Fed up with Apple!

[jlambert]

Q: How do I renew my .Mac membership?

If you are set to auto-renew (check the Credit Card Info page in your Account settings), you will receive a message about 30 days before your anniversary date letting you know that your account is set to be renewed automatically with the credit card you provided. If you are not set to auto-renew, you will get a series of messages before your anniversary date with instructions on how to renew your account. You will be directed to the .Mac site where you can enter your credit card information or an activation key, if you purchased a .Mac box. You will not be charged until your anniversary date.

Q: Can I use a .Mac retail box to renew my .Mac membership?
Yes. Simply go to www.mac.com/activate, enter the member name and password for the account you'd like to renew and your activation key code from the .Mac box, and follow the instructions. You will only need a credit card if you have purchased .Mac add-ons such as additional email accounts or storage space, or wish to add them for your next year.

Q: How early prior to expiration can I set my .Mac account to renew?

As a manual renewer or activation key renewer, you can set your .Mac account to renew 60 days prior to your anniversary date. However, at any point during the year you can set yourself to auto-renew by updating your credit card information and checking the auto-renew button on the Credit Card Info page in your Account Settings. You will not be charged until your anniversary date.


Something that is a must for your business should always be set to Auto-Renew.

 

[Backtothemac]

Well, it was set to auto renew, which is another mystery. I am working with a supervisor, who has confirmed that the emails never went out, and they cannot explain why they did not charge the card. They are talking about giving me a free year, which, I don't need. Just keeping it going until the 13th would be enough for me.

 

[MacsRgr8]

I would take that free year.
It accepts the apologies....

Anyway. Good for you!

 

[iJon]

Originally posted by Backtothemac
Well, it was set to auto renew, which is another mystery. I am working with a supervisor, who has confirmed that the emails never went out, and they cannot explain why they did not charge the card. They are talking about giving me a free year, which, I don't need. Just keeping it going until the 13th would be enough for me.

isnt it good that they didnt charge it, i mean you dont have any money right now. but if you play your cards right they will give you a free year, so i would just enjoy.

iJon

 

[simX]

BTTM:

Like others have pointed out, it's Apple's word against yours. And it seems that you've gotten through to the supervisor, and that maybe Apple did make some mistakes.

Regardless, the best way to deal with customer service is not to get angry about it. Be nice, explain the situation clearly, and if the customer service guy is being mean or is not helping you out, ask to talk to the supervisor. If he hangs up, call back, and immediately ask to talk to a supervisor. The more calm you are, the more leverage you have when you talk to people higher up the ranks -- if you explain to the supervisor how mean the original customer service rep was to you, without getting mad about it, chances are that the supervisor will understand and will get the problem corrected immediately, if not offerring you something with which to sweeten the deal (like the free year with .mac you are potentially being offerred). It's not worth it to get mad about something when you still have the problem to deal with.

Again, I can't work off of the knowledge of what actually happened during that conversation, but I can only offer what experience I've had. Calmly working through the problem works in almost every case.

I hope you finally got your problem resolved, though.

 

[ryme4reson]

I dont mean to butt in, but it sounds like BTTM is acting like my grandmother. She always blames everyone else. I remember returning a cordless phone to fry's for my grandparents and although the return policy (that was everywhere, including the receipt) stated no cash refund > 200, they demanded the cash, until they finally got it. Whose responsibility is it for not READING THE F***IN policy. You know the .mac account is purchased @ 1 year intervals. Just like the 35MPH speed limit is the limit. The State Trooper doesnt have to "warn" you of it.

BTTM, to me it sounds like you are acting very childish. When my cell phone gets cut off because my friend on the account doesnt pay his portion, I dont call verizon and beg them to keep the phone on till the 1st of the month cause I met this girl at the club last week and shes a nice piece of poon-tang, and to miss her call would be tragic.

Grow up, get your head out of your ass, and pay your bills. Your bill due dates are not the responsibility or Apple, or your mom. Just like your boss doesnt call you in the morning "wake up sunshine, time to get ready to face the world."

Sure, bitch and moan enough and Apple will give you .mac for a year, or whatever, but thats because mig businesses would rather shut the bitching people up, then hassle with them.

Lastly, you could always sell your Dell, and check your email from the library. With the proceeds of the Dell, you could probably buy .mac, and get some taco bell, for you and your wife.

 

[britboy]

I can't understand why some people are still having a go a B2TM about this. He's explained what the problem is, several times, and been (what i would consider) reasonable. In fact, the apple supervisor he's corresponding with has already accepted that they made a mistake. Just try and be glad that it's now being sorted out, and someone at apple is trying to make good an unfortunate situation.

If all you can do is criticise, then please at least make sure your criticism is not just a moot point.

 

[ryme4reson]

There is a differnence between "making a mistake" and correcting it, and just doing what is needed to correct a problem, or problem customer.

I recently paid 150 to my old Dorm mamanger @ LSU. They said I left the dorm a mess, and it was my word againt the maintenance person. By paying the 150, I was not admitting guilt or fault, but rather getting rid of a headache. For me the 150 was worth it for the income I make.

So, by Apple saying here is a doggie treat, are you happy now, doesnt mean they feel bad, or take responsibility. Next you are gonna say Apple is responsible for the G5 shipment delays, and they are resonsibile for the lost productivity. Apple needs to send me one free for all this waiting, lol.

 

[billyboy]

If Apple wants to avoid the sort of episode being painfully analysed here without overhauling their verification system, they could just cut out the friendly option , ie we´ll let you opt out of auto renewal and take it on ourselves to let you know when to pay". They could legitimately do that if they wanted and be like the rest of the world, banking on people´s forgetfulness and deducting renewal prescriptions whether people want the service or not.

Personally I hope they stay a bit different, being way more helpful than they need to be, but just do whatever it takes to make sure everyone gets a warning and there is a 365 days to go countdown so everyone knows how many days is remaining on .mac accounts. But then that wont please some people because there us a t least one ex user who doesnt even go to the fricking home page from one year to the next.

Personally if matey gets a year´s free membership for venting, then he fell in the s*** and came out smelling of s***flavored roses. His two bad episodes dont cancel out the basically very very good customer service record of a multi billion dollar company, and if anyone ever mentions the word liar to me during a conversation, I would always hang up too. It is a very loaded word and sort of ruins a balanced discussion.

 

[Edot]

Bill?

I don't know why Apple would have sent a bill. You didn't owe them anything! This is a pre-pay service. They are not responsible for gathering your payment because you have already made it. Most bills are sent because you owe them money for the service you have already used. As for .Mac, this is not the case.

However, I don't know why they wouldn't try to gain repeat business and send you an advertisement to renew because your subscription is expiring!!!!???

 

[Backtothemac]

Well, the supervisor said that they could not give the free year, nor carry it for 30 days. So, that did it. I have washed my hands of them. I have spent over $20,000 in Mac purchases over the last 4 years.

You, those who are attacking me, are failing to understand the problem. There was no bill. You tell me to get my head out of my ass and pay my bills, THERE WAS NOT A BILL!

And sorry, but I am not a student whose worst problem is where the next kegger is, but a father, husband, business man, community leader, and have far more going on that to try to remember when my .Mac membership expires.

As a company, Apple needs to court as many people as they can with .Mac. It only makes sense that they would do so. At no point was I rude with them, nor curse, nor threaten anything.


Britboy, thanks for getting my back.

 

[billyboy]

Sorry mate but you are mad!!!! There has been a misunderstanding over something that represents .005% of your financial dealings with a company and you wipe your hands of them. That is setting some pretty high standards in rightful behavior. Is that the sort of standard you expect from everyone you deal with in your busy life?

If you say your .mac account, a convenience to most people, is worth thousands in lost revenue or whatever for you, then the buck for keeping it up to date definitely stops with you.

Get the hang of iCal, have a few beers and loosen up.

 

[iJon]

Originally posted by billyboy
Get the hang of iCal, have a few beers and loosen up.

what are you talking about, he isnt a student waiting for the next kegger, geez dont you read anything.

iJon

 

[Backtothemac]

Originally posted by billyboy
Sorry mate but you are mad!!!! There has been a misunderstanding over something that represents .005% of your financial dealings with a company and you wipe your hands of them. That is setting some pretty high standards in rightful behavior. Is that the sort of standard you expect from everyone you deal with in your busy life?

If you say your .mac account, a convenience to most people, is worth thousands in lost revenue or whatever for you, then the buck for keeping it up to date definitely stops with you.

Get the hang of iCal, have a few beers and loosen up.

No the washing of hands comes from more than just this. There was the Cinema Display ordeal. The iMac DOA twice deal. Changing the reseller agreement to squeeze out small resellers like the one that I worked for. And a downgrade of customer support that is unacceptable.

So, I am mad, but I have not been rude with Apple.

 

[iJon]

Originally posted by Backtothemac
No the washing of hands comes from more than just this. There was the Cinema Display ordeal. The iMac DOA twice deal. Changing the reseller agreement to squeeze out small resellers like the one that I worked for. And a downgrade of customer support that is unacceptable.

So, I am mad, but I have not been rude with Apple.

apple is only mean to resellers if you they dont hold their weight with selling so much stuff. sorry things went bad. luckily this doesnt happen to everyone, if it did no one would like apple.

iJon

 

[Backtothemac]

Originally posted by iJon
apple is only mean to resellers if you they dont hold their weight with selling so much stuff. sorry things went bad. luckily this doesnt happen to everyone, if it did no one would like apple.

iJon

1.83 Mil in sales over the last year. Not bad really considering the year before we did 12,000$ in sales.

 

[billyboy]

Originally posted by Backtothemac
No the washing of hands comes from more than just this. There was the Cinema Display ordeal. The iMac DOA twice deal. Changing the reseller agreement to squeeze out small resellers like the one that I worked for. And a downgrade of customer support that is unacceptable.

So, I am mad, but I have not been rude with Apple.

Ouch, you must have been a really bad person in another life!!! You werent keeping a PC in the house while using, or in your case, trying to use a Mac were you?

 

[Backtothemac]

Originally posted by billyboy
Ouch, you must have been a really bad person in another life!!! You werent keeping a PC in the house while using, or in your case, trying to use a Mac were you?

Yea, I have a Dell 8300.

I also have my daughters iMac. My 17" is gone now.

 

[StealthRider]

Originally posted by ryme4reson
I dont mean to butt in, but it sounds like BTTM is acting like my grandmother. She always blames everyone else. I remember returning a cordless phone to fry's for my grandparents and although the return policy (that was everywhere, including the receipt) stated no cash refund > 200, they demanded the cash, until they finally got it. Whose responsibility is it for not READING THE F***IN policy. You know the .mac account is purchased @ 1 year intervals. Just like the 35MPH speed limit is the limit. The State Trooper doesnt have to "warn" you of it.

BTTM, to me it sounds like you are acting very childish. When my cell phone gets cut off because my friend on the account doesnt pay his portion, I dont call verizon and beg them to keep the phone on till the 1st of the month cause I met this girl at the club last week and shes a nice piece of poon-tang, and to miss her call would be tragic.

Grow up, get your head out of your ass, and pay your bills. Your bill due dates are not the responsibility or Apple, or your mom. Just like your boss doesnt call you in the morning "wake up sunshine, time to get ready to face the world."

Sure, bitch and moan enough and Apple will give you .mac for a year, or whatever, but thats because mig businesses would rather shut the bitching people up, then hassle with them.

Lastly, you could always sell your Dell, and check your email from the library. With the proceeds of the Dell, you could probably buy .mac, and get some taco bell, for you and your wife.

Who is bitching and moaning?! Cause it sure doesn't sound like BTTM is any more than you are...I agree with the next post after yours...

 

[ryme4reson]

BTTM is bitching.... examples you say...

I just called Apple and said thanks for the warning -- and they were like got to hell!

how Apple has consistantly allowed their customer service to degrade to the point that warning emails are not reaching their destination -- they dont HAVE to send you ANYTHING.

No the washing of hands comes from more than just this. --So this ass is gonna wash his hands from a company that does hundreds of millions in sales a year. YOUR WILL BE MISSED!

have spent over $20,000 in Mac purchases over the last 4 years. --So I deserve something for my carelessness. Its not my fault Im a dumbass, its Apple's, they should pay! HAHA

At no point was I rude with them, nor curse, nor threaten anything. -- I didnt threaten them, well I did "wash my hands of them" but I didnt tell them, well not until the end. lol

 

[iPC]

Disturbing trends in Cupertino

Threads of this nature seem to be becoming more and more commone. Things are not looking well for Apple from what I can gather as of late:

1. Market share has not moved in 2 years.
2. Customer service quality getting spotty.
3. Hardware QC slipping.
4. Difficulty delivering orders of new hardware.
5. Switch campaign largely unaffective. (leading to point 1).

Anectdotes:

My roommate bought the iBook 500 (dvd) shortly after it was released. Being a big linux guy, he really liked OS X and influenced the purchasing decisions of a few friends looking for good laptops. Then, about 3 weeks after the warranty expired (1 year) the clasp broke. The kicker? Nearly $600 to get fixed by Apple (parts, labor, and shipping).

The brother of my ex-girlfriend is borderline Mac zealot. He has a Pismo, and the warranty (3 year) expired a little while ago. Now his trackpad doesn't work, and he's stuck with a mouse until he can fix it (he used to work at a Mac repair shop). Only $40 or so, but very annoying.

Realities:

G5's are slow to ship. Been 2 months since anouncement, and the duals still aren't in peoples hands yet. Duals supposedly 50% or more of the 100,000 machines ordered since the G5 was made known.

New Al powerbooks (12" and 17") were slow to ship after anouncement. 12" suffers from heat problems, and the 17" doesn't seem to sell as well as expected.

Still no new 15" PowerBook. Expecting shift to Al from Ti, AE and BT on board.

Long time since iMac update. Probably just another speed bump (1.25GHz).

iBook unchanged besides minor speed bumps (and cheaper shell design) for last 2 years. 'Gobi' rumors still out there.

iPod update was minor change and larger hdd. Basic function unchanged. Video rumors persist.

xServe sales a disappointment. Cutting edge hardware (read G5) needed now to help sales.

Education market sales not nearly what they used to be.

New corporate market sales initiative needs bolstering. Inexpensive headless Mac needed (sales pitch along the lines of; "keep everything you have except for your old tower, keyboard and mouse").

Opinions:

Apple seems adrift. There is Jobs at the helm, but it does not seem that he is manning the tiller. (bad puns - sorry)

Conclusion:

Someone at Apple needs to put up or shut up. Whether it's SJ, or the board of directors, I don't care. The company has been sending mixed signals for years now, and it does not appear that they have the capability to fix it right now. The G5 will not save them, just as OS X did not save them. It takes more than that to convince the public at large. Just ask HP/Compaq or AOL/TW.

 

[Backtothemac]

Originally posted by ryme4reson
BTTM is bitching.... examples you say...

I just called Apple and said thanks for the warning -- and they were like got to hell!

how Apple has consistantly allowed their customer service to degrade to the point that warning emails are not reaching their destination -- they dont HAVE to send you ANYTHING.

No the washing of hands comes from more than just this. --So this ass is gonna wash his hands from a company that does hundreds of millions in sales a year. YOUR WILL BE MISSED!

have spent over $20,000 in Mac purchases over the last 4 years. --So I deserve something for my carelessness. Its not my fault Im a dumbass, its Apple's, they should pay! HAHA

At no point was I rude with them, nor curse, nor threaten anything. -- I didnt threaten them, well I did "wash my hands of them" but I didnt tell them, well not until the end. lol

All I did was present a problem that is larger than just one person. Yes, I was mad, who would not be. But to call me a dumbass, well, that is just about childish.

 

[ryme4reson]

G5's are slow to ship. Been 2 months since anouncement, and the duals still aren't in peoples hands yet. Duals supposedly 50% or more of the 100,000 machines ordered since the G5 was made known.

New Al powerbooks (12" and 17") were slow to ship after anouncement. 12" suffers from heat problems, and the 17" doesn't seem to sell as well as expected.

Still no new 15" PowerBook. Expecting shift to Al from Ti, AE and BT on board.

Long time since iMac update. Probably just another speed bump (1.25GHz).

iBook unchanged besides minor speed bumps (and cheaper shell design) for last 2 years. 'Gobi' rumors still out there.

iPod update was minor change and larger hdd. Basic function unchanged. Video rumors persist.

xServe sales a disappointment. Cutting edge hardware (read G5) needed now to help sales.

Education market sales not nearly what they used to be.

I am sorry you feel this way, but please tell me how the G5's are slow to ship? I thought they were to ship in August? I wasent under the impression all order would be delived in Aug,, we you?

I think you are missing the difference between an anouncement and shipping date. Apple is a small company by tech standards with slow tech when it comes to hardware so they have to compensate by displaying HW before its ready.

 

[iPC]

Originally posted by ryme4reson
I am sorry you feel this way, but please tell me how the G5's are slow to ship? I thought they were to ship in August? I wasent under the impression all order would be delived in Aug,, we you?

I think you are missing the difference between an anouncement and shipping date. Apple is a small company by tech standards with slow tech when it comes to hardware so they have to compensate by displaying HW before its ready.

Announcing with huge fanfare in June that new G5 models will ship in August implies more than the low end at very small quantities. If you want to pick nits, yes Apple did ship the G5 in August. Does not appear to be first come, first serve. Nor does it appear that any of the duals shipped (1/2 of what is on order). And now peoples ship dates are going farther out! I was under the impression that more than a few machines would ship, and that it would have been for all 3 basic configurations (1.6/1.8/dual 2.0). Apple does not have to show hardware off before it is ready, they choose to as a means to artificially boost that quarters sales. It is a old accounting trick, great to show to the investors as a increase in performance, when nothing has really been done (ie - no shipements and no payments received). You can have all the open orders you want, they don't mean squat until they are shipped.

 

[hulugu]

I was under the impression that Virginia bought a bunch of the DP 2.0s to build a super-computer, so while the consumers may only be getting the 1.6 for now, Apple is "shipping" their machines they're just filling their educational and government requirements first. I don't totally agree with this, but I can see the point. As for BTM, dude they messed up (by not reminding you 12 times like a magazine subscription—which I find totally annoying) and so did you by A. not keeping track and B. by being an irrate customer and maybe acting like a jerk—I wasn't there so I can't say for certain, but in my experience when customers feel mistreated they are often abusive. Not always true. Finally, BTM they tried to fix the problem and give you a year for free, so I would say problem solved.
As for QC, I can't imagine how people break things like screens and latches without claiming that it's Apple's fault. If you break a latch you put too much pressure on the material. That sounds like abuse, and it just sucks that it came after the end of the 1 year warranty.
As for market share, remember if Company A sells 10 computers out of a market of 100 computers one year and then sells 20 computers out of 200 sold the next year their market share has remained stagnant (or stable it depends of how you look at it). I don't think this is entirely true for Apple's case, but you can't use market share as the only data regarding the health of any company. The G5 sold 200,000 machines before one even shipped, people are excited by these machines in a way that no other hardware company can match.
So, what should Apple do, here's what I think:

1. Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade. New PB AI w/ BT APX, a G5 if they can figure out the heat issues at higher processing speeds. Faster memory, buses, and the best video cards they can buy.
2. Let IBM work on the G3, let it compete as a choice with the G4 and give Moto a run. I understand the G3 may be able to reach higher speeds and this may be a way to make things work.
3. Work harder with developers, including Adobe. Don't let them state that Apple is faltering (ie Adobe). But, continue to create products and systems that fill holes (like VPC) other vendors might not fill.
4. Continue on the digital hub and the switch campaign. These things can work and should not be abandoned in the short-term. In fact, the evangelization of products in the server market, the creative environ (getting Pixar to use the G5 is a major coup and should become a continuous partnership), and back to education should remain a significant priority.
5. Advertise damnit. I want to see an Apple add right after every one of those damned Dell intern adds.
6. iTunes for Windows, iPod for Windows, but don't ever move to the x86. The PPC has a future and Apple can only survive by differentiating itself among vendors.
7. Work with OSS: Linux is the future, I believe even after the continuous SCO debacle. Safari and X11 are good examples of this, but Apple needs to do better. It needs to be prepared to move towards enterprise versions of Linux, where the transition will give OSX abilites to work creatively with the 'heavy iron' of Linux could give it real traction if done correctly.
8. Lastly, work with customers, keep them happy and try very hard to keep customers, no matter how difficult.
9. Think of the future: iPad anyone?