Labor, labor, labor.. The example is an absolute terrible one... How much was the part itself from the dealer?
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New height of Apple stupidity/selfishness
- Thread starter bunce66
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Labor, labor, labor.. The example is an absolute terrible one... How much was the part itself from the dealer?
.25 cents for rubber so apparently the glue is $299.75...
Had to laugh at that one
Q-6
.25 cents for rubber so apparently the glue is $299.75...
Then again why give a rat's patooie about rubber feet on a four year old machine?
Then I suggest that you stick with Lenovo, I offered a possible explanation of the situation, without knowning the full details, its easy to jump to conclusions
Really? So tell me how long it would take Apple to slap a new rubber foot on? What is Apple hourly labor rate? $2,000 an hour?
Using labor for car repairs is just flat out silly, sorry if you can't see that..
Aside from that, you said you did your car repair yourself so was the OP offered the rubber foot for a few dollars where he / she could do the repair at home? NOPE>..
.25 cents for rubber so apparently the glue is $299.75...
Less if you buy two foots.
Never ceases to amaze me on how Apple design a product that people love - and love to purchase - slim designs, smooth lines, very tight and professional seals, but then some people moan at them because they didn't make it a loose fitting, bulkier and probably less reliable and cheaper device.
I've gone through two HP laptops in 3 years at work - meanwhile my 2015 MacBook Pro and 2013 Air are still 100% fully functional, despite me lugging them around a lot more (and them going on multiple vacations).
My point is that Apple constructed these machines in such a way that a simple repair, that the user should be able to do at home with official parts is not doable.. I guess I must be crazy for thinking $300 to replace the rubber feet is insane and serious slap in face to the consumer.
But more in labor cost for Apple to replace.. If the OP needed 2 of em, then he/she would need a bank loan to get em swapped out.. LOL
YMMV with many companies
I have several montblanc pens that cost considerably more than a mbp that have plastic threads and other parts that fail after a couple of years at typically $200 a shot for nothing
Yet good companies like Cartier replaced the hands on my 30 year old tank that went in for a minor thing or my Audi side cargo net in the boot/trunk cost $30 not $5000 for a whole new liner etc
Customer service is a fickle thing even with Apple and with the new build methods expect more daft charges imo
Several years ago, I took my 2012 mbp into the genius bar for a couple of missing feet. On my previous 2008 mbp Apple had replaced the missing feet for feet. They came off so often they had them on hand, no big deal. This time, Apple wanted $20 apiece (no talk of replacing entire bottom case at that time.)
I was outraged because of my prior experience of free replacements. I went to a hardware store and got stick-on bumps which had the advantage of elevating the rear: better typing posture, better air circulation underneath.
They haven't come off in all these years!
Couple years later, the Genius Bar gave me an estimate of $800 for replacing the keyboard, where the qwerty row wasn't working because of spilled coffee. According to Apple the entire top case would have to be replaced.
I took it to a local Mac shop. He put in a new keyboard for $120 and incidentally siliconed new feet on. (i've got both bumps and feet now!)
Funnily enough, turns out the keyboard is independent of the top case?
Nowadays, Apple repair reminds me of used car salesmen...
I was outraged because of my prior experience of free replacements. I went to a hardware store and got stick-on bumps which had the advantage of elevating the rear: better typing posture, better air circulation underneath.
They haven't come off in all these years!
Couple years later, the Genius Bar gave me an estimate of $800 for replacing the keyboard, where the qwerty row wasn't working because of spilled coffee. According to Apple the entire top case would have to be replaced.
I took it to a local Mac shop. He put in a new keyboard for $120 and incidentally siliconed new feet on. (i've got both bumps and feet now!)
Funnily enough, turns out the keyboard is independent of the top case?
Nowadays, Apple repair reminds me of used car salesmen...
How is this going in circles????
You said:
So explain how replacing a thermostat in a car is the same as replacing the rubber foot on a computer.
1. A car thermostat replacement could be quite detailed depending on the car. labor rates are probably at least an hour and probably more.
-vs-
Replacing the rubber foot on a computer will take what? All of 10 minutes and that's if you take an 8 minute coffee break while doing it...
2. You did the repair on your own at a fraction of the cost with widely available parts. Is this an option that was available to the OP? Was the OP offered the rubber feet for purchase?
What's funny here is the OP thinking this is some sort of recent thing. Take a look at Apple's advice on how to do this with 2008 Macbook.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202450
Whilst certainly doable by someone who feels comfortable and confident in removing the case, it's still not a task I'd say is easy and simple. In addition this example also shows that the repair wasn't just a case of 'glueing some feet back on'.
Don't think the OP really grasps that Apple create quality components that quite often means that they're not 'user replaceable'.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202450
Whilst certainly doable by someone who feels comfortable and confident in removing the case, it's still not a task I'd say is easy and simple. In addition this example also shows that the repair wasn't just a case of 'glueing some feet back on'.
Don't think the OP really grasps that Apple create quality components that quite often means that they're not 'user replaceable'.
So how log would you estimate that process would take an Apple trained rep to accomplish? Keep in mind they open these machines up all the time.
I think the longest part of the process would be waiting for the glue to dry...... Still not even close to justify the $300 repair he/ she was quoted.. $20 = okay! $30 = kinda high but okay. $40 = meh but I'll just have them do it. $300 = Leave store disgusted and sadly laughing.
What HP laptops did you use?
Funny thing is, my MBP 15 from 2013 got screen coating. And yes, it was fixed for free. But never the less, it was a hassle for me, since there are no Apple stores in my country, so I had to leave my laptop in the authorized store and wait for replacement screen.
And I'm using thinkpads for as long as I can remember. Never had any issues. They are built like a tank. I think if I dropped my thinkpad on MBP 2017, MBP would break easily.
And another thing that is really funny... People defending Apple for wanting 300$ to replace rubber feet???
One has to ask himself... What is next? Apple wanting 750$ to replace just one broken key on a keyboard? Oh wait....
Average Apple Genius salary seems to be around $21 an hour. Therefore it's very conceivable that their hourly repair rate is at least triple that: $63 an hour. Then there's the cost that any repair might potentially cause more issues, you got the costs of running the store in general, lighting, heating etc.
After running a business myself I can promise you that, until you see it for yourself, you are oblivious to all the hidden costs that quickly mount up into a charged rate.
Since when did any copany have to act like a charity when it came to out of warranty repair costs? There's many companies that expect you to return items back at your expense in the correct packaging AND pay for the return shipping, even to have something repaired under warranty.
Quite acting like this is somehow unique to Apple. I gave up with getting my Onkyo Receiver repaired under warranty because it would have cost me over $100 to have it shipped there and back just so they could reflash the firmware on it.
Some will defend Apple to the death and that's fine to a point. Where it comes irrational is in instances like this where it's really inconceivable for anyone to try and justify $300 for a rubber foot.....
Okay I'll play along and concede your repair rate even though I think it's less than that. Heck I'll even up it to a ridiculous $70 per hour in labor.
So.........
Lets say $10 for the feet which puts the labor cost at $290. This repair will take 4 hours?
From your Apple link:
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When it first became known that a repair for the HomePod would almost cost as much as a completely new HomePod, people were outraged: how much could (for example) a new microphone or some other component possibly cost Apple? A few dollars? So how can they justify a price of a few hundred dollars for it?
Yet when the HomePod actually came out, iFixit wasn‘t able to get inside of the HomePod without pretty much completely destroying it, despite their best efforts. And they are among the best in their branche. The HomePod is so closed off that a repair of almost any kind requires essentially a replacement of >80% of its parts and components, which puts the asking price for a repair much more into perspective. You are almost (maybe even completely) getting a new HomePod for it.
Now if completely and cleanly replacing the rubber feet without any other damage or traces is possible easily in a DIY job, then yes I agree that the repair price is rather insane. But I stand by my point that we shouldn‘t be quick judge the price of a repair as a ripoff based on how much the replacement parts could possibly cost. The HomePod is an extreme example but we have seen many cases in Apple‘s history where a thinner, lighter and more compact redesign made components irreplaceable without damaging or exchanging a whole bunch of other stuff, even if you could easily switch them out before.
So just to recap. Here is what $300 can get you at an Apple Store:
iPad $329
iPhone SE $349
Apple TV 4K $179
Or this:
Rubber foot $300
iPad $329
iPhone SE $349
Apple TV 4K $179
Or this:
Rubber foot $300
As people have been repeating over and over again, the rubber feet don't cost $300. You can keep trying to ignore facts as much as you want, but it's obvious that Apple either replaces more than just the rubber feet, or it's a labor intensive process to add new feet in. If you have a problem with that, plenty of other manufacturers sell more easily and cheaply repairable products.