Apple rep told me that they couldnt install the RAM or Airport card in MINI

[jayeskreezy]

So I drove to the Apple Store in Orlando today to get an airport express card installed in my new mac mini and he told me right away that he couldnt help me because they cant do that at any apple stores because they dont have the tools to do it.

Then I asked them if there was a price I could pay to have them put my 1GB of non-apple (more cost efficient) ram in my mini and he told me that apple wasnt allowed to do that either and that the only way they could was if I bought it from the apple store or apple online. Then he proceeded to tell me that I couldnt add anything to it because it would void the warranty and they couldnt do anything for me because it was non-apple and they didnt have the tools for the airport card. So im maddddddddddddd.....

THEN this fool had the nerve to say that even if it is a gift you cant get any additions on it. I was like so you expect me to give it back to the person who gave it to me as a gift? He was like I cant help you....

So I was like ok do you know anywhere that I could get my RAM installed and he's like a quick NO. I asked him if he was lying and didnt want to tell me or did he really not know? Of course he said he didnt know and of course I knew he was lying. Bottom line is ....this dude was a rude one and made my first ever apple customer service experience horrible. This would NEVER happen at Dell.

There were some other words that werent tactfully presented on his part, but I wont mention them because you get the jist.

Anyway, apparently you HAVE to install your own RAM because they wont. So I strolled on over to home depot and I'm going to pray I don't break my machine....I REALLY didnt want to have to install this 1GB on my own.

 

[jeremy.king]

like totally that like sucks. - couldn't help myself.

Anyways, I would suggest you call Apple and let them know about your bad experience. Then ask them where the nearest Apple certified technician is located (since your local store doesn't seem to have one).

or like dell could like do it

 

[jayeskreezy]

or like dell could like do it

actually they probably could

 

[miloblithe]

This does seem to be a bit of an excessive design aspect of the mini. There aren't any other Macs that are so hard to install your own RAM in. I'm not surprised that the Apple store won't install third party RAM though. I am surprised that it sounds like they wouldn't install their own either (although the stores don't carry RAM, do they?).

 

[panphage]

I smell troll. But, in case you're legit: You ran into a prick, go ask someone who cares about their job. Everything about this sounds fishy. Apple stores would def have the proper tools to do the job. And putting in your own ram absolutely does not violate the warranty any more than it does with any other Mac. So we know for a fact that he lied about that and I'm certain he lied about the store not having a putty knife to open the mini case.

 

[Pismo]

First of all, that Apple guy is full of $h!t. Either is a moron or he must've lied on his resume to get that job. Every Apple store should have the tools to perform any standard upgrade such as this. As for the part of voiding your warranty, he wrong again. These are "user installable" parts and will in no way void the warranty if installed correctly. If I were you, I would have asked for a manager. Hell, you could bring it to a Best Buy and they'd install it (I used to be Geek Squad at a Best Buy so I'd know).

 

[jayeskreezy]

dag I wished I had known about best buy installing it....I would have saved a LOT of gas ...it's $2.03 a gallon now...doesnt grow on trees...i watched the video and tried to do it myself...we'll see in a lil bit

 

[matthutch]

having worked at an apple store until recently i can tell you this guy was full of it.
All apple store which have technicians qualified to do work on desktops have the appropriate tools to open the mini and are fully qualified to do so.
Doing it yourself - as said before - will in no way void your warranty, the airport card and BT module however do require a tech.

The apple stores do carry ram, however i know most are quite 'iffy' about installing 3rd party ram - i was told it was something about if the ram in some way damaged the machine there is some liability or something. I thought it was the stupidest reasoning, as the ram the apple stores stock is EXACTLY what you can buy online from crucial etc (quite a lot of chips i installed were actually crucial chips).

if you have ever installed anything in a PC(mac or wintel) such as ram video cards etc you should have no trouble installing it in your mini. The only difficult thing is opening the mini itself - the tool apple provided us to open them was a putty knife - like the kind you woould buy at any hardware store. From first hand experience they are quite difficult to open without scratching the plastic base plate.

If i were you i would go back to the store, ask to see the manager and advise him off the rude experience you encountered, as it is just not good enough - be it an apple store or a mechanic, there is no excuse for being rude to the customer.

good luck.

 

[jayeskreezy]

im posting from my new mini

 

[crap freakboy]

...it's $2.03 a gallon now...doesnt grow on trees...

pppffffIf only it was that cheap here in the UK. Its 90 pence a litre here, with the exchange rate being what it is (oops Bush the financial master that he is) thats almost $2. That aside, the Apple guy was obviously a prat, as suggested call Apple for nearby approved technicians.

 

[ColdZero]

I was kinda miffed about an experiance I had on the phone with an apple store yesterday. There are 2 apple stores where I live, both are about 1hr 30 min away. I've been looking to get a mini and I called both stores to see if they had anything but the base model in stock. So I call the first one, which is one of the "mini" stores. "Yea I think we have them" "Do you mind checking? I'm over an hour away and wouldn't want to make the trip for nothing" "Sorry we're really busy right now, call back later, bye" and they hung up. I kinda looked at the phone like, "Did this just happen?" I was kinda set off by the way she was so short with me, so I won't be buying a mini from her 1/2 pint "I wanna be a full sized but I'm not" store. I've got to call today to see if the other store, which is a full sized and see if they have it.

 

[Bear]

...
I've got to call today to see if the other store, which is a full sized and see if they have it.

Since the leadtime is down on MacMinis, maybe you'd be better off ordering a CTO system through Apple's online store?

It would save you the gas and driving time and get you exactly what you want.

 

[ColdZero]

I probably shoulud just get it through the Apple Store. My friend and I were gonna make a big trip out of it this after noon. Plus there is the, I can hold it in my hands today, factor. It turns out that the BTO they have at the Apple Store is what I want, AP, BT, SD. It has 512mb ram but my friend who is commin with me is gonna buy it off me when the gb upgrade comes next week.

 

[wordmunger]

I was kinda miffed about an experiance I had on the phone with an apple store yesterday. There are 2 apple stores where I live, both are about 1hr 30 min away. I've been looking to get a mini and I called both stores to see if they had anything but the base model in stock. So I call the first one, which is one of the "mini" stores. "Yea I think we have them" "Do you mind checking? I'm over an hour away and wouldn't want to make the trip for nothing" "Sorry we're really busy right now, call back later, bye" and they hung up. I kinda looked at the phone like, "Did this just happen?" I was kinda set off by the way she was so short with me, so I won't be buying a mini from her 1/2 pint "I wanna be a full sized but I'm not" store. I've got to call today to see if the other store, which is a full sized and see if they have it.

One of my pet peeves is when I'm AT THE STORE and the person at the desk spends 5 minutes on the phone with a customer. Now that's rude! This person would probably have been better to put you on hold, but I can certainly understand the perspective of serving the customer in the store before someone on the phone.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Why does Dell always show up in these discussions? The reason it wouldn't happen at Dell is because you will never talk to a Dell rep in person, they work on a completely different sales paradigm from Apple.

Anyway, the people at your Apple store are being difficult but a quick search of your locale for certified Apple service joints should be enlightening. Or do it yourself. I sometimes go to my Apple store but ever since the Mini/Shuffle intro'd business has been booming and they are full of people.

If you think $2 a gallon is bad wait another 5 years or so - $2 is CHEAP, my boy - CHEAP.