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A letter to Tim

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A

akadmon

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Original poster
Aug 30, 2006
2,006
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New England
Hi Tim,

My name is X Y. I have been a loyal Apple customer since 1988 (my first purchase was a Mac Plus, which I used to lug to the office as a young chemical engineer, because I refused to work on a standard issue DOS box). I've made many purchases since then, including yesterday, when I placed an order for what I thought was a newly updated Mac Pro. I'm sure you are aware that the Apple online store showed the entire Mac Pro line as "New" yesterday, a label which has been removed earlier today. The only reason why I placed the order for what I thought was the new Mac Pro, is because I thought it was substantially upgraded (I assumed, wrongly as it turns out, that the upgrade had to do with the latest Xeon processors Intel released in April). I was very excited about the purchase (I own a 2006 Mac Pro, which I really love, but which is starting to show its age), only to find out that the label "New" was removed from the website, which prompted me to do some research. What I've learned is really very disconcerting, namely that the computer I bought (6-core) is exactly the same as the one Apple sold on Monday, and that this model has not been upgraded since the Summer of 2010. What a letdown!

I called Apple customer service tonight to discuss the matter, and spent close to two hours on the phone. The experience was as disappointing (if not more) than finding out that the "new" Mac Pro I thought I bought wasn't so new after all. I went through three levels of customer service, and I am sad to say that the representatives (including level 3) showed little understanding of Apple's product line (repeatedly referring to my new computer as "iMac" and confusing my 6-core with the 12-core model). Level 3 representative kept me on hold for a very long time, continuing to make me believe that some sort of "restitution" would be offered. In the end he came back claiming that the 6-core had indeed been upgraded, only because "it now supports up to 32 GB of RAM" (not true, 32GB was possible before). He offered me a $50 coupon toward a future purchase. I'm sorry, Tim, but I find this insulting, It goes without saying that Apple made a huge mistake by advertising the Mac Pro as "New" yesterday. I'm sure I'm not the only person who fell into this trap. Of course I can cancel the order, but I genuinely need a new Mac Pro (even if, as it turns out, it is a 2010 model). I am really really disappointed and sad that this happened.

Best Regards,

X Y

P.S.

The order number is ***********. The Customer Service case is **********.
 
Vote with your wallet. I honestly don't think that there is any real reason to find your e-mail to be nothing short of a whine when you end it with you plopping down thousands for a new machine. Apple was wrong here and I think they know it but the e-mail just doesn't really say that you're truly disappointed.

I totally agree with you and I would love to see an update; a true update, but I really cannot see why you'd buy the machine at this point. It seems like a bad purchase all around.
 
1) You were probably talking to phone operators in India who've never actually seen a Mac.

2) Let us know when you get back a form letter from "Tim" sent "from Tim's iPad" and what it says. Unfortunately his inbox is flooded with rage letters at the moment so yours might never get read by anyone in any position to do anything.

3) Why not just cancel the order? I did read your motive, but still...
 
Can I have his email address? I've tried finding it before.

I hope someone in Apple is Sh**ting their pants right now with what looks like the biggest professional fumble since the Performa. Total let down.
 
rawdawg said:
Can I have his email address? I've tried finding it before.

I hope someone in Apple is Sh**ting their pants right now with what looks like the biggest professional fumble since the Performa. Total let down.
Click to expand...

I sent it ti tcook@apple.com. The massage has not bounced back, so it seems to be a real email address.
 
Buffsteria said:
1) You were probably talking to phone operators in India who've never actually seen a Mac.

2) Let us know when you get back a form letter from "Tim" sent "from Tim's iPad" and what it says. Unfortunately his inbox is flooded with rage letters at the moment so yours might never get read by anyone in any position to do anything.

3) Why not just cancel the order? I did read your motive, but still...
Click to expand...

Why do you assume that people in India are more likely not to have seen a Mac? Also, Apple's tech and sales support for US customers is almost entirely in the United States. Some is in Canada.

I agree, though, that Apple is not invested in its Pro customers at the moment.
 
Before we watch this thread be completely hijacked by the debate on whether the stupid phone center was in India or not... Here's my email to Tim (just for kicks). I don't care I don't come off as "correct" as the OP. This is what I meant.

Subject = "If this isn't Tim Cook then you probably wish you had a different name"

Dear Tim,

I've bought Apple's computers since the early 80's. I've converted COUNTLESS people to Apple even before the iGadgets appeared. You see, I was a professional who cared about quality products and only bought from company's who cared about them too. Watching Apple's popularity grow in recent years tickled me silly. Every flight I took I would count one more Apple laptop waiting at the gate. Windows was a bitter enemy, a fat cat who only cared about money. Guess how I began to view Apple this past year? Yesterday certainly solidified that suspicion.

If I could drop you completely I would. But your growing and prosperous company has managed to weasel it's way into our day-to-day just like that bitter enemy from before, an enemy who I now finally consider equal to you. And I get it, you're a public company looking after it's shareholders just like every other poster child for corporate greed. But whether I continue my relationship with you or not, I don't like you the way I once did. And I look forward to meeting your next competition, and watching them grow, and eventually we may see history repeat itself.

Have fun with your billions in cash. Pay those bastards you have working over there tirelessly to move money around and avoid taxes, after all your PR campaigns will at least still work with the fickle and unreliable iConsumers. Bottom line is you're loosing your most loyal constituents. And we aren't as likely to forget. We are who made you who you are now.

So I would take a moment and consider why such loyal supporters like I may feel this way. Would it really have put you out to properly address the needs of your professionals? If so how is it that your competition can? What does that say about you, being the giant you are? Even if you have a halfway decent excuse, we deserve the slightest bit of respect.

--

(I didn't give him the courtesy of a signature :)

----------
bpd115 said:
Not for nothing but in this thread

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1383829/

You were much more forgiving and aware of what you were buying.
Click to expand...

I think we knew that... which is why I give Tim my complete candor.
 
rawdawg said:
Can I have his email address? I've tried finding it before.

I hope someone in Apple is Sh**ting their pants right now with what looks like the biggest professional fumble since the Performa. Total let down.
Click to expand...

The Performa was not targeted at professionals. It was a consumer version of the Mac Classic, LCII/LCIII, Color Classic II and IIvi.
 
My email to Tim.

Dear Tim.

Please don't drop Mac Pro. Mac Pro is the best workstation. And i loved it.
 
Just looked at what a $700 HP Pavillion Desktop provides: 3.4 GHZ, 6 core, 10 Gbyte, 1 Tbyte, 2 3.0 USB, 6 2.0 USB, etc. (at Best Buy). This vs. $3K for the "new" MacPro not-even-close-equivalent provides enough money to switch over to Windows based application upgrades and then with some money left over. Face it. Apple is bored with MacPros and the Pro community. They are now a Phone Company. Very likely, they are unable to get employees to work on non-iOS products. It is not a money problem for them, it is a resource and vision issue.
 
I've emailed Tim before on an unrelated issue and recieved an escalation of my issue to an executive relations spokesperson who helped resolve my problem (one that was being experienced by many people).

But, you do understand that that's not Tim's actual usage email right? That email account is filtered by an executive relations person who probably has some interns going over most of it. Its going to be a rare email that actually gets selected to be passed on to Tim.
 
They accidentally advertised incorrectly and you placed an order without doing full research on it. You both made a mistake. They offered you a $50 coupon and you could cancel your order. I'm not sure exactly what you are wanting to come from this.
 
Lemme get this straight... You're mad Apple let you buy exactly what they advertised?

If you were willing and happy to buy that machine, you don't need Sandy Bridge anyway besides the feeling of "new shiny."
 
Buffsteria said:
1) You were probably talking to phone operators in India who've never actually seen a Mac.

2) Let us know when you get back a form letter from "Tim" sent "from Tim's iPad" and what it says. Unfortunately his inbox is flooded with rage letters at the moment so yours might never get read by anyone in any position to do anything.

3) Why not just cancel the order? I did read your motive, but still...
Click to expand...

I would not be surprised if the first level or two were these...
http://www.apple.com/jobs/us/students.html#aha_college
 
chr1s60 said:
They accidentally advertised incorrectly and you placed an order without doing full research on it.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. It was Apple's responsibility to clearly state what exactly was new about the "new" Mac Pro. They did not do this. In fact, they chose to remove the previously present "Westmere" designation from the description of the processor. I view this as a deliberate attempt to deceive the customer.
 
chr1s60 said:
They accidentally advertised incorrectly and you placed an order without doing full research on it. You both made a mistake. They offered you a $50 coupon and you could cancel your order. I'm not sure exactly what you are wanting to come from this.
Click to expand...

An observation.

I find it interesting you make excuses for Apple, then throw a member of this forum under the bus...
 
akadmon said:
I beg to differ. It was Apple's responsibility to clearly state what exactly was new about the "new" Mac Pro. They did not do this. In fact, they chose to remove the previously present "Westmere" designation from the description of the processor. I view this as a deliberate attempt to deceive the customer.
Click to expand...

Huh? They give you the exact model numbers of the processors.

Intel Xeon W3680
Two Intel Xeon X5650
Two Intel Xeon X5675
Click to expand...

That's even more exact than the code name.
 
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