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Apple Care Sucks

Yamcha

Yamcha

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 6, 2008
1,866
298
Hi Guys,

I sent my imac in for repair about one week ago, it had 3 dead pixels, yellow tint & flickering issues.

June 13th
I dropped off my iMac at the Apple Store on June 13th. The person told me it would take 48hrs to repair
June 16th
I called Apple to see if my iMac was ready, I told them that someone had told me 48hrs, he said it usually takes 7 days (told me to wait 7 days from 13th of june)
June 20th
Waited 7 Days.. I call once again to check the status, they tell me it will be done later today or tomorrow at the most.
June 21th
I call again, the person on the phone says it will take a few more days, I told him you guys first said 48hrs, then 7 days, I've done my part, I've waited patiently.. I requested for a refurbished one or new one.. He says he will talk to administration and call me back

:mad:

I actually had a thread on this earlier but withdrew my comments, since he said it would be done today, but it hasn't been.. I am very disappointed, I have no clue why I even switched to mac, its unacceptable..

If you guys have any feedback on what I should do that would be great..

Update

Thanks everyone for your feedback. The issue has been resolved finally. They replaced my iMac for a new one.. But I must say that I am very disappointed in Apple. This was one of the worst experiences I've ever had. The manager wasn't very nice at all.

I was actually thinking about going back to PC. I am happy that I got a replacement, it did take some arguing. Although this one also has a yellow tint, and its worse then the one I had before.

There is no way I'm going to Apple again for repair, so I'm just going to live with the yellow tint. But at least its dead pixel free. :D
 
I'm right there with you man. See my thread on DEAD Pixels out of the box. This has been the most negative purchasing experience of my life and I honestly can't remember the last time I was this pissed off about something!

I think Apple is having some SERIOUS growing pains. Not a happy customer.
 
That's a weird experience with AppleCare you had there. I had great service on my old MBP 15 keyboard, however, I did not call them. I had them call me when it was ready.

I guess this doesn't work for you if the iMac is your only PC.

This is what happened to me:

1. Dropped MBP off at Apple Store
2. Asked the guy how long, he said a week but he would call me when ready
3. Used my MBA as my only PC
4. He called me on day six
5. I went in and picked it up

Maybe just show some patience and let them call you instead of vice versa?
 
Incidents such as these sort of turn me off when thinking about purchasing Apple Care. I am not well acquainted with what Apple does or does not cover. If it is anything similar to Futureshop here in Canada, then I may not as well consider buying it when purchasing an imac.

This issue Apple care problem was similar to what happened to my girlfriend, a couple days became a week, which eventually led to some more days after. Another problem was the fact that they never properly installed things back together, either the apple store (once) or an official Apple technician not inside an apple store (about three times).
 
SayWord said:
Incidents such as these sort of turn me off when thinking about purchasing Apple Care. I am not well acquainted with what Apple does or does not cover. If it is anything similar to Futureshop here in Canada, then I may not as well consider buying it when purchasing an imac.

This issue Apple care problem was similar to what happened to my girlfriend, a couple days became a week, which eventually led to some more days after. Another problem was the fact that they never properly installed things back together, either the apple store (once) or an official Apple technician not inside an apple store (about three times).
Click to expand...

Yeah, everything on the internet is true.

Hey Nigerian prince is going to give me money! Must be true.

In reality, Apple Care is the highest rated service out of the tech industry, and the experience some people on the internet express might not be the real experience.

In reality
1. They know whether they have the parts or not, thus they can stick to their estimate time frame
2. If there is a delay, they explain why
 
Consultant said:
Yeah, everything on the internet is true.

Hey Nigerian prince is going to give me money! Must be true.

In reality, Apple Care is the highest rated service out of the tech industry, and the experience some people on the internet express might not be the real experience.

In reality
1. They know whether they have the parts or not, thus they can stick to their estimate time frame
2. If there is a delay, they explain why
Click to expand...

+1

People who have problems will of course complain on the forums. But people who have issue-free dealings with AppleCare won't really say a thing. Just cause there are perceivably a lot of complaints here doesn't mean that it's terrible. Especially considering there are millions of people with Apple products.
 
Consultant said:
Yeah, everything on the internet is true.

Hey Nigerian prince is going to give me money! Must be true.

In reality, Apple Care is the highest rated service out of the tech industry, and the experience some people on the internet express might not be the real experience.

In reality
1. They know whether they have the parts or not, thus they can stick to their estimate time frame
2. If there is a delay, they explain why
Click to expand...

Well, not to sound rude or anything...but if you had clearly read my quoted text you would have seen that this example was the same as the example I gave about my girlfriend.

Thus in reality, if they had the parts in stock at the apple store like you say (which I don't disagree that they do) why would their original estimate of two days explained to my girlfriend, later became more than a week?

As for the delay, they never really explained why. Whether it was because a hundred people jumped in right after her and explained that they were having problems and wanted theirs fixed, which thus made it busier than they had first guesstimated.
 
Vylen said:
+1

People who have problems will of course complain on the forums. But people who have issue-free dealings with AppleCare won't really say a thing. Just cause there are perceivably a lot of complaints here doesn't mean that it's terrible. Especially considering there are millions of people with Apple products.
Click to expand...

True but how many people never have an issue either? Well Idk if I should get AppleCare on my mbp 13" or my new soon to be iPhone 4? Any good things or bad? I just used the mbp warranty tho because I got my charger wet and they sent me a new one and I'm suppose to send my old one in?..will I get in trouble if they found out it was dropped in water or would they even care?
 
Also to clearly point out, I have gone with her to the Apple store to fix her laptop on several occasions. As I said before, a majority of the time her logic board kept needing repairs, and a high percentage of those repairs was due to the fact that part was not properly installed. Hence leaving her with the white screen of death quite often.

Another time she went to get her laptop fixed because of a screen issue, she spoke to two different technicians one said it was one issue (which I can't remember) and the other said it was water damage. When I went in with her the day after, we went straight to asking for a supervisor because we didn't want to bother with the tech support. She confirmed it as water damage, (although technically the cleaning product you use isn't water...) but had to spend a good $500 or so dollars to get it fixed.

I've had my own sour taste for Apple Care, and any other product service plan at any other retail stores.

My main concern is whether the products covered under Apple care are similar to the products covered at other stores who have insurance plans for your laptop/desktop...because if that's the case, I don't want to go through 3 years of hassle over what I can or cannot get fixed.
 
Martinsalas310 said:
True but how many people never have an issue either? Well Idk if I should get AppleCare on my mbp 13" or my new soon to be iPhone 4? Any good things or bad? I just used the mbp warranty tho because I got my charger wet and they sent me a new one and I'm suppose to send my old one in?..will I get in trouble if they found out it was dropped in water or would they even care?
Click to expand...

I don't think they have water-damage indicators in their chargers.

Aside from that, the choice of getting AppleCare should be pretty simple. You can buy AppleCare at any time during the 1 year standard warranty. If you have any serious issues during this 1 year, then get AppleCare before the warranty ends. This also lets you save up for AppleCare if you're on a tight budget.

Otherwise, don't get it cause you're probably lucky to have a "safe" machine.
 
Please don't be "that guy". Stop calling. People aren't hanging around watching YouTube videos at these places, did it strike you that they maybe had a lot of work to do?

Also, you can't demand a new computer because it took a week.
 
To the OP.... is the repair being done by an official Apple owned Apple store, or an authorized Apple Repair shop.

I've only had a 3 of experiences with Apple Care (two they were able to correct things over the phone, and one issue they sent me a part for a DIY repair). In all aspects I found them to be professional. This does not make your experience "better" of course... but it is an exception I think. If you are unhappy, politely escalate your complaint to more senior levels. It is always better if you have the notes you took, so you can state that on such a date you talked to so-and-so and they said Blah. Be polite, be firm, have a clear answer in mind about what will make you happy. Be reasonable.

If AppleCare is truly treating you badly, then you need to bring that to someone's attention, someone that can actually do something. Complaining about it here doensn't help you at all.

Good Luck.
 
Martinsalas310 said:
True but how many people never have an issue either? Well Idk if I should get AppleCare on my mbp 13" or my new soon to be iPhone 4? Any good things or bad? I just used the mbp warranty tho because I got my charger wet and they sent me a new one and I'm suppose to send my old one in?..will I get in trouble if they found out it was dropped in water or would they even care?
Click to expand...

I've never had any problems whatsoever with my Macs. I've been using Mac since 1986. I've never even had Applecare until three years ago on my current computer - a 2.33MHz 15" MBP. I only got it because I bought my Mac from a reseller for a deep discount and he wouldn't take credit cards so I paid cash. I usually rely on the extended warranty on my credit card so I bought Applecare for the peace of mind.

I normally recycle my Macs before three years, but my current one has been so good that I've not bothered to recycle it and the warranty will expire in August. It's never had any issues. I'll probably keep using it until it dies - if ever!

If we owned PCs, it would already be out of warranty and we wouldn't be having this conversation.
 
Apple Care was great

I had to have my previous MacPro worked on and the local Apple store did, did it within the time frame, kept me informed on what was going on. They replaced the graphics card, logic board, raid card and eventually sent me a brand new machine (the one in my signature):D. Then a month or so later issued me a check for the unused time on my Apple Care. A couple of months later my Time Capsule died. Apple Care then replaced the Time Capsule because I had purchased it at the same time as my MacPro at no charge, and this was after they had issued me the refund check.

Apple did right by me so I have no complaints. My only observation is that they put the Apple Store in the middle of the Del Monte Shopping Center. The MacPro with 4 hard drives get pretty heavy when your carrying it from your car to the Apple store. They always carted it back to my car when I picked it up.

Will I buy Apple Care again, you bet.:)
 
Heilage said:
Please don't be "that guy". Stop calling. People aren't hanging around watching YouTube videos at these places, did it strike you that they maybe had a lot of work to do?

Also, you can't demand a new computer because it took a week.
Click to expand...

Maybe if he doesn't want to get his computer back for a month. I say that he has to be his own advocate and its clear that his Apple store has been withholding from him a clear idea of whats going on and that he has every right to escalate the situation. Apple management would want to know what was going on any way because employees who deal with clients (from any company) are always supposed to manage expectations, and they have clearly failed at that and produced an irate customer by their own fault completely.


If from the beginning they would have said "oh we have to order the new screen component, and they are in high demand and limited supply, and then the install job might take a couple days to get to because it requires multiple hours of work from one of our top-level techs, so 10-14 days total", then it would have been an annoyance but at least the customer would have known what to expect and why. When they tell him 2 days, and then he has to call in and find out that his computer hasn't been touched, and then they tell him 7 days and he calls in to find out that his computer hasn't been touched, and then they tell him 8 days... clearly his Apple store has ****ed up in dealing with the customer, even if for some reason that they have failed to communicate, there is a legit reason why his repair is taking so long.

//I like when stuff like this happens to me soon after I purchase so I can still pull out the "alright if you don't make me whole then I don't care what your return policies are, I'm going to cancel the credit card charges" card. Somehow it works every time. And to the OP, if your computer is brand new, don't even accept a refurb. I forget what your actual story was, but if your computer was DOA, then you never even got a functioning new computer and are 100% entitled to one.
 
I have always received great customer service from Apple.

1. My wife ordered me a Macbook Pro a few years back for christmas (great gift). Well display had nasty yellow tint that was going around at the time on the MBPs. Called applecare (christmas day). They emailed me a RMA/Pre-Paid shipping info. I dropped it off at Fedex the next day. By the time I got home, I had an email stating that they have been notified of shipment on my busted MBP, and they shipped the replacement out overnight. I had it the next day! :)
Note: It was a stock unit, BTO takes extra time.

2. My first iPhone 3G had bad display out of box. (shipped from AT&T) Took it to apple store, they swapped it out no questions asked.

3. About 2 months ago, the HDD started to go in my MBP, took it to apple store in Atlantic City, and it was ready to go in 2 hrs.
EDIT: The battery failed on my MBP about a year ago. AppleCare also overnighted a replacement no questions asked.

I know it sucks when the stuff we pay good money for breaks. But this is technology, the more complex it becomes the more chances for problems. A little patience with the kid in the store, or the customer service rep on the phone goes a LONG WAY. Be nice, and they will be nice (most of the time).
 
Yeah guys, I dropped it off at real Apple Store, in Market Mall, Calgary.. I'm going today to talk to the manager about it.. and will keep you guys updated..


The thing that disappoints me is the constant lies, A person posted earlier I should stop calling constantly? Well I think I have every right to call.. They promised me it would be done in 48hrs so I called, then 7 days, I called, then they said it'll be done tomorrow(20th) for sure, I called them yesterday on the 21th, they say it will take a few days..

That is unacceptable, I paid the full $1300+(CAD), I deserve an iMac without dead pixels, yellow tint & flickering

Also when I dropped it off they said nothing about, "We need to order the part", infact the online status just said "Repair in Progress", Even when I called they didn't say anything about ordering the part.. so I assumed they probably had one in the store..

And just so you guys know, I've been very polite with them.. But this is the last straw, so I will be going today to see the manager, and I want a replacement, I don't want to wait any longer.. as far as I'm concerned, I can't trust Apple's word anymore.. They make promises they can't keep..
 
Yamcha said:
Yeah guys, I dropped it off at real Apple Store, in Market Mall, Calgary.. I'm going today to talk to the manager about it.. and will keep you guys updated..


The thing that disappoints me is the constant lies, A person posted earlier I should stop calling constantly? Well I think I have every right to call.. They promised me it would be done in 48hrs so I called, then 7 days, I called, then they said it'll be done tomorrow(20th) for sure, I called them yesterday on the 21th, they say it will take a few days..

That is unacceptable, I paid the full $1300+(CAD), I deserve an iMac without dead pixels, yellow tint & flickering

Also when I dropped it off they said nothing about, "We need to order the part", infact the online status just said "Repair in Progress", Even when I called they didn't say anything about ordering the part.. so I assumed they probably had one in the store..

And just so you guys know, I've been very polite with them.. But this is the last straw, so I will be going today to see the manager, and I want a replacement, I don't want to wait any longer.. as far as I'm concerned, I can't trust Apple's word anymore.. They make promises they can't keep..
Click to expand...

My advice is this....

See the manager, explain why you are unhappy. Cite the times quoted (48 hours, 7 days etc.). Explain what will make you happy (New system). Don't blame Apple for this... this is not an Apple problem, it's a store problem. If the manager won't help you, ask for card so you have their name and then call Apple Corporate and ask to speak to a customer care person.

Keep escalating it up until someone gives you an answer you can live with. My standard line when I have a problem and am phoning a call centre, when I have to go up a level, is to immediately tell the supervisor that I am not unhappy with the previous call rep, that they were professional and courteous (because they almost invariably are)..... I just didn't like the answer they gave me.

Remember, often the person you are talking to - no matter how much they agree with you - may not have the authority to make the decision that you want. You have to make sure you are talking to someone who can give you what you want.

If you can't get a new system, what is your fall-back position? Free AppleCare, free MobileMe, Apple software? You may need to compromise a bit.

Good Luck.:D
 
Thanks everyone for your feedback. The issue has been resolved finally. They replaced my iMac for a new one.. But I must say that I am very disappointed in Apple. This was one of the worst experiences I've ever had. The manager wasn't very nice at all.

I was actually thinking about going back to PC. I am happy that I got a replacement, it did take some arguing. Although this one also has a yellow tint, and its worse then the one I had before.

There is no way I'm going to Apple again for repair, so I'm just going to live with the yellow tint. But at least its dead pixel free. :D

Well doesn't matter, I guess I shouldn't be complaining.. did get a new one..
 
Yamcha said:
Thanks everyone for your feedback. The issue has been resolved finally. They replaced my iMac for a new one.. But I must say that I am very disappointed in Apple. This was one of the worst experiences I've ever had. The manager wasn't very nice at all.

I was actually thinking about going back to PC. I am happy that I got a replacement, it did take some arguing. Although this one also has a yellow tint, and its worse then the one I had before.

There is no way I'm going to Apple again for repair, so I'm just going to live with the yellow tint. But at least its dead pixel free. :D

Well doesn't matter, I guess I shouldn't be complaining.. did get a new one..
Click to expand...

Who was the manager? I just spoke with someone on the phone whom I dealt with regarding my iMac purchase and he completely shut me down at an extended goodwill offering for having to deal with 5 different defective iMacs and a big FedEx debacle concerning a shipment of one of them.

He originally offered $100 discount for my original purchase at the time and now that I have gone through 5, he says I can no longer accept replacements even though I already got through with a case # for one last week. And that all he can do is give me a refund and the same $100 discount on a future purchase. I had to take off two days of work for the shipping situation that cost me much more than that (I'm not expecting an equivalent discount, just something like 150-200) on top of the already over-a-month-long 5 replacements.

I feel like I'm being punished for doing absolutely nothing except waste time (over a month) on testing 5 iMacs for them. I've had to deal with bad situations with Apple in the past and it's always worked out decently. One time they even gave me a $100 discount PLUS a free set of $150 earbuds two years ago for neglecting to call me back on an issue. This is by far the worst experience and I get nothing except the discount I came in with. Is there anything I can do at this point in getting better treatment?
 
cryer said:
Who was the manager? I just spoke with someone on the phone whom I dealt with regarding my iMac purchase and he completely shut me down at an extended goodwill offering for having to deal with 5 different defective iMacs and a big FedEx debacle concerning a shipment of one of them.

He originally offered $100 discount for my original purchase at the time and now that I have gone through 5, he says I can no longer accept replacements even though I already got through with a case # for one last week. And that all he can do is give me a refund and the same $100 discount on a future purchase. I had to take off two days of work for the shipping situation that cost me much more than that (I'm not expecting an equivalent discount, just something like 150-200) on top of the already over-a-month-long 5 replacements.

I feel like I'm being punished for doing absolutely nothing except waste time (over a month) on testing 5 iMacs for them. I've had to deal with bad situations with Apple in the past and it's always worked out decently. One time they even gave me a $100 discount PLUS a free set of $150 earbuds two years ago for neglecting to call me back on an issue. This is by far the worst experience and I get nothing except the discount I came in with. Is there anything I can do at this point in getting better treatment?
Click to expand...

Which iMac model and what were the reasons each one was sent back? Just curious because I just sent back my first brand new 27" i7 because of dead pixels and had major major issues in the process and the thought of having to go through this 4 more times makes me shudder!
 
Yamcha said:
Thanks everyone for your feedback. The issue has been resolved finally. They replaced my iMac for a new one.. But I must say that I am very disappointed in Apple. This was one of the worst experiences I've ever had. The manager wasn't very nice at all.

I was actually thinking about going back to PC. I am happy that I got a replacement, it did take some arguing. Although this one also has a yellow tint, and its worse then the one I had before.

There is no way I'm going to Apple again for repair, so I'm just going to live with the yellow tint. But at least its dead pixel free. :D

Well doesn't matter, I guess I shouldn't be complaining.. did get a new one..
Click to expand...

WHATTTT you paid ~$800+ for that 27" panel alone as a component of the computer, don't let them tire you out. If you really care then you'll return it for a refund and consider coming back when they can get their screens right. If you're saying that you're willing to pay full price for a defective screen just to have an iMac... then I guess Apple really has you by the balls.

Get your money back, spend $600 on a more powerful PC computer and then $1,000 on one of those awesome 30" 2560x1600 panels... or my choice would be to spend $250 on a nice 24" panel and then spend your remainder on a long weekend in Vegas and forget about all the ******** Apple just put you through.
 
-FlyAuburn- said:
Which iMac model and what were the reasons each one was sent back? Just curious because I just sent back my first brand new 27" i7 because of dead pixels and had major major issues in the process and the thought of having to go through this 4 more times makes me shudder!
Click to expand...

Same as yours. What do you mean by "major major issues in the process"?
 
Really surprised they didn't level with you, we have to order a part, it should take this many days to come in and a day or two to queue for repair.

If we ordered all the parts, it should be done in xx days.

Looks like they didn't order all the right parts, or Apple karma bit you in the ass and they got a dud replacement part.
 
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