Apple's "Pro Care" offering in the UK

[maglite]

Am I the only one that thinks the support package Apples offer through its own shops in the UK, "Pro Care" is a bit of a ripoff?

For £79 there is a whole load of splurge about the fantastic and preferential level of support you receive for the money. What they don't tell you is that the slots you book in for with the 'Mac Genius' (a dangerous term if ever there was one) only amounts to 20 minutes.

I had some problems with a brand new Mac pro and when I went in to discuss it with the genius, he seemed asleep to me. The Regent street store also has the best 'I've just woken up...what do you want' attitude to some of its staff I have ever known. He also didn't know the answers about bootcamp and some other stuff. Ok, OS X is a big proposition and you cannot expect anyone to know all the answers...hence why I think 'Mac Genius' as a title might on certain occasions be a little frustrating.

I've also upgraded to Apple's complete care, prior experience of that with one technician on the phone who was pretty rude made me wished I had stuck with Dell.

I hope I am wrong and that I've just had some bad experiences...I really do hope so because as a business user who goes from country to country with my laptop I really do need the support when something goes wrong.

From my exposure so far, I'd say Apple are badly behind Dell in terms of business user support. Their Gold Support product (24x7 support internationally to a team in the US or the UK) is impressive, as is their ability to visit you on site the next day and resolve any technical issues, replacing parts at your location if required..what I do get with apple - return to base pickup etc...I've noticed the retail store turning people away and telling them to talk to Apple care if the product wasn't purchased from a retail store in country. That's really convenient and excellent customer service from a global brand..not.

Yes, I can go into an Apple store worldwide and sort this out as well...let's just hope the geniuses globally are not all to the same sleepy std.

I ended up having to take my Mac Pro into the store for them to fix...they only did 1 out of 5 tasks (having claimed to have done the lot...good job we turned the machine on and checked) and then told me I was lucky - they normally charge £99 to reinstall the OS. Well, as a new Apple customer with a machine that was only two weeks old...Dell, come back..all is forgiven.

 

[nick9191]

On average Apples support are far above Dell's (fact), sounds like you just were unlucky.

 

[leekohler]

I have to disagree. Pro Care is awesome. I've had it and just being able to take the classes on various software makes it worth it. I've taken the InDesign and Photoshop classes so far and they were great. It's a great way to stay current.

 

[Applespider]

My Applecare experiences over the phone have always been excellent although my problems have always been able to be fixed over the phone.

Procare in the UK is a waste of time if you're using it through Regent St. Although perhaps it's just that the Regent St store is an appalling flagship for the brand. My Procare experiences there weren't great; nor were other interactions with the Genius Bar.

OTOH, I know others who have been well looked after by the Genius Bars in other stores so perhaps it is just Regent St that's the problem.

To be fair, any time I've taken something in that I bought outside the UK, they've helped me but they do say that they can't do exchanges for retail stock with the receipt. Instead, you have to make a Genius Bar appointment and get them to exchange it.

 

[Sesshi]

On average Apples support are far above Dell's (fact), sounds like you just were unlucky.

Hahahahahahahaha...

Compared to Dell's Prosupport, I'd laugh a lot more about Applecare if it actually weren't funny when (a matter of when, not if) my Apples do need fixing.

Dell's support is far and away better than Apple for people who're serious about using their computers, for work as well as for play, and who elect to pay to extend their support.

Comparing Apple's no-pay first year support and if you totally skimp on your Dell purchase omitting any warranty uplift, maybe Apple is better. Perhaps it's why so many of you guys have this distorted view and for the massively biased Consumer Reports, etc findings.

I have to disagree. Pro Care is awesome. I've had it and just being able to take the classes on various software makes it worth it. I've taken the InDesign and Photoshop classes so far and they were great. It's a great way to stay current.

Procare isn't One To One. You pay separately for that. I had both, let Procare lapse. I've occasionally found the 121 service useful. Procare - no so much.

The 20 minutes limit is a bit of a surprise, but to their credit I've always found the Geniuses attentive, able to understand and assist with my issues to a decent degree (perhaps it's because I don't do the 'it's better with x' or 'I'm an expert' thing) and have exceeded the 20 minute limit on a number of occasions in attempting to help me out - but whether they are able to assist with a fundamental problem of the product line itself is another matter. I've come away empty handed many times, through no fault of the Geniuses.

 

[maglite]

I have to disagree. Pro Care is awesome. I've had it and just being able to take the classes on various software makes it worth it. I've taken the InDesign and Photoshop classes so far and they were great. It's a great way to stay current.

I am sure Procare in the US is good...a conversation with some of the geniuses in the San Fran store was one of the reasons why I decided to switch to an Apple product. My Regent St experience is probably about 1/100th of the experience I had in San Fran.

 

[maglite]

On average Apples support are far above Dell's (fact), sounds like you just were unlucky.

I'm not so sure...besides Dell's Gold Support and international global warranty and same on-site technician capability beats Apple's current business support options hands down.

If they ever want to tempt corporations away from a Windows desktop, the services offered by Dell, HP etc. will have to be equalled and/or bettered.

 

[FocusAndEarnIt]

Nothing but great experiences here. Genius Bar, AppleCare, Customer Relations, etc.

They care. They really do. It makes it a pleasant experience.

 

[Daveoc64]

I do think that Apple has poor support offerings in the UK.

For starters, there aren't Apple Stores everywhere - so all the posters from the US above saying that it's just "bad luck" aren't right.

Where I live, there's a small Apple Reseller with a service desk (and they're nice, but it's not Apple and you just don't get the same experience).

It's ironic that the two times I've been to an Apple store were in California!

With Dell I got a personal e-mail contact who would respond within minutes and they were able to send someone to replace my motherboard the next day - the equivalent with Apple would be booking up to see the genius a two hour drive away (and I can't drive yet, not forgetting we are in the UK so that's a lot further than most people would go in a day).

 

[leekohler]

Hahahahahahahaha...

Compared to Dell's Prosupport, I'd laugh a lot more about Applecare if it actually weren't funny when (a matter of when, not if) my Apples do need fixing.

Dell's support is far and away better than Apple for people who're serious about using their computers, for work as well as for play, and who elect to pay to extend their support.

Comparing Apple's no-pay first year support and if you totally skimp on your Dell purchase omitting any warranty uplift, maybe Apple is better. Perhaps it's why so many of you guys have this distorted view and for the massively biased Consumer Reports, etc findings.



Procare isn't One To One. You pay separately for that. I had both, let Procare lapse. I've occasionally found the 121 service useful. Procare - no so much.

The 20 minutes limit is a bit of a surprise, but to their credit I've always found the Geniuses attentive, able to understand and assist with my issues to a decent degree (perhaps it's because I don't do the 'it's better with x' or 'I'm an expert' thing) and have exceeded the 20 minute limit on a number of occasions in attempting to help me out - but whether they are able to assist with a fundamental problem of the product line itself is another matter. I've come away empty handed many times, through no fault of the Geniuses.

Ah- I see it's changed. When I first used Procare, all the classes were included- there was no One to One. I did let it lapse because there wasn't anything new I was interested in or couldn't figure out myself.