Hi. Well I need some advice as to how to approach Apple, and what to tell them I even want at this point, as I am not sure.
When I purchased my eMac (1 gigahertz, Superdrive, 80 gig, upgraded to 768 mb ram), it right away had a problem where playing music or any sound at the maximum volume caused waves on the screen to appear. I called Apple at that time (November 2003), they told me it was just a characteristic of an all in one computer, and suggested I buy external speakers. I wasn't entirely happy, but I did want external speakers eventually anyway. So, problem solved, sort of.
Recently I gave my speakers away, and was annoyed with the shimmering of the screen that came back right away. I called Apple to see if in the couple of years since I bought the computer they had any new info. The Apple tech I talked to said he had heard of the issue, and that it was very simple to solve by tightening something inside the computer. He took my zip code and said that someone would call me to service the computer. I was not doing this to be overly picky--just that I want to sell this computer and have it in good order and get it taken care of before AppleCare expires. I am a bit paranoid, so I even asked at that time, are these people Apple certified etc, and he said they were.
So the man from the service company came out today. The name was something like Qualiservice, I am not sure--I never received any invoice or paperwork. The technician arrived with a huge box. So, I told him I was curious to watch to see how it would be fixed and asked if I could watch--I was curious to see under the opaque white case of the eMac. He said that was fine, and I stayed, and he showed me the replacement part which was an entirely new CRT.
He also had paperwork describing my problem and said well this isn't going to fix what's going on, but I might as well install it because Apple is asking me to and they are he ones who supposedly know what's going on, and getting a new CRT will extend the life of your product, it'll be like having a whole new computer (I'm not quite sure how, but anyway...)
So he starts to take it apart and I notice he is having some trouble and being a bit rough with it. I bring a towel downstairs so he can lie it face down on my dining room table. The eMac (and tilt and swivel it sits on) require various sizes of Alan wrenches to take apart which he didn't have with him--I had them in my garage and brought them to him.
He tells me that by taking it apart and putting it back together it might be more secure and stop the waving lines from appearing.
Once we take the white case off, he tells me to go run it under the water in my shower, because getting the dust out will make it run more quietly. I actually had been wanting to clean out the dust, so I went ahead and did it.
After I showered it, I was trying to dry it out as best I could, I used a hair blower, but he said it didn't need to be bone dry. I suddenly noticed that on the white plastic case itself connected to the power button (which is connected to the case) there is a little metal part that connects to wires. I got worried and said, oh gosh, this got soaked, is that a problem? And he said it was not a problem at all.
So he kept taking it apart--this happened very slowly--he was at my house for three and a half hours. He kept saying it wasn't cooperating and there were screws in "precarious" places.
So, he kept working and then handed me a metal piece of some sort from the bottom of the computer, that on the edges had some sort of black foam like stuff. He told me to do the same thing and go shower it. So I did. Trying to squeeze water out of the foam part. I asked him again if it was a problem that this was wet, and he said it was no problem because it didn't touch anything important.
I started to ask him more about what sort of work he does, and he said that his company works almost exclusively on Dells for the military. And I said, so you don't see too many eMacs? No, he said, THIS IS THE FIRST MAC I HAVE EVER SEEN.
So, that's when I really knew I was in trouble. The problem was that he was very nice, and I felt bad because he was sweating like a pig and looked really nervous, and I am not good at saying things like, "maybe we should give apple a call......"
But we kept working, and he put the new CRT in and it all looked good enough, even though it seemed like he was a bit forceful at times with the parts.
Then I looked in the box and found a red cord in a bag with two white ends. I asked what it was for. He said he didn't know, and pulled out after about two hours THE INSTRUCTIONS. I thought, oh my god, there were instructions, we haven't been looking at???? Well sure enough the instructions said something about needing to connect this plug to convert something from 220 to 110 (something about electricity I'm sure wiser people here know about).
So he plugs in that red cord. And puts the case back on, and it wasn't flush at all and he was trying to force the screws in, and that's when I finally spoke up and said, umm I don't think it's flush. So we got that right.
TIME TO TEST IT!!!!
It won't turn on.
Nothing!!!
So he takes the plastic case off, and says it must be that the brand new CRT is bad..I am having my doubts suggesting maybe it is the water drenched power button area.
At this point he is playing around with different things and while the case is off asks me to hold it up with the metal part to see if anything is happening on the screen as he tries to start it. I got really scared when it finally did turn on and I was holding the metal and it made this crackling noise, that I guess a CRT can from time to time. It usually would not start up, but when it did, it played a long tone, sort of like a European phone ring.
He was convinced the problem was with the new CRT and was furious with Apple. So he said he wouldn't leave me in a mess and would install the old one back again. Which we did.
And go to start it up without the case on again and me holding the metal, just exhausted by this point, and basically the computer would either turn on for a second and turn right off. It would turn on and make that European ringing beep, or it would turn on make that beep and the front light would flash really quickly, or it would just turn on and turn right off. He told me there was no more he could do, and that he would tell Apple if it wasn't working in a day that I had a faulty case and power button thing so that they could send out a new white case part to put on the computer.
Listening to the facts now, I guess I should have been mad. As it was in reality, I was thanking him and apologizing for Apple confusing him and for him having to be so inconvenienced by working so hard to replace the CRT and then having to put the old one back in. I know it doesn't sound rational online, but in real life I am a people pleaser.
So..........as soon as he left I realized: I had a minor problem I wanted fixed, and I now have a computer that doesn't work, which MIGHT work according to this guy after it dries out. And then I realized OMG, I am filthy, I have computer dust all over, what was in that? And then I thought, OMG I could have been shocked. So I called Apple, and it's easier for me to be assertive on the phone, so I called them and told them everything I have told you.
Their answer is to bring the computer into my local authorisized repair place (Which i should have done from the beginning, but i was assuming they were sending someone like those techs out).
They asked me who the person was that came out and the name of the company and I said it was something like Qualiservice, and they said they had never heard of it before.
OK, so at midnight after talking to Apple and all this fiasco I turned the computer on, and it works! I am typing from it.
BUT.........I feel like I have damaged goods now. I realized that Apple kept saying how awful this tech was, but I realized, Apple is the one that hired this company, and this company sent out this guy knowing he didnt know Macs, etc, and I feel like Apple should take more responsibility.
I guess my question is: what should Apple at this point? What is reasonable to expect?
I hope this makes sense. If it doesn't it's because I have had a really long day and it's 2:46 AM. Thanks for reading.
When I purchased my eMac (1 gigahertz, Superdrive, 80 gig, upgraded to 768 mb ram), it right away had a problem where playing music or any sound at the maximum volume caused waves on the screen to appear. I called Apple at that time (November 2003), they told me it was just a characteristic of an all in one computer, and suggested I buy external speakers. I wasn't entirely happy, but I did want external speakers eventually anyway. So, problem solved, sort of.
Recently I gave my speakers away, and was annoyed with the shimmering of the screen that came back right away. I called Apple to see if in the couple of years since I bought the computer they had any new info. The Apple tech I talked to said he had heard of the issue, and that it was very simple to solve by tightening something inside the computer. He took my zip code and said that someone would call me to service the computer. I was not doing this to be overly picky--just that I want to sell this computer and have it in good order and get it taken care of before AppleCare expires. I am a bit paranoid, so I even asked at that time, are these people Apple certified etc, and he said they were.
So the man from the service company came out today. The name was something like Qualiservice, I am not sure--I never received any invoice or paperwork. The technician arrived with a huge box. So, I told him I was curious to watch to see how it would be fixed and asked if I could watch--I was curious to see under the opaque white case of the eMac. He said that was fine, and I stayed, and he showed me the replacement part which was an entirely new CRT.
He also had paperwork describing my problem and said well this isn't going to fix what's going on, but I might as well install it because Apple is asking me to and they are he ones who supposedly know what's going on, and getting a new CRT will extend the life of your product, it'll be like having a whole new computer (I'm not quite sure how, but anyway...)
So he starts to take it apart and I notice he is having some trouble and being a bit rough with it. I bring a towel downstairs so he can lie it face down on my dining room table. The eMac (and tilt and swivel it sits on) require various sizes of Alan wrenches to take apart which he didn't have with him--I had them in my garage and brought them to him.
He tells me that by taking it apart and putting it back together it might be more secure and stop the waving lines from appearing.
Once we take the white case off, he tells me to go run it under the water in my shower, because getting the dust out will make it run more quietly. I actually had been wanting to clean out the dust, so I went ahead and did it.
After I showered it, I was trying to dry it out as best I could, I used a hair blower, but he said it didn't need to be bone dry. I suddenly noticed that on the white plastic case itself connected to the power button (which is connected to the case) there is a little metal part that connects to wires. I got worried and said, oh gosh, this got soaked, is that a problem? And he said it was not a problem at all.
So he kept taking it apart--this happened very slowly--he was at my house for three and a half hours. He kept saying it wasn't cooperating and there were screws in "precarious" places.
So, he kept working and then handed me a metal piece of some sort from the bottom of the computer, that on the edges had some sort of black foam like stuff. He told me to do the same thing and go shower it. So I did. Trying to squeeze water out of the foam part. I asked him again if it was a problem that this was wet, and he said it was no problem because it didn't touch anything important.
I started to ask him more about what sort of work he does, and he said that his company works almost exclusively on Dells for the military. And I said, so you don't see too many eMacs? No, he said, THIS IS THE FIRST MAC I HAVE EVER SEEN.
So, that's when I really knew I was in trouble. The problem was that he was very nice, and I felt bad because he was sweating like a pig and looked really nervous, and I am not good at saying things like, "maybe we should give apple a call......"
But we kept working, and he put the new CRT in and it all looked good enough, even though it seemed like he was a bit forceful at times with the parts.
Then I looked in the box and found a red cord in a bag with two white ends. I asked what it was for. He said he didn't know, and pulled out after about two hours THE INSTRUCTIONS. I thought, oh my god, there were instructions, we haven't been looking at???? Well sure enough the instructions said something about needing to connect this plug to convert something from 220 to 110 (something about electricity I'm sure wiser people here know about).
So he plugs in that red cord. And puts the case back on, and it wasn't flush at all and he was trying to force the screws in, and that's when I finally spoke up and said, umm I don't think it's flush. So we got that right.
TIME TO TEST IT!!!!
It won't turn on.
Nothing!!!
So he takes the plastic case off, and says it must be that the brand new CRT is bad..I am having my doubts suggesting maybe it is the water drenched power button area.
At this point he is playing around with different things and while the case is off asks me to hold it up with the metal part to see if anything is happening on the screen as he tries to start it. I got really scared when it finally did turn on and I was holding the metal and it made this crackling noise, that I guess a CRT can from time to time. It usually would not start up, but when it did, it played a long tone, sort of like a European phone ring.
He was convinced the problem was with the new CRT and was furious with Apple. So he said he wouldn't leave me in a mess and would install the old one back again. Which we did.
And go to start it up without the case on again and me holding the metal, just exhausted by this point, and basically the computer would either turn on for a second and turn right off. It would turn on and make that European ringing beep, or it would turn on make that beep and the front light would flash really quickly, or it would just turn on and turn right off. He told me there was no more he could do, and that he would tell Apple if it wasn't working in a day that I had a faulty case and power button thing so that they could send out a new white case part to put on the computer.
Listening to the facts now, I guess I should have been mad. As it was in reality, I was thanking him and apologizing for Apple confusing him and for him having to be so inconvenienced by working so hard to replace the CRT and then having to put the old one back in. I know it doesn't sound rational online, but in real life I am a people pleaser.
So..........as soon as he left I realized: I had a minor problem I wanted fixed, and I now have a computer that doesn't work, which MIGHT work according to this guy after it dries out. And then I realized OMG, I am filthy, I have computer dust all over, what was in that? And then I thought, OMG I could have been shocked. So I called Apple, and it's easier for me to be assertive on the phone, so I called them and told them everything I have told you.
Their answer is to bring the computer into my local authorisized repair place (Which i should have done from the beginning, but i was assuming they were sending someone like those techs out).
They asked me who the person was that came out and the name of the company and I said it was something like Qualiservice, and they said they had never heard of it before.
OK, so at midnight after talking to Apple and all this fiasco I turned the computer on, and it works! I am typing from it.
BUT.........I feel like I have damaged goods now. I realized that Apple kept saying how awful this tech was, but I realized, Apple is the one that hired this company, and this company sent out this guy knowing he didnt know Macs, etc, and I feel like Apple should take more responsibility.
I guess my question is: what should Apple at this point? What is reasonable to expect?
I hope this makes sense. If it doesn't it's because I have had a really long day and it's 2:46 AM. Thanks for reading.
