Intel Imac Pixel Problem
I wrote the following story of my experience with apple in the hope that others with a similar problem with an apple product can use this case as a precedent so that they can get some kind of a positive outcome from Apple.
I had just purchased a brand spanking new 20" iMac from Apple thinking it would be so beautiful and brilliant. However the first day I got it I noticed a small red dot stuck on the screen, I realised straight away it was a stuck pixel and read up everything on them I could so that I might be able to fix the problem. I tried massaging it and flashing bright colours behind it fast but none of it worked. So I decided to call Apple and ask them what to do. They told me that I would have to take it to a service center so that it can be diagnosed by a technician. But what was there to diagnose? A dead pixel is a dead pixel. I figured, I shouldn't have to take it to a service center for a fault that was apparent from the first day of use. So anyway, I rang the service center and told the tech my situation, they told me that yes I could bring the machine in and he'd tell me the exact same thing as what I already know, but that I'd be wasting my time because apparently Apple requires 6 or more pixels to be stuck to be able to say they will replace the whole machine. Now I find that really poor, you are paying for an already overpriced computer and they can't guarantee a fully working quality machine. So I rang apple back up again and told them what the tech said, and he said oh don't listen to what he says you should take it to be tested anyway. This reveals something else about Apple; not only do they not trust the customer's word but they can't even trust their own technicians. By this time I wanted some common sense to come into the equation and was continually transferred to higher ranking people in the office until I reached a manager. By this time I had also noticed a second pixel that was stuck, but it wasn't near the middle like the other and stayed grey in appearance.
The manager I spoke to was, to put it blatantly a complete idiot, he didn't know anything and kept quoting the companies policy. Now lets review this policy for a second, this 6 pixel rule. This so called 'policy' that they have is not legally enforceable nor is it readily available for the public to see. It is a hidden policy that Apple has, and hid behind, using the excuse "Apple regards two dead pixels to be acceptable." Well I don't! They do have a very vague page on this policy on the Apple website hidden away in customer support, but nowhere does it define how many pixels they deem necessary for a replacement. The manager also kept giving me the spiel "if we had to replace every screen that had a pixel problem we would have to dramatically raise our prices" which is a load of bull! Their computers are already way overpriced and proclaim themselves as industry innovators, you would think they could get something as simple as an lcd screen to work properly, other companies can do it. After an hour of arguing with him I realised I was getting anywhere and decided I will call again in the morning and try talk to someone higher up, and I did. The person was from Customer Relations and had a better brain than the last guy... or so I thought. It ended up being that they couldn't do anything until I got the computer officially diagnosed by a tech, so I thought fine, i cant be stuffed arguing anymore, its an inconvenience but hopefully after the tech approves the problem they can act on it.
So I took it to the tech and he said exactly what I had said, that it was small but annoying because the pixel was near the middle and that really they should replace it but it wasnt up to him to decide that, instead he would write a letter of recommendation to them, and so he did. So I received a call from the same Customer Relations person I had spoken to before and he tries to duck and weave around the problem, saying well there isn't much I can really do about it, then he became reluctant and made some quite interesting comments including "oh..your system is upgraded isn't it, well if we replaced it that would make it hard to offload to somebody else" and I thought to myself WHAT!? If I send the machine back they'll just resend it off to some other poor unsuspecting person? That is really dodgey. He continues to duck and weave. I previously looked up other people with the same problem and found a forum with a person from Norway who had actually had success in getting replacement with ease. I told them of this, and created a precedent, he came back with mumbo jumbo about Sweden having different policies and I thought no, Apple is a worldwide company, if they offer that service to a customer in Norway they should offer it everywhere. Then he suggests something to me, he says "ok this is off the record, but why don't you just return it on 'buyers remorse' say that you weren't happy with the machine and you want a refund" and I thought to myself, but its upgraded i dont think they'll let me, but since he suggested it to me I thought oh ok I must be able to then. So he gave me a different number, I called it and waited 20mins, finally I got through, told them what I wanted to do and they said I couldn't because the system had been upgraded. Guess what I did next, I rang the guy from Customer Relations (CR) back and told him off, as any normal person would. He knew that I couldn't return it on buyers remorse, he just wanted to get rid of me, so then he offers another option... he tells me "i noticed that you are a uni student, if you could compile a document that specifies why the problem would effect you doing your course I'll put it to the management and see what they say." And I thought, oh my god... I shouldn't have to do this, it is such a simple problem that they should fix with one phone call, but no, they wanted to inconvenience me for as long as they could. So I reluctantly wrote up a page, I basically copy/pasted the course outline from the university website and emailed it to him, highlighting the main parts. A few days later he came back saying that management had agreed to send a replacement. I was like yes! finally!! a win for common sense. But no matter the outcome I was still determined to put a complaint in to consumer affairs about them.
However when the CR guy called me he kept making it out as if he and Apple had done me some huge favour I was just like oh please... he kept saying you are lucky, you know you are an exception, I could have said something but I bit my lip and thought i'll wait to report the whole ordeal to consumer affairs. He then tells me about the details of receiving the replacement, and says "how soon can you have the system ready to be picked up by our couriers" I said oh, probably by tomorrow, and then he said, ok thats good I'll have the new one shipped out to you tomorrow and it'll arrive in 5-7 days. And I thought to myself..oh, in that case can they pick the old machine up on Friday, and he agreed. Then he wanted me to e-mail him my shipping address and asked me over the phone the specifications of the computer I originally ordered so they could make sure the replacement was the same. BUT THEY SHOULD ALREADY HAVE MY DETAILS! I could have told him any specifications I wanted on the system and he wouldn't have known, but I told him truthfully what i had and when I said I had a 750GB HD he didn't believe me and went and checked on the Apple website... I couldn't believe it, this guy has no brain. Anyway, I sent him the details through email but thought no, they don't have to pick it up on the Friday, I'll specify a later date for them to pick the faulty one up, and wait till I get the replacement, just to make sure the new one actually worked well... He emailed me back, with a quite rude and forceful tone saying that they could not ship out the replacement until they had the faulty machine. So I emailed him back quite angrily saying how he didn't make that clear over the phone and that Apple loves to inconvenience their consumers, so why should I expect more? He did not take this very well and rang me up and in a disgruntled tone told me the same story again, you know you are lucky, you're making it sound as if we're not doing you a huge favour, I told him "YOU'RE NOT, you're making this such a hassle" then he went on about the policy and i interupted him telling him that it was a "hollow and hidden policy that wasn't part of their warranty" and he says "it is enforceable by law" and quickly changes the subject, he ducked and weaved again! Then he presented me with an option for me to give him my credit card details so that he could send out the replacement machine while still keeping the old faulty one. But apparently they had some documents they needed to send me, from a different dept. the department of merchandise collection...its funny that they have to have a special department for this.
Anyhow I recieve a call from a guy at merchandise collection confirming again the shipping address and the specs of the machine and my email address so that he could send me this document which I had to agree to in order to get the replacement sent out and i thought... could they really make this anymore difficult than it already is...upon reading the form he sent me, they had. The form was full of loop holes and required me to ship them back the old machine myself, it also said that if the new machine were to have any fault with it that I must accept it. And there is no way I am adhereing to such conditions. So I sent him an email querying the document. I didn't hear from them for three days so I called him up asking when he was going to get back to me. He finally rang me up and talked to me over the phone explaining the document, and that the wording of the document was actually wrong. So he said the new machine will be shipped out soon, sure enough 5 days later it came. I was anxious, worrying that this one would have the same problem. Luckily it didn't, however this one had a new problem. One that is probably just as annoying as the pixel one. The DVD drive chokes and splutters when you insert a DVD, then when you want to eject it, it takes up to 15 times for it to eventually come out... I could not be bothered wasting more of my time with apple and going through their crap again so I will just live with it.
After all this I will never buy an Apple product again, merely because of their absolutely appauling customer service, never have I encounted such a business that puts their customers through such huge inconveniences and stress. I was expecting them to give me something for my troubles but then thought, no way, its Apple, they think they are in the right...how wrong they are... they are going down big time!
The bottom line is... don't buy Apple. If you do... then you had better pray to God there's nothing wrong with it
