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Just Bought my Last Mac

E

erip-eri

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 23, 2011
5
0
I just bought my last Mac, it is the 11th apple device that we have currently in use in our family. (And I have used more before)
This Mac came with a free Lion upgrade, however the online registration system said that my Mac did not have a valid Serial no.
I called Apple support who said: "no problem this is a system bug we will solve this for you". It took them more than 30 days to solve this with the result that when I was able to apply for the upgrade it was too late. I got one answer which said: The order cannot be processed because it is longer 30 days since purchase.

Now it is not about the money, if they would have said from the start that I needed to purchase the upgrade I would have done so. But now I feel like I've been fooled on purpose which is a total show stopper for me regardless of the quality of the products.
So apparently I just bought my last Mac.
 
So you registered here, just to post that you will not buy any more macs?

Did you call them about your inability to process the upgrade, I cannot see why they couldn't resolve that.
 
Unfortunately, the new Lion isn't perfect. It has a few bugs that still exist and/or being worked out. Its sometimes like that with "new release".

If I bought a brand new iMac today and something this serious wasn't resolved under 14 days, I would call up and "return it". Then, wait a month (or 2) for Lion to be more stable.

If this is your last iMac, then sure. We live in a free country and we all have freedom of choice. But.... I think if you call Apple Support and explain the history, I'm sure they can apply some kind of solution. For something this serious (re: "the online registration system said that my Mac did not have a valid Serial no." error), I'm sure they can help you.... IMO, they sometimes makes mistakes (like all humans) but they are not cruel to their customers...

Hope this helps....

.
 
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Man, if your disappointed over what equates to a $29 dollar issue you're going to be in for a rude awakening when you play in the Windows world!

Best of luck and can I have your stuff?
 
Hmmmmm, wow. Really wow.

I purchased my iMac with SL and fortunately my ability to register to get the free Lion upgrade was painless. However, I didn't read things properly and ended up buying Lion for my upgrade rather than redeem the coupon.

I emailed the iTunes support folks, and within 6 hours had them transfer the coupon to my wife's account so we could upgrade her MBP.

Things happen, and I believe Apple stands behind these issues better than Dell or HP or ASUS etc.

I suggest contacting them and like said perviously, politely explaining the situation.

Cheers, Kurt
 
Here There May be Trolls...

Hmmmm... I don't buy this. Nice try. Your serial number was not in the system? Extremely unlikely, almost as unlikely as an AppleCare rep telling you the registration system has a "bug". And then, what? you waited, you just sat and waited thirty days? Makes no sense - AppleCare - the people you supposedly called - date your problem from its inception, so five minutes or five weeks, it doesn't matter, your upgrade would not have "expired" while there was an outstanding issue, your issue would have "stopped the clock".

Not only that, but as many others have already pointed out, a quick call to AppleCare sometime within the "thirty days" would have seen your problem resolved immediately. Did you have a lot of problems with your other 11+ devices?

Please, not only should you never buy another Mac, do us all a favour and never post here again... go get yerself an HP computer, preferably a tablet and wait for Windows 8 - I hear it's just perfect for people fed up with Apple and all their "walled garden" furniture and accessories.

Have a Nice Day...

TROLL!
 
So apparently you just bought your last Mac.

Sounds like you sat on your laurels for 30 days w/o follow up to see if they were still working the issue. Otherwise, they would've been well aware that this problem existed and wouldn't have thought twice about ensuring you were properly credited for the upgrade. If you just contact them, refresh their memory you had the previous ticket in the works, Apple will reconcile the issue.

P.S. I prefer Troll Paper, it's fun to watch 'em squirm.
 
The OP will have much better luck with support on his PC purchase. Dell customer service is top notch! ;)
 
dmz said:
Hmmmm... I don't buy this. Nice try. Your serial number was not in the system? Extremely unlikely, almost as unlikely as an AppleCare rep telling you the registration system has a "bug". And then, what? you waited, you just sat and waited thirty days? Makes no sense - AppleCare - the people you supposedly called - date your problem from its inception, so five minutes or five weeks, it doesn't matter, your upgrade would not have "expired" while there was an outstanding issue, your issue would have "stopped the clock".

Not only that, but as many others have already pointed out, a quick call to AppleCare sometime within the "thirty days" would have seen your problem resolved immediately. Did you have a lot of problems with your other 11+ devices?
Click to expand...

Hmm--those are all very good points--I didn't really think of this as a suspicious post as far as the accuracy of the complaint--but you're right, OP is either fabricating the story or--is incredibly patient and conciliatory as far as pursing the solution.
 
I bought my 2010 for Macmall and it gave me trouble with the free Lion upgrade but I contacted Apple and they referred me to the e-mail form to complete the request. 9 days later I have the code. Just need to stay with it.

Cheers,
 
erip-eri said:
I just bought my last Mac, it is the 11th apple device that we have currently in use in our family. (And I have used more before)
This Mac came with a free Lion upgrade, however the online registration system said that my Mac did not have a valid Serial no.
I called Apple support who said: "no problem this is a system bug we will solve this for you". It took them more than 30 days to solve this with the result that when I was able to apply for the upgrade it was too late. I got one answer which said: The order cannot be processed because it is longer 30 days since purchase.

Now it is not about the money, if they would have said from the start that I needed to purchase the upgrade I would have done so. But now I feel like I've been fooled on purpose which is a total show stopper for me regardless of the quality of the products.
So apparently I just bought my last Mac.
Click to expand...

That's super frustrating. I had to bring in for repair, and ultimately return, my 27" iMac twice until I got a 3rd without issues this spring. It was BIZARRE (even to the Apple employees). So bizarre, that they ultimately threw in a 13" MBP in the end as I had spent literally days worth of time lugging the machines back and forth to the Apple store to try for a repair that worked (and on the phone with Apple Care).

Of course, that was a truly wonderful surprise and awesome gesture, and made me feel like they still cared about me as a long-term customer.

It can suck. I hope I never feel like I just bought my last Mac because they have treated me so well for so long now, and I don't know of another product that would make me happy. I really hope Apple can continue to grow and still deliver outstanding products. Either that or someone has to come up with great new machines and software fast.
 
Are you like 70 or something? Seriously, that sounds like curmudgeon material :p

Seriously, they're not trying to jack you or anything. Apple barely even cares if you pay for the OS. No serial, no forced registration, nothing. They make money on the hardware. If you've been with Mac this long you would know that :rolleyes:
 
Paulywauly said:
OP, if you are not a troll why not just contact Apple and explain the situation?
Click to expand...

You assume I didn't? I called 6 times to get it solved, including actually asking them: "ïs this not going to be a problem when I takes longer than 30 days". They told me "absolutely not". They send me from one place to another: "you got to contact another department we can't solve this", 'didn't I call the right number', "yes you did, but we cannot solve this". Finally I had to send an email to Itunes support (I don't have any issue with I tunes) because apparently they can push other buttons.

When I have to wait 20 minutes before someone answers the phone I get annoyed, when I have to do that 6 times without any progress I get more annoyed, when they assure me it is not going to be an issue and it turns out it is an issue then I get frustrated (and yes instead of browsing this site for news like I always used to do I registered here to express my frustration)
 
erip-eri said:
You assume I didn't? I called 6 times to get it solved, including actually asking them: "ïs this not going to be a problem when I takes longer than 30 days". They told me "absolutely not". They send me from one place to another: "you got to contact another department we can't solve this", 'didn't I call the right number', "yes you did, but we cannot solve this". Finally I had to send an email to Itunes support (I don't have any issue with I tunes) because apparently they can push other buttons.

When I have to wait 20 minutes before someone answers the phone I get annoyed, when I have to do that 6 times without any progress I get more annoyed, when they assure me it is not going to be an issue and it turns out it is an issue then I get frustrated (and yes instead of browsing this site for news like I always used to do I registered here to express my frustration)
Click to expand...

You're right, i assumed you hadn't despite you saying you called in your first post. i stand corrected! sorry!

I think a lot of people in your situation would be pretty frustrated too. Have you not tried going into an Apple Store and bringing it up with the staff in there? They're usually very helpful, they've bent over backwards for me in the past with everything i've brought up with them, even fixing accidental damage on a Macbook Pro for free and replacing an iPod with an exploded battery which was out of warranty.

You mention that you think you've been fooled by them on purpose but surely thats not the case. The customer services staff you've dealt with so far are paid to keep you a happy customer, but like any company it's never right 100% of the time and a few people fall through the cracks and for one reason or another get a shoddy experience.

I'm really sure that you can sort this out with a positive attitude. If anyone kicks up a fuss or tries to pass you on to someone else just do what most do when dealing with bad customer service. Get names of people you talk to, record dates/times of contact along with a brief account of what happened each time, also get incident reference numbers and get the complaint escalated to a manager or ask for contact info their complaints department.
 
To those who are calling the OP a troll, I have just gone through almost exactly the same experience -- purchased a new iMac (2010 closeout i7 model); tried to sign-up for the Lion up-to-date program; website told me that it couldn't find my serial number; and then I entered a bizarre world ohe some of the worst customer service I've ever experienced. Although most of the 15 Apple support people I spoke with (yes, really, and that's not counting reps who just listened to my story and then transferred me to someone else) were quite pleasant, they simply had not a clue what to do. Most of them also falsely promised that the issue would resolve itself if I just waited another day or two (etc.), which I did many times through the process. In the end, I just barely snuck in under the 30-day wire (which I was tod they would enforce even if the problem were entirely on Apple's end). However, that was after spending almost fourteen hours on the phone with tech support (including holds, transfers, etc.). In short, I very much believe the OP's story and would urge others to take it seriously.

I do not think Apple is doing this on purpose, but some of the reps did acknowledge that they were familiar with this issue. Whatever the cause, it certainly put a dent in my previously positive view of Apple's customer service. And I really don't want to think of the value/opportunity cost of the time I wasted dealing with this.

On a happier note, the machine is amazing.
 
I'm amazed that Apple tech support couldn't/wouldn't just give you a code you could use on the Mac App store to download Lion.
 
I don't understand why some people are having problems. I purchased an I7 2010 model last month which qualified for the free Lion upgrade. I went on the sites to both register my 3-year warranty and get the code for a free update. In both cases my serial number was not recognized, but there was a choice on the same pages to send the info manually. I clicked on that and sent them a picture of my sales receipt and extended warranty number. No issues, no problems. Three days later they e-mailed my Lion download info and my warranty info. People seem to be making this harder than it has to be.
 
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