What happened to Apple's support?

[VKC]

I'm new here and searching the forums, I see this has been mentioned before but couldn't find a recent thread ...

All I need is a new battery for my 4 year old MacBook Pro. I can't get an appointment at a Genius Bar as it's either "not available" or has no appointments. They used to take phone calls at the nearest one, but no longer. On speaking to Apple support I'm told to keep trying as there may be cancellations!! Do Apple not have people who could design a waiting list into the system?!! I could spend my life sitting on their slow process through to the Genius app system but unfortunately don't have the time.

Oh, and no one can tell me if they'd have the battery in stock if I did get an appointment so I might have to go twice as, while it's still at least working, I can't be without it.

I tried a few of the Apple recommended services. They took my serial no. etc. Days later, I'm still waiting for call backs and have got past the point of bothering to chase.

Ridiculously, I have a new MacBook en route (I wasn't planning to get one for a while yet) as I simply can't risk battery failure.

This is insane! It's just a battery for goodness sake. And if it was something worse ... Is this what Apple's service has come to?

 

[keysofanxiety]

They've stopped taking calls to make bookings for a few reasons and you need to sign in with your Apple ID these days to make a booking online.

I completely appreciate it's difficult to get bookings these days due to the surge in Mac/iOS popularity. My best advice would be that as you can make a booking 6 days in advance, I'd try make a booking online just after midnight so that all the slots in 6 days' time will then become visible and you can get in first.

As your MacBook is 4 years old, they'll still be able to service the machine. If they don't have the part in stock, it would just be a couple of days for them to order it, and then you can pop in at your leisure for them to fit the new battery. You wouldn't have to make a new booking or anything like that; as soon as you've got a service case authorised, the repair would be fairly quick from there.

 

[MacDawg]

I have a late 2013 MBP that needed a new battery
I too was frustrated about not being able to call the store directly and find out if they had a battery in stock
In the end, made my appointment for them to evaluate
They had to order the part, but I was able to return for service
Had to leave it with them due to how busy they were for turn around time
But got it back the next day

Sucks when you need service, but all in all it was fairly painless

I did check with an authorized Apple service center but the turn around was far longer
And the price was about 3x as much

 

[VKC]

Hi MacDawg, I should have mentioned above tel support was telling me the earliest appointment I could get (even if I kept logging in to check at 5 mins wasted each time) wasn't going to be for a week - longer as there were a couple of days I couldn't have gone there anyway.
It shouldn't suck when you need service!! That's when they should be at their best.

 

[keysofanxiety]

It shouldn't suck when you need service!! That's when they should be at their best.

Lots of other people have Macs and book in service too! Apple didn't refuse service, they just didn't have any bookings available.

Give a thought for the poor overworked Geniuses who deal with a constant stream of issues and are rewarded with an evening of hardware repairs

 

[VKC]

Lots of other people have Macs and book in service too! Apple didn't refuse service, they just didn't have any bookings available.

Give a thought for the poor overworked Geniuses who deal with a constant stream of issues and are rewarded with an evening of hardware repairs

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear. I have no problem with making a booking and understand that they can't always be free immediately. I have a problem when one is told just to keep logging in to see when a booking might be made! That was all the advice I got: just keep trying.
Why on earth don't they provide a waiting list to the system so that customers can be alerted to available slots?

Sadly, it's easier these days to get a PC fixed than an Apple product. But if you're all happy with the level of service, maybe it's just me.

BTW, Apple's online tech support is still excellent.

 

[maflynn]

Sadly, it's easier these days to get a PC fixed than an Apple product. But if you're all happy with the level of service, maybe it's just me.

This is one of the things that stuck me, a few months ago. My wife was trying to make an appointment at an apple store and it was frustrating because for her non-working phone, we needed to wait a week for the next available open slot.

I understand the long support lines and lack of open appointments are a product of their popularity, but also how they've managed them seems unfriendly. For a company that prides itself about it having the best support reputation, my wife came away frustrated. In the end, we got the problem resolved and that's what counts but the process was somewhat un-apple like in getting that resolved.

 

[chscag]

Unfortunately, Apple Stores have become like Grand Central Station in New York City. However, Apple support is still the best in my opinion and well worth the wait for an appointment. My sympathy goes out to those owners who depend on their Macs to make a living and can't be without the machine for any length of time.

 

[JohnDS]

Do you have another nearby store you could try?