Apple CS Claims They Are NOT Aware of the Yellow Tint Defect

[IndustrialSpace]

I spoke with a couple of Apple CSRs (phone) and they tell me it's the first they've heard of this problem. That they are unaware a yellow tint problem exists and no customers have complained about it. I told him that Ive seen it myself and have read numerous articles and postings with customers making returns for replacement after replacement to no avail. He said the only problem Apple is aware of is that it has some minor flicker issues which will easily be fixed by a patch.

What am I to make of this?

Is this unethical to deny the problem or are they truly unaware of this. I told him their OWN Apple message boards are filled with complaints and he said he would look into it.

Do you think Apple is actively telling their Sales reps to LIE about this problem?

If they don't openly acknowledge it, then they may NEVER FIX THE ISSUE!!

 

[belvdr]

The Apple CSRs are useless. They are just there to pacify the majority of general questions asked of them. You will never get them to state whether a problem exists or not. It is beyond the scope of their work to dictate to the masses whether a problem exists and what remedies users have at their disposal.

 

[JimKirk]

I got a call from a lady at apple executive relations

I emailed steve about the issue. She said that it is being investigated.

That is all.

Means no fix is in production.

Means roulette when ordering.

Good luck.

 

[Hellhammer]

Apple rarely admits any problems their products have. Also it might be that the CSRs you talked with aren't aware of this problem.

Remember guys that Apple DOESN'T manufacture the displays they use so it's not their fault really. Of course they should be aware of it and talk with the manufacturer so the problems can be solved. In addition the display that 27" iMac use is unique which means it has never been used or manufactured before 27" iMac came out so there might be no experience of mass producing it

 

[Sir Cecil]

Do you think Apple is actively telling their Sales reps to LIE about this problem?

Excellent investigative insights.

 

[powerbook911]

I wrote to LG executive office today, to tell them to investigate it with Apple. Apple doesn't seem to act, but maybe LG will.

 

[Maclovertoo]

I was initially told that too, but when I pushed further, the CSR did a little research and found the issue.

I was then told that it was just a certain batch of serial numbers. Not sure if that's true or not.

I think that it is possible that not all CSRs are aware of the issue until they research it.

 

[reebzor]

They also told me they were not aware of the previous gen polycarbonite macbook palmrest cracks. Apple CS is flaky sometimes.

 

[IndustrialSpace]

Excellent investigative insights.

You seem to lack the ability to detect sarcasm.

Apologies for your lack of understanding. I'll be more blunt for you, since you seem to be a bit slow on the uptake.

 

[Sir Cecil]

They also told me they were not aware of the previous gen polycarbonite macbook palmrest cracks. Apple CS is flaky sometimes.

Well, they're probably trained to beware of handing out info that can be misquoted or end up being misleading on a forum. It makes sense to wait until there are OFFICIAL internal announcements, rather than give out snippets or half-information to anyone who calls them. Stuff like that ends up in the press and suddenly an informal chat between a customer and telephone rep is treated as an official company press release! They would be irresponsible to release speculative info if they have not prepared an official announcement.

 

[Bitwise]

I was initially told that too, but when I pushed further, the CSR did a little research and found the issue.

I was then told that it was just a certain batch of serial numbers. Not sure if that's true or not.

I think that it is possible that not all CSRs are aware of the issue until they research it.

That's exactly what I was told as well. According to the rep, the tech doc recommended that any iMac with a serial number of W8948xxxxxx or later be returned. Funny, because I have had horrible screen issues with week 42, week 48, and two week 46 iMacs. It's so tempting to just hold on to the week 46 that I have right now because it is the least defective iMac I have received so far. But $2000 for a partially defective iMac makes me fell slightly nauseous.

 

[HLdan]

Firstly it's ridiculous for Apple employees to admit anything, regardless what they know. If Apple hasn't put out a public statement or offered a solution publicly then an employee could get fired. Also, to the OP: Come on, get into reality. Your statements about reading about problems on message boards, even if it's Apple's own boards mean nothing. It's just a forum, they can't make comments about what's written on a forum. They have to go by the number of problematic returns they get and customer feedback on their website, which for some reason not many here cares to post to. Forum members here seem to think Apple uses MR to uncover problems with their products. Dream on.

 

[BehindTimes]

That's exactly what I was told as well. According to the rep, the tech doc recommended that any iMac with a serial number of W8948xxxxxx or later be returned. Funny, because I have had horrible screen issues with week 42, week 48, and two week 46 iMacs. It's so tempting to just hold on to the week 46 that I have right now because it is the least defective iMac I have received so far. But $2000 for a partially defective iMac makes me fell slightly nauseous.

Probably like most people, I purchased an iMac, and it arrived yesterday, but the yellow is evident. Other people I've talked to say it's fine, but I guess it's once you notice it, it's hard not to unnotice it.

Fortunately it's tolerable, so if a fix can come out, I could hold off for about a month, but definately not something I want to keep long term. Outside of the yellow tint, I'm happy with it. Quite fast, no dead pixels, etc., but I really would prefer to have a uniform screen. (If there was a Mac Mini with the Power of the imac, I probably would have gone with that instead). The question I have is, should I play Russian Roulette and get into the endless loop of exchanges, or just outright return it and wait until there are no real problems which affect me?

 

[IndustrialSpace]

Firstly it's ridiculous for Apple employees to admit anything, regardless what they know. If Apple hasn't put out a public statement or offered a solution publicly then an employee could get fired. Also, to the OP: Come on, get into reality. Your statements about reading about problems on message boards, even if it's Apple's own boards mean nothing. It's just a forum, they can't make comments about what's written on a forum. They have to go by the number of problematic returns they get and customer feedback on their website, which for some reason not many here cares to post to. Forum members here seem to think Apple uses MR to uncover problems with their products. Dream on.

In a litigious society, I agree that it's unwise to provide too much rope to hang yourself, especially for a company like Apple. My post was a bit facetious as to how they chose to handle the call. One occasionally needs to read between the lines of ones post.

I understand their limitations on addressing public comments on an annonyumous message board. My intent was to convey a sentiment which was brewing. Clearly, hard return numbers reveal a much more acruate picture of what may be occuring. There is most likely a threshold of complaints or issues which must fall outside of their own established tolerances before they make major adjustments to revamp a production line. The dynamics are extensive as to how this affects them both legally, contractually and logistically.

As far as MR being the "canary in the mine" - yes, I do indeed believe that Apple does pay attention to peer sites such as this (along withtheir own internal board and AI, etc.) to gain an understanding of what is running through the consumers mind. To completely factor-out what's being said would be foolish.

 

[HLdan]

In a litigious society, I agree that it's unwise to provide too much rope to hang yourself, especially for a company like Apple. My post was a bit facetious as to how they chose to handle the call. One occasionally needs to read between the lines of ones post.

Don't take this personally, but I read what's written. I don't have time to analyze facetious posts. I didn't read any sarcasm. In terms of Apple reading MR, they might, but think about this, YOU could be a secret shopper calling Apple's customer service to be sure that they are saying the right things and not agreeing to rumors on the internet. You can't blame them for not disclosing what you may have wanted to hear.

 

[IndustrialSpace]

Don't take this personally, but I read what's written. I don't have time to analyze facetious posts. I didn't read any sarcasm. In terms of Apple reading MR, they might, but think about this, YOU could be a secret shopper calling Apple's customer service to be sure that they are saying the right things and not agreeing to rumors on the internet. You can't blame them for not disclosing what you may have wanted to hear.

Sorry. I didn't mean to sound condescending.

Cheers!

 

[Editor-]

might a Facebook group work to show them that we are nog satisfied with the way how they threat this matter?

 

[gb1631]

Well, my Serial #W8949, and I didn't have a 'yellow tinge.' I did; however, have flickering and blackouts. I have reported these problems and chose not to return the computer.

Instead, the people at the Apple support set up an appointment at my local Apple store, where they installed a new screen and cable. This was accomplished on 1.4.10. So Far, the flickering and blackouts have ceased and I still don't have a yellow tinge, etc.

BTW: The Firmware for the flickering problem was applied before the new parts and didn't work.

 

[Bitwise]

Probably like most people, I purchased an iMac, and it arrived yesterday, but the yellow is evident. Other people I've talked to say it's fine, but I guess it's once you notice it, it's hard not to unnotice it.

Fortunately it's tolerable, so if a fix can come out, I could hold off for about a month, but definately not something I want to keep long term. Outside of the yellow tint, I'm happy with it. Quite fast, no dead pixels, etc., but I really would prefer to have a uniform screen. (If there was a Mac Mini with the Power of the imac, I probably would have gone with that instead). The question I have is, should I play Russian Roulette and get into the endless loop of exchanges, or just outright return it and wait until there are no real problems which affect me?

Do you have an Apple Store near by? It's really easy to exchange these things if you can walk it into an Apple Store. I exchanged 3 over a 4-day period. I suppose it depends on how bad the yellowing is. I can deal with what I have now, but the other three were horrible. That being said, I'm glad that I played roulette. If the yellow tinge is very noticeable and you have to mail the iMac back for an exchange, then I'd say it's not worth the hassle and would just return it. That's just my opinion though.

 

[Bitwise]

Well, my Serial #W8949, and I didn't have a 'yellow tinge.' I did; however, have flickering and blackouts. I have reported these problems and chose not to return the computer.

Instead, the people at the Apple support set up an appointment at my local Apple store, where they installed a new screen and cable. This was accomplished on 1.4.10. So Far, the flickering and blackouts have ceased and I still don't have a yellow tinge, etc.

BTW: The Firmware for the flickering problem was applied before the new parts and didn't work.

You actually got them to replace your screen!? I asked the people at my local Apple Store if they could replace my screen and they said that they wouldn't because Apple still doesn't know why the iMacs are having all of these screen issues. They told me that the best thing to do is either continue exchanging the iMacs until I get one that works correctly, or return it and wait until Apple resolves this issue.

 

[bossxii]

I've spoken with 2 store managers at the same Apple store, both knew about the issue. Swapped me out twice so far. The Applecare "experts" I've spoken with, 3 times, 2 of them knew exactly what was going on, apologized and asked how I wanted to handle it.

Currently I am keeping my i5 until they have an official fix, I have a case number and it's been noted with the issue. They have been very open about the issue and ready to swap out as many as i want, I know that is like throwing darts and non productive for me so I chose to just hang on till the issue is resolved.

Don't give up, you will find someone that knows about it

 

[Sir Cecil]

That's exactly what I was told as well. According to the rep, the tech doc recommended that any iMac with a serial number of W8948xxxxxx or later be returned.

No technical document would say any iMac with a serial number "later than W8948xxxxxx should be returned". They would say units BETWEEN two sets of numbers should be returned. Otherwise they'd be in the ludicrous position of telling people in advance that a machine coming off the production line today or tomorrow should be returned.

 

[Bitwise]

No technical document would say any iMac with a serial number "later than W8948xxxxxx should be returned". They would say units BETWEEN two sets of numbers should be returned. Otherwise they'd be in the ludicrous position of telling people in advance that a machine coming off the production line today or tomorrow should be returned.

That's just what the guy told me. He didn't read the full document to me or anything. He just said that he pulled up a document that says that iMacs with a serial number of W8948xxxxxx or later are experiencing issues with screen flickering and yellow tinge and that it is recommended to return them.

I agree that it would be ridiculous to not specify a range of serial numbers. Maybe he was too lazy to read the full document before summarizing it. He does work in tech support, so it wouldn't surprise me.

 

[gb1631]

You actually got them to replace your screen!? I asked the people at my local Apple Store if they could replace my screen and they said that they wouldn't because Apple still doesn't know why the iMacs are having all of these screen issues. They told me that the best thing to do is either continue exchanging the iMacs until I get one that works correctly, or return it and wait until Apple resolves this issue.

No, I didn't get the people at the store to replace the screen and cable the person from Apple support called them and made the appointment with the suggestion that they order and replace my screen and cable. I took it in and they applied the firmware update (Which had just come out. )and said that the parts were on backorder, so I took it home over the Holidays.

The firmware 'fix' didn't work so I called the same person at Apple support and he made another appointment, for me at the local Apple to get the new screen & cable. He fixed it so that they would call me when the parts came in.

They called and I asked if the parts could be replaced the same day! They agreed and I took it in and the had it out in less then 2 hours.

As I have said, it seems to fix the flickering/blackout problems.

BTW: The iMac i7 is an awesome computer! I love it! If you want one and you have an Apple store near you get one! (From the Apple on-line store) If you have a problem, call Apple support and tell them your problem! Don't return it! Get it fixed at the local Apple store. IMO, returning it will in most cases be rewarded with getting one that either has the same problems or some new ones like the dreaded yellow tinge. May be even mention (If you have flickering problems) that perhaps the screen and cable should be replaced.)

 

[scroto]

Instead of mailing these manufactures and begging them to fix their issues why don't you just buy a machine that works?