First, some background: I'm a freshman at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. Like most college students, I'm running on no money. In fact, I have a negative balance on my checking account. My mom is similarly broke - basically, she just lost everything she had after a rough divorce and is having trouble paying the bills. Thus, spending hundreds of dollars on repairing my computer simply isn't an option.
Nearly three years ago, as a gift, my parents bought me a Powerbook G4. I was ecstatic to finally own a Mac, and the system immediately dazzled me, from the aesthetics to Mac OS X; have no doubt - OS X has made using a computer something I look forward to. That is, when the computer is working.
I sent my original Powerbook in five times with various hardware failures - three times, the Wi-Fi simply stopped working. One time, Apple sent back my machine after a repair with a deep scratch across the display. When my CD drive failed, support was rude and blamed me even though I treated the machine like it was my child. Finally, as a token of gratitude, Apple replaced my machine with a brand-new Macbook Pro a little less than a year after my original purchase. I was thrilled with Apple support for the first time - for the first time, they showed the respect that seemed so elusive. I received the machine a week later with hopes that the transition would spell the end of my problems.
Unfortunately, things didn't turn out that way. My Macbook Pro suffered from two hard drive failures, a bad Wi-Fi card, and a warped case after one repair. Apple support was more courteous towards me with these failures, but one repair resulted in three weeks of downtime due to a backordered part - no small price to pay in productivity as both a student and, at the time, a freelance web designer. After the second hard drive failure and a horrible experience with customer relations, Apple once again decided to send me a replacement refurbished Macbook Pro. I was grateful for this and once again was ready to give Apple a shot at providing me with a machine worthy of my $2,000 investment.
Unfortunately, my Macbook Pro suffered from further problems. Before coming to college, I considered purchasing a new machine, knowing that I simply couldn't lose the computer while I was at college. I elected against it though, because I love Mac OS X and I couldn't afford to purchase a new machine. Unfortunately, the computer seemed to fail right when I got to school. A CD became lodged in the drive, and Apple offered to repair it despite the fact that it was passed warranty. This wasn't an option because I can't lose the computer, but, in hindsight, it may have been what I should've done. My hard drive has now completely failed. It began making clicking noises after a restart, and a subsequent restart resulted in what looks like a corrupt Finder (see attached picture). I called Apple and they were especially rude and told me to call Customer Relations on Monday. I can't afford to waste minutes on the phone with them, as I'm running out of those on my phone plan and I have no other way to contact them other than using my cell phone.
What should I say to them?
Nearly three years ago, as a gift, my parents bought me a Powerbook G4. I was ecstatic to finally own a Mac, and the system immediately dazzled me, from the aesthetics to Mac OS X; have no doubt - OS X has made using a computer something I look forward to. That is, when the computer is working.
I sent my original Powerbook in five times with various hardware failures - three times, the Wi-Fi simply stopped working. One time, Apple sent back my machine after a repair with a deep scratch across the display. When my CD drive failed, support was rude and blamed me even though I treated the machine like it was my child. Finally, as a token of gratitude, Apple replaced my machine with a brand-new Macbook Pro a little less than a year after my original purchase. I was thrilled with Apple support for the first time - for the first time, they showed the respect that seemed so elusive. I received the machine a week later with hopes that the transition would spell the end of my problems.
Unfortunately, things didn't turn out that way. My Macbook Pro suffered from two hard drive failures, a bad Wi-Fi card, and a warped case after one repair. Apple support was more courteous towards me with these failures, but one repair resulted in three weeks of downtime due to a backordered part - no small price to pay in productivity as both a student and, at the time, a freelance web designer. After the second hard drive failure and a horrible experience with customer relations, Apple once again decided to send me a replacement refurbished Macbook Pro. I was grateful for this and once again was ready to give Apple a shot at providing me with a machine worthy of my $2,000 investment.
Unfortunately, my Macbook Pro suffered from further problems. Before coming to college, I considered purchasing a new machine, knowing that I simply couldn't lose the computer while I was at college. I elected against it though, because I love Mac OS X and I couldn't afford to purchase a new machine. Unfortunately, the computer seemed to fail right when I got to school. A CD became lodged in the drive, and Apple offered to repair it despite the fact that it was passed warranty. This wasn't an option because I can't lose the computer, but, in hindsight, it may have been what I should've done. My hard drive has now completely failed. It began making clicking noises after a restart, and a subsequent restart resulted in what looks like a corrupt Finder (see attached picture). I called Apple and they were especially rude and told me to call Customer Relations on Monday. I can't afford to waste minutes on the phone with them, as I'm running out of those on my phone plan and I have no other way to contact them other than using my cell phone.
What should I say to them?
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