Hi all,
I'm new to these forums, and unfortunately, my first post is one of disatisfaction and disapointment with Apple - in particularly, Apple Care. First of all, let me say that my family and I switched to macs from Windows based computers in 2002. We love the OSX computing experience, and since then, have bought three macs from Apple - a dual 867 mhz G4 powermac, a 17" iMac G5, and a 1.33 ghz 12" powerbook, and various ipods - a 4G ipod, a 5G ipod, and 3 ipod minis. As such, I feel that we are loyal Apple customers. However, I also feel that Apple has let us down in terms of service - I'd even go as far as to say they've taken advantage of us. Our first Apple Care experience occured during winter, 2002 when the logic board in our powermac failed. Apple took three weeks to replace the logic board. I thought this was absurd and kept phoning Apple Care - they kept on telling me the part was on back order. I was not pleased, but with the computer being my first mac, I gave Apple the benefit of the the doubt. My friend, the mac rep on campus couldn't believe that I'd stood for that kind of treatment and said I should have demanded my computer back, or demanded a replacement. Fastforward to December, 2005. The trackpad had been acting funkily for a few weeks - uneaven acceleration, jumping, opposite movement, etc. Then, one night, I was using the computer when it suddenly switched off. A strong burning smell was then emitted from the powerbook which also got very hot. At that point, I phoned Apple Care, and they sent out a box for these two issues - the smell and the trackpad. Apple replaced the hard drive, logic board and airport card. When I got the computer back, not only was the trackpad not fixed, but there were dents on the casing that I had not inflicted, pressure points on the screen, and the battery was so damaged in one corner that the powerbook no longer sat stably. Needless to say, I was pretty upset and phoned Apple Care back. They then sent out another box. A few days later, I got an email saying to call Apple Care. Apple Care then proceeded to tell me that they would not fix the computer - just the trackpad, as the damage was already on the computer when I had sent it in the first time - I knew this was not true, so demmanded to speak to customer service. The woman at customer service was very professional and promised me that everything would be taken care of. When I got the computer back, everything was fixed - they replaced the screen, fixed the trackpad, fixed the case, and replaced the battery. However, the battery lasted all of thirty minutes (after a full charge and calibration). It also claimed a batter life of 500 hours on a 1% charge. As I depend a lot on my powerbook, I was very disapointed, and at this point, upset with Apple. Luckily, I live close to an Apple Store and took the powerbook in. The people at the Apple Store were very nice and replaced the battery right away. However, on Friday, as luck would have it, the screen on my powerbook failed - I was using it, and all of a sudden, it blanked out. Another call to Apple Care, and a few diagnostics later determined that it was a hardware issue. I received the DHL box today. I cannot however send it in until Wednesday, as I have a medical school interview that day and need files on my powerbook. I think that I am justified in my frustration and disapointment with Apple Care. I am travelling a lot with interviews at various med schools, and need my computer. While on the phone with Apple Care on Friday, I raised the issue of having Apple replace my powerbook outright. I feel that I have either been dealt a lemon, or that Apple is replacing parts with less than satisfactory components (keep in mind that Apple damaged the battery, screen and case). The woman on the line said that Apple only entertains the notion of replacing the computer after the third time an issue presents itself and does not give out loaner computers. Every time I send my powerbook into Apple, a week of my time is wasted - I depend on my powerbook a lot. The mac rep on campus (a new rep) told me that Apple's policy on replacements is to consider them after the 4th incident of a 'major component failure' which I feel my powerbook meets. My question to all of you is, do you think I am justified in demanding a replacement from Apple given all that I've gone through? The worst thing that could happen to me would be to have my powerbook fail on me while I'm out of town (or country) interviewing. Thanks so much for listening to me!
-Aaron
I'm new to these forums, and unfortunately, my first post is one of disatisfaction and disapointment with Apple - in particularly, Apple Care. First of all, let me say that my family and I switched to macs from Windows based computers in 2002. We love the OSX computing experience, and since then, have bought three macs from Apple - a dual 867 mhz G4 powermac, a 17" iMac G5, and a 1.33 ghz 12" powerbook, and various ipods - a 4G ipod, a 5G ipod, and 3 ipod minis. As such, I feel that we are loyal Apple customers. However, I also feel that Apple has let us down in terms of service - I'd even go as far as to say they've taken advantage of us. Our first Apple Care experience occured during winter, 2002 when the logic board in our powermac failed. Apple took three weeks to replace the logic board. I thought this was absurd and kept phoning Apple Care - they kept on telling me the part was on back order. I was not pleased, but with the computer being my first mac, I gave Apple the benefit of the the doubt. My friend, the mac rep on campus couldn't believe that I'd stood for that kind of treatment and said I should have demanded my computer back, or demanded a replacement. Fastforward to December, 2005. The trackpad had been acting funkily for a few weeks - uneaven acceleration, jumping, opposite movement, etc. Then, one night, I was using the computer when it suddenly switched off. A strong burning smell was then emitted from the powerbook which also got very hot. At that point, I phoned Apple Care, and they sent out a box for these two issues - the smell and the trackpad. Apple replaced the hard drive, logic board and airport card. When I got the computer back, not only was the trackpad not fixed, but there were dents on the casing that I had not inflicted, pressure points on the screen, and the battery was so damaged in one corner that the powerbook no longer sat stably. Needless to say, I was pretty upset and phoned Apple Care back. They then sent out another box. A few days later, I got an email saying to call Apple Care. Apple Care then proceeded to tell me that they would not fix the computer - just the trackpad, as the damage was already on the computer when I had sent it in the first time - I knew this was not true, so demmanded to speak to customer service. The woman at customer service was very professional and promised me that everything would be taken care of. When I got the computer back, everything was fixed - they replaced the screen, fixed the trackpad, fixed the case, and replaced the battery. However, the battery lasted all of thirty minutes (after a full charge and calibration). It also claimed a batter life of 500 hours on a 1% charge. As I depend a lot on my powerbook, I was very disapointed, and at this point, upset with Apple. Luckily, I live close to an Apple Store and took the powerbook in. The people at the Apple Store were very nice and replaced the battery right away. However, on Friday, as luck would have it, the screen on my powerbook failed - I was using it, and all of a sudden, it blanked out. Another call to Apple Care, and a few diagnostics later determined that it was a hardware issue. I received the DHL box today. I cannot however send it in until Wednesday, as I have a medical school interview that day and need files on my powerbook. I think that I am justified in my frustration and disapointment with Apple Care. I am travelling a lot with interviews at various med schools, and need my computer. While on the phone with Apple Care on Friday, I raised the issue of having Apple replace my powerbook outright. I feel that I have either been dealt a lemon, or that Apple is replacing parts with less than satisfactory components (keep in mind that Apple damaged the battery, screen and case). The woman on the line said that Apple only entertains the notion of replacing the computer after the third time an issue presents itself and does not give out loaner computers. Every time I send my powerbook into Apple, a week of my time is wasted - I depend on my powerbook a lot. The mac rep on campus (a new rep) told me that Apple's policy on replacements is to consider them after the 4th incident of a 'major component failure' which I feel my powerbook meets. My question to all of you is, do you think I am justified in demanding a replacement from Apple given all that I've gone through? The worst thing that could happen to me would be to have my powerbook fail on me while I'm out of town (or country) interviewing. Thanks so much for listening to me!
-Aaron
It is your well-earned money, after all. A product is made to work, not be a piece of garbage.
