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AppleCare Rant - Apple Poor Service Attitude

E

embers

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 30, 2005
2
0
Warning - this is a rant.
I have just returned to the USA from a 5 year assignment in England. While there I bought an iMac G5 from the London Apple store. I also purchased the AppleCare extended warranty. However - I did not read the fine print - just succumbed tot he sales person's pitch - when you come to the US the AppleCare is no good. Same machine - just a different plug.

But what really made me mad was the attitude of the AppleCare people - basically tough luck. I asked that at least would Apple transfer the warranty. Nope - AppleCare not transferable. It is only good for the UK and Europe!

How about credit so I can buy a US AppleCare version? Nope - and since your machine is over one year old (by two weeks), we are not allowed to sell you the coverage for the US.

Can I talk to someone about this? Doesn't seem right. Not really - we do not negotiate. However we will forward your message to a supervisor and ask to make an exception (but we never make an exception)

This frankly is not good customer service - illogic and rudeness. The time may have come to switch (after 20 years an Apple owner) to the other guys. At least the poor service will come with a lower price machine.

 
embers said:
Warning - this is a rant.
I have just returned to the USA from a 5 year assignment in England. While there I bought an iMac G5 from the London Apple store. I also purchased the AppleCare extended warranty. However - I did not read the fine print - just succumbed tot he sales person's pitch - when you come to the US the AppleCare is no good. Same machine - just a different plug.

But what really made me mad was the attitude of the AppleCare people - basically tough luck. I asked that at least would Apple transfer the warranty. Nope - AppleCare not transferable. It is only good for the UK and Europe!

How about credit so I can buy a US AppleCare version? Nope - and since your machine is over one year old (by two weeks), we are not allowed to sell you the coverage for the US.

Can I talk to someone about this? Doesn't seem right. Not really - we do not negotiate. However we will forward your message to a supervisor and ask to make an exception (but we never make an exception)

This frankly is not good customer service - illogic and rudeness. The time may have come to switch (after 20 years an Apple owner) to the other guys. At least the poor service will come with a lower price machine.

Click to expand...


Ah yes, another great GLOBAL company. Not!

Did you get the name of the supervisor - do you stil have the receipt from the UK, does it have the sales person's name printed on it somewhere - assuming you mentioned you would be taking it to the US and it would need to be covered?
 
Indeed, the US terms and conditions state that equipment is covered only in the USA, with the exception of iBooks, Powerbooks and the Mini. I would assume the UK Terms are simular (but you may want to comb through them in any case)

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/APPTermsConditions.pdf

But you should be able to get (most) of your money back

"if you cancel more than thirty (30) days after your receipt of this Plan, you will receive a pro rata refund, based on the percentage of unexpired time remaining on the Plan, of the Plan’s original purchase price, less (a) a cancellation fee of twenty-five ($25 USD) dollars or ten percent (10%) of the pro-rata amount, whichever is less,"
 
I would call them back and ask to speak with a supervisor now. With it only being 2 weeks outside of the original warranty period, they will probably make an exception. You may have to pay full price, but you should still be able to get it.

I feel for you and don't blame you for being upset, but I would like to say, and this is not directed only at you, I am really tired of people using the "I can switch and not pay as much for the computer" rant. First of all, if you have even tried to compare a comparably configured Dell machine to that of your iMac, you will see that Apple is about the same price if not cheaper. The argument that Macs cost so much more than PC's is over.
 
And this is what happens when you don't actually read what you are signing up for.

Hence why i read my apple care terms when i got it for my old powerbook. And looked into it and made sure everything would work.

Sorry but this is partly your own fault for not actually reading the terms of your aggrement that you signed.
 
I think that you may have a case if you bought the Applecare on the recommendation of the sales assistant if you mentioned that you would be returning to the US. You could say that if he said it couldn't be used when you left the country, then you would have bought it when you returned to the US. You would have had the first 12 months anyway and could have decided at the end of that time. You have been penalised for buying Applecare too early, and possibly staff training may be not up to scratch. Get back to them and be nice, say you always intended to buy Applecare and feel that in your case you were misled by their staff, if that is the case. Good luck. It is an unfair policy.
 
I dunno, if it went down as you describe it sounds like they told youe facts of the matter and gave you all the information. Its not bad attitude, though you may disagree with the policy. Sounds like pretty decent customer service to me, they knew what they were talking aoubt and offered to forward the message to a supervisor. Not sure what else you wanted someone making practically nothing to work the phone to do for you.
 
CanadaRAM said:
Indeed, the US terms and conditions state that equipment is covered only in the USA, with the exception of iBooks, Powerbooks and the Mini. I would assume the UK Terms are simular (but you may want to comb through them in any case)

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/APPTermsConditions.pdf

But you should be able to get (most) of your money back

"if you cancel more than thirty (30) days after your receipt of this Plan, you will receive a pro rata refund, based on the percentage of unexpired time remaining on the Plan, of the Plan’s original purchase price, less (a) a cancellation fee of twenty-five ($25 USD) dollars or ten percent (10%) of the pro-rata amount, whichever is less,"
Click to expand...
They also suck out the (B) the value of services rendered under the AppleCare plan.

So if you get a lot of phone support or had the machine repaired, it may suck all the value out of you refund.
 
That is why I never buy AppleCare nor recommend it to anyone for that matter: I don't deal with scammers.
 
Thanks for the Feedback

All: I appreciate the feedback. All points of view have some truisms. To answer some of your comments:

Re: "I'll switch because the other guys are cheaper" - you are right in total - what I was refering to is AppleCare's service attitude. I was polite - they were not. I wanted to negotiate - they did not. I wanted to be a happy long term customer - they did not want me to be a happy customer. The fact that I have purchased Mac since 1984 was immaterial. What I was hoping for was a recognition that I had purchased a warranty, had to return to the US and there was no offer to make me happy. it's not like I gave money for a material object, used it and then asked for a new one. It is a service. I offered to pay full price for the US version but was refused. Perhaps someone out there can explain why this service is not transferable?

Re: reading all the fine print - my mistake. I took the sales person at his word. The UK AppleCare web site uses the phrase "world-class service" - but it apprears that refers only to their opinion of the capability of the service people not the coverage of the service. BTW the exclusion is in the next to the last paragraph - in a locked cabinet in the basement behind a door marked 'beware of the panther".

Re: talking to a supervisor - I tried. I was told they were not in but an e-mail would be forwarded to them. I would hear in a few days. I assume by e-mail. No person to person communication.

I am just so disappointed - the Apple world is not as Global as I had hoped or assumed. And we all know what assume means.

Thanks again.
 
Poor System - Taken from Email I wrote to apple via survey

My computer would not turn on so I made an appointment at the Mac store and they told me that my computer had a "flat tire."

When I asked for further explanation, I did not get one other than I needed to reinstall my OS.

So, I ordered my OS discs on Sunday the April 27th via phone. When I did not receive notification via email OR the discs by May 1st I called apple care and they notified me that my order went through BUT the discs never went out; that they just "sat there."

When I asked how that was possible, the person said that eventually when I realized that I didn't get the discs I would have called and they (apple) would have figured out their mistake.

THIS IS A HUGE FLAW IN YOUR SYSTEM.

Then I was told that he would reorder it free of charge, which really meant that I was still charged but am now receiving the discs a week or so later.

He then said that he was putting the order through and would send me an email confirmation. He gave me a case id number and we hung up.

Two hours later, when I still had not received an email I called again. When I did I was told that they could not SEE the order. They asked for my credit card number AGAIN, when I informed that I had the Case Id they said they couldn't find it through that.

Then I asked for a manager because I personally don't like giving out my credit card number to countless apple employees.

I was livid at this point because not only did my order just SIT there but I was not getting the confirmation I was promised.

Then I eventually got on the phone with a Manager who told me he could see that the NEW order was placed and that it was "sent" but "APPLE DOES NOT HAVE THE CAPABILITIES TO SEND AN EMAIL CONFIRMATION." This is another flaw in your system. You CANNOT take credit card information and not provide an email confirmation knowing that your order has gone through. I am case and point why this does not work.

APPLE FAILED TO SEND MY ORDER AND YET CHARGED MY CREDIT CARD. HAD A CONFIRMATION BEEN SENT I WOULD OF HAD AN ORDER NUMBER, AND PERHAPS THIS MIGHT NOT HAVE HAPPENED. ORDERS THAT HAVE BEEN CHARGED SHOULD NOT JUST SIT THERE. THAT IS A PROBLEM FOR YOU. THAT IS A PROBLEM FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS. YOU ARE A COMPUTER COMPANY WHO IS NOT ABLE TO SEND EMAIL CONFIRMATIONS??? YOU ARE A COMPUTER COMPANY WHOSE SYSTEM ALLOWS PURCHASED ORDERS TO SIT THERE???

I am insanely unhappy with the service I received.
 
clairefd said:
I am insanely unhappy with the service I received.
Click to expand...
I'm unhappy that you replied to a thread that has been inactive for dang near three years.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience ordering replacement parts from Apple. Thankfully their normal ordering process (http://store.apple.com) gives you all sorts of emails and on-line tracking options. Perhaps your email will inspire them to change their replacement parts ordering process. It's definitely inspired me to not lose my restore DVDs.

Please consider starting a new thread next time. Resurrecting a thread from 884 days ago is only going to confuse people as they start reading backwards through the thread, only to find that the information in those posts is incorrect, as Apple's changed many of their AppleCare terms and policies since 2005.
 
aristobrat said:
I'm unhappy that you replied to a thread that has been inactive for dang near three years.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience ordering replacement parts from Apple. Thankfully their normal ordering process (http://store.apple.com) gives you all sorts of emails and on-line tracking options. Perhaps your email will inspire them to change their replacement parts ordering process. It's definitely inspired me to not lose my restore DVDs.

Please consider starting a new thread next time. Resurrecting a thread from 884 days ago is only going to confuse people as they start reading backwards through the thread, only to find that the information in those posts is incorrect, as Apple's changed many of their AppleCare terms and policies since 2005.
Click to expand...


I agree
 
Apple Store rant

In August '09 I have noticed that my White MacBook has developed a hairline crack on the bottom, running thru the center screw. Since I still had AppleCare I went to visit my local Apple store at Tysons Corner in Vienna, VA. There I was told by an Apple Store "Genius" that this was a result of my mishandling the laptop and therefore not covered by AppleCare. That made me very unhappy to say the least, since my MacBook has never left the desk of my study.
I then asked to see the store manager who's name is Joshua Horner. He was not interested in listening to my arguments and proceeded to repeat the same denial of service actually implying that I somehow damaged the laptop myself. I was furious.
After getting back home I immediately called Apple Service Center's toll free number and was told that my problem WAS covered by the AppleCare.
To make an already long story shorter, my problem was taken care of to my full satisfaction within 3(three!) days, including shipping both ways.
Make your own conclusions. I did.
 
stampar said:
I
Make your own conclusions.
Click to expand...

My conclusion is that you resurrected a four year old thread...

didn't read the reprimand some other newbie got for resurrecting a THREE year old thread...

and now have earned enough bad will by not searching first or starting a new thread that I didn't even read your post.

I noticed something about hair line crack and an overserious final sentence.

Google it, noob.
 
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