Apple order problem. Advice?

[tharris0101]

So lets get this out of the way first off: I'm an idiot.

I finally decided on a refurbished MBP that I ordered online. The problem was that I could SWEAR it said "hi-res glossy". When you order a refurbished mac, the checkout doesn't give you any details about it. Anyway, after I hit submit I went back to the refurbished store and noticed that I had accidentally ordered "hi-res anti glare".

So I called Apple within 5 minutes of ordering. I was on the phone with someone less than 10 minutes after I hit submit. The guy was very helpful and nice. He told me that they had no refurbished i7s with hi-res glossy, so I decided to have him just get me a new one. He said "no problem! I'll get that taken care of right away".

He put me on hold for about 5 minutes and came back and I immediately knew something was wrong. He sounded very distraught and said "I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, but your laptop has already gone out to ship. There is nothing I can do about it." I said, "What?? Its Sunday! I ordered it less than 15 minutes ago! Nothing ships on Sundays." He said, "Well once its prepped there is nothing we can do about it. We just have to let it ship"

He told me that I'll have to wait for Fed Ex to come. Tell Fed Ex that I am refusing shipment. Wait for it to get back to Apple and they will refund my money in full and then I can order what I want.

I couldn't believe that was the truth, so I just tried calling back again and got someone else (not nearly as friendly I might add) and I explained my situation and asked if there were any way he could call down to the warehouse and just tell them not to ship it, or to cancel the order with Fed Ex. He said, "Nothing anybody can do now about it. Sorry."

So frustrating since I needed this laptop for a project I'm starting on the 1st of November. I don't want to be stuck with the display I don't want though.

Am I stuck here? Does anyone have experience with sending things back to Apple? I had to return a router to Qwest once and they wound up charging me twice instead of refunding, claiming they never got the package back, etc.. I'm not looking forward to a million phone calls to Apple trying to recover my $2200.

 

[Vantage Point]

This happened to me earlier this year with Amazon. I changed my mind and the order was prepped to ship. I was told to refuse the order and place a new one. These are huge mechanized warehouses that ideally make things extremely efficient and you through a monkey wrench into the machine.

I think the only way to do this is, if your credit card can handle it, is to place the order again for what you want and call Apple to get that in the record. Then refuse the laptop from Fedex that you did not want. If you return this before you order the other one it will delay things for about a week

 

[pukifloyd]

That sucks.
If you need it so badly, then get one from the nearest apple store or best buy or even amazon (with 2 day shipping) and then refuse the shipment of the antiglare one you receive.
Not a great solution but its better than having nothing

 

[tharris0101]

I actually might just keep the one with the anti-gloss display. I went to the Apple store today and put both types of 15" models together and I couldn't really tell much difference in contrast or saturation. And the lights above were hitting the glossy screen like crazy.

The anti-glare doesn't look nearly as sexy but I have to admit that it will probably be more useful to me down the road. So maybe it was a "happy accident" (as my parents called me, though I never believed them )

 

[Vantage Point]

I went to the Apple store today and put both types of 15" models together and I couldn't really tell much difference in contrast or saturation.

This is not a good place to judge reflections. Computers, all types, in all stores, are cranked up to high levels of brightness in order to drown out reflections. That high brightness setting may not be optimal for your work. For example, I have both a iMac and MBP and need to have the color and 'brightness' calibrated for serious photography work. If it is set too bright when I post process photos then I can reliably expect my prints to be too dark.

My MBP is set roughly at half brightness (specifically at 110 cd/m2) for photo work. At that setting when I am using it in places like McDonalds, where I may be forced to sit with a window to my back, the glare can make working painful.

Overall, you may be fine with glossy but you will need to watch those lights or bright windows behind where you are sitting - I wanted non-glare but it is not an option with iMac or the 13" MBP. Personally, it is easier for me to use a glossy monitor than a high rez monitor since high rez makes everything smaller and that is a strain on my eyes (and a pain to keep adjusting) and it also makes web-sized images smaller than I like but overall I prefer non-glare.

There is no right or wrong, good or bad, here. Just personal preference. Good luck, either way I am sure you will love your new mac just watch for bright areas behind where you work