Broken iMac superdrive and terrible Apple Customer Services..

[BelowTheBelt]

for anyone interested I got the iMac fixed by an AASP, at much more inconvenience to me.

Sold on ebay along with the iphone.

Now that Win7 is here I have no need for OS X.

the guy from Apple Complaints eventually got back to me. He'd been on holiday for a week.

Clearly OS X Mail has no 'out of office'...or he has no friends....


anyhow he's sending me an iPod nano for my inconvenience, more for ebay.

good riddance, they deserve nothing less...

My goodness sounds like you had a hell of a time.
After reading over this thread, to me it sounds like your a bit of a hot head & have a quick temper, are you sure you met the Apple employees with respect off the first foot ?

I work for the Government of Canada, specifically Revenue Canada and I am a very friendly fellow. I have the entire power of the Government to help someone with a problem; if they are nice and courteous & in the same breath that entire power is there to make their life a living hell if I am treated with little to no respect.

Just a though after reading your comments, you might need some reflection time.

 

[archipellago]

My goodness sounds like you had a hell of a time.
After reading over this thread, to me it sounds like your a bit of a hot head & have a quick temper, are you sure you met the Apple employees with respect off the first foot ?

I work for the Government of Canada, specifically Revenue Canada and I am a very friendly fellow. I have the entire power of the Government to help someone with a problem; if they are nice and courteous & in the same breath that entire power is there to make their life a living hell if I am treated with little to no respect.

Just a though after reading your comments, you might need some reflection time.

ah! power mad..... good..!

yes I was courteous to all concerned, shouting gets you nowhere.

The Apple complaints guy actually volunteered to do something when I spoke to him. he then did nothing and went away for a week.

genius..

the customer service matches, in my experience, the quality of the hardware.

I need no time for reflection, it's done and finished and I'm better off in every way! Result...

 

[BelowTheBelt]

ah! power mad..... good..!

yes I was courteous to all concerned, shouting gets you nowhere.

The Apple complaints guy actually volunteered to do something when I spoke to him. he then did nothing and went away for a week.

genius..

the customer service matches, in my experience, the quality of the hardware.

I need no time for reflection, it's done and finished and I'm better off in every way! Result...

Awesome possum bro

Good and better luck in the future

 

[t22design]

My experiences with Apple customer support have been nothing less than excellent.

I'll keep recommending them to friends.

 

[arose1980]

well you have limited options if the guy physically won't take it... I can't print my own receipt! My only option would have been to walk out and leave it there, but that wouldn't have been a good idea.

The guy Will Schwar was/is a tool and wasn't really interested. There was literally a queue out of the door with people bringing stuff back though and the atmosphere all round was 'tense'

The amazing Apple experience eh..??

I'm already in talks with Dave Kelly at Apple Customer Care (Stockley Park number to Hollyhill centre). He's agreed to pick it up now, although he had no choice as sale of goods act say a repair must be offered at minimal inconvenience to the consumer. That being said he agreed to it on Wednesday and I'm still awaiting the courier's call. Rubbish....

trading standards have raised a case and I'll file to go to small claims if nothing happens soon.


I agree I should have reported it earlier, but it won't matter as when its back I'll just flog it and the iPhone I've got and from an earlier post I'll try and spread the word and do what I can to make my peer group stay aware from Apple stuff.

1/ They make poor quality stuff in general.

2/ They don't seem to care when things do go wrong.


as a company they don't deserve my cash.

I don't mean to be rude but seriously? SERIOUSLY? I get that you have had a poor experience with a company, who hasn't? However, imho you are going a tad overboard.

"I agree I should have reported it earlier, but it won't matter as when its back I'll just flog it and the iPhone I've got and from an earlier post I'll try and spread the word and do what I can to make my peer group stay aware from Apple stuff.

1/ They make poor quality stuff in general.

2/ They don't seem to care when things do go wrong.


as a company they don't deserve my cash."

So because you have had bad experience with ONE of your items at TWO stores, all of a sudden the entire Apple company is rotten to the core (no pun intended)? Really? Sorry but imo you are sounding like a little child who because she/he hasn't gotten their way then they just go "HMPH, I didn't want it in the first place! HMPH". How about you actually WAIT to see what the end result is before you write the entire company off?

 

[arose1980]

My experiences with Apple customer support have been nothing less than excellent.

I'll keep recommending them to friends.

Exactly. If I were Apple I would say "good riddance" to the TC as a customer. In a business which has let it's history/product/and fan base speak for itself, one rotten apple is more trouble than its worth.

 

[stonemann]

My experience with the Apple Store in Regent's Street, London has been excellent. Took in my five year old Powerbook G4 recently for a hard drive replacement. It was ready in two days. Very reasonable repair cost too. Half what my local Apple reseller quoted me. First time my machine has had anything go wrong with it in five years of use. So my experience both on the hardware side and customer support has been great. No complaints here. Planning to get an iMac next and when my trusty Powerbook eventually bites the dust, I'd have no hesitation in getting a Macbook Pro. Applecare is a must though. Stuff goes wrong. S**t happens. But generally Apple deal with it, so I'm a bit surprised you appear to have had such a lousy time.

 

[jdaco6]

To the OP. I am amazed that they collected your Imac from you! I have a 24" BTO Imac that has just gone in for repair and they told me they would not collect it under any circumstances and that I would have to drive to my nearest apple store!

 

[mtnDewFTW]

is my experience normal?

Nope. Over here, in US, Apple has always treated me very nicely.
They even helped me out with a Windows problem I was having (it was iTunes related.) btw, this is something Microsoft can't even do yet, and the problem was in the OS, no iTunes, but I won't get into that right now.

Anyway, I think you got very unlucky this time, and I'm very sorry about that
Apple costumer care are actually usually very nice, at least they are in US.

Just be happy you didn't have a PC.
There isn't a single PC company in this world that is NEARLY as nice as Apple.
They just don't care. That's it, they really DON'T care. And they all work from like India, so you could imagine how little they could do, without even speaking the language correctly (I don't mean to offend anyone)


Anyway, I've had much worse experiences with Gateway, Dell, and even WD, yes the HDD company lol.

So anyway, just so you know, Apple actually didn't treat you that bad, to me it just sounds like you got pretty unlucky, because of the stores, and the distance also made it even more frustrating.

And I really hope they'll be nicer next time

 

[archipellago]

To the OP. I am amazed that they collected your Imac from you! I have a 24" BTO Imac that has just gone in for repair and they told me they would not collect it under any circumstances and that I would have to drive to my nearest apple store!

If you are in the UK then they aren't allowed to do that, providing it's in warranty.

They have to offer a repair as an absolute minimum at minimal inconvenience and cost to you.

They should compensate you for your time and fuel.

The normal Apple support line wouldn't do it (pick it up) it was only when I got to complaints that I got offered that..... which when I said OK.....didn't happen anyway!

I've raised a case with trading standards to get clarification on procedure.

 

[archipellago]

My experience with the Apple Store in Regent's Street, London has been excellent. Took in my five year old Powerbook G4 recently for a hard drive replacement. It was ready in two days. Very reasonable repair cost too. Half what my local Apple reseller quoted me. First time my machine has had anything go wrong with it in five years of use. So my experience both on the hardware side and customer support has been great. No complaints here. Planning to get an iMac next and when my trusty Powerbook eventually bites the dust, I'd have no hesitation in getting a Macbook Pro. Applecare is a must though. Stuff goes wrong. S**t happens. But generally Apple deal with it, so I'm a bit surprised you appear to have had such a lousy time.

with all due respect thats a very different situation. Thats not a warranty repair, you are paying them for the service.

Applecare shouldn't be a must, no extended warranty plan on any expensive electrical item should be needed in the UK because of the protection the law allows.

An item costing £1k, that doesn't move (iMac) would be expected to last, in normal use a minimum of 3 years. The sale of goods act covers all this. Any legal advice would tell you that.

 

[archipellago]

I don't mean to be rude but seriously? SERIOUSLY? I get that you have had a poor experience with a company, who hasn't? However, imho you are going a tad overboard.

"I agree I should have reported it earlier, but it won't matter as when its back I'll just flog it and the iPhone I've got and from an earlier post I'll try and spread the word and do what I can to make my peer group stay aware from Apple stuff.

1/ They make poor quality stuff in general.

2/ They don't seem to care when things do go wrong.


as a company they don't deserve my cash."

So because you have had bad experience with ONE of your items at TWO stores, all of a sudden the entire Apple company is rotten to the core (no pun intended)? Really? Sorry but imo you are sounding like a little child who because she/he hasn't gotten their way then they just go "HMPH, I didn't want it in the first place! HMPH". How about you actually WAIT to see what the end result is before you write the entire company off?

Thats your opinion and your are entitled to it. I am quite keen on good service especially when I've paid a premium for a supposed premier product. 1 chance to make a first impression

Culture on the shop floor often comes from above and the arrogance was breathtaking. The fact that complaints also made a mess of it just re-enforces that view.

It shouldn't cost me in excess of £50 plus 5+ hours of time to sort out a problem on a £1k computer that is only 5 months old.

Apple should have been bending over backwards whilst apologising for the trouble.

Remember Apple supposedly sell premium products to give the best possible user experience. Its all part of the package and what you pay for....and why most people are happy to pay a little bit more.

"It just works" etc.

well.... in my experience, none of it really works and nothing they do is worth paying the Apple tax for.

Remember this isn't the first problem I've had with Apple hardware, my best friend has an older poly. iMac which got the vertical screen lines after 14 months. he had to go to small claims court (and won!) before Apple would do anything.

I'm not saying my experience is reflective of Apple overall but I can only base my opinions on my experience of them myself. if other people get treated better or are happy to be treated the same as me, then fine

They don't deserve my business so they won't get it.

 

[spcdust]

If you are in the UK then they aren't allowed to do that, providing it's in warranty.

They have to offer a repair as an absolute minimum at minimal inconvenience and cost to you.

They should compensate you for your time and fuel.

The normal Apple support line wouldn't do it (pick it up) it was only when I got to complaints that I got offered that..... which when I said OK.....didn't happen anyway!

I've raised a case with trading standards to get clarification on procedure.

To be completely honest there's a lot of ill informed and inaccurate hot air in your statements and also your previous posts. Maybe it's time to let it go and just move on.

 

[archipellago]

Exactly. If I were Apple I would say "good riddance" to the TC as a customer. In a business which has let it's history/product/and fan base speak for itself, one rotten apple is more trouble than its worth.

Apple's fanbase isn't very subjective though is it?

"The cult of Mac" etc..

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/feb/05/comment.media

and in real terms the product doesn't reach very far or to very many customers.

260 million computers will be sold this year (worldwide) of which Apple will get 10 million (approx) of those sales. 4% marketshare.

 

[neilw]

Apple is a very large company, selling millions upon millions of machines. Some small number are bound to hit the unlucky jackpot, and though it is disappointing to hear for those of us whose Apple experience is generally (or uniformly) positive, it's reality.

To the OP: good luck, and sorry it didn't work out. Your Apple experience is not the norm.

 

[archipellago]

To be completely honest there's a lot of ill informed and inaccurate hot air in your statements and also your previous posts. Maybe it's time to let it go and just move on.

or maybe you should put up or shut up..?

http://whatconsumer.co.uk/and-if-my-statutory-rights-are-breached/

"...the seller must offer to at least repair the goods. They must do this within reasonable time, at no additional cost to you and without causing any significant inconvenience..."

if you want to point out where you think I'm mistaken then I'm more than happy to debate it.

If not I'll just assume that your 'mac evangelism' is clouding your judgement.

 

[archipellago]

Some people run into a small hitch and go pop off on the forums without trying to actually fix the problem. This does not seem to be one of those cases, though.

The OP has already waited long enough to form an opinion. While my Apple experience is quite different (as are most, by the customer satisfaction surveys one sees), you cannot fault someone for drawing conclusions on a company based on his treatment. The iMac is an expensive piece of gear, and that carries with it a higher level of expectation for satisfaction. If I buy a Yugo and have some problems, I know what I got into. But if I get a new BMW and can't get the thing fixed, I get angry much more quickly, and justifiably so.

Apple is a very large company, selling millions upon millions of machines. Some small number are bound to hit the unlucky jackpot, and though it is disappointing to hear for those of us whose Apple experience is generally (or uniformly) positive, it's reality.

To the OP: good luck, and sorry it didn't work out. Your Apple experience is not the norm.

exactly, thanks for the post..

 

[archipellago]

Nope. Over here, in US, Apple has always treated me very nicely.
They even helped me out with a Windows problem I was having (it was iTunes related.) btw, this is something Microsoft can't even do yet, and the problem was in the OS, no iTunes, but I won't get into that right now.

Anyway, I think you got very unlucky this time, and I'm very sorry about that
Apple costumer care are actually usually very nice, at least they are in US.

Just be happy you didn't have a PC.
There isn't a single PC company in this world that is NEARLY as nice as Apple.
They just don't care. That's it, they really DON'T care. And they all work from like India, so you could imagine how little they could do, without even speaking the language correctly (I don't mean to offend anyone)


Anyway, I've had much worse experiences with Gateway, Dell, and even WD, yes the HDD company lol.

So anyway, just so you know, Apple actually didn't treat you that bad, to me it just sounds like you got pretty unlucky, because of the stores, and the distance also made it even more frustrating.

And I really hope they'll be nicer next time

thanks for the post, you might be right.

..but there won't be a next time..

 

[spcdust]

To the OP - you need to calm down a little bit and probably get some perspective. It seems odd that the majority of people have very positive experiences with Apples aftercare but the one guy who demonstrates a rather hot headed attitude in their postings - low and behold has nothing but trouble in all their dealings with Apple. I'm no Miss Marple but maybe there's a connection.

You've made up your mind and got rid of all your Apple products so why are you still banging on about it?

By the way - I count myself as not a Mac Fanboy.

 

[steveOooo]

I agree with the OP.

2008

Imac G5 - Superdrive faulty 1 month before 3 year warranty ended, had to lug this (10kg) thing to the apple store - 20min walk (in a i-lugger backpack). They decided it wasnt faulty - they booted off their own firewire drive - got it home, still faulty (couldnt burn dvdr). They said do a erase n install - which i couldnt do cos the drive wouldnt recognise the install discs.
I went back with and They replaced the SD with a mat****a drive. I drove their to collect - so 5 legs with a £1000+computer - how conveniant.

Why do i have to travel, at cost to me and spend time correcting a in-warranty faulty computer? cant they collect their faulty stuff and replace?

On this case, the call to Applecare was very good - quick and painless.

2009

Buy a ACD

ACD 1. Hairline crack within the glass. call applecare - bad line with indian guy (very loud distorted) then go to other guy - line is clear, american - but then he hangs up on me! he was at least very apologetic. total time took around 15mins on phone. They replace the ACD via courier

ACD 2. AFter 2 days, the resolution is stuck on 640x480 - a rare prob. apparently. Call took 45mins - tech support - unplug/system prefs, detect display - did this for 20mins - um hello? its not working. Then get put thru to apple store - 'hey you can come and drop it off at your apple store' um no thanks? why should i drive/walk with a £600 monitor that weighs a ton to sort out YOUR PROBLEM? i had to say 'i would like a refund twice' before and near the end of the conversation with her.
This took 45mins,

I bought a HP LP2475W which has a 3 year warranty INCLUDED at no extra charge, it also has something really spaced aged called a 'hdmi' 'dvi' 'display port' and a 'on/off' button! oh and no GLARE! why have they dropped anti-glare from the imac range? i dont want to see my ugly mug when using my com!

my opinion of apple has gone down a bit, certainly with the ACD fiasco - chuckle bros have gone into making ACDs.

 

[mdgolom]

best customer services?

In my experience...the absolute worst.!

Drive to Manchester? You are having a 'giraffe'!

I guess I've had better results with AppleCare, not sure if it's because I'm in the US. I had a PowerPC G5 and burned out 3 SuperDrives. Basically every day I would burn a DVD to watch at the gym. AppleCare always provided me with the new drive shipped to me. I've had at least 10 Macs and yes, sometimes they have problems. My 13 month old iMac had an HDD fail which was replaced. 3 months later it died again and Apple replaced it and the power supply. They still had problems booting the machine, so instead of delaying me, they offered me a replacement with a new iMac (better specs) right from the store. No other company I know of will offer to do that.

Plus, here in the US, you can schedule a time for AppleCare to call you back so you don't have to wait on the phone on hold. This is why Apple is #1 in customer care.

I'm really sorry you've had all these problems. As for the store not taking the computer for repair, I can understand if they wouldn't be able to fix it before the store closed for Refurb.

 

[steveOooo]

To the OP - you need to calm down a little bit and probably get some perspective. It seems odd that the majority of people have very positive experiences with Apples aftercare but the one guy who demonstrates a rather hot headed attitude in their postings - low and behold has nothing but trouble in all their dealings with Apple. I'm no Miss Marple but maybe there's a connection.

You've made up your mind and got rid of all your Apple products so why are you still banging on about it?

By the way - I count myself as not a Mac Fanboy.

But apple wanted him to drive 50miles to manchester having already driven 20miles to sheffield at cost to him, to replace a 4month old £1000+ computer? how would this not make you pissed off?

 

[AdeFowler]

love to know what would happen if I was disabled, or didn't have a car!

That's me and I dread having problems with Apple kit

I always buy Applecare, but I still think Apple's support in the UK has a lot of room for improvement.

 

[steveOooo]

what is the situ with repairing a applecare covered computer do you have to travel to ur nearest applestore (1mile from me) or can they collect? they seem to only give one option (go to applestore) when on the phone?

 

[archipellago]

what is the situ with repairing a applecare covered computer do you have to travel to ur nearest applestore (1mile from me) or can they collect? they seem to only give one option (go to applestore) when on the phone?

Original Apple supprt line said they would have picked up my computer IF I had Applecare.