomorrow. I'll keep you all posted.
 
JoelKelly said:
Has anyone here had any good experiences with Apple CR? I'm talking to them again on Monday regarding getting a replacement MBP (Multiple issues affecting use of the machine :/ )

However, I've been advised to possibly wait until the next MBP update to talk to them about it, as I should then get upgraded to the next MBP?

Has anyone else ever experienced this? I've heard a lot about getting upgrades to the newer models when people have taken them in for repairs and been told it has to be replaced.

Thanks in advance :)
Click to expand...

My advice is to know what you want before you call and try and stick to it.

I bought a PPC iMac a month or two before they released the first Intel iMac. My PPC iMac had a hardware fault and I asked for the replacement to be the Intel iMac.

It took about six phone calls and three hours on the phone, but I did get it in the end, plus a free copy of iWork and an extra gig of RAM!

If your machine has had a fault from the beginning, just be persistent. You can't ask for unreasonable things ($1,000,000, an iPhone, iPad and a cookie maker), but do pester. Worked for me!
 
I realize I didnt get an upgrade, but I agree that if you stick to your guns and have a set plan it works.

I had a 27 inch Imac that I bought at lunch. Worked flawlessly! Until the second firmware update. Than i started getting flickering, bad. I went into the Apple store, explained to them that I am a student and cant go without my Imac. The genius turned it on, saw the problem, and swapped it right out
 
In 2008 I had a mac pro replaced and was also given £800 of cash and kind on top as a good will gesture.

However over christmas apple offered me £150 from the cost of a new computer, for which I managed to extend the purchase window to march.

They do replace older models with newer ones. That is a fact, and the choice to delay your replacement should be yours to make.

The only advice I would give you is be strong yet authoritative, but never rude. Know your rights, but don't be unreasonable in what you ask for. And always make sure the person you are bartering with actually has the power to change something for you, if not, step up a notch in the CR team.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I know what I want, a replacement, of same spec or above, I really couldn't care otherwise. Granted, if they released i7 MBPs I'd gladly take one ;) But I'm not going to refuse a replacement to get one.

Basically, I was called again today by Apple CR, and just informed that "We've found now problem" He even tried to convince me that "MacRumors, and every other website is completely wrong and never comes of any use, only the Apple discussion boards are reliable" He then went on to try and convince me that even he has these problems (wtf?) I really just don't believe him.

He's now basically said, that I should take it back into an Apple store for the 3rd time for them to diagnose it AGAIN just to tell me that they think nothing is wrong AGAIN just because fkin Disk Utility says so. And It's too hard for me to just go to an Apple store, as my closest one is 1hr away, and I can't get to my 'local' one for 5 weeks (There's a store in Munich, Germany 5 mins from my home there)

Is there anyone higher than Apple CR (within reason, so don't say someone like Steve Jobs lol), who will actually help me? They offered for me to send it off, but a turnaround of 2-3weeks just to diagnose it, and probably tell me nothing's wrong again.

When I phoned up again, they just put me back through to the same guy which told me this, and I'm quite frankly sick of it, as I don't know what else I can do, as this is NOT normal, the Hard Drive is having serious access time delays, even after an erase and install and yet he wants me to believe "That's normal". I even told him the fact that "If I wanted a computer which is going to act like a Dell, I would have bought a Dell, not a £1500 so called 'premium' computer".

Sick of it,

Any advice? Thanks again guys

EDIT: Apple also has a log on their system from when I called up 3 days after I got my machine, saying how there were already problems, yet I couldn't get it replaced then due to being on holiday.
 
JoelKelly said:
Thanks for all the replies.

I know what I want, a replacement, of same spec or above, I really couldn't care otherwise. Granted, if they released i7 MBPs I'd gladly take one ;) But I'm not going to refuse a replacement to get one.

Basically, I was called again today by Apple CR, and just informed that "We've found now problem" He even tried to convince me that "MacRumors, and every other website is completely wrong and never comes of any use, only the Apple discussion boards are reliable" He then went on to try and convince me that even he has these problems (wtf?) I really just don't believe him.

He's now basically said, that I should take it back into an Apple store for the 3rd time for them to diagnose it AGAIN just to tell me that they think nothing is wrong AGAIN just because fkin Disk Utility says so. And It's too hard for me to just go to an Apple store, as my closest one is 1hr away, and I can't get to my 'local' one for 5 weeks (There's a store in Munich, Germany 5 mins from my home there)

Is there anyone higher than Apple CR (within reason, so don't say someone like Steve Jobs lol), who will actually help me? They offered for me to send it off, but a turnaround of 2-3weeks just to diagnose it, and probably tell me nothing's wrong again.

When I phoned up again, they just put me back through to the same guy which told me this, and I'm quite frankly sick of it, as I don't know what else I can do, as this is NOT normal, the Hard Drive is having serious access time delays, even after an erase and install and yet he wants me to believe "That's normal". I even told him the fact that "If I wanted a computer which is going to act like a Dell, I would have bought a Dell, not a £1500 so called 'premium' computer".

Sick of it,

Any advice? Thanks again guys

EDIT: Apple also has a log on their system from when I called up 3 days after I got my machine, saying how there were already problems, yet I couldn't get it replaced then due to being on holiday.
Click to expand...

I am sorry that you are having these problems.

I had a big problem with apple over a mac pro purchase in 2008 (on a set up that cost £3000!), and I eventually went through to the 'apple operations europe' team (This is what it says on the emails the sent me anyhow).

In the end they replaced my mac pro, gave me £200 back to my account, and then gave me £600 worth of products from the apple store.


EDIT: also, keep a tally of any costs you have incurred during this process (phone bills, travel costs etc), and furthermore copy's of all memorandum. Be clear in your mind what you expect before talking to them - when Iw as in talks with them in 2008, I always wrote everything down so I could not be pulled up on anything.
 
JoelKelly said:
Has anyone here had any good experiences with Apple CR? I'm talking to them again on Monday regarding getting a replacement MBP (Multiple issues affecting use of the machine :/ )

However, I've been advised to possibly wait until the next MBP update to talk to them about it, as I should then get upgraded to the next MBP?

Has anyone else ever experienced this? I've heard a lot about getting upgrades to the newer models when people have taken them in for repairs and been told it has to be replaced.

Thanks in advance :)
Click to expand...

They're going to replace your existing MBP with the same MBP. I wouldn't hold my breath.

Habitus :apple:
 
student_trap said:
I am sorry that you are having these problems.

I had a big problem with apple over a mac pro purchase in 2008 (on a set up that cost £3000!), and I eventually went through to the 'apple operations europe' team (This is what it says on the emails the sent me anyhow).

In the end they replaced my mac pro, gave me £200 back to my account, and then gave me £600 worth of products from the apple store.


EDIT: also, keep a tally of any costs you have incurred during this process (phone bills, travel costs etc), and furthermore copy's of all memorandum. Be clear in your mind what you expect before talking to them - when Iw as in talks with them in 2008, I always wrote everything down so I could not be pulled up on anything.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate,

Basically, the guy got a little bit pissed at me, I phoned Apple CR again (without going through to him) and he got kind of pissed that I decided to call again. It's a bunch of hassle, and basically they're persisting on the fact that there's no problem until they see it in an Apple store documented, whereas that factor is just pi*sing me off

Phone calls are all done through the freephone number. He does however want me to go to the so called 'local' store which is 1hr away each way, which would cost me a good amount of petrol.

Apple operations europe is just the general name of CR in europe :p Even now he's saying that unless they find a problem, they won't do anything. Even though I showed the constant spinning gear to the Genius at the genius bar, who then ruled it out as 'normal' which then means more of my time f**king wasted having to go yet again.
 
I've had good luck and bad luck.

I had my Power Mac G5 replaced a few months ago due to a coolant leak. They replaced it with a kick-ass 8-core Mac Pro, even though it was nearly two years out of AppleCare. Went over the replacement over the phone with the Genius, and was very happy with what they were giving me. I had BTO'd it when I bought it. So the new machine would have Airport, just like the last. Over the years I slowly upped it to the max of 8GB RAM, so the new machine had 8GB (wonder if I could have played the 8GB was the max, can I have the max in the MP (32GB), but didn't want to be greedy). I also had the top end graphics card, so I was supposed to have the new machine come with the 4870. When I got home, and unpacked the machine, they gave me 4 x GT120's though.

The Apple store was an hour drive, each way. So it wasn't like I could just pop back over. Called back and forward with the store, with AppleCare, got no where. Ended up just picking up a 4870.

However, in the end, $400 for an 8-core top end Mac Pro. It wasn't a bad experience overall.
 
rickvanr said:
I've had good luck and bad luck.

I had my Power Mac G5 replaced a few months ago due to a coolant leak. They replaced it with a kick-ass 8-core Mac Pro, even though it was nearly two years out of AppleCare. Went over the replacement over the phone with the Genius, and was very happy with what they were giving me. I had BTO'd it when I bought it. So the new machine would have Airport, just like the last. Over the years I slowly upped it to the max of 8GB RAM, so the new machine had 8GB (wonder if I could have played the 8GB was the max, can I have the max in the MP (32GB), but didn't want to be greedy). I also had the top end graphics card, so I was supposed to have the new machine come with the 4870. When I got home, and unpacked the machine, they gave me 4 x GT120's though.

The Apple store was an hour drive, each way. So it wasn't like I could just pop back over. Called back and forward with the store, with AppleCare, got no where. Ended up just picking up a 4870.

However, in the end, $400 for an 8-core top end Mac Pro. It wasn't a bad experience overall.
Click to expand...

Lucky you. And it wouldn't have been $400, you could've still sold the GT120's ;)

Right now I'm annoyed at Apple, the CR representative actually informed me that when I went to the store in Germany, they did log everything. However... When I took it to the store in Trafford Centre, Manchester... They have 0 logs of it being taken there, even though I was there for 30mins for them doing tests, and the Service code/serial was on the notes.

I've now also discovered, that a few days after I bought my MBP, I called up and complained about some of the issues, yet they appear to have no logs of this either... So far I think Apple is kind of in the wrong, seeing how they can't do things how they should AT ALL.
 
You know what they say, Karma is a b****.
It seems like you are trying to get a new Macbook Pro instead of getting yours fixed - hence the bad support. Companies do not like that :p
 
I asked for a repair OR replacement. They refused both, and referred me to an Apple store for the 3rd time.

Or I can send off my Mac, and not have it back for 3 weeks.. No thankyou
 
JNB said:
Replacements under Apple's lemon policies are almost always the same model, and even after discontinuation, there's a fair stock of refurbs as well. About the only time you'd expect to get a new model is if the replacement came a couple years after the model switch and there's no refurbs left. That's not to say they absolutely wouldn't just move you into the newest one.
Click to expand...

You're mixing up replacements for defective units done through Applecare and Replacement done through Customer relations. Customer relations if they deem a replacement is necessary they will replace with a new model machine which is why people often end up with better machines after a couple of repairs.
 
Bite the bullet, head to the store, make sure you document everything that goes on. When dealing with the store, try to maintain a level head...you can get angry, but don't direct it at the people there even if it is their fault. Even though you are taking it in the end by going to the store again, you're showing a willingness to try and make it work. Stick to your guns when it best benefits you and keep an even keel. Trust me, you come off with a chance of getting much more if you are level headed. Especially if the phone agent gets worked up.



JoelKelly said:
I asked for a repair OR replacement. They refused both, and referred me to an Apple store for the 3rd time.

Or I can send off my Mac, and not have it back for 3 weeks.. No thankyou
Click to expand...
 
My 2007 MBP suffered from the famous graphics chip issue. Ended in being sent away, to Texas I think, and back to me in just a few days which included a weekend. Fed Ex brought it to me.

New everything. Mutha board, daughter board, screen. A couple of new keys and it would look and function like a new machine. I treated it to a new HD and more memory as a reward to myself and to tide me over for another year or two.

BTW, you WANT it to be sent away to be fixed, not done locally in the back of the Apple Store.
 
carlgo said:
My 2007 MBP suffered from the famous graphics chip issue. Ended in being sent away, to Texas I think, and back to me in just a few days which included a weekend. Fed Ex brought it to me.

New everything. Mutha board, daughter board, screen. A couple of new keys and it would look and function like a new machine. I treated it to a new HD and more memory as a reward to myself and to tide me over for another year or two.

BTW, you WANT it to be sent away to be fixed, not done locally in the back of the Apple Store.
Click to expand...

whats wrong with doing it at the apple store?
 
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