Hi all, let me just preface this post by saying that this is my first post, however I have been a long-time reader and forum peruser. So, I'd like to give a big thanks to the members and the people behind the site for providing this community, I truly appreciate it!
To provide further background, I have been buying Apple products for nearly 10 years now, and I have always been very pleased with their performance. Beyond merely buying their products, I have also held AAPL stock for nearly 10 years because of my strong belief in the high quality of their products and services, as well as their inventiveness and ability to produce new, compelling products.
However, very recently I feel I have arrived at a turning point with Apple, as I have had two very unpleasant Genius Bar experiences, both within the same month. These experiences have deeply shaken my core belief in the future direction of the quality of Apple's products and services; a development I am very disappointed in.
Let me also say that, until now, I always bought AppleCare for my new Apple products, and was always pleased with the service and value provided by AppleCare. I previously had a few pleasant Genius Bar experiences, most recently in the fall of 2009 for an iPhone 3GS with a dead pixel.
My first unfortunate experience occurred roughly a month ago at the Genius Bar at Apple's new Lincoln Park store (I'm a Chicagoan). I was getting ready to sell my 2009 17in MacBook Pro, a top-of-the-line model when I had purchased it less than two years ago, and I noticed that the battery indicator light on the side of the unit was not working. So I thought, "Ok, no problem, seems like a small item that should be covered by AppleCare". The computer had never been dropped, dented, abused, or anything. I waited my turn, and was promptly greeted by a female genius right at the time when my appointment had been scheduled. Off the bat, she was rude to me! Instantly, my attitude changed, and I realized "ok, maybe this will not be as simple as I originally thought". I understand firsthand how hard it can be to administer good customer service, and I calmly and pleasantly explained my problem. Suddenly, I felt as though I were being interrogated by an agent of the computer SS or something! I of course mentioned that I had taken out AppleCare on the unit when I first purchased it, and she gave me a shrug, essentially laughed under her breath (I could visibly see her holding back a chuckle, as though to emphasize "We got you on this one! You're screwed!!"), and offered to take the unit downstairs and open it up to see if she could do anything for it in-store. I said "sure", and as she walked away, I began trying to calculate the value of this non-covered repair. I was thinking it would fall somewhere between $300 and $1000, for a computer that I was hoping to sell for $1500. After some time passed, she returned with the computer. As I expected, she couldn't do anything for it in-store. She then quoted me a price of $600 to send it out for the repair. I politely decline, and then nicely explained how disappointed I was with AppleCare and this service experience. She apologized, and I walked away. As I was leaving, a store manager happened to be standing next to her, and I saw them nodding, smiling and laughing, as if to say, "Yes my genius, that was a textbook example of how to decline service, I am glad to see you paid attention to the training video on how to deny service to AppleCare customers" (granted, they could have been talking about a variety of topics, I was out of earshot, however they we glancing at me as they talked). I left the store in a state of disappointment and disbelief.
Apparently, in 2011, that is the kind of service Apple provides customers who spend $3000+ on a computer. And apparently, that is also the kind of service provided by a $200 AppleCare plan, which I had always considered superior to other retailers extended warranty programs (Best Buy, etc) based off of my experiences. Unfortunately, I begin to think that the once high quality of AppleCare plans is no more.
Additionally, it is one thing if the extended warranty plan does not cover the kind of repair needed (which I clearly think is garbage in this instance), but it is another concern entirely when the service provided is condescending or rude. And its a more troubling concern when the rudeness is exhibited all the way up to a management level! Very disheartening When it comes down to it, after the experience I realized that I didn't really even care about the light repair, I still managed to sell then computer for near the value I was hoping (of course making note to the buyer about the battery indicator problem
). What I really ended up caring about after it was all said and done, was the bad feelings I left the store with that afternoon. Even more disheartening was that I felt powerless to help change the situation: I had no outlet to voice my concerns, no way to alert upper management to these problems, and of course, no way to have my computer fixed!
So my saga continues, I had my second unpleasant Genius Bar experience earlier this week at the Michigan Ave. store. Again, to provide some background, I have an 64gb 3G iPad1 which I got on the release day last spring. It has been a great unit for me, operating flawlessly since I opened the box. However, sometime in January, the display developed a dead pixel. A pixel locked up red right in the middle of the display. Despite the problem being isolated to a single pixel, it is a very noticeable single pixel when on a white background (such as NoteTask). Of course, I had originally purchased AppleCare on the unit. Again, in my mind, based off what I had read and heard, I was thinking "Ok, this should be a simple one, the display clearly has a problem, and I have AppleCare on the unit. Great". I had been busy with other things (such as trying to sell my 17in MBP), so I didn't get a chance to make a Genius Bar appointment until this week. Following my prior experience at the Lincoln Park store, I decided to try the Michigan Ave. store to see if my experience would be different at one of their "flagship" stores. I waited for my appointment time to come up, and was promptly greeted by a male genius with a hat on. By greeted, I mean this: He shouted my name at the waiting area, I walked over, and he asked what my problem was as he sat there using a MacBook Pro, barely looking up from under the brim of his hat at me or acknowledging me. No eye contact, no hand shake, he was busy using the computer on the counter. So again, I instantly started thinking, "Oh no, here we go again!". (Keep in mind, if this were another customer's computer he was working on, there were at least 3 geniuses milling around behind the counter not busy with other customers who could have taken the unit.) In a friendly way, (hoping to warm the guy up to me, since he was clearly disengaged) I explained my problem, mentioned I had AppleCare on the unit, brought the unit out of my bag, and flipped it open to demonstrate the problem. He quickly picked up the unit, looked at, viewed it from a few angles, placed it back down, apologized, and said there was nothing he could do. "I can't give you a new iPad for that". Then he continued casually using the computer in front of him. I implored him to reconsider, reminding him that I had spent a lot of money on the unit (again, top-of-the-line, at the time) and the AppleCare plan. "But, I mean, this item was expensive, I spent a lot of money on this, its top on the line, 3G, 64gb", to which he offered a slight smile and said, "Yeah but that's just storage". Just storage, and MONEY! That doesn't change the fact that I spent over $800 on a device, and had the foresight to pay an additional $200 for the extended warranty, and am now stuck with a device with an imperfect display, despite this warranty! Of course I did not say this, I thanked him for his time, and walked away, to which he did not even offer a good-bye. The entire appointment lasted for less than a minute, as he continued to use the computer on the counter, occasionally glancing up at me, as if to emphasize the marginality of my problem! Infuriating, and majorly disappointing.
One of the factors that used to set Apple apart from other electronics retailers was the quality of their store experiences. I now realize that the surging growth of the company has completely eroded this: Apple store employees are no more knowledgable or helpful than the people in the blue polos at Best Buy or the people working the floor at Walmart. If anything on average they're worse because they have a propensity to exhibit a condescending "hipster" attitude. I also now realize that the once superior extended warranty program offered by Apple is now no better than plans offered by Best Buy and others, which are well-known to be nothing but protection rackets pushed on customers at the points-of-sale.
Needless to say, it has been the thrill of a lifetime to watch Apple grow from an underdog computer company that could into a premier global supplier of consumer electronic devices and services. Until now, I felt the fundamentals underlying that growth was their reputation for quality both in products produced and services rendered. However now, it seems their quality in both products and services is rapidly declining. I am afraid that soon, the public will become more aware of these problems, and this will greatly damage Apple's reputation.
It was a sad day when I realized that the slogan AppleCare was equivalent in its hypocrisy to the slogan Microsoft Works.
If you took the time to read my lengthy post, I sincerely thank you for your time. I am eager to hear responses. Now I'm going to stop, calm myself, and enjoy a beer!
Cheers,
-JTreehorn
To provide further background, I have been buying Apple products for nearly 10 years now, and I have always been very pleased with their performance. Beyond merely buying their products, I have also held AAPL stock for nearly 10 years because of my strong belief in the high quality of their products and services, as well as their inventiveness and ability to produce new, compelling products.
However, very recently I feel I have arrived at a turning point with Apple, as I have had two very unpleasant Genius Bar experiences, both within the same month. These experiences have deeply shaken my core belief in the future direction of the quality of Apple's products and services; a development I am very disappointed in.
Let me also say that, until now, I always bought AppleCare for my new Apple products, and was always pleased with the service and value provided by AppleCare. I previously had a few pleasant Genius Bar experiences, most recently in the fall of 2009 for an iPhone 3GS with a dead pixel.
My first unfortunate experience occurred roughly a month ago at the Genius Bar at Apple's new Lincoln Park store (I'm a Chicagoan). I was getting ready to sell my 2009 17in MacBook Pro, a top-of-the-line model when I had purchased it less than two years ago, and I noticed that the battery indicator light on the side of the unit was not working. So I thought, "Ok, no problem, seems like a small item that should be covered by AppleCare". The computer had never been dropped, dented, abused, or anything. I waited my turn, and was promptly greeted by a female genius right at the time when my appointment had been scheduled. Off the bat, she was rude to me! Instantly, my attitude changed, and I realized "ok, maybe this will not be as simple as I originally thought". I understand firsthand how hard it can be to administer good customer service, and I calmly and pleasantly explained my problem. Suddenly, I felt as though I were being interrogated by an agent of the computer SS or something! I of course mentioned that I had taken out AppleCare on the unit when I first purchased it, and she gave me a shrug, essentially laughed under her breath (I could visibly see her holding back a chuckle, as though to emphasize "We got you on this one! You're screwed!!"), and offered to take the unit downstairs and open it up to see if she could do anything for it in-store. I said "sure", and as she walked away, I began trying to calculate the value of this non-covered repair. I was thinking it would fall somewhere between $300 and $1000, for a computer that I was hoping to sell for $1500. After some time passed, she returned with the computer. As I expected, she couldn't do anything for it in-store. She then quoted me a price of $600 to send it out for the repair. I politely decline, and then nicely explained how disappointed I was with AppleCare and this service experience. She apologized, and I walked away. As I was leaving, a store manager happened to be standing next to her, and I saw them nodding, smiling and laughing, as if to say, "Yes my genius, that was a textbook example of how to decline service, I am glad to see you paid attention to the training video on how to deny service to AppleCare customers" (granted, they could have been talking about a variety of topics, I was out of earshot, however they we glancing at me as they talked). I left the store in a state of disappointment and disbelief.
Apparently, in 2011, that is the kind of service Apple provides customers who spend $3000+ on a computer. And apparently, that is also the kind of service provided by a $200 AppleCare plan, which I had always considered superior to other retailers extended warranty programs (Best Buy, etc) based off of my experiences. Unfortunately, I begin to think that the once high quality of AppleCare plans is no more.
Additionally, it is one thing if the extended warranty plan does not cover the kind of repair needed (which I clearly think is garbage in this instance), but it is another concern entirely when the service provided is condescending or rude. And its a more troubling concern when the rudeness is exhibited all the way up to a management level! Very disheartening When it comes down to it, after the experience I realized that I didn't really even care about the light repair, I still managed to sell then computer for near the value I was hoping (of course making note to the buyer about the battery indicator problem
). What I really ended up caring about after it was all said and done, was the bad feelings I left the store with that afternoon. Even more disheartening was that I felt powerless to help change the situation: I had no outlet to voice my concerns, no way to alert upper management to these problems, and of course, no way to have my computer fixed!So my saga continues, I had my second unpleasant Genius Bar experience earlier this week at the Michigan Ave. store. Again, to provide some background, I have an 64gb 3G iPad1 which I got on the release day last spring. It has been a great unit for me, operating flawlessly since I opened the box. However, sometime in January, the display developed a dead pixel. A pixel locked up red right in the middle of the display. Despite the problem being isolated to a single pixel, it is a very noticeable single pixel when on a white background (such as NoteTask). Of course, I had originally purchased AppleCare on the unit. Again, in my mind, based off what I had read and heard, I was thinking "Ok, this should be a simple one, the display clearly has a problem, and I have AppleCare on the unit. Great". I had been busy with other things (such as trying to sell my 17in MBP), so I didn't get a chance to make a Genius Bar appointment until this week. Following my prior experience at the Lincoln Park store, I decided to try the Michigan Ave. store to see if my experience would be different at one of their "flagship" stores. I waited for my appointment time to come up, and was promptly greeted by a male genius with a hat on. By greeted, I mean this: He shouted my name at the waiting area, I walked over, and he asked what my problem was as he sat there using a MacBook Pro, barely looking up from under the brim of his hat at me or acknowledging me. No eye contact, no hand shake, he was busy using the computer on the counter. So again, I instantly started thinking, "Oh no, here we go again!". (Keep in mind, if this were another customer's computer he was working on, there were at least 3 geniuses milling around behind the counter not busy with other customers who could have taken the unit.) In a friendly way, (hoping to warm the guy up to me, since he was clearly disengaged) I explained my problem, mentioned I had AppleCare on the unit, brought the unit out of my bag, and flipped it open to demonstrate the problem. He quickly picked up the unit, looked at, viewed it from a few angles, placed it back down, apologized, and said there was nothing he could do. "I can't give you a new iPad for that". Then he continued casually using the computer in front of him. I implored him to reconsider, reminding him that I had spent a lot of money on the unit (again, top-of-the-line, at the time) and the AppleCare plan. "But, I mean, this item was expensive, I spent a lot of money on this, its top on the line, 3G, 64gb", to which he offered a slight smile and said, "Yeah but that's just storage". Just storage, and MONEY! That doesn't change the fact that I spent over $800 on a device, and had the foresight to pay an additional $200 for the extended warranty, and am now stuck with a device with an imperfect display, despite this warranty! Of course I did not say this, I thanked him for his time, and walked away, to which he did not even offer a good-bye. The entire appointment lasted for less than a minute, as he continued to use the computer on the counter, occasionally glancing up at me, as if to emphasize the marginality of my problem! Infuriating, and majorly disappointing.
One of the factors that used to set Apple apart from other electronics retailers was the quality of their store experiences. I now realize that the surging growth of the company has completely eroded this: Apple store employees are no more knowledgable or helpful than the people in the blue polos at Best Buy or the people working the floor at Walmart. If anything on average they're worse because they have a propensity to exhibit a condescending "hipster" attitude. I also now realize that the once superior extended warranty program offered by Apple is now no better than plans offered by Best Buy and others, which are well-known to be nothing but protection rackets pushed on customers at the points-of-sale.
Needless to say, it has been the thrill of a lifetime to watch Apple grow from an underdog computer company that could into a premier global supplier of consumer electronic devices and services. Until now, I felt the fundamentals underlying that growth was their reputation for quality both in products produced and services rendered. However now, it seems their quality in both products and services is rapidly declining. I am afraid that soon, the public will become more aware of these problems, and this will greatly damage Apple's reputation.
It was a sad day when I realized that the slogan AppleCare was equivalent in its hypocrisy to the slogan Microsoft Works.
If you took the time to read my lengthy post, I sincerely thank you for your time. I am eager to hear responses. Now I'm going to stop, calm myself, and enjoy a beer!
Cheers,
-JTreehorn
