I want to cry (macbook damage story)

[bigjnyc]

so i went up to providence, rhode island for a conference on thursday and planned on staying for the rest of the weekend with my girlfriend. So i get there thursday 10am, the conference is in the biltmore hotel in downtown providence and i have a room there. Being that its only 10am its too early to check in so i have to check in my bags at the front desk and head to the conference. I had my macbook in an incase nylon sleeve bag and i checked it in..... finally i get to the room in the evening and take out my macbook to check emails and stuff, I notice a silver bar going down the right side of the screen with a little spiderweb looking thing on the top right corner, at first i thouht this was a display issue so i restart and go through all the preferences. nothing. finally i make an appointment with the genius bar at the apple store in providence place which is a 5 minute walk from the hotel. next morning at 11 i take my macbook in genius looks at it for a few minutes and tells me my screen is cracked in the top right i looked at it from a side angle and it is indeed cracked....... he then proceeds to tell me that its not covered by the warranty and that i would have to send it in and pay $800 for the repair. I went ahead and filed a claim with the hotel manager and its "under investigation" they are supposed to get back to me within 2 business days. I dont know if they are going to foot the charge or not but im so pissed right now.

 

[tresbien]

oh man, that sucks! I would feel the same exact way if that happened to me..hopefully the hotel will pay for it!

 

[MacHappytjg]

id give up on apple or the intels in total tell ya the truth ive had problems with my macbook and not likin it

 

[Vster]

Oh wow! I'm very sorry to hear about that.

I'm hoping that the hotel will pay for it.

 

[brandon826]

id give up on apple or the intels in total tell ya the truth ive had problems with my macbook and not likin it

Just because the hotel screwed up and cracked his screen doesn't mean that he should give up on the Intel computers. This could have just as easily happened on a PowerPC...

But, yes, that does suck... If they don't cover it I would suggest doing it yourself instead of paying Apple $800.

 

[TwinCities Dan]

id give up on apple or the intels in total tell ya the truth ive had problems with my macbook and not likin it

What does that even mean?

 

[sickmacdoc]

Just to play the devil's advocate here is there any evidence that it was not damaged when it was checked in (damaged in transit in the car etc.)?

I'm just asking because I know how picky insurance companies can be about trying to weasel out of paying claims and I am sure the hotel's agents are experts in that as there are probably plenty of claims!

If there is any evidence you can provide them, it will surely smooth the way.

 

[Eric.]

So Apple values the display of a Macbook to be $800 (figure around $100 for labor?) and charges ~$1100 for one. Must be one hell of a display.

Sounds like you need to look into doing the repair yourself if the hotel won't cover it.

 

[Andrew Henry]

I'm pretty sure that you could buy a new screen on eBay for MUCH cheaper than $800 and fix it yourself.

 

[SFStateStudent]

The Biltmore has security cameras, and they are pretty good about claims, since their insurance covers accidental damage and lost or stolen items while the luggage is in their custody. I lost a Nikon camera in Oklahoma City last year, and they sent a check in about a week. Turned out someone had picked it up off the luggage cart next to the check-in desk.

 

[bigjnyc]

Just because the hotel screwed up and cracked his screen doesn't mean that he should give up on the Intel computers. This could have just as easily happened on a PowerPC...

But, yes, that does suck... If they don't cover it I would suggest doing it yourself instead of paying Apple $800.

yeah thats what i was thinking, i think i saw the screen online somewhere for $300 but my question is how difficult is it to make the switch myself? I've taken apart laptops and PC's before but i'm not a techy or anything.

Just to play the devil's advocate here is there any evidence that it was not damaged when it was checked in (damaged in transit in the car etc.)?

I'm just asking because I know how picky insurance companies can be about trying to weasel out of paying claims and I am sure the hotel's agents are experts in that as there are probably plenty of claims!

If there is any evidence you can provide them, it will surely smooth the way.

I've always been very careful and baby all my toys, i had the laptop sitting on my backseat the whole ride up with nothing else around it. never fell or moved from there, i'm 100% sure it was perfectly fine when i arrived.

The Biltmore has security cameras, and they are pretty good about claims, since their insurance covers accidental damage and lost or stolen items while the luggage is in their custody. I lost a Nikon camera in Oklahoma City last year, and they sent a check in about a week. Turned out someone had picked it up off the luggage cart next to the check-in desk.

Yeah this is what the manager told me that they would go over the security tape, I even pointed out the bellboy who checked in and retrieved my bags. Hopefully they will see something on the video and if they do pay up.

 

[tmelvin]

id give up on apple or the intels in total tell ya the truth ive had problems with my macbook and not likin it

Yeah, I guy I know had a 2007 Audi A4, and smashed it into a tree and totaled it. I'll never own one of those...or a tree for that matter...

???? What the f&^k are you drinking!!!?

 

[MacHappytjg]

Just because the hotel screwed up and cracked his screen doesn't mean that he should give up on the Intel computers. This could have just as easily happened on a PowerPC...

But, yes, that does suck... If they don't cover it I would suggest doing it yourself instead of paying Apple $800.

well yes and no but yes im not saying just since there intels chip has nothing to do with it, although i find my brothers imac g5 1.8ghz is faster than my macbook. But since more people are buying macs because of Intel I'm assuming and all the damn commercials (really funny though). Apple has been producing more and have kinda gotten cheaper. i.e the plastic on Macbooks to various other things nothing bad ever happened to my ppc's not even my brothers g5 I'm on one right now and i have one that's 8 years old beside me nothing ever happened to it that was bad besides me drawing on it when i was smaller anyway im only classifying them as intel cause they have one in and thats when theyy got cheaper

Yeah, I guy I know had a 2007 Audi A4, and smashed it into a tree and totaled it. I'll never own one of those...or a tree for that matter...

???? What the f&^k are you drinking!!!?

and i hate all these people who havent even had ppc to know wtf im talking about its just the quality of the macbook im not saying its crap, although its a rev a

 

[bigjnyc]

yeah i love the black color but once the macbooks get revised i think i'm going to pick up an aluminum one, if the plastic is this flimsy. Or i might just get a MBP... for now i just hope the hotel pays for the repair.

 

[Fonzijr1964]

id give up on apple or the intels in total tell ya the truth ive had problems with my macbook and not likin it

the MBP prolly would not have done that. the plastic is pretty week. my screen has permeant scratches from the keys pressing against it.

 

[Shackler]

Damn i would be pissed.

 

[bigjnyc]

Damn i would be pissed.

man i was fuming you have no idea.... but i know that in order to have people cooperate with you sometimes it's best to be nice and polite so i managed to keep my cool when i was talking to the manager and filing the report.

 

[GoCubsGo]

id give up on apple or the intels in total tell ya the truth ive had problems with my macbook and not likin it

I'm sorry, but how does accidental damage equate to the chipset on a MacBook being troublesome? Do you think a PPC MacBook is immune to the LCD cracking due to suffering a large blow to the machine? If so then I will gladly stop taking care of my PowerBook because it isn't an intel machine and therefore can't sustain damage from any such accident!


To the OP: I would attempt to recoup losses from the Hotel and ask them if they carry insurance. They should. You can make a claim against their policy without their blessing, so to speak. Alternatively, check with your homeowner's/renter's insurance and see if there is a way you can make a claim if the hotel route fails you.

 

[cfs]

so i went up to providence, rhode island for a conference on thursday and planned on staying for the rest of the weekend with my girlfriend. So i get there thursday 10am, the conference is in the biltmore hotel in downtown providence and i have a room there. Being that its only 10am its too early to check in so i have to check in my bags at the front desk and head to the conference. I had my macbook in an incase nylon sleeve bag and i checked it in..... finally i get to the room in the evening and take out my macbook to check emails and stuff, I notice a silver bar going down the right side of the screen with a little spiderweb looking thing on the top right corner, at first i thouht this was a display issue so i restart and go through all the preferences. nothing. finally i make an appointment with the genius bar at the apple store in providence place which is a 5 minute walk from the hotel. next morning at 11 i take my macbook in genius looks at it for a few minutes and tells me my screen is cracked in the top right i looked at it from a side angle and it is indeed cracked....... he then proceeds to tell me that its not covered by the warranty and that i would have to send it in and pay $800 for the repair. I went ahead and filed a claim with the hotel manager and its "under investigation" they are supposed to get back to me within 2 business days. I dont know if they are going to foot the charge or not but im so pissed right now.

Computer LCDS's are easy to install. I know nothing about computer repair and I replaced my wifes LCD screen after a stepped on her computer. It only took me about 10 minutes. The screen only cost me $80.00.

You can get an Apple LCD for about $300.00. Here is a link

http://www.screentekinc.com/Apple__MacBook-family-notebooks-lcd-screens.shtml

-cfs

 

[DaBrain]

WoW! I feel your pain and hope that the hotel comes through for ya! Otherwise it's a he said she said mind game and that just sux! best of luck to ya!

 

[iTeen]

and i hate all these people who havent even had ppc to know wtf im talking about its just the quality of the macbook im not saying its crap, although its a rev a

I hate those people who type stupidly....

And are you saying that the iBook is high quality? A macbook beats the quality of that ANY day.

 

[ki2594]

i understand why people like aluminum better and i do to, but for me personally, the plastic is actually really strong. I baby it, but at the same time, its been thrown around a bit from a lot of trips, and its pretty much scratch-free...guess i've been lucky so farr

 

[killerrobot]

I'm just asking because I know how picky insurance companies can be about trying to weasel out of paying claims and I am sure the hotel's agents are experts in that as there are probably plenty of claims!

If there is any evidence you can provide them, it will surely smooth the way.

@OP --Sorry for the damage done to your laptop. Having worked in hotels before I can say they are some bastards when it comes to reimbursing people or admitting fault. For the most part you've got to have some pretty good evidence that gross mishandling of your baggage took place before any hotel or insurance company is going to pay you anything. That pretty much involves catching them red-handed on tape.

 

[Jabberwocky246]

Hey bigjnyc, I really feel for you. An MBP is a big investment and it sucks to have to consider dropping a boatload of your own money for some a**hat's carelessness.

Should you end up paying for the repair yourself, it's been mentioned previously to buy a replacement screen off eBay ($300 or less) then replace it yourself. It's time-consuming, but not technically challenging if you have worked on laptops before. There is an excellent walk-through at http://www.ifixit.com, those guys have been my saviors.

Best of luck.

 

[Tom B.]

A similar thing happened to me in a Hilton Hotel in New York 2 years ago. The guy that looked after our bags while we waited for our hotel room to be ready managed to put a big dent in the front left side of my PowerBook. The hotel said they would investigate the incident, but we never heard back from them.

P.S. MacHappytjg, maybe if you learn to type in English and use punctuation, people might not think you are a moron.