Apple Having Support Problems?

[digitalbiker]

I'm not trying to be a wise a@@, but when did Apple make a Pismo. I do remember them, but not being made by Apple. I am sorry, I don't recall the manufactuer for them at this time.

Apple always made the Pismo. I don't know the exact years but it was a black G3 PowerBook.

 

[digitalbiker]

I have .mac now for several years, and I am still wondering why I re-subscribe. Maybe Im lazy. I must be. Don't get it. Need a Gmail invite?????

I'm the same way. I have had .mac since way back when it was "Free for Life" and I just have gotten used to keeping it. I also keep thinking that ole Jobs and company are going to come up with the killer .mac app that will make .mac indespensible.

I'm still waiting...
waiting...
waiting...
waiting...

 

[gauriemma]

and there was a lot of confusion as to what batteries were affected.

Right. Because the whole "if your battery's serial number falls within this range, this range, or this range" concept was so terribly difficult to grasp.

 

[Ktulu]

Apple always made the Pismo. I don't know the exact years but it was a black G3 PowerBook.

That's right. thank you I completely forgot about that.

 

[Island Dog]

Right. Because the whole "if your battery's serial number falls within this range, this range, or this range" concept was so terribly difficult to grasp.

Yep. My serial falls into the range and the website still won't accept it. I guess I will have to sit on hold Monday morning.

 

[BanjoBanker]

great support

I don't have one of the Intel Macs (yet) but I have had excellent service from Apple Care whenever I have called. My wife's 14" iBook had the logic board replaced, 4 working days, and I sent my daughter's iPod mini in and it was repaired in no time ( I ordered her mini the day the became available-some teething issues I guess.) I had an AirPort Express replaced with no questions asked recently. I have never had a problem with Apple Care support, I don't expect to have my calls answered one the first ring when I call, that would be silly. These days being on hold for 10 minutes is one of those things. I agree with the other posters who said that the complaints get all the press. I try to always comment to management when I receive excellent service because compliments are rare these days, but complaints are common. Like the affulent med student in earlier post, I too am a switcher and I do NOT regret it for one second. I would not go back to my IBM Thinkpad if you paid me to.

 

[daneoni]

Right. Because the whole "if your battery's serial number falls within this range, this range, or this range" concept was so terribly difficult to grasp.

No, because different versions of the ranges were initially posted only recently has it been clarified...get with the program and stop trying to be a smartass

 

[Zadillo]

well im certainly annoyed with Apple's support right now. 3 times my Macbook has been in and now they tell me they cant FIX the problem (the only way I can get my macbook to boot up is to zap the PRAM every time). If I had known it was gonna be this much trouble I would have stuck with my pb or bought a Vaio...

You do know that Sony is known for having some of the worst support among any notebook manufacturer, right? If you're worried about trouble, you should really look for something besides a VAIO.

-Zadillo

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Ask me, phone support has been pretty lousy for years (at least since 1996 or whenever they instituted the stupid 90-day support rule that doesn't mirror the 1 year warranty.) Call up about an issue outside the 90-days and if AppleCare shoots you down (usually they will) they charge your CC. Crazy since lesser makers, HP and Dell, treat customers better. Meanwhile, you can take the same troubled machine to the Apple Store and usually the Geniuses will get your Mac fixed with little hassle.

A few years ago (I think it was the G4 Quicksilver) a phone support tech told me my (self-installed) ATA/100 hard drive wasn't working on the secondary ATA/66 hard drive bus because it was too fast! I told her that no one has made an ATA/66 hard drive for years. She told me that I shouldn't use a drive on that bus then...even those it was designed specifically for extra hard drives. 2nd Level techs wouldn't help me either. I ended up having to schlep the machine to the Apple Store where the Genius, after a few tests, confirmed I needed a new logic board.

Maybe it's just me, but phone support always wants to dismiss my issue and push me off the phone. When my MBP was whining they told me my hearing was too sensitive! Only months later did they admit a problem. Maybe THAT is why there is a growing dissatisfaction. Personally, I've loathed calling for years.

 

[puuukeey]

I recently had an amazing experience witha apple support. I gave up after an hour of calling around but my mother (god bless her soul) decided to make it her mission and spent a whopping nine hours over a period of two days on the phone with apple support. they finally figured out that the applestore had registered my apple care to someone elses computer.

apple did 2000 dollars worth of work for free on my G4 laptop.

 

[digitalbiker]

Ask me, phone support has been pretty lousy for years (at least since 1996 or whenever they instituted the stupid 90-day support rule that doesn't mirror the 1 year warranty.)

After reading through this thread, doesn't it concern everyone that so many of us have dealt with customer support over the past couple years.

What ever happened to quality control? I am not sure I have ever bought one Apple product since 1996 that I didn't end up calling Apple Customer support because something was wrong.

I remember buying a lot of computers, Apple II's, original macs, Commodore 64's, Amigas, Dells, etc. that never once required a phone call. Now everything I buy from Apple breaks or needs a repair prior to it's warranty running out. I have also had two machines and an ipod go completely bad after the warranty expired.

 

[asiayeah]

It seems like a preponderance of the issues people have are with the notebooks.

Do you think it could be because Apple has the thinnest laptops on the market which means they sacrifice build quality and heat management?

When I looked at the innards of an iBook G3 it was basically "a mess" in there...nothing looked modular like you would see inside the new Mac pro.

Apple doesn't has the thinnest laptops on the market.

 

[nbaker756]

never had problems

my dad bought a new 17in MBP and got it a week after it came out-couple days later, the battery would stop working and wouldnt be recognized by the computer-i called apple and by the end of the day i had a box sent to send in the computer-3 days later it was back with a new battery and everything. great service. also i had an airport problem-i brought it into the apple store, they looked at the airport, and in 20 minutes replaced it with a new one for no cost because i had applecare. i feel they have great service next to others, such as dell who i have called before and had a crap load of trouble...

 

[asiayeah]

When I read a lot of posts where people complain about Apple service, it seems that it is offten from non-US. Is this my imagination or does Apple need to kick the Arse of their international support groups?

I am sure the customer support is not good in non-US.

Unfortunately Apple is not maintainly a high quality of customer support service throughout the world. It seems Apple is neglecting the areas which is growing fast. This will certainly hinder the growth of Mac OS market share.

 

[ryanw]

Funny how I just came across this thread, as I'm in the middle of an Apple support nightmare as well (I have one of those MacBooks that just turns itself off for no reason - completely unacceptable). I have been routed through 12 people over 3 calls, with several promises of "expedited resolution"s but no tangible result.

Although it's possible (and likely) that the prevalence of the MacBook defects have been overblown, I do know that Apple's support process puts you through a lot of hoops to get any major issue resolved (e.g., replacing a clearly defective product). Each person I've talked to has been courteous, but in the end I still have no faith in their ability to actually solve my problem in a timely manner.

Frustrated Apple User

I've seen this happen to me personally... the macbook just shuts down on me. I "THINK" I have linked it to the magnetic money clip in my pocket. I THINK when I put the macbook on my lap it thinks I have shut the cover due to the magnetic latch. Is it possible you're putting near or on something magnetic?

 

[gugy]

well, I think Apple support can get much better. Lots of room for improvement.
The usual phone hold is too long and sometimes it takes over 1 hour if you need to talk to a higher up to try to solve your problem

I had my G5 Quad on repair for 3 weeks and during this time the Apple Store and Apple Computer would not give me much clarification about the problem. Meanwhile as a professional I was left without my main computer.
I probably talked with more than 20 people during this process. Very frustrating experience.

The thing I would like to ask Apple is to have a loaner computer program for professionals. I rather pay an additional $100 on Applecare as long I can get a computer with the same power of the one I have during this repair period. That way professionals are not left without their machines or Apple monitors during the ordeal.

 

[NicP]

Apple support has been very average for me in Australia. I have 2 macbooks being repaired now, they both have multiple problems and have been at the repair place for over a week. I tried to get apple to just replace them but after being fowarded through several departments they told me no. When i have used dell support, I ring up and tell them what the problem is and someone comes to my house to fix the computer the next day. I thought apple was supposed to be better at support than dell?

 

[digitalbiker]

I thought apple was supposed to be better at support than dell?

I have always exected Dell's support to be top notch and they have never let me down. However,I always paid for the upgraded 3 year support and I have never used the standard 1 year support. I also have always paid for Apple's 3 year AppleCare. In my opinion there is no comparison. Dell is better.

This is one reason I thought that previous surveys always rated Apple too high. The only explaination I could think of that made sense is that Apple has a tremendously loyal fan base. I think this fan base gives Apple rosey numbers and exagerates Apple's support response. Now that Apple marketshare has grown some, I think these users are seeing that it ain't so rosey red at Apple.

 

[srf4real]

I hope Apple doesn't go the way of every other corporation that gets huge and loses sight of the bread and butter- customer base. In a world full of computers, I want to be helped by a human with common sense. Apple support has always been good to me, although I haven't needed a thing since buying my G4 mini last summer and signing up a dotmac account. (just to end on a positive note

 

[digitalbiker]

In a world full of computers, I want to be helped by a human with common sense.

I'm with you on this one! The first thing I do when I reach a phone menu system is try to figure out how to circumvent it so that I can get to a real person.

The problem with menu systems is that they only cover the most likely common user problems. I have been around computers long enough that I can fix all the easy issues. The only time I call is when my problem is serious and phone support never has a menu option for that.

 

[macmax77]

I don't know about support, but i must say soemthing is not well..

After been an Apple user since the 80"s i never had a problem with Apple.

Well, my cousin's mac, my friend;s iMac G5, my iBook and my iMac G5 all had problems, we bought them together almost (no more than a year and a half, and they all experienced soem kind of problem, my cousin's is here besides me because the motherboard died and he gave me his screen because my screen had issues.

He went PC.

My friend went PC too , and i am not going there because there is nothing in the world that i hat more than a pc, but i cannot talk like i used to saying how reliable Apples are, they are ****** or have been for me in the alst 2 years

 

[After G]

I guess I am lucky, but I haven't had problems through all the Macs I have bought. It may be because I haven't bought rev A of any product.

The eMac was 2nd gen. No problems.
The iBook was 2nd to last gen. No problems.
And the Intel Mac mini is just an internals change. We'll wait and see.

If my Intel mini conks out unexpectedly, I will give Apple one more chance, because they haven't worked with Intel hardware extensively like PPC hardware.

At the same time, there is a price to pay for lower prices. Would you be willing to pay premiums for quality? I'm glad Apples are cheaper, but not glad about the downturn in quality. I think I would pay a bit more for quality, myself.

 

[illegalprelude]

I guess I am lucky, but I haven't had problems through all the Macs I have bought. It may be because I haven't bought rev A of any product.

The eMac was 2nd gen. No problems.
The iBook was 2nd to last gen. No problems.
And the Intel Mac mini is just an internals change. We'll wait and see.

If my Intel mini conks out unexpectedly, I will give Apple one more chance, because they haven't worked with Intel hardware extensively like PPC hardware.

At the same time, there is a price to pay for lower prices. Would you be willing to pay premiums for quality? I'm glad Apples are cheaper, but not glad about the downturn in quality. I think I would pay a bit more for quality, myself.

were not paying premium?

 

[MacinDoc]

Yep. My serial falls into the range and the website still won't accept it. I guess I will have to sit on hold Monday morning.

According to some people who have spoken with Apple customer service reps, some batteries within the listed ranges were not manufactured by Sony, which is why they don't qualify for replacement. Apparently, there is no easy way for the consumer to identify whether his/her battery is a Sony or not.

I suspect that because of all of the confusion, Apple will end up replacing all of the batteries in the listed ranges, whether they are Sony-manufactured or not, to avoid the wrath of customers who believe they are being ripped off if their batteries don't qualify. In the past, Apple has gone beyond what was required to correct situations that just looked bad.

Maybe this whole thing would have been easier if the serial numbers on the batteries somehow indicated their manufacturer (of course, that's just hindsight, but I hope Apple remembers this in the future).

 

[swingerofbirch]

I imagine Apple is upset with Sony.

I know Sony is paying for the battery replacements but I wonder if they reimburse Apple for the customer service and shipping they provide for the recall.

The market seems to demand low prices and I suppose does not demand as much that the products be durable and right the first time.

With PC manufacturers, they usually have two grades--consumer and business.

My university encourages students to buy a Lenovo notebook, but goes out of their way to emphasize that students buy a business model over the consumer models. They say that they are better built with better parts even if they look less flashy at higher prices.

Apple's product line-up is less stratified. All of their products could theoretically be used by business or consumers. Maybe they are falling in between...not reaching the build level of the PC world's "business class"?