Leaving Apple

[MacHiavelli]

My MBP has had 3 batteries in less than 3 years and now needs a fourth. AppleCare says it is within their numbers and that I have to live with 1 hour usage!

The powerpack on my MBP died in Feb. AppleCare sent a replacement but sent the wrong cable. I returned the cable and complained to Apple but they never replied and never sent the right cable, despite paying for AppleCare. I had to do a 250 mile round trip to replace the powerpack at my own expense.

When I bought the MBP and a 30 inch monitor 3 years ago, it had a problem connecting. I called Apple but they couldn't help. They promised to find a solution and call back within 24 hours. 3 years later, they still haven't called.

The main logic board on the MBP died and had to be replaced.

When the lid of the MBP closes it is slightly warped on both sides - looks like a banana.

Since the logic board was replaced, the top of the MBP (next to the track pad) has been loose and it moves up and down. Just a mm or two, but it is annoying and not what you'd expect from a premium product.

I also bought a Time Capsule when I bought the MBP and 30 inch screen. That also died and had to be replaced.

So, after switching to Apple 3 years ago, it looks like it is time to switch back (on a personal and on a company level) to another PC maker: hoping to find one that offers better service and better quality products.

Love OSX's reliability and productivity, but the hardware and service have been a let down.

Just sorry to all the people who I convinced to switch to Apple: I was wrong in the advice I gave.

 

[aristobrat]

I'm sorry that your MBP was such a lemon and that AppleCare gave you poor service on multiple occasions.

Hopefully your next computer/service experiences will be better. Hard to believe they'd be any worse!

 

[bigjnyc]

Sorry about your bad luck. But it seems like you didnt follow-up or were aggressive enough. I woud have kept calling Apple on those issues until they took care of them... You are paying your hard earned money don't feel like you are bothering them by not following up and hounding them until they take care of you.

 

[The Past]

Based on your location, I wonder why you had to drive 250 miles for the power pack...

 

[ehoui]

Sorry to hear about your bad experiences. I wouldn't beat yourself up about recommending Apple -- it has the highest customer satisfaction ratings of PC manufacturers. That doesn't mean every customer is satisfied, but it's likely they are.

I wish you the best of luck with your new PC!

 

[MacHiavelli]

I'm sorry that your MBP was such a lemon and that AppleCare gave you poor service on multiple occasions.

Hopefully your next computer/service experiences will be better. Hard to believe they'd be any worse!

Thanks - have loved OS X. Heart is with Apple, but the hard facts mean we'll now look at other suppliers.

 

[Mrawr]

I actually had similar issues with my late '06 MBP. The warping, the metal popping up on the top case, and terrible battery performance (I'm on my 3rd one... for the last year it's been lasting 45min on a single charge.). I share your frustration. Having had experience with other products introduced after the old design of the MBP (unibody MBP, iPad, ect.), I will say that things seem to have improved. Despite the issues, I haven't replaced the old clunker yet.

 

[MacHiavelli]

Sorry about your bad luck. But it seems like you didnt follow-up or were aggressive enough. I would have kept calling Apple on those issues until they took care of them... You are paying your hard earned money don't feel like you are bothering them by not following up and hounding them until they take care of you.

I'm really disappointed to have been let down so often. Maybe I was just unlucky. Really feel I shouldn't have to hound: if you order a part and the wrong part is sent to you, then the supplier should know to send the right part. Not that difficult.

But appreciate your advice.

Based on your location, I wonder why you had to drive 250 miles for the power pack...

That is (or was) my heart's location

Sorry to hear about your bad experiences. I wouldn't beat yourself up about recommending Apple -- it has the highest customer satisfaction ratings of PC manufacturers. That doesn't mean every customer is satisfied, but it's likely they are.

I wish you the best of luck with your new PC!

I've just counted and can point to 27 direct people who have bought Macs on the back of my evangelising.

Thanks for the good luck - feel I need it. Love Apple, but just not got the reliability or service.

I actually had similar issues with my late '06 MBP. The warping, the metal popping up on the top case, and terrible battery performance (I'm on my 3rd one... for the last year it's been lasting 45min on a single charge.). I share your frustration. Having had experience with other products introduced after the old design of the MBP (unibody MBP, iPad, ect.), I will say that things seem to have improved. Despite the issues, I haven't replaced the old clunker yet.

Sorry to hear you've also had probs. The warping and popping is minor - annoying but minor. It's the poor service and the actual hardware breakages that have made me doubt Apple.

Do love Apple, but just can't go on paying for flakey products and flakier service.

 

[Mrawr]

Sorry to hear you've also had probs. The warping and popping is minor - annoying but minor. It's the poor service and the actual hardware breakages that have made me doubt Apple.

Do love Apple, but just can't go on paying for flakey products and flakier service.

Oh, I've had my share of flakey service... I originally purchased a white MacBook. It was one of the plagued batch with the yellowing palmrest issue. After a few top casing replacements and hours on they phone, they upgraded me to the low-end MBP. Little did I know, I'd be fighting again for the battery issue. They wouldn't budge on the battery.

 

[MacHiavelli]

Oh, I've had my share of flakey service... I originally purchased a white MacBook. It was one of the plagued batch with the yellowing palmrest issue. After a few top casing replacements and hours on they phone, they upgraded me to the low-end MBP. Little did I know, I'd be fighting again for the battery issue. They wouldn't budge on the battery.

Unlucky!

I can't be doing with wasting hours on the phone. I paid for Apple Care and it has not been worthwhile. There's no point in me wasting more time or money or Apple.

If Apple don't want me/my custom, that's fine. Their choice.

 

[MacHiavelli]

Just got an approach from a company offering a discount of 22 percent on orders over GBP 50,000 (about 80,000 Can dollars). Nice to know someone wants our business and is proactive in trying to get it.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

OP; there's nothing wrong with leaving. Apple's closed ecosystem makes it a very love it or hate it sort of relationship, with no room for a middle ground. While I've never experienced the sort of problems you have had, I agree Apple's support- especially on the older non-unibody MBP's could have been much better: It took them 2-months shy of 3 years to finally fix my MBP to my expectations.

 

[MacHiavelli]

OP; there's nothing wrong with leaving. Apple's closed ecosystem makes it a very love it or hate it sort of relationship, with no room for a middle ground. While I've never experienced the sort of problems you have had, I agree Apple's support- especially on the older non-unibody MBP's could have been much better: It took them 2-months shy of 3 years to finally fix my MBP to my expectations.

Thanks for that - interesting to hear other people's experiences: seems I am not alone. I really have loved OSX and the whole Apple world (reached into work, home, mobile life and everything), but I'm not prepared to be shafted by Apple's slack service. One episode of slack service is unfortunate. Two episodes are just unacceptable.

Apple knows that and are happy to lose a customer. They have got plenty of others.

I'm cool with it all. Happy to move on.

Just wanted to let others know so they have a full view of life with Apple so they can make informed buying decisions.

 

[aristobrat]

Love Apple, but just not got the reliability or service.

Anecdotally, yes.

Objectively, big names (PCWorld, Consumer Reports, SquareTrade) do yearly surveys of tens of thousands of computer owners' experiences (i.e. people like you, me, the people you've recommended Apple to, etc), and Apple consistently rates towards the top in reliability, and the top for tech support satisfaction.

You're rolling the dice that your next PC will be more reliable. No consumer PC manufacturer will guarantee that your next PC won't be a lemon (they *all* have lemons occasionally roll of their assembly lines), IMO the odds are in your favor that your next PC will be more reliable, even if you were to chose another Apple.

When it comes to better tech service satisfaction, the odds are stacked against you. Hopefully you'll get a reliable PC and will never need to use tech support!

 

[MacHiavelli]

Anecdotally, yes.

Objectively, big names (PCWorld, Consumer Reports, SquareTrade) do yearly surveys of tens of thousands of computer owners' experiences (i.e. people like you, me, the people you've recommended Apple to, etc), and Apple consistently rates towards the top in reliability, and the top for tech support satisfaction.

You're rolling the dice that your next PC will be more reliable. No consumer PC manufacturer will guarantee that your next PC won't be a lemon (they *all* have lemons occasionally roll of their assembly lines), IMO the odds are in your favor that your next PC will be more reliable, even if you were to chose another Apple.

When it comes to better tech service satisfaction, the odds are stacked against you. Hopefully you'll get a reliable PC and will never need to use tech support!

All true - and all points we need to consider when making a cold and clinical decision about where to invest our tech budget in the future. I appreciate your advice.

Thanks to the posts and twittering today, we've already had one offer from a Win box vendor and I've just had an email from an Apple reseller who has offered to sort out the MBP for me if we buy our kit via his company in the future.

Maybe having a reseller look after us rather than relying on AppleCare would be a good option.

As I've said, I love Apple's OSX - it is the poor service that has sullied things for us.

 

[MacHiavelli]

Must say I have been very impressed by the calm responses and comments from other Apple users I've received here, on Twitter and by email.

The Apple fraternity presents itself as such an intelligent, considerate and articulate community.

That adds a lot to the whole Apple-owning experience.

 

[Synthion]

FYI:

You're no longer buying a brand, not leaving a cult

 

[GoKyu]

That's pretty cool that a reseller is willing to work with you on the mbp if you pick up service with them.

Might be a good idea, especially if you're "heavily invested" in Apple hardware and software.

 

[MacHiavelli]

FYI:

You're no longer buying a brand, not leaving a cult

Thanks for that - made the new day start with a smile

 

[MacHiavelli]

That's pretty cool that a reseller is willing to work with you on the mbp if you pick up service with them.

Might be a good idea, especially if you're "heavily invested" in Apple hardware and software.

Seems like a good offer. We switched the company to Apple 3 years ago and everything (save for the printers) is based on Apple at the moment: though happy to switch back again. Quite like the reseller idea as it will give us a personal contact rather than being shunted around from person to person on the phone to AppleCare and never getting problems sorted out.

Cheers

 

[iStudentUK]

You're no longer buying a brand, not leaving a cult

Yeah, this for sure. When I read the thread title I thought "this isn't a break up!"

It is simple, does Apple meet your needs? In your case the answer is no. You received very bad service, and that is one of the major things that dictates if I buy from a brand again. So don't buy Apple next time.

At the end of they day, it is just a computer.

 

[MacHiavelli]

Seems like a good offer. We switched the company to Apple 3 years ago and everything (save for the printers) is based on Apple at the moment: though happy to switch back again. Quite like the reseller idea as it will give us a personal contact rather than being shunted around from person to person on the phone to AppleCare and never getting problems sorted out.

Cheers

Yeah, this for sure. When I read the thread title I thought "this isn't a break up!"

It is simple, does Apple meet your needs? In your case the answer is no. You received very bad service, and that is one of the major things that dictates if I buy from a brand again. So don't buy Apple next time.

At the end of they day, it is just a computer.

Yep, that's just about the conclusion I've come to - though working with a local supplier rather than relying on Apple for service might be a workable solution.

In the main, I love the Apple kit/OSX we have and I've been an Apple fanboi/evangelist for the past few years. Just might be time to move on.

Appreciate everyone's thoughts: like the clinical clarity of your message.

 

[Mactrillionaire]

Sounds like you just had a lot of bad luck. I don't know where you took it for service, but my recommendation is to get repairs done at AASP locations. Even if an Apple store is far away, there is usually one no more than thirty minutes from most locations. The shorter trip is a better value as well since AASP are computer professionals not just retail employers trained to fix a computer. They know a thing or two about treating customers right.

As far as your migrating back to PC, enjoy all the frustration that the combination of Windows and lowest bidder components can offer (and a recurring security software subscription)! If you actually build a system yourself to run Windows on and invest in the better hardware, the price difference between that computer and an equivalent Apple computer won't be that obvious, however.

 

[Silencio]

I'm sorry you had poor experiences with Apple hardware. Those last generations of the Aluminum MacBook Pros haven't been Apple's best products in terms of long-term reliability, and those first generation Time Capsules were notoriously unreliable. Sounds like you just had a lot of bad luck / bad timing in your purchases.

The Unibody MBPs are much, much better built than the older Aluminum MBPs. As far as I can tell, the newer Time Capsule models are not plagued with the same problems as the original, though I am still fairly resistant to recommending them to people.

In the interest of expanding your data set a little bit: of the other 27 people who bought Macs on your recommendation: how are theirs holding up?

 

[maclaptop]

As far as your migrating back to PC, enjoy all the frustration that the combination of Windows and lowest bidder components can offer (and a recurring security software subscription)! If you actually build a system yourself to run Windows on and invest in the better hardware, the price difference between that computer and an equivalent Apple computer won't be that obvious, however.

These comments above are so off base, it appears that they are designed to be antagonistic. They certainly are not even close to being realistic. Moreover they certainly don't shine a positive light on their author.