What is Macintosh Support Quality Like?

[Drjh68]

I am researching the pros and cons of moving from a Windows PC to
an iMac. I would like to get an idea of how easy it is to get quality support when a problem arises. The official guidance says:

"AppleCare Service and Support
Your iMac comes with 90 days of technical support and one year of hardware
repair warranty coverage at an Apple Store retail location or an Apple-authorized
repair center, such as an Apple Authorized Service Provider. You can extend your
coverage by purchasing the AppleCare Protection Plan. For information, visit
www.apple.com/support/products or visit the website address for your country
listed below.
If you need assistance, AppleCare telephone support representatives can help you with
installing and opening applications, and basic troubleshooting. Call the support center
number nearest you (the first 90 days are complimentary). Have the purchase date and
your iMac serial number ready when you call."

Can those who have had to seek support please comment on how well the system works? If you need a repair, who do you go to? Is it a local repair centre or retailer? Is it a hassle? Or is it a joy? I would like to know what I might be letting myself in for.

I expect that there are other current or potential users who would be interested in the replies. Many thanks in anticipation.

James
Suffolk UK

 

[DoFoT9]

welcome!!

the general consensus is:

if you have a problem you either:
a) ring up tech support (changes from different countries) and make a booking to take in your computer
b) take your computer straight in and see if they have some spare time

service is normally VERY good and efficient, they know what they are doing and if they cannot solve it there they might have to keep it for a few days or so..

 

[iBlue]

That's a bit pessimistic, don't you think? I don't get into something because of how it may be if/when it fails.


To be perfectly honest, I'd say Apple are not always the best when it comes to customer support. I wouldn't say it's significantly worse than what you'd receive with various PC companies but I wouldn't say it is better either. Your mileage may vary.

As for who you go to, it can vary by your location. Usually you need to take any problematic machines to the Apple store or send it in by post. I am not sure if there are other places you can go.

Fortunately with macs they tend to need less support, at least on the software level. The operating system is a lot smoother and stable, in my experience.

 

[edesignuk]

Service I have received has pretty much always been utterly crap, even with AppleCare.

Others have done great with it though.

 

[techathy]

Unfortunately your care is only as good as your local apple service provider, thankfully there are 2 near me so have to keep up to high standards.

 

[Winni]

I am researching the pros and cons of moving from a Windows PC to
an iMac. I would like to get an idea of how easy it is to get quality support when a problem arises.

If you're used to Dell support, Apple's support will completely fall through and is not even worth to be mentioned. HP's business support, which comes nowhere near Dell, is also already ahead of Apple.

There are a couple of very simple reasons for this: You can't call Apple to send a guy with replacement parts over to your house or office. Even the expensive Apple Care Protection Plan does not buy that sort of service.

When you call Dell's Business support, you get people on the phone who actually KNOW their business and who are very professional. (These guys even help you with officially unsupported products.) When I read the job ads for Apple call centers (in Ireland) and see their salary offers for those jobs, I already know what kind of service quality you will receive from the Apple phone support.

The two reasons to buy a Mac are the design and OS X. And depending on your individual needs, the only reason to buy a Mac might be the design, because OS X just won't cut it for you due to a lack of the required application software.

Living in the Mac world usually is also more expensive than on the PC side of things -- the upgrade cycles for software are usually faster and -everything- costs something. And unless you are only interested in notebooks, you usually also get less computing and graphics power for your money.

Ultimately, it all depends on what YOU really need and want to do with the machine and how many calls to customer support you are expecting to make -- and how technical those phone calls are going to be.

 

[Hellhammer]

It's very high quality. Just bring it to your local Apple reseller and they will fix it to you. Also, consider AppleCare for longer warranty and technical support

 

[suburbia]

Hey there James,

I don't think Apple's support is much better or worse than any other company's. You'll get someone who's considerate and genuinely concerned about your problems at times, and at others, just some idiot who's more confrontational than helpful.

I've used Mac for ten years now, and although there are many that have been using Mac for much, much longer, I'll say that just from my experience, Apple's telephone support has been getting worse. It's become a hit-and-miss, with support coping an attitude sometimes. And those "Genuises" at the Apple store, are, once again, just my experience, coping major attitude. They don't to like to be questioned, it seems. My god, you work at an Apple store, which is nothing more than a glorified Gap, drop the snotty attitude.

Just another company James.

 

[dborja]

I've had great experiences in my dealings with Apple support, both over the phone and with the Genius Bar. They've resolved problems with my iBook, Airport Extreme Base Station (via my iMac warranty), my wife's iPhone and my earlier iMac. The iPhone and iBook issues resulted in swaps with no muss and fuss. Wait times on the support phone line have been minimal and the techs on the phone and at the Genius Bar have been very knowledgeable and courteous...

 

[rdowns]

Apple consistently outranks their competitors in Consumer Reports surveys, FWIW.

 

[peskaa]

I have nothing but praise for the AppleCare team. I've recently had a 23" ACD replaced for free by them, despite being 3 years out of warranty - and at no point was anybody anything but helpful and trying to get the issue sorted. I've done several other repairs through them (particularly before the UK got Apple Stores), and the experience has been great.

Support in the stores is also good (I've been to the flagship Regent Street store, Brent Cross and Birmingham, as well as a local reseller). Turnaround is fast, and the staff are usually spot on.

Now I do say usually, because sometimes you do have to argue your point a little bit if your "Genius" is having a bad day/month. Thing is, this can happen with any company and on phones as well as in stores. That said, I've been able to bypass these individuals to get a good result.

Now, you do have to accept that Apple won't come to your house/office to fix your stuff, but once you've got that in your head, their support is excellent.

 

[Drjh68]

Thanks to all for your comments. It seems clear that all computer makers' support arrangements have their critics, but that Apple have the fewest. I'm not surprised, but it has been very useful to take the temperature of the market, which is encouraging.

Best wishes.

James

Suffolk UK