Is this a normal Apple experience (I think that Apple sucks)

[SimonMW]

These care plans are usually waaay overpriced.

For people in the UK companies are legally bound to repair or service goods under what might be referred to 'a reasonable life expectancy'.

That is to say that although a product such as a television may only be guaranteed for a year. If something goes wrong a month after the guarantee is up they should still effect a repair or replacement as you should be able to reasonably expect such equipment to last more than a year.

If you ever have issues with equipment that are not long out of warranty/guarantee and they go wrong, it pays to look at the details of the consumer law in the country you are in. Quite often you are protected, but companies often take advantage of the fact that many people do not know their rights enough.

 

[aquajet]

I also called the manager at 800-apl-care and told him how everything was resolved, I apologized because I yelled at him, and I asked him to forward my complaint to Apple... He said this (literally), "I'm really busy, I'll do it if I have time. Thanks for calling."

Click. What a pompous ******.

Apple employees are people too and have a life, much like you do. Treat people like dirt, and they are less likely to respond to you. If you don't want to be treated like you were, then don't act like a ******* *-****, as you put it.

I got absolutely nowhere with him so I said just make the repairs. Right before I leave the repair guy who was otherwise great tells me that he is doing me a favor by making this warrentee repair.

Good way of saying thanks for your business.

I've never heard a retail employee -- anywhere -- resort to snarky language like that. You didn't provoke this employee, did you?

 

[gauchogolfer]

I am not happy with Apple. They didn't really do anything right. But its done now, and my MacBook is out of warranty, so thats all done forever

It may vary from state to state, but if you have a warranty claim for a defective product that you report before the end of the warranty, you have the right to have it repaired even if the warranty 'expires'. It is only new problems that arise after the warranty expires that aren't covered. The important thing is to start the claims process before the expiration date.

 

[blipstutter]

I've never heard a retail employee -- anywhere -- resort to snarky language like that. You didn't provoke this employee, did you?

What is an absurd statement. I assure you the rest of us have experienced bad customer service and heard retail employees use snarky langauage all sorts of places.

You realize you're blaming the victim here just because you have brand loyalty?

 

[blipstutter]

1) Apple quality control is seriously crappy.
(I don't care if it's better or worse then other companies, Apple's is rotten)

2) Many of us have had horror stories like this. Perhaps not nearly as drastic, but it's not uncommon to get caught up in disputes with the company over a desire to have a working, functioning computer, under spec., for the length of the warranty period.

3) Federal, and State warranty laws supercede ANY and all company warrantys.

4) The service you get at Apple stores can depend on the store. Here in NYC, I discovered through many repair trips that the Soho store was awful. The mid-town store however was a lot more civilized, though proved to have limits. The phone centers are a problem in their own right. Once you get someone to acknowledge the problem, and agree to fix it, then Apple is usually accomodating.

5) The repairs through mail are much easier. They send you the box, and it's overnighted most of the time. A certain amount of trust that you're representing the issues is involved, and you don't have some jerk off pretending he can't see a problem, or it's within spec. Getting someone on the phone to authorize the repair could, and often does take days and days if not months of screaming to get authorized even with Applecare. Then there are times when one phone call results in white glove service. You never know.

6) There are known issues all Apple employees are aware of with every computer, but are not allowed to admit. They will not be repaired. Apple stores keep a list.

8) In the case of the OP, it sounds like they did go out of their way to replace his computers brand new when typically he should have just had the parts replaced. Especially the hard drive. Typically you would have to have that hard drive replaced 3 times before a new computer. Apple will not replace a computer unless it's the same repair 3 times, or 3 hardware fixes. They do not count batterys, or even hard drives towards this hardware tally. Now that he has more serious issus with the replacement, and he really needs it fixed legit, they think he's a problem customer. Clearly Apple did not handle this right, and the OP should pursue this. You can send a letter to Apple's legal dept. using threatening language, and qouting Federal warranty laws. It takes time but works.

9) Apples sure are great....when they work.

 

[aquajet]

What is an absurd statement. I assure you the rest of us have experienced bad customer service and heard retail employees use snarky langauage all sorts of places.

Bad customer service can mean several things, but statements which appear to rub salt in wounds, I have never experienced when dealing with a company representative. Maybe that's because I try not to yell at people I don't know when I'm upset. I'll let them know I'm disappointed, for sure...

You realize you're blaming the victim here just because you have brand loyalty?

You know nothing about me or any of my "loyalties". I'm blaming the OP because the OP acted like a two year old throwing a temper tantrum.

Try an experiment. Next time you're unhappy with a product you've purchased, immediately begin yelling at the person trying to help you. See what happens, and report back.

 

[BrokenE]

Considering all the problems you have had and the poor customer service (and replacing the whole computer when only the HD is bad is just weird), I draw the conclusion that this sub par store has some serious Management issues. It also makes me wonder if the equipment is abused during delivery. I mean getting three machines in a row that have serious issues is tough to do even if you wanted to, statistically speaking. Good luck. Maybe consider buying from somewhere else.

 

[-Noodles]

As was said there's really no reason for you not to buy the 3year warranty especially if you're a student as it's only 200 and not 250. Its a laptop plenty of things can go wrong with something designed to be compact and taken all over the place so why not get the piece of mind for 3years. Also apple does have the one of the lowest rate of defects on their computers if not thee lowest compared to any other manufacturer dell, hp etc so your experience is extremely rare.

You do know you can simply call apple and request a box for your laptop and ship it to them from your home. I would think this would be faster and less problematic for you. Having a store to go to is a convenience rather than a requirement. I would also assume you'd get a higher level of service if it went directly to a repair center and bypassed the local store jockeys.

My general feeling about the apple stores is that they are retail first and anything else second. So I don't go there for a repair, question, or anything more than buying some software or an ipod - no offense to the people that work there but there aren't many geniuses in tampa.