In June I bought a G5 dual 2GHZ in The Netherlands, which was immediately shipped to Colombia which is where I live (no, no Apple store here....). When I started using the machine it appeared to have a problem (screen 'flashing' all the time). As Apple have no way to contact tech support by email, I was forced to wait on hold on long-distance to The Netherlands on various occasions, costing me about US$ 90 in long-distance phone calls.
They told me Apple does have support centers in Colombia, and to take it over there for service. However they are unwilling to help as it is not a portable computer, and they have strict orders from Apple not to gvie service to any machine bought outside the country. The only option to receive support was to return the computer to The Netherlands.
So, the supposedly worldwide operating company has now forced me to fly back to the Netherlands (ticket cost US$ 1,600) in order to exchange the computer. To make matters worse, since I bought the ticket (I will only be there for 3 days, just for the exchange) the Apple customer service in The Netherlands has stopped responding to my emails for almost 2 weeks now. In less than a week I will be there, hoping for an exchange and a functioning computer, but now it is starting to look like they will not even take that responsibility. This is probably the worst service I have received from any company, ever, and I am very curious whether this is the way Apple treats all their customers.
They told me Apple does have support centers in Colombia, and to take it over there for service. However they are unwilling to help as it is not a portable computer, and they have strict orders from Apple not to gvie service to any machine bought outside the country. The only option to receive support was to return the computer to The Netherlands.
So, the supposedly worldwide operating company has now forced me to fly back to the Netherlands (ticket cost US$ 1,600) in order to exchange the computer. To make matters worse, since I bought the ticket (I will only be there for 3 days, just for the exchange) the Apple customer service in The Netherlands has stopped responding to my emails for almost 2 weeks now. In less than a week I will be there, hoping for an exchange and a functioning computer, but now it is starting to look like they will not even take that responsibility. This is probably the worst service I have received from any company, ever, and I am very curious whether this is the way Apple treats all their customers.
