Apple service is TERRIBLE!

[DesignerOnMac]

I have been with Apple since 1988....

I need to vent...

I sent my 17" Macbook Pro for repair LAST MONTH for a sleep issue that would make the notebook freeze and the only way to restore it would be do to a reset, causing any files not saved to be lost.

Today, I get a call from the local Apple Store saying they received the notebook (after a month of repair work) and the problem has increased in magnitude. Yes, now it has trouble powering up. How the HELL do you ship a computer back from repair back w/o fully inspecting it? The tech that was working on it must have been on some serious stuff. They replaced the logic board, casing, etc. and they wanted me to give them permission to send it back for another repair. Are you kidding me? Another month without my notebook and unsure if they will fix it again? I wasn't going to settle for that so I got on the phone and they immediatly offered me a replacement.

So now they are sending me another brand new 17" MBP. I don't even want to open the damn box because I will be VERY angry if it has any issues. Sigh... and they say PC's have software problems? Fix your hardware problems and have a little more quality control over your products before you decide to make those silly commercials.

Sigh

In that time I have purchased: 1-MacIntosh II, ungraded to a IIFX, 2-Quadra 800's, 3-iBooks, 2-PowerBooks, (1 was a Lombard), 1-Performa 400, (I think), 2-eMacs, 2-G4 1.24 GHz desktop computers, and lastly 1-Alum 2.8 Extreme iMac, (last October). 1-iPod first generation, still works!

I have had 2 repair issues: 1-Quadra had a bad HD, Apple came to my studio and replaced it. 1-iBook had keys that kept popping off. Apple sent a free FedEx box, was repaired and I received the repaired iBook back 2 days later!

I do not know why your Apple Store took a month to repair your MBP. Are you sure it was sent to Apple or repaired at the store?

Sorry your having issues but this is not typical Apple Repair in my limited experiences!

 

[orpheus1120]

American users are not allowed to share their good experience with Apple in this thread.

 

[amoda]

I'm Canadian! Maybe I should write eh and talk about hockey and beer more

 

[orpheus1120]

I'm Canadian! Maybe I should write eh and talk about hockey and beer more

Too close to the states!

Canadians and Mexicans shall not post!

 

[PDE]

if you can prove to spend allot of time on forums you can also get a ipod nano if you make them smell like roses, bribery still works!

Call me totally daft, but I've re-read this sentence several times and I'm not sure what it means. I'm intrigued, but can't understand. Can you explain...please?

 

[logic pro]

To add to my point, true enough perhaps Apple's customer service is much better in the states, and that's understandable. USA has the single largest mac users in the world, and Apple's from USA. Apple's single and largest revenue comes from its local market so it's not unusual for it to offer the best customer service in the states. The American are blessed by the close proximity factor and therefore having a good customer service is imperative and must be undeniable.

Apple's global reseller scheme just isn't cutting it at the moment, so is their Applecare elsewhere (Non-USA).

Let me understand this clearly, your saying that Apple is not doing as good as they normally do or expected internationally and in order to gain that same revenue of lets say 450 percent profit it is ok to break the laws by breeching customer service contracts and policies by compromising there service and legal agreements to foreign nationals ?

First off, your post is totally in-correct by the way, and based on BIAS thinking.,
1- a $1000 dollar mac in europe is 1000€ before taxes (20 or more percent), look online yourself,
2- and that 30 percent of Apple's shares are ALL IN THE RICH IN AGRICULTURE and NUCLEAR DEVELOPING NATION CALLED FRANCE ALONE, remind you 49 percent of all US export are electronics, mostly computers., we get more imported from Asia then make them., Apple's are made in Asia as well but sold from the U.S.
3- the US DEPENDS ON THIS as a primary income, it is why during the WTC incident, the US gave the EU 50 billion dollars to keep the machine going., smack out of GW Bush's mouth on TV at ground zero 9/12/2001!

I bet you do not know how much of the US economy depends on export., imagine Computers and WOMD are the biggest products sold over seas., hmmm.
So lets drop the politics and your statement now, Apple is breeching there agreements over seas, no matter how you like to see it.

Call me totally daft, but I've re-read this sentence several times and I'm not sure what it means. I'm intrigued, but can't understand. Can you explain...please?

Exactly what it means, Apple has in the past contacted popular forum admins and given them gifts to win opinions and support....this is still bribery if you ask me., on there own discussion forums they make it clear that they are intolerant to objection on services or products, they do not tolerate any negative posts, trolls will burry anything objective to how apple performs services promised on paper, and they can remove the post.,

You first see people objecting negative posts in regards to apple's service performance., what is really interesting is that if you look at how many posts these individuals made in a years span you will see some have posted as much as 7000 times !!, the same people claim they are simple parents who have day jobs and take care of kids, yeah right., while these same people seem to know allot about fixing problems when they can't they do anything in Apple's interest to object or burry a post, if not remove it all together for the obvious reasons until Apple decides to act on it in there own profit margin interests of selling a Apple Care kit to most owners who are to late for recalls on computers not covers after a year.

trace all that and see for yourself how much money they make on this one.

 

[orpheus1120]

Let me understand this clearly, your saying that Apple is not doing as good as they normally do or expected internationally and in order to gain that same revenue of lets say 450 percent profit it is ok to break the laws by breeching customer service contracts and policies by compromising there service and legal agreements to foreign nationals ?

First off, your post is totally in-correct by the way, and based on BIAS thinking.,
1- a $1000 dollar mac in europe is 1000€ before taxes (20 or more percent), look online yourself,
2- and that 30 percent of Apple's shares are ALL IN THE RICH IN AGRICULTURE and NUCLEAR DEVELOPING NATION CALLED FRANCE ALONE, remind you 49 percent of all US export are electronics, mostly computers., we get more imported from Asia then make them., Apple's are made in Asia as well but sold from the U.S.
3- the US DEPENDS ON THIS as a primary income, it is why during the WTC incident, the US gave the EU 50 billion dollars to keep the machine going., smack out of GW Bush's mouth on TV at ground zero 9/12/2001!

I bet you do not know how much of the US economy depends on export., imagine Computers and WOMD are the biggest products sold over seas., hmmm.
So lets drop the politics and your statement now, Apple is breeching there agreements over seas, no matter how you like to see it.

????

lol. It seems you misunderstood. Nevermind!

 

[logic pro]

To add to my point, true enough perhaps Apple's customer service is much better in the states, and that's understandable. USA has the single largest mac users in the world, and Apple's from USA. Apple's single and largest revenue comes from its local market so it's not unusual for it to offer the best customer service in the states. The American are blessed by the close proximity factor and therefore having a good customer service is imperative and must be undeniable.

Apple's global reseller SCAM just isn't cutting it at the moment, so is their Applecare elsewhere (Non-USA).

i understood all right, you just do not want to accept the truth that your claim that american consumers have it better is false., i mean no offense its just the reality.

Facts are we ONLY have it better in the U.S. because our legal system is DEMOCRATIC., the rest is based on corporate and even social capitalism., for example that means we can SUE APPLE in class actions for breech of contracts while Europeans have yet to exercise there rights the same way legally., this does NOT MEAN APPLE HAS THE RIGHT to be in BREECH of contracts and basically pulling out to keep all the money., its lying and illegal.

We all have good experiences with apple, BUYING the computer, but getting it taken care of is not that easy outside the U.S. and this is getting to be a huge issue they have to pay attention too., outside the US of A customers have to wait ages due to policies the EU Commerce is been screwed over by Apple with, they provide legal assistance to customers which means if there is a dispute you have to take retailer to court to examine why a product was not covered as agreed on paper., Apple takes advantage of all this once the computer is sold by leaving the retailer with the problem, how can one enforce justice on Apple now if the system allows them to deal with issues AFTER customers paid for the product and ignore the Warranty time frame as well?

Today i contacted the retailer of my MacBook Pro, i told them that i paid for a computer and got it a few months later due to mistakes on there part on my order and some time they took there vacations in August last year, so my receipt was post dated but Apple Care refused it., they asked me why did Apple not abide by the date you once called in then, surely it is still in early September which means i am covered., they told me they have allot of problems with Apple like this refusing to cover products with excuses seeking to avoid costs by any means leaving customers very un happy.

Whats next, the retailer can only print a receipt with the same information again., Apple refuses it saying the dates don't match, i have over 4 different ones now from refusing to pay it previously until they made sure the order was correct., the store had a 15 day money return policy which Apple also does not understand or acknowledge to take advantage., where does this all have to go to replace faulty keys on my MBP Keyboard, why all this trouble after paying 3000€!

 

[Mackan]

A month repair time just sucks. No one would feel "happy" after that.

 

[QAPete]

My two-month old MBP had its wireless card die. I determined this easily because neither OS X or Windows could see the wireless card (don't hurt me, I run Windows for Guild Wars only...) I was in a VERY bad mood, because I do not expect $3700 laptops to have crappy wireless cards. Nonetheless...

From another computer, I made an appointment online at my local Apple store, got there early, and they saw me early. After discussing my diagnostics with the fellow there, he agreed it was a hardware problem. In five minutes, he had me written up, verified that they had both wireless cards and motherboards in-stock (I was impressed with the latter part, because of how new the Penryn MBPs are) and said I could go next door if I liked and enjoy a latte while they fixed it. He gave me a beeper and I was off.

30 minutes later, after enjoying a nice skinny cinnamon dolce latte and browsing the Bose store for a few minutes, I had my repaired MBP back and I was headed to my car.

For me, it was a stellar service experience.

 

[ncmason]

Maybe there's a reason why I don't hear about this many problems from people who buy refurb Macs

 

[SwitchingtoMAC]

call the apple care number and keep not replaying to the automated system until you get an operator, then when you get a live person have them xfer you to customer relations, they have the highest say, and can escalate a repair of even if you bitch enough they can offer replacement of the machine

 

[sharulazlan]

if i not mistaken...you can change 1 by 1 your mac within 10 days if got defect..correct me if i'm wrong

 

[orpheus1120]

14 days.

 

[Jalbuke]

Why Buy Apple? Are We Crazy?

I need to vent...

I sent my 17" Macbook Pro for repair LAST MONTH for a sleep issue that would make the notebook freeze and the only way to restore it would be do to a reset, causing any files not saved to be lost.

Today, I get a call from the local Apple Store saying they received the notebook (after a month of repair work) and the problem has increased in magnitude. Yes, now it has trouble powering up. How the HELL do you ship a computer back from repair back w/o fully inspecting it? The tech that was working on it must have been on some serious stuff. They replaced the logic board, casing, etc. and they wanted me to give them permission to send it back for another repair. Are you kidding me? Another month without my notebook and unsure if they will fix it again? I wasn't going to settle for that so I got on the phone and they immediatly offered me a replacement.

So now they are sending me another brand new 17" MBP. I don't even want to open the damn box because I will be VERY angry if it has any issues. Sigh... and they say PC's have software problems? Fix your hardware problems and have a little more quality control over your products before you decide to make those silly commercials.

Sigh

Do we have a taste for suffering?

 

[logic pro]

UPDATE ON MY CASE if it helps:

Today the store (retailer) where i got my MBP told me to just go to a service center with or without a case number, show the proof of purchase from there store, and take it from there since they know the people at the store i got the computer at and they can explain it to them if they needed anything else., they also suggested to try calling tech support once more even though phone support expires after 6 months to see if they actually re considered to really read this proof of purchase which has the same date in apple's computers.

Ok i paid for yet a 2nd call, by the minute for 25 minutes, before i was transfered to customer relations the guy realized they misread my receipt and it was a purchase certificate aka factura (they call it) which had a date 6 months after i got the computer but certified it was purchased in September at the very bottom of the page., better then a cashier slip, so apple then gives me service center addresses nearest to my zip code.

I decided to go tomorrow at that moment since i had to finish up things in our studio., but out of no where i get a email again from Apple now saying they can NOT change the purchase date, i replied saying who cares, its still covered and less then a year!, why refuse servicing the computer anyway when i purchased Apple care for every computer here (iMac C2d, MB C2d, Mac mini, Mac Pro).

anyway


lets see what they do next!

 

[alphaod]

UPDATE ON MY CASE if it helps:

Today the store (retailer) where i got my MBP told me to just go to a service center with or without a case number, show the proof of purchase from there store, and take it from there since they know the people at the store i got the computer at and they can explain it to them if they needed anything else., they also suggested to try calling tech support once more even though phone support expires after 6 months to see if they actually re considered to really read this proof of purchase which has the same date in apple's computers.

Ok i paid for yet a 2nd call, by the minute for 25 minutes, before i was transfered to customer relations the guy realized they misread my receipt and it was a purchase certificate aka factura (they call it) which had a date 6 months after i got the computer but certified it was purchased in September at the very bottom of the page., better then a cashier slip, so apple then gives me service center addresses nearest to my zip code.

I decided to go tomorrow at that moment since i had to finish up things in our studio., but out of no where i get a email again from Apple now saying they can NOT change the purchase date, i replied saying who cares, its still covered and less then a year!, why refuse servicing the computer anyway when i purchased Apple care for every computer here (iMac C2d, MB C2d, Mac mini, Mac Pro).

anyway


lets see what they do next!

No worries it will never get as bad as what Lenovo has done to my Thinkpad; replaced my display with the wrong model when I broke my hinge NINE (9) months ago and to date, I'm still trying to get them to fix it. Why I have a MBP now.

 

[brassmonkeyboy]

Wicked G35

WickedG35:

Are you really as much of a piece of **** as you sound? Their repair depot messed up, they tried to get it fixed again (which usually only takes 5 days or so), you were undoubtably a dick on the phone, and they gave you a brand-****ing new computer!!!

Really? That's "terrible"?

Why don't you just go get yourself a Compaq, break it, and see how long it takes CompUSA to get it back to you. 2-3 months would be quick for anyone else.

You are a worthless, ungrateful, piece of **** and everyone here should be embarrassed by you. I am.

I wish your mother had done a better job raising you.

 

[Jalbuke]

WickedG35:

Are you really as much of a piece of **** as you sound? Their repair depot messed up, they tried to get it fixed again (which usually only takes 5 days or so), you were undoubtably a dick on the phone, and they gave you a brand-****ing new computer!!!

Really? That's "terrible"?

Why don't you just go get yourself a Compaq, break it, and see how long it takes CompUSA to get it back to you. 2-3 months would be quick for anyone else.

You are a worthless, ungrateful, piece of **** and everyone here should be embarrassed by you. I am.

I wish your mother had done a better job raising you.

Why are u so rude?
Are u really a "Monkey Boy"?

 

[Michael CM1]

WickedG35:

Are you really as much of a piece of **** as you sound? Their repair depot messed up, they tried to get it fixed again (which usually only takes 5 days or so), you were undoubtably a dick on the phone, and they gave you a brand-****ing new computer!!!

Really? That's "terrible"?

Why don't you just go get yourself a Compaq, break it, and see how long it takes CompUSA to get it back to you. 2-3 months would be quick for anyone else.

You are a worthless, ungrateful, piece of **** and everyone here should be embarrassed by you. I am.

I wish your mother had done a better job raising you.

The first laptop I had was an HP about 5 or so years ago. It locked up once and wouldn't restart. Of course I didn't know about the fact that there was a reset button on the bottom, but I took it to their "authorized service center" (AKA some guy at Radio Shack that has a shipping label). A month later, it turns on but the battery holds about a 90-minute charge max. I call tech support. What advice do I get? Run battery optimizer. Yeah, cuz I hadn't done that twice before I called.

To get a BRAND NEW COMPUTER for a problem like that would've been gravy, although it still would've been another HP. I really think some people that complain like this need to do a little reading on who's best overall and find out how good Apple is. They may get a stumper from time to time, but I have never felt jilted (or like I couldn't understand the person on the phone) with Apple.

 

[johnsy]

I don't get it here...

You complain about Apple when you buy NOT from Apple? I believe some Bob can easily open his "Apple" store and sell computers. So if he will sh** you who would you blame?
As far as prices there, well that is what you get when socialism subsidize health care, education an other services. So don't complain that government takes more from you because you get more in services. Here in USA you might be pay less taxes, but you get sh** in return. All your money will be spent in Iraq or whatever. But that is separate topic. Here is good link to see how much gas or petrol price are taxes in GB:
http://www.petrolprices.com/price-of-petrol.html

As far as Apple service it is OK. I had experience which could have been better, but overall they solved the problem. From 10 point scale I would rate them 6.

Besides I don't get a part about paint problem. You used what? Nail polish remover? Are you nuts? Even keys were made of aluminum you could have easily damaged key labeling paint- washed all letters and numbers.

 

[logic pro]

haha


funny post

 

[PIX]

I'm Senior Mac Support Specialist for a large corporation. I love Apple products and regularly recommend the Apple solution. My experience with Apple Support, on the other hand, for the 2nd time in 22 years was very disappointing. I purchased a NEW personal Mac Mini for use as a (monitor-less) home sever which is experiencing the inability to do SCREEN CAPTURES or open images in PREVIEW. After going through regular support channels from junior Support to Senior Support Specialists to escalation with Apple Engineers over a 2-1/2 week period I have been unable to obtain a reply. I called regarding my case# on four occasions. I find that Apple Experts are not very knowledgeable when it comes to Apple products and the Senior Support staff woman I spoke to seemed like she was in a bad mood? Imagine if I had a complex issue. The Genius at the Apple retail store was no help. He told me Apple will want to run CaptureData.app to send data from my Mini to their Engineers. In other words collect data from a factory install Mac with no additional software or peripherals. The only new info captured would be my name and email address when I registered the new Mini. The capture, Preview anomaly is not complex. Connect two Macs, log on to the headless Mini using SCREEN SHARING and attempt to do a screen capture, open a JPEG or PNG to determine if this is an OS issue or my Mini is defective?

I'll call the support number again in a week to see if I can get some kind of answer to my query.

 

[DeVizardofOZ]

Big Corporation Support

No worries it will never get as bad as what Lenovo has done to my Thinkpad; replaced my display with the wrong model when I broke my hinge NINE (9) months ago and to date, I'm still trying to get them to fix it. Why I have a MBP now.

Something basic!

1. When a small company, with a good product and service, grows it seems inevitable that service begins to get sloppy...
2.WHY is it, that we the buyers have to suffer after spending our hard earned money.

After all, without us, the company is NOTHING.

I vow to fight bad service wherever I encounter it.:

 

[cluthz]

I hope people realize that this is a thread from 2006, that's have been revived twice!