How am I supposed to work? I am a freelance web designer/developer. Apple says 5-10 days to fix it (vertical screen stripe issue has happened three times now and right speaker has gone out three times as well). I am extremely frustrated by the fact that I have to lose money because of their inability to provide me with a quality machine that works. Excuse the vent, I love my MacBook Pro, but am very disappointed by these recurring problems and the only option I have to fix them, which involves sending this machine off and being unable to work for days.
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Sending in my ONLY Mac for repairs...
- Thread starter twomiracles
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Ok I want you to lay down on the couch get yourself a nice chilled Martini and take 5
I feel your frustration but hey it could be worse you could have a PC whose closest thing to web design is paint!
If you're serious about your business, you should really have a backup machine. Something to fill the gaps if your main computer is out of service.
I understand your frustrations with Apple and maintenance, but frankly, your loss of business is not their problem, and it's not fair to take your frustrations out here on the forums. If you are a professional, you should know this. You owe it to your customers and yourself to have a contingency plan in place.
Before you chastise me, I'll also tell you that both my wife and myself have/do work on freelance/contact, including running a business from our home. For both, our work is heavily computer-based, but downtime on the main machine is not a big deal thanks to secondary computers.
I understand your frustrations with Apple and maintenance, but frankly, your loss of business is not their problem, and it's not fair to take your frustrations out here on the forums. If you are a professional, you should know this. You owe it to your customers and yourself to have a contingency plan in place.
Before you chastise me, I'll also tell you that both my wife and myself have/do work on freelance/contact, including running a business from our home. For both, our work is heavily computer-based, but downtime on the main machine is not a big deal thanks to secondary computers.
Buy a good external hard drive to clone your drive to. Use the free Carbon Copy Cloner to make a bootable clone.
Rent a machine.
Keep working.
Apple's warranty specifically disclaims continuity of service, incidental or consequential losses, or provision of a substitute machine. So it's up to you to source a backup.
You can buy private sameday onsite service policies with replacement machinery, this coverage costs hundreds of dollars a year,
Rent a machine.
Keep working.
Apple's warranty specifically disclaims continuity of service, incidental or consequential losses, or provision of a substitute machine. So it's up to you to source a backup.
You can buy private sameday onsite service policies with replacement machinery, this coverage costs hundreds of dollars a year,
Thanks, everyone. I understand all of what has been said, but I still can't help but be frustrated by the amount of time and money that it will cost me to send them this machine for them to fix something that should have been right in the first place. Sure, I can buy a backup machine...BUY. So for the rare occasion that I have to send in my machine to be worked on, I should invest in a second machine? BUY a hard drive and clone my machine and RENT one to use while they work on mine...again, money out of my pocket. I wish I could say that was no big deal, but it is. I did well to make the investment in this one and while my business is growing, I also still have bills to pay and don't have $1000+ to shell out to buy a machine to use as a backup while mine is being fixed. I wish I did, truly, I do...but I don't. Now, if I had a PC and could run down to WalMart and buy a backup machine for $400, maybe that wouldn't be so bad...and if I had a PC, I probably wouldn't be as disappointed in having to do that. But this is a $2500 piece of equipment and I don't think I should have to have a backup...it should work, period. If I break it, that's my problem and yeah, I'd have to be without it and it would be my fault. But the case with this is, through no fault of my own, I will either be unable to work for several days, go buy a backup machine (which is completely out of the question) or just keep it and hope it doesn't get worse.
Thanks for the support, sorry I vented here, didn't realize that wasn't allowed or wasn't professional...but no one in my real life understands the predicament this puts me in, I thought I just might find a sympathetic ear here.
Thanks for the support, sorry I vented here, didn't realize that wasn't allowed or wasn't professional...but no one in my real life understands the predicament this puts me in, I thought I just might find a sympathetic ear here.
It hasn't been sent in. The screen issue is the common one and the other times, I just followed the instructions found in a thread here to fix it. The speakers, I did call in once, they told me to take it to an Apple store, but that's a 2 hour drive each way, probably two trips to get it fixed, so when their reset fixed it, I just decided to wait it out...and it has now happened two more times. But I have not sent it in or taken it in for repairs at all, yet.
I do have most of my work backed up, but I do not have a clone of my machine. I guess I'm just on the lower income side of the bracket as far as Mac lovers go because for me, it isn't as simple as just wanting something and going out and buying it. I traded two machines (an iMac and a MacBook) for this machine or I wouldn't have it. There's no way I could have just gone out and bought it. I knew when I traded off the two machines I had that I was leaving myself without a backup, but I really needed the power of this machine to do my work so I had to make that choice. So, it's my fault, I understand, but that still doesn't keep me from being extremely frustrated with the situation. I am still struggling to build a business and really don't have alot of excess cash laying around and probably, what I will end up doing is just living with the problems and hoping they don't get worse.
i understand the problem and sympathise.
for backups you can get external hdd for dirt nowadays - if it was me i would have kept the imac and macbook and saved up then you would have a backup machine.
then when you had the mbp you could have sold them for extra cash
for backups you can get external hdd for dirt nowadays - if it was me i would have kept the imac and macbook and saved up then you would have a backup machine.
then when you had the mbp you could have sold them for extra cash
So, you haven't actually taken the machine for any repair yet?
Don't delay taking it in until your warranty is expired... then you'll be really ticked. If you are in the USA, you have the option of courier- or mail- in warranty service.
A backup hard drive can be bought for $100 or so.
But I have to ask -- why do you feel you are different from everybody else? The same warranty coverage applies to all Apple customers. When you pay (shock!) $2,500 for a machine you are not getting a 100% uptime guarantee.
Anyway - you are certainly permitted to vent here... as are other posters permitted to disagree with you.
Don't delay taking it in until your warranty is expired... then you'll be really ticked. If you are in the USA, you have the option of courier- or mail- in warranty service.
A backup hard drive can be bought for $100 or so.
But I have to ask -- why do you feel you are different from everybody else? The same warranty coverage applies to all Apple customers. When you pay (shock!) $2,500 for a machine you are not getting a 100% uptime guarantee.
Anyway - you are certainly permitted to vent here... as are other posters permitted to disagree with you.
I don't know, I guess I just expect too much. But I don't see why it is too much to expect to receive a machine that works, without defects. The way I see it, their inability to manufacture a machine that WORKS RIGHT the first time is costing me money...and that's what I'm frustrated about.
Components are components. They are bound to fail at some point. I've realized it doesn't matter how much the computer costs, I never expect the machines to work flawlessly. I love Apple computers and have no intentions of buying any other machine anytime soon, but I have had more failures with hdds and screens than I have with any HP or Dell I've owned. I feel like I've probably just been unlucky though. In the end the final machine always works fine, but I've found it has taken one or two machines to get it right from time to time with them..
Did you check to see if there are any Apple Authorized Service Provider nearby? They can do repairs in store, possibly the same day depending on what needs to be repaired.
I went to the Apple store to have my MBP's fans replaced and they had to send it in. It took 8 days. Then I checked and I found a AASP in a nearby town that could have done the repairs in a few hours *facepalm*
I went to the Apple store to have my MBP's fans replaced and they had to send it in. It took 8 days. Then I checked and I found a AASP in a nearby town that could have done the repairs in a few hours *facepalm*
There is one about 2 hours away...but...let me tell you about them.
When I bought my first mac, I went there, I told them that I use Photoshop and do alot of graphics work. I really wanted to make a minimal investment so they sold me the Mac Mini, even though I told them that I was a heavy Photoshop user...I have since been told that they should not have sold me that machine, given what I told them about how I'd be using it. So, when I went back with problems because the machine just couldn't do what I needed it to, she took it back...and charged me a 25% restocking fee. I had all original packaging and had had it maybe 2 weeks, with continual problems. She said she'd have to sell it at a discount, but I'd be willing to bet that she boxed it back up and sold it with a much lower discount than the 25% she charged me. Anyway, after that, I have stayed away from that store. She also told me back then that if I didn't buy it there, I wouldn't receive the same priority for service on my machines as people who bought their machines from her store. ugh...she just isn't a nice person and I really don't want to go back there. The nearest Apple store is in Tulsa, which is also 2 hours away and if I could get it done in one trip, that might not be so bad, but if I had to drive over twice, that would be pretty expensive .
When I bought my first mac, I went there, I told them that I use Photoshop and do alot of graphics work. I really wanted to make a minimal investment so they sold me the Mac Mini, even though I told them that I was a heavy Photoshop user...I have since been told that they should not have sold me that machine, given what I told them about how I'd be using it. So, when I went back with problems because the machine just couldn't do what I needed it to, she took it back...and charged me a 25% restocking fee. I had all original packaging and had had it maybe 2 weeks, with continual problems. She said she'd have to sell it at a discount, but I'd be willing to bet that she boxed it back up and sold it with a much lower discount than the 25% she charged me. Anyway, after that, I have stayed away from that store. She also told me back then that if I didn't buy it there, I wouldn't receive the same priority for service on my machines as people who bought their machines from her store. ugh...she just isn't a nice person and I really don't want to go back there. The nearest Apple store is in Tulsa, which is also 2 hours away and if I could get it done in one trip, that might not be so bad, but if I had to drive over twice, that would be pretty expensive
.
Yes
Simply put, it IS too much to expect.
It's impossible to make any mass-produced product with 100.00% perfection. Apple like every other company builds machines to a price point, and achieves perhaps 98% accuracy. Then there is component failure which will account for maybe 4%-5% of machines in the first year. Lower quality brands have higher failure rates. PCWorld's latest survey of 60,000 computer owners found Apple and Lenovo had the highest reliability in laptops, and Apple alone the highest in desktops.
You can build a machine with sub-1% failure rates, but it would cost $7,500, not $2,500.
You can build a machine (like a file server) with redundant systems that can run 24/7 with no downtime, and hot-swapping of any failed components. It'll weigh 70 lbs and cost $12,000, mind you.
I don't feel this is fair, and I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but it comes across as a little condescending and belittling of his problem.
Not everyone can afford to buy backup computers, and apparently he's one who cannot; he did ask for advice, so it wasn't just a vent.
Being a "professional" doesn't entail anything other than having a professional career; there's no correct procedure or protocol; it's entirely individualized (if cultural)... ergo, it's a bit silly for you to tell him how he should behave.
As for the OP, I hear you and sympathize; I know I get upset when I'm without a computer, and I don't even need it for work (being a student, I can go to the library at my school and work on the iMacs, but that's a pain not being able to be able to work on my own laptop).
Seriously, you guys are acting like a bunch of pompous asshats. I never understand why people feel like they need to spout off Apple's user agreements when someone needs to vent or is understandably upset about a product failure on a machine that costs 2.5k.
Sorry for what happened to you, OP. That just sucks, end of story. Despite what everyone else says, I don't think it's your fault. However, as a graphic designer, you should have a contingency plan. Computers do fail. Even almighty Apple ones. I don't think you should wait anymore to have your laptop repaired, as you could find yourself with a worse problem out of warranty down the road.
I can't really give you any sound advice, since you don't have the money for an additional machine. I understand, not every apple user has money to burn, but having a back up plan for when your computer is down isn't a luxury in your business. You should look into short term rentals if it's that critical to be up for 7 days, and slowly salt away the cash for even a macbook. Macbooks run photoshop and such fine enough.
Good luck. Hopefully it gets fixed sooner than they estimated.
Sorry for what happened to you, OP. That just sucks, end of story. Despite what everyone else says, I don't think it's your fault. However, as a graphic designer, you should have a contingency plan. Computers do fail. Even almighty Apple ones. I don't think you should wait anymore to have your laptop repaired, as you could find yourself with a worse problem out of warranty down the road.
I can't really give you any sound advice, since you don't have the money for an additional machine. I understand, not every apple user has money to burn, but having a back up plan for when your computer is down isn't a luxury in your business. You should look into short term rentals if it's that critical to be up for 7 days, and slowly salt away the cash for even a macbook. Macbooks run photoshop and such fine enough.
Good luck. Hopefully it gets fixed sooner than they estimated.
If having a running machine is critical, not selling the last machine you had is an important step in running the business.
Also, watching the Mac refurb section and used mac resellers for a $200-400 Mac Mini might be a worthy thought. Plus a $15 keyboard and mouse and a thrift shop $5-50 CRT.
Also, watching the Mac refurb section and used mac resellers for a $200-400 Mac Mini might be a worthy thought. Plus a $15 keyboard and mouse and a thrift shop $5-50 CRT.
yes apple will listen to you and try and offer other options if you tell them it's your only machine. Give them a call. Don't expect good service from the 'apple authorized repair' places, if you are under warranty the only option most offer is them sending it to texas.
No-one said your not allowed to moan or it's unprofessional.
Over the past few months I've been having annoying screen problems, sent the MBP back a couple of times, had them replace the topcase then a few weeks later the exact same problem occurred to the new TFT! LOL... That didn't stop me from working!!
Depending on the store, you could ask them to "rush" the repairs through, some branches will actually give you a 24 hour repair! - guess that's one good reason to have a store that actually repair and service Mac's onsite. If the screen issue isn't major you can just whackin a external monitor to use, while they order you in a replacement part - assuming it's not a logic board failure. But seriously though, if design is your career and/or livelihood, consider buying an alternative machine just in case the inevitable happens.
I completely understand this thread. I took my broken MBP for repairs to my local apple store (London), and was told 7-10 days for repair. Now 14 days later, and after much nagging on my part, they've told me the parts are 'allocated' and may be repaired tomorrow. Am mightily p*ssed off, but what can you do?
That I don't understand, in London ?
In Germany, you have the authorized service providers in every major city, and afaik that's where the repairs are made.
Granted, my experience is limited, but here in Hamburg I had a blown power supply in a G5 tower.
Messengered it to the Apple service provider Thursday, the part was overnighted, the computer back with me on Monday.
Broken hinge on a TiBook some years ago - pretty much the same turn-around time.
A couple weeks ago, I had the screen of my MBP replaced (15" Rev. B, will keep doing that , it's that bad... ).
I called the same shop, they ordered the screen, called me the next day - the screen had arrived - and replaced it within a couple of hours.
Oh - I had bought neither computer from this place, not that the question ever came up.
A computer with the PRO moniker, which Apple very well knows is in many cases actually being used by professionals, should have a decent service network coming with it.
After all, it's not a stupid iPod, and if you can guarentee a repair in 7-10 days, you can as well do it in 1-2 days, where's the extra effort ?
Sorry to hear about your problems, BUT...
Even enterprise-class servers that cost more than small cars can fail. But one of these servers at an ISP fails, they'll most certainly have a backup machine to take over for that very purpose. Anything electronic or mechanical can fail. No matter how large your business is, if you're a professional, you need a backup, PERIOD. Every business has necessities that shouldn't be overlooked and for you, having a backup machine would be one of them. Look into business loans if you don't have the cash flow.
At work (I'm a film/video editor), we have a new Mac Pro (purchased three months ago), but we didn't go selling off the old G5. Backup machine! My 15" MBP had to get a logic board replacement last month, which took a week. Though it was a pain to lug around, I used my C2D iMac from home as a backup at filming locations. Thousands of dollars would be at stake if I had downtime for a week!
The point here is that you never want your business to rely on one machine, no matter how much that one machine cost you. If a mom and pop convenience store owner had a broken cash register, would they close shop waiting for NCR to repair it? Not likely, because they'll actually lose more money than it cost them to buy a backup register in the first place.
When you start a business, these are things to think about PRIOR to opening shop!
Please don't think I'm being unsympathetic. It's just a reality. In the business world, clients don't care about your technical difficulties. To them, you are supposed to be the expert. They are paying you to produce results and if you can't do that, they will go elsewhere.
Laptops are under a lot of stressful conditions that desktops don't have to worry about. It's not prudent to only have a laptop if you rely on your computer to make money. Obviously money is a huge issue, but something to think about in the future when you're rich and famous.