Apple Store gave me brand new 2012 27in iMac Free of Charge!

[beeinformed]

A few months ago, Apple replaced my refurbished 2009 24 inch iMac computer with a base 27 inch 2012 model because of serious hardware issues resulting in several repairs.

After the first repair, I was fortunate enough to work with the same Apple senior advisor because when the computer needed to be repaired the third time, she told that me that the computer will be replaced if they have to replace the same parts again (which is what happened).

I was very happy to receive the new computer as my old iMac was not working at all for almost two months, so now I finally have one that's working great!

 

[Brian Y]

Well Apple's TOC does in fact state "at their option" they will replace.... I understand your situation and your frustration. Won't ask you to go into it any further (even though you still never answered my question ) but keep in mind that it's best to take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt. Everybody's situation is different, not everything is as cut and dry as it seems and even though it may seem like someone got a better deal or treated better, while it's possible that true, they may not tell the entire story of how their good fortune came about.

Here's an excellent example for you. My 2007 24" iMac had a few problems, actually only 2 that I was counting but there were 3 repairs. One was was the hard drive and the other was the screen. I didn't want to deal with the store anymore so I called customer relations and explained my issue. I told them I wasn't happy with this machine and I felt it was a lemon. The supervisor immediately said, "Based on your repair history being 6 repairs we would like to offer you a brand new 2009 27" replacement. I didn't know they would count replacing the mouse and keyboard as "service". They did. Done.

That machine lasted me for 2 years but this time I had 4 issues with it and the guy at customer relations tried very hard to get me to get it fixed 5 times. I agreed and they offered In-Home Service. The repair man never showed up. I called and told them to give me a new machine. Had to wait until the supervisor called me back, she did and authorized my replacement and now I'm typing this on my 2011 27" iMac which has been flawless.

So the point of my story is the first iMac had technically less repairs than the second one but Apple was very quick to offer me replacement. The second iMac had more repairs and the company was still reluctant to replace it, but they did. I would've never given them another $2000 as you did. If would've taken it much higher. Apple wants customers like you who throw in the towel. Some people win the lottery while most don't. Everybody gets their day of good fortune. You have. You can't deny that.
Keep in mind, if you have anymore problems with your iMac make sure to call Apple first and ask them if they have an authorized repair center within 50 miles of your residence. If so, they will send the guy/gal right to your house and fix it. No more lugging.

Was your machine under warranty for every problem? And not "they covered it for me" warranty, but actually covered by the original warranty, or AppleCare?

If not you're not getting a replacement. Somebody buying AppleCare will always be treated more leniently than those who don't bother - since they've:

- taken the money to protect their investment
- are more likely to be a loyal customer

Also, those repairs probably don't justify a new machine, especially if you started asking after such a short space of time (which will always get you a big fat no). Saying "you don't have confidence in the machine" is basically saying to the genius "I don't have confidence that you're going to do a proper job" - not the best way to go about sweetening them up.

 

[flavr]

Was your machine under warranty for every problem? And not "they covered it for me" warranty, but actually covered by the original warranty, or AppleCare?

If not you're not getting a replacement. Somebody buying AppleCare will always be treated more leniently than those who don't bother - since they've:

- taken the money to protect their investment
- are more likely to be a loyal customer

You are correct in your statement. when they replaced my iMac and handed me another, the manager said "Just so you know, if you didn't have Apple Care this never would have happened. We give special treatment to those who have it. I suggest you get it on your next one too."

 

[HenryDJP]

Somebody buying AppleCare will always be treated more leniently than those who don't bother....

Anything's possible but there's zero proof of that. That's your own analysis.

Also, those repairs probably don't justify a new machine, especially if you started asking after such a short space of time (which will always get you a big fat no). Saying "you don't have confidence in the machine" is basically saying to the genius "I don't have confidence that you're going to do a proper job" - not the best way to go about sweetening them up.

I'm really not getting your post here. You sound like you're telling me that I've got some nerve getting a new machine because I didn't deserve it. If that bothers you, you could've simply ignored my post as I was actually replying to a different poster in the first place. Honestly you sound jealous. Gotta love MR, members are against each other rather than trying to help each other.

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You are correct in your statement. when they replaced my iMac and handed me another, the manager said "Just so you know, if you didn't have Apple Care this never would have happened. We give special treatment to those who have it. I suggest you get it on your next one too."

OP, no disrespect but I find that hard to believe those words were spoken to you verbatim. Apple stores like every retail store have secret shoppers and if employees said that to a customer (especially when talking about extended warranties that are generally a touchy subject with consumers rights) that happened to be a secret shopper sent from corporate that person would get fired on the spot.

 

[bmcgrath]

Apple replaced my Macbook Pro a couple of years ago in a similar scenario like this.

Sent my MBP in for repair, came back with scratches and dints but also with a glossy display instead of matte! I called them straight away and they shipped me out a brand new MBP (better specs) free of charge and overnight shipping.

The whole time I was dealing with them they were apologetic and giving me regular updates by phone and email on my machine replacement.

 

[Kissaragi]

Amazing how some people can find fault with anything.....

Mistakes happen, Apple went above and beyond what most other companies would do to fix it. This is unequivocally a good thing.

 

[FreemanW]

Extended warranty's can be a very good thing™

A client brought a 2.5 year old D___ Precision laptop to me for servicing. It had screen artifacts. I called ProSupport. Client received a brand new D___ Precision, loaded to the nines, in exchange for his old, graphics failed, Precision.

 

[Brian Y]

Anything's possible but there's zero proof of that. That's your own analysis.



I'm really not getting your post here. You sound like you're telling me that I've got some nerve getting a new machine because I didn't deserve it. If that bothers you, you could've simply ignored my post as I was actually replying to a different poster in the first place. Honestly you sound jealous. Gotta love MR, members are against each other rather than trying to help each other.

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OP, no disrespect but I find that hard to believe those words were spoken to you verbatim. Apple stores like every retail store have secret shoppers and if employees said that to a customer (especially when talking about extended warranties that are generally a touchy subject with consumers rights) that happened to be a secret shopper sent from corporate that person would get fired on the spot.

Apologies, I quoted the wrong person - the comment was aimed at mellofello, not you . Hence why it made no sense! haha

And as for the AppleCare comment, go ahead and disbelieve me if you want, I really couldn't care less. However, 2 posters have posted the same thing. Like I said, it's not a policy - it's just how it is. And if you don't believe that - then you have no idea how Apple works as a company.

And what they said was correct - they would never replace an out of warranty machine unless there was a serious cock up (like they damaged it and couldn't repair it). Whilst a machine is in warranty/AppleCare they have the flexibility to replace it.

 

[HenryDJP]

Apologies, I quoted the wrong person - the comment was aimed at mellofello, not you . Hence why it made no sense! haha

And as for the AppleCare comment, go ahead and disbelieve me if you want, I really couldn't care less. However, 2 posters have posted the same thing. Like I said, it's not a policy - it's just how it is. And if you don't believe that - then you have no idea how Apple works as a company.

And what they said was correct - they would never replace an out of warranty machine unless there was a serious cock up (like they damaged it and couldn't repair it). Whilst a machine is in warranty/AppleCare they have the flexibility to replace it.

Okay, Brian it looks like we're almost there. . Thank you for clarifying that. I thought it didn't make sense. Now, I think you misread my response about the Applecare. My response about the disbelief went towards the OP, not you. He said that the Apple employee said to him directly that "Apple will give special treatment to those who have Applecare so be sure to buy it next time". That's an illegal sales tactic and the employee could get fired.

Now the response I made to you about the Applecare is while I'm sure that is the case about the company being more lenient when a customer has Applecare, it's not a well known fact and there's no real way to prove this to be true since there's no guarantee. Unfortunately that gives people false hope on the forum thinking all they have to do is have Applecare and it's a piece of cake to get a replacement. Depending on the situation I've had to work very hard to get Apple to replace my products and other times they've been super easy to work with. Both times I've had Applecare.

 

[Siderz]

Lucky bastard.

I can't believe how many stories I've read about people getting their computer back from the 'Geniuses', them having scratched it, then deciding that they'll give you a new one.

Maybe they do it on purpose; "Let's scratch their stuff so they demand a new one!"

 

[macthefork]

Well, i wasn't going to reply in this thread because I've mentioned it elsewhere. But, I might as well since it shows that, number one, Apple Care is worth it, and number two, Almost all service reps will try and keep you a happy Mac customer.

My Late 2009 base model iMac with Apple care worked perfect for two years until one day it didn't wake from sleep. In fact, it died peacefully in it's sleep. But, it was dead... No response from pushing the button, nothing could get it working. Applecare folks ran me through the normal reset SMC, check that there's power to the plug, and such, but I had to bring it in to the Apple store.

The tech there thought t must be the power supply, so he ordered one, and said he'd order the logic board, too, to be safe. Well, a few days later I get a call from them saying that they replaced the power supply, and that didn't fix it, so they replaced the logic board. Then when they were reassembling it, they broke the screen, so they replaced that. But, when the screen got damaged, so did the external aluminum case, so even that got replaced.

Well, I got it back, with an invoice that listed over $1400 in parts and labor, covered by Apple Care. I figured that since almost all of the computer except the HDD had been replaced, it was like a refurbished unit. But, it was clean, looked new, and worked perfectly, so I was happy with it.

Then the Seagate HDD replacement program came out. I made the appointment and brought it in figuring that I'd now basically have a computer full of new parts because almost all would have been replaced. A few hours later I get a call saying that the whole iMac has to be rewired because during the last repair visit, the wiring wasn't done properly and was damaged.

Since it would take almost two weeks to get the wiring harness, would I rather just receive a brand new iMac (early 2012) Of course you know the answer I gave them. This was three weeks shy of the expiration of Applecare on that 2009 imac. With the new iMac, I purchased Applecare before I left the store.

I didn't even think of asking to pay for an upgrade. Just didn't think of it because I was so blown away with what had just occurred. Although, I did later upgrade it by adding an SSD internally to go with the existing HDD.

So, this keeping customers happy apparently is high on Apple's list. And replacing poorly running or defective computers with new is done more than one may think. I never asked for, or even expected this outcome of a new iMac to replace an almost three year old unit.

 

[PinoyAko]

That is a top-notch customer service!

Eat that, Microsoft!

 

[TedM]

This must of been one of those lucky underwear days...


So lucky, I'm jealous!

 

[Billywiz1307]

I want to know what he felt like when he woke up

 

[Redsand187]

Where did this happen at? [please say Seattle ]

 

[flavr]

OP, no disrespect but I find that hard to believe those words were spoken to you verbatim. Apple stores like every retail store have secret shoppers and if employees said that to a customer (especially when talking about extended warranties that are generally a touchy subject with consumers rights) that happened to be a secret shopper sent from corporate that person would get fired on the spot.

I believe you are calling me a liar?...Those were his EXACT words...lucky for him I am just an everyday good customer...

 

[Brian Y]

I believe you are calling me a liar?...Those were his EXACT words...lucky for him I am just an everyday good customer...

What you said was right - if you didn't have AppleCare, your machine would have been out of warranty and you would have had to pay for the repair and wouldn't have gotten a new one.

 

[GXPvince]

I had almost the same exact thing happen to me.

Had a G5 maxed out. 2 and half years later Apple replaced it with a maxed out 1,1. Still my workhorse today.

 

[HenryDJP]

I believe you are calling me a liar?...Those were his EXACT words...lucky for him I am just an everyday good customer...

This is the internet dude. Am I suppose to believe you over any other hearsay? Everything said on the web must be taken with a grain of salt. I just said I was in disbelief that those were the exact words because it's against the law for a company to tell customers they will get special treatment if they buy their extended warranty. If the manufacture's warranty is still in tact then the company is obligated to offer the service listed under the TOC. If a company wants to go the extra mile for customers that have an extended warranty they are perfectly in their rights to do so but they cannot state that as part of the sales process. Apple can get sued for that. If I wanted to call you a liar directly I would've done so. Calm down.

 

[flavr]

This is the internet dude. Am I suppose to believe you over any other hearsay? Everything said on the web must be taken with a grain of salt. I just said I was in disbelief that those were the exact words because it's against the law for a company to tell customers they will get special treatment if they buy their extended warranty. If the manufacture's warranty is still in tact then the company is obligated to offer the service listed under the TOC. If a company wants to go the extra mile for customers that have an extended warranty they are perfectly in their rights to do so but they cannot state that as part of the sales process. Apple can get sued for that. If I wanted to call you a liar directly I would've done so. Calm down.

What you say might be technically correct...but I like to approach managers, apple employees, or whoever i interact with on a daily basis as a real person...I talk to them as people, one on one in an honest up front way. Therefore it is not out of the ordinary for a manager to step outside of whats "ok professionally" and talk to me as a person talking to another person, and thats what he did. And thats why they were so quick to offer me a replacement, it didnt come down to Apple Care, or company policy. It came down to their individual discretion and because I treated them as down to earth people, they were far more likely to show me empathy and be gracious to me.

Attitude gets you everything, people just want to be treated like people...so please stop with the he was out of line bla bla bla, while technically true, you won't get very far in life with that attitude...maybe in law school, but not life

 

[designs216]

This is a great story to hear. Usually its the people who got Customer-No-Service. By this generous gesture, Apple has cemented their relationship with you and set themselves apart from the Dells of the world.

With most other companies, the tech would scratch your screen then claim it was there when you brought it in. But the OP took pains to purchase Apple hardware and an Apple warranty so the Store followed through and treated you right. That's the way it ought to be everywhere.

 

[HenryDJP]

Attitude gets you everything, people just want to be treated like people...so please stop with the he was out of line bla bla bla, while technically true, you won't get very far in life with that attitude...maybe in law school, but not life

With that said,keep in mind that I was one of your biggest supporters here about you getting your replacement while others were hating on you. And as far as my attitude about what the guy shouldn't have said, hey I'm all about getting what I need and hoping somebody says what I want to hear but I've been sales for over 20 years and secret shoppers are designed to set you up to believe that they are ordinary customers to make sure that you are following company procedure properly. And I've gotten very far, did you even read any of posts? I've gotten 2...actually 3 brand new replacements from Apple.

 

[mikeorchard]

I just said I was in disbelief that those were the exact words because it's against the law for a company to tell customers they will get special treatment if they buy their extended warranty.

What law?

 

[HenryDJP]

What law?

Oh of course, there's always that one that will call you out for using the word, "law". . I'm saying is a company can get sued (and with proof will lose) for misrepresenting services or for offering preferential treatment to select customers for paying extra for services that on paper is the same offering that comes with the product in the box. Do I need to spell it out for you Judge Judy? Look it up. There ARE laws regarding extended warranties. A person buys an iMac with a one year parts and labor warranty. A store can't tell a customer that they will get preferential treatment if they spend more money to extend the same service that comes with the computer, unless that service actually does offer more and it has to be written. That's bait and switch. And there's a law against that. As a consumer YOU should know that. Do we all have to be lawyers to know our rights?

 

[Brian Y]

Oh of course, there's always that one that will call you out for using the word, "law". . I'm saying is a company can get sued (and with proof will lose) for misrepresenting services or for offering preferential treatment to select customers for paying extra for services that on paper is the same offering that comes with the product in the box. Do I need to spell it out for you Judge Judy? Look it up. There ARE laws regarding extended warranties. A person buys an iMac with a one year parts and labor warranty. A store can't tell a customer that they will get preferential treatment if they spend more money to extend the same service that comes with the computer, unless that service actually does offer more and it has to be written. That's bait and switch. And there's a law against that. As a consumer YOU should know that. Do we all have to be lawyers to know our rights?

I suggest you look up exactly what consumer laws you're referring to if you're going to sarcastically talk down to others regarding it.

A company is well within its rights to offer preferential service to people paying for an extended warranty. It doesn't JUST extend the time limit. Like how if you have AppleCare they'll pay for shipment, but you have to pay if you don't. And like how Dells turn around time for repairs is 2 weeks, but you can have an engineer our NBD if you pay for it, or are a loyal customer.

There is no such law, in any country I am aware of, which prevents companies from treating people with extended warranties better. Feel free to point one out though, because as you seem to be aware, you can't just trust anything you read on the Internet - can you

The vast majority of consumer laws actually offer very little protection in reality (good luck proving that your iMac which has become faulty after 18 months was actually faulty at the point of sale, and hasn't developed a fault, etc,).