Apple Tech Support - Sucking a lot lately

[saqibhasan]

Ok so here's what's been happening.

1 - Airport Express - older model - according to terms and conditions this is covered if I use it with any Apple Care-covered-machine. I had to argue with them because it was an older model. I spoke to four different agents, and finally a supervisor. After around 2 weeks, they finally agreed that the T&C covered it, but said that the reason they were having issues was because it was an older model no longer produced. So they said we will ship you a new model. So I get a new one - even with the stickers all over it - and... IT'S THE OLDER MODEL!! Why the hell did they kick up such a stink since they had one lying around anyway?

2 - Been having problems with my battery - sent it in for a look in June/July this year and they said it was all depleted - the cycle count was 185 and the people I sent it to (under the Apple Care warranty - so the main people Apple use in the UK) said that at 200 it becomes depleted so they would charge me for a new battery. Keep in mind I bought this in December 2008.

So I said um no that's not right and spoke to Apple Care again - they said that no the battery should be good up to 500 cycles. Either way, they did not replace the battery.

So I upgraded the EFI yesterday or the day before, and today the battery has died - cycle count 336, capacity 270 (should be 4600). This is 5% according to coconutbattery - I checked it a couple days back and it was around 89-92%. The first person I spoke to says battery depleted. I tell her well your last agent told me it should be 500. She puts me on hold and passes me through to senior support.

Senior support tells me its depleted and can't do anything about it. So I then say 'well hold on, you told me back in July that the cycle count should be 500. Now you are telling me something different? I reported a problem saying the battery was only lasting 2 hours back then and you said it was all fine'.

She then says well because you reported it in July we MAY cover it - take it to a retailer and they can look at it, but normally anything over 300 counts is considered depleted.

So I then kick up a stink and ask why I am being told different things each time I call - that the cycle count should last up to 500 cycles, about the previous issues with the Express.

She THEN looks up the old notes, finds that it is indeed covered for 500 counts, and will send a replacement.

Keep in mind she is SENIOR support. And she doesn't even know the correct details for my battery? Not only that, she doesn't bother to look it up when the issue arose?

I wonder how many other people they have screwed over because they took the support team's word for it in regard to coverage? Not what I expect for my money.

Anybody else had any experiences like this?

 

[miles01110]

1 - So they said we will ship you a new model. So I get a new one - even with the stickers all over it - and... IT'S THE OLDER MODEL!! Why the hell did they kick up such a stink since they had one lying around anyway?

Probably just a word game. They were thrown through a loop because you were trying to get coverage on an old model of the Airport Express, but that doesn't mean they don't have "new" units of the "old" model lying around for replacement.

#2 was a tl;dr for me; but it seems like you were having battery issues. Batteries are usually the hardest thing to get Apple to replace since whether they are "good" or "bad" is somewhat open to interpretation.

 

[Nano2k]

The more people buy Macs, the crappier the support is going to get. More customers = more requests = more personnel = lower standards for hiring and training personnel. Works that way in all industries.

 

[mcpryon2]

Yeah, Apple right now is like that one favorite band you knew about, but nobody else did. Now they're on the radio all the time and there are a lot more people in the know.

My iPhone has been a nightmare, I called (the Apple Store is 2.5 hours each way, and I was just there last week getting something repaired) last week and they agreed to send me a coffin to send my dead phone back. Well, the box never came. Today I'm going to the Apple Store. This will be the third time the touchscreen is replaced. This is definitely the worst, about a third of the screen won't interact.

I just had to get my Air serviced because of the hinges. I had to show the "Genius" at the store the repair parameters for the hinge. That was pretty lame, what if I was somebody who doesn't keep up on such things? Is that wrong on their part to brush off a repair? Debatable. Unethical? Yes.

Pretty much every Apple product I've purchased lately has had a problem, and in about half of the cases support has tried to brush off repairing it for me. I think I'm jinxed.

 

[saqibhasan]

Probably just a word game. They were thrown through a loop because you were trying to get coverage on an old model of the Airport Express, but that doesn't mean they don't have "new" units of the "old" model lying around for replacement.

#2 was a tl;dr for me; but it seems like you were having battery issues. Batteries are usually the hardest thing to get Apple to replace since whether they are "good" or "bad" is somewhat open to interpretation.

what's 'tl;dr'?

1 - no they actually said to me 'we don't have any of the same model to replace it with' as the issue behind not covering it.

2 - what concerns me is that twice they have told me that the battery was depleted when it wasn't - the first time was the guys in London (Group 8 - contracted by Apple for repairs) when the cycle count was 185, and the second time today, despite being 'senior', they still gave me incorrect information. Their definition of a good battery is that the battery should hold at least 90% of it's charge up to 500 cycles. It this was my dad calling them, he would have forked over £88 for a new battery. How is that fair?

They are turning into a bunch of bar-stewards.

 

[nufanec]

Regarding the battery, you were given wrong information the first time and the correct info the last time actually. To clear up the information regarding the battery, according to apple's website, they cover the batteries on all machines except the newest Unibodys (with the non-removable batteries) to 300 charge cycles. That information is available here.

Initially, the battery should have been covered dependant on fault. If during the first 300 charge cycles it is holding less that 80% of its Fully Charged Capacity (FCC), then it should be considered faulty. So, if when you initially contacted them its FCC was less than 3680mAh then it was faulty. However this is not always the case as battery life from a full charge greatly depends on what you do with the computer. If you are doing anything CPU or GPU intensive then your battery will obviously drain a lot quicker than if you are doing just light web surfing. Apple calculated the stated times according to light use so getting less than the stated times is a given. The misinformation you were given was the 500 cycles life. This is not true. It is 300 charge cycles according to the website. This has been the case for many years.

The second time, all the information you were given was correct. 300 charge cycles is the consumption point and technically you were not entitled to a free replacement. The senior Apple Care agent probably looked through the notes from the previous call and as you were given misinformation regarding cycle count and consumption, she covered it as a gesture of good will.

 

[saqibhasan]

Regarding the battery, you were given wrong information the first time and the correct info the last time actually. To clear up the information regarding the battery, according to apple's website, they cover the batteries on all machines except the newest Unibodys (with the non-removable batteries) to 300 charge cycles. That information is available here.

Initially, the battery should have been covered dependant on fault. If during the first 300 charge cycles it is holding less that 80% of its Fully Charged Capacity (FCC), then it should be considered faulty. So, if when you initially contacted them its FCC was less than 3680mAh then it was faulty. However this is not always the case as battery life from a full charge greatly depends on what you do with the computer. If you are doing anything CPU or GPU intensive then your battery will obviously drain a lot quicker than if you are doing just light web surfing. Apple calculated the stated times according to light use so getting less than the stated times is a given. The misinformation you were given was the 500 cycles life. This is not true. It is 300 charge cycles according to the website. This has been the case for many years.

The second time, all the information you were given was correct. 300 charge cycles is the consumption point and technically you were not entitled to a free replacement. The senior Apple Care agent probably looked through the notes from the previous call and as you were given misinformation regarding cycle count and consumption, she covered it as a gesture of good will.

Well actually the first time was by Group 8, who said it should only hold the charge for 200 cycles. Then when I called Apple directly, they said that the certify their NEW models to hold 500, and that 200 was for the older batteries (300 not mentioned at that time at all at that time). That's the first time they tried to sell me a new battery. And the second was today.

What's odd about it is that I applied the EFI firmware, and my battery went from 89% capacity to 5% in a space of one day. Surely THAT'S a battery problem?

And, the senior person only looked through the notes when I told her to, that I had been told something different before. She didn't do it because she was being careful or just happen to come across it.

 

[FearlessFreep]

Umm, curious as to why this thread is in 'Buying Advice?'

Just askin'

 

[saqibhasan]

oh crap my bad. i thought that 'discussion' meant any, not specifically buying.

 

[eastcoastsurfer]

Don't even get me started. My SR MBP still drops key strokes after numerous updates to address the issue. Now if you start a thread on the apple site it's quickly deleted. At this point I really don't want another Apple product, but given the other options out there I don't have much choice. Apple is better than the rest but they all suck.