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Apple's perks after making you wait

BigDawgES

BigDawgES

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 31, 2003
56
0
I've heard bits and pieces here and there about Apple cutting a customer a special deal after the customer has had their product delayed. I recall price breaks, upgrades (like a bump up to a 2.5 GHz machine even though you ordered a 2.0 GHz machine, or an iPod instead of an iPod mini).

I wanted to hear from you: has Apple ever cut you a deal because of shipping delays?

I'm currently among the masses awaiting the shipping of a PM 2.5. :rolleyes:
 
BigDawgES said:
(like a bump up to a 2.5 GHz machine even though you ordered a 2.0 GHz machine, or an iPod instead of an iPod mini).
Click to expand...

I've never heard of anything that drastic... I've heard of 8x burners instead of 4x, or a bump in the ram.... but never anything that big. Most the of the time these "bumps" were found in refurbished purchases... situations where it was easier for Apple to not take out the ram or exchange the superdrive.

Also, I'm quite sure a customer would complain if they ordered a rare ipod mini and recieved a stock white ipod.
 
cr2sh said:
I've never heard of anything that drastic... I've heard of 8x burners instead of 4x, or a bump in the ram.... but never anything that big. Most the of the time these "bumps" were found in refurbished purchases... situations where it was easier for Apple to not take out the ram or exchange the superdrive.

Also, I'm quite sure a customer would complain if they ordered a rare ipod mini and recieved a stock white ipod.
Click to expand...

Well once neither is rare, like in a month or so, it would be a good deal, because the white ipod is valued at $50 more.
 
ipod

In the case of the iPod, customers were given the option of switching their order to the white iPod at no additional charge. As KevRC4130 mentioned, the white ipod carried a price tag $50 greater than the mini's.
 
There's a myth (apparently) that Apple gives out generous comps every time a customer has a slight inconvenience. They're ranked #1 in customer service for good reason, but there are limits to their generosity. If your computer ships a week later than they said it would, you're not getting a free iPod out of it.

I have heard of people getting unexpected things in their computers from time to time though. Suppose you ordered a PowerBook today, but they've just stopped production on them becaus the G5 PowerBooks are coming out in 3 weeks (they're not, but just for the sake of argument pretend they are). They don't fill your order for 3-4 weeks, but when they do you end up getting a G5 at the same price point. That's the kind of thing I've heard of. It's rare and you certainly can't predict when it'll happen.
 
What if my new PB G4 gets stuck in customs in Alaska because apple didn't provide a proper description, and no one can tell me when i will get my computer? :)
 
This assumption is completely wrong.

The only thing that's true is the offer of getting an iPod instead of the mini, but that's only because the waiting time at that point was months for some models, and Apple couldn't get enough of them out there. People's orders get delayed all the time. The only thing they get from Apple is shafted.
 
Now I know why Apple is #1 in customer service! :)
I had an Apple Powerbook G4 12in that was defective...especially the hinge for about 1 year. I called in July, actually couple days after the WWDC, about to repair the hinge again.... (3 times already) Apple offered to replace my computer with a new 12in.
I asked if I could upgrade to the 15in and pay the difference. They said it was ok. I upgraded to the Powerbook 15in 1.5ghz, 128VRAM, 512MB DDR 1 DIMM 80gb 5400, BkLit KB, Superdrive, etc. (Maxxed out)
Couple days later, receive an letter confiming the "switch" with the exact specs I requested.
Later on in the day, I recieved an order number with my config. It turns out that they upgraded my ram to a 1gb Memory 1DIMM That was like a $400 upgrade from Apple.com! I don't know if it was luck or they were trying to keep a customer happy, but I'm very happy.
Also, I figured out that the hard drive that was installed (looked up model number) has a 16MB Cache! I thought that Apple configs them with an 8MB cache... I think that was luck though ;)


Just sharing an happy experience,
Paul :)
 
With some special exceptions (with which I've had some experience :D ), Apple's deals will be ways of revealing their own supply chain.

They'll give you an iPod instead of an iPod mini so they can reduce the demand on the mini while ensuring customer satisfaction. They can't fill those orders, so they'd rather reorient their orders into a configuration easier for them.

They'll give you a g5 if they've stopped production on a g4 because it costs WAY WAY WAY too much to configure the plant back to make a few g4's or to wait too long before configuring the plant to make g5's. They'll take some cuts in their profits (not losses, but smaller profits, mind you) for their convenience.

However, there are numerous stories about Apple's generosity simply to keep customer satisfaction at a high.
 
imac9556 said:
Also, I figured out that the hard drive that was installed (looked up model number) has a 16MB Cache! I thought that Apple configs them with an 8MB cache... I think that was luck though ;)...)
Click to expand...

Are you sure? I have never heard of a 16Mb cache HD, but I could easily be wrong.
 
ChrisFromCanada said:
Are you sure? I have never heard of a 16Mb cache HD, but I could easily be wrong.
Click to expand...

Hey,
The model on this hard drive is:
MK8026GAX
Made by: Toshiba

http://eshop.macsales.com/Catalog_Item.cfm?ID=6858&Item=TOSMK8026GAX

I could be wrong, could you also double check this for me? Are there only 1 version of the MK8026GAX that have a 16mb cache? Are there any software that could tell you about the hard drive I have in my Mac? thanks :)
 
Horrortaxi said:
There's a myth (apparently) that Apple gives out generous comps every time a customer has a slight inconvenience. They're ranked #1 in customer service for good reason, but there are limits to their generosity. If your computer ships a week later than they said it would, you're not getting a free iPod out of it.

I have heard of people getting unexpected things in their computers from time to time though. Suppose you ordered a PowerBook today, but they've just stopped production on them becaus the G5 PowerBooks are coming out in 3 weeks (they're not, but just for the sake of argument pretend they are). They don't fill your order for 3-4 weeks, but when they do you end up getting a G5 at the same price point. That's the kind of thing I've heard of. It's rare and you certainly can't predict when it'll happen.
Click to expand...

You mean #1 customer service prior to buying the product. Try talking like that about AppleDon'tCare plans and the 50$ per phone call dealie, and oh, in case your object need repairs and out of warrenty, they charge 9/10 the price of a new ipod to repair your current ipod disregarding what the problem is, and to be able to even get through the phone line on technical support, you need to fork over 50 dollars. I guess running on those kinds of funds, their pre-sale customer support better be good to make profit of whoever need to buy a PowerPC with a capable OS.
 
BigDawgES said:
I wanted to hear from you: has Apple ever cut you a deal because of shipping delays?
Click to expand...

I once got 12 pieces of chicken instead of 6 because of delays. :D
 
dreaming really high aren't you, apple may give you a $100 off if you are not a edu customer, but a bump to a 2.5 from a 2.0 has and will never happen, apple is nice only to the extent that it makes money, leave it at that, you knew when you ordered the 2.5 that youd have to wait for a while, so youll have to live wit htat decision


BigDawgES said:
I've heard bits and pieces here and there about Apple cutting a customer a special deal after the customer has had their product delayed. I recall price breaks, upgrades (like a bump up to a 2.5 GHz machine even though you ordered a 2.0 GHz machine, or an iPod instead of an iPod mini).

I wanted to hear from you: has Apple ever cut you a deal because of shipping delays?

I'm currently among the masses awaiting the shipping of a PM 2.5. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
 
I ordered my last mac over the phone (dual1.25 MDD) and the lady gave
me a free upgrade from a 80GB HD to 120GB HD for nothing! She originally
offered me a free .mac membership, but since i already had one she offered me that--it was nice...
 
Maxx Power said:
You mean #1 customer service prior to buying the product. Try talking like that about AppleDon'tCare plans and the 50$ per phone call dealie, and oh, in case your object need repairs and out of warrenty, they charge 9/10 the price of a new ipod to repair your current ipod disregarding what the problem is, and to be able to even get through the phone line on technical support, you need to fork over 50 dollars. I guess running on those kinds of funds, their pre-sale customer support better be good to make profit of whoever need to buy a PowerPC with a capable OS.
Click to expand...
Yes, of course that's exactly what I meant. Feel free to read my mind again anytime.
 
Hell if they gave me an extra gig of RAM with my $4000 DP25 G5 I'd be willing to wait the whole 3 extra weeks for it to ship.
 
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