my mom's phone order with Apple

A

apple_iBoy

macrumors 6502a
I just opened a wonderful present from my mom and dad -- a new PowerM...erm... Mac Pro. It was a surprise, and what a great one.

I'm a little amused/concerned about my mom's buying experience, though. She ordered the machine over the phone from Apple. She has almost negative knowledge about computers, so whenever she has bought one for me as a gift, she calls Apple up to get advice and place the order with a live person.

The weird part about the order is that the guy talked her into buying three GeForce 7300 cards. When I asked her why the upgrade, she said she was told that's what you'd want to have if you were "making a web site."

I guarantee you that she had no intention of outfitting me with a system to run six monitors simultaneously, and wouldn't have asked for that upgrade without being convinced it was a good idea. Why would the dude from Apple up-sell three graphics cards to someone who clearly doesn't know the first thing about computers?

Just seems kinda weird to me. Maybe Apple's trying to get rid of these GeForce 7300s? Must mean an upgrade's around the corner! :p
 
That is really strange. If I were you, I'd return them and either put the money towards a worthwhile upgrade or be nice and give the money back to your parents.
 
yes that is VERY odd. I would call apple and have a word with them and return the machine. 3 graphics cards isn't a upsell like say, more ram or a bigger harddrive which even if you don't understand them you'll still get lots of use from them.

This is just over kill.
 
mduser63 said:
That is really strange. If I were you, I'd return them and either put the money towards a worthwhile upgrade or be nice and give the money back to your parents.
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Unfortunately, I didn't realize what was up until I opened the box, pulled the thing out, and saw 6 DVI ports on the back!

It's a delicate thing anyway -- since I asked my mom about it, she's already afraid that she messed up. I had to convince her that it's a wonderful machine and that I really do love it.

I might call Apple up anyway though, because I have a beef with the FedEx delivery. Apparently it was dropped off on a day when my mom and sister were both home, but the FedEx guy didn't ring the bell -- AND, my grievously, he left it in the driveway, of all places, right behind a car. Thankfully, my sister saw it when she went out the mailbox, before some could 1.) swipe it, or b.) back the car over it!

Geesh!
 
apple_iBoy said:
Unfortunately, I didn't realize what was up until I opened the box, pulled the thing out, and saw 6 DVI ports on the back!

It's a delicate thing anyway -- since I asked my mom about it, she's already afraid that she messed up. I had to convince her that it's a wonderful machine and that I really do love it.

I might call Apple up anyway though, because I have a beef with the FedEx delivery. Apparently it was dropped off on a day when my mom and sister were both home, but the FedEx guy didn't ring the bell -- AND, my grievously, he left it in the driveway, of all places, right behind a car. Thankfully, my sister saw it when she went out the mailbox, before some could 1.) swipe it, or b.) back the car over it!

Geesh!
Click to expand...


Yeah definatly give apple a call and just tell them you're having a few issues with it. I doubt they can do anything about fed ex, but definatly ask if it's normal for a sales person to upsell 3 video cards. It might be rude but can you get the invoice from your mom? Just see how much extra they charged you for those and see if apple will smooth things over.


EDIT: Well I just checked the apple website (hey I'm bored at the airport, 3 hours till my flight) and as it turns out that's only a $300 upgrade. So assuming you family is well off (and buying Mac Pros I'll assume this is true) the conversation probably went something like:

Your Mom:"I don't really know anything about computers, my son just needs/wants a powerful one"
Sales: "What kind of stuff do you think he'll be doing?"
Mom: "oh I'm not sure, umm building websites, playing video games"
Sales: "Ahh well if he's playing video games he's going to want a nice video card, and for doing websites he'll want multiple displays, for just $300 you can upgrade to 3 video cards which will be more than he'll ever need"
Mom:"Oh ok, that sounds good"

At first I thought the upgrade to 3 videocards would be a lot more, but it seems to be a pretty standard upgrade (it's listed on the BYO page on the apple site) so maybe this isn't that fishy after all.
 
I understand the nature of trying not to insult your parents, and without knowing your family dynamics, I would really suggest that you get apple on the phone and discuss the situation and your concern. Tell them why the negative inference is concerning and more importantly that one thing is making a good sale another is the situation presented to your parents by this salesperson. In the end there is really not to much you can do to make them act other than appeal to apple (;) I thought the two were funny side by side; lame) and see what they say. You can always look on the bright side and think of what you can now do with 6 monitors...
 
Good Goo!

I'm surprised the Apple rep. didn't tell your mom "well- you'll have to by 6 30" Cinema Displays now, or it just wouldn't be worth it!"

Talk about taking advantage of someone who doesn't know any better. (No offense to your mother.)
 
Yeah...

Having multiple monitors is EXTREMELY useful for professional web developers and, being as such your mom was ordering a Mac Pro, I'd say the guy was just trying to be REALLY helpful (especially considering it's a $300, and not a $3000, upgrade).

You can always return one or two, sell one or two, or just set up a bunch of different monitors. It's nice to have options.
 
appleretailguy said:
Having multiple monitors is EXTREMELY useful for professional web developers and, being as such your mom was ordering a Mac Pro, I'd say the guy was just trying to be REALLY helpful (especially considering it's a $300, and not a $3000, upgrade).

You can always return one or two, sell one or two, or just set up a bunch of different monitors. It's nice to have options.
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u kidding me, right? its ridiculous both from reasoning and from result.
however, i would think its a mistake by apple rep, not intended.
 
andrewxps said:
Good Goo!

I'm surprised the Apple rep. didn't tell your mom "well- you'll have to by 6 30" Cinema Displays now, or it just wouldn't be worth it!"

Talk about taking advantage of someone who doesn't know any better. (No offense to your mother.)
Click to expand...

erm...that'd be 3 30" and 3 23" ACDs :)

I say return or sell the extra cards and get an X1900XT but that's just me.
 
Uh...

clevin said:
u kidding me, right? its ridiculous both from reasoning and from result.
however, i would think its a mistake by apple rep, not intended.
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I know a bunch of web designers and developers that have more than two monitors. It's quite useful.
 
Silentwave said:
erm...that'd be 3 30" and 3 23" ACDs :)
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Excuse me, your grace.

My point still exists. Whether it is 3 30", 3 23", whatever, it was unnecessary for the representative to take advantage like that. Whether or not she had the money to throw around.
 
Silentwave said:
I say return or sell the extra cards and get an X1900XT but that's just me.
Click to expand...

Since the machine's open, though, I don't think I'd be able to just return parts, right? Or would I? Maybe paying a 15% restocking fee for just the cards?

It hurt my brain to think about it, and Apple's phone line was closed for Christmas.
 
clevin said:
u kidding me, right? its ridiculous both from reasoning and from result.
however, i would think its a mistake by apple rep, not intended.
Click to expand...

I'm surprised and I tend to agree with Clevin... I'm not saying having multiple monitors is not very useful to graphics professionals... but would most graphics professionals really buy three cards right now when they have one monitor, or would they wait so that they can buy the best available cards when they're ready to get the monitors themselves? I mean, true, the cards are only $300. But 3x Dual-Link monitors is $2700 even if you buy Dell, and it hurts to think about how much it would cost from Apple. Even if you went for a small army of 20" panels instead, it would take at least about $1500-2000 to use all of those DVI ports.
 
andrewxps said:
Excuse me, your grace.

My point still exists. Whether it is 3 30", 3 23", whatever, it was unnecessary for the representative to take advantage like that. Whether or not she had the money to throw around.
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I wasn't trying to diminish your point at all?
 
i think we should all just move past the "the rep was trying to be helpful" vs "the rep was trying to get more money" and focus on the boy here.

you can return/sell the mac pro or take out some video cards? (idk how mac pros are on the inside) and save some money for possibly an iPhone?

or you can keep it and do some awesome stuff with that beastly mac of yours.
 
I would bet that this was the mistake of an uneducated sales person, not realizing what the 3x option was. There was a similar thread about this, let me see if I can find it.
 
apple_iBoy said:
Since the machine's open, though, I don't think I'd be able to just return parts, right? Or would I? Maybe paying a 15% restocking fee for just the cards?

It hurt my brain to think about it, and Apple's phone line was closed for Christmas.
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Hard to say for sure but I think Apple'd be hard pushed not to let you return it. Just use the words 'misrepresented sale' with them repeatedly and they'll realise they're in the wrong, not you for opening it.
 
Your mom's machine should have at least 2 GB RAM in 4 X 512 sticks or
4 GB RAM in 4 x 1 GB .

The ATI X1900XT video card is the best bang for your buck.

Get the BlueTooth Airport option if you plan to use a wireless system.

Buy any additional hards drive at NewEgg.
 
apple_iBoy said:
Unfortunately, I didn't realize what was up until I opened the box, pulled the thing out, and saw 6 DVI ports on the back!

It's a delicate thing anyway -- since I asked my mom about it, she's already afraid that she messed up. I had to convince her that it's a wonderful machine and that I really do love it.

I might call Apple up anyway though, because I have a beef with the FedEx delivery. Apparently it was dropped off on a day when my mom and sister were both home, but the FedEx guy didn't ring the bell -- AND, my grievously, he left it in the driveway, of all places, right behind a car. Thankfully, my sister saw it when she went out the mailbox, before some could 1.) swipe it, or b.) back the car over it!

Geesh!
Click to expand...

FedEx never seems to ring the doorbell. It's frustrating...:mad:

Anyway, congrats on your new rocketship...er.....computer.:D
 
I'm happy to say this saga came to a satisfactory conclusion. I called Apple today and explained the situation. I asked if it would be possible to send two of the video cards back, with the expectation of paying a restocking fee. The customer service person immediately got a supervisor, who gave permission to return the cards without any fee.

I'm very pleased about the outcome and Apple's cooperative spirit, and my mom's gonna get about $300 back on her credit card.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and comments!
 
apple_iBoy said:
I'm happy to say this saga came to a satisfactory conclusion. I called Apple today and explained the situation. I asked if it would be possible to send two of the video cards back, with the expectation of paying a restocking fee. The customer service person immediately got a supervisor, who gave permission to return the cards without any fee.

I'm very pleased about the outcome and Apple's cooperative spirit, and my mom's gonna get about $300 back on her credit card.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and comments!
Click to expand...

Excellent. That's definitely a satisfying result - you must feel pretty chuffed.

Glad to hear it all turned out well and with a minimum of fuss.
 
apple_iBoy said:
It's a delicate thing anyway -- since I asked my mom about it, she's already afraid that she messed up. I had to convince her that it's a wonderful machine and that I really do love it.
Click to expand...

So your mom spends several thousand dollars on a Christmas present and then worries it might not be good enough for you? Are you friggin kidding me??!! :eek: :eek:

No offense, but you are either spoiled or rich or both. You guys should try to get on the Dr. Phil show!

All I ever remember getting for Christmas was a toy gun and an electric train that probably cost $50. I got the train one year and the toy gun the next.
 
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