 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Mac Forum / General / Portable Macs / August 2008Is Apple service run by Dogbert?
My ExpressCard slot on my 17" MacBook Pro broke. Cards inserted into the slot will not stay in; it just pushes them back out. So it needs repair. I had to make an appointment with a Mac Genius through the Concierge on the Internet; apparently you cannot do this by phone. Good thing the MacBook still was able to access the Internet! Only it wasn't. We were on vacation where I had no Internet access. I had an AT&T Wireless card, but it would not stay in the ExpressCard slot, so it would not work. I ended up making the appointment while waiting for our plane at the airport on the way home. Luckily, there was one appointment for about the time of our arrival at SeaTac. This is a big deal, because the Apple Store is more than two hours (and a toll bridge) from my home, but it is on the way from SeaTac to my home. I did not want to have to make another trip into town just to drop off my laptop for repairs. The Mac Genius told me that the computer could not be repaired in the store. It had to be sent to a service center. So I had it sent to a service center. This was August 23. On August 27 I got a call from the Genius who told me that my Laptop had arrived at the service center, but that repairs were "on hold" for some unspecified reason. Checking the web site told me that the repairs were "on hold, waiting for parts." Okay. I can see where they might not have extras of the little spring thingy for the ExpressCard slot just lying around. Well, no I can't. This seems to me an item that is likely to be about as robust as the clicker on a ball point pen, which is to say it is likely to break. Oh, well. It is now Sept. 4. No change in the computer's repair status. You cannot call them, not even the Apple Store, because they say that they "are not taking phone calls." There is no way to reach them by email, either. Near as I can tell, my computer has disappeared into a black hole. It would be nice to know if the repairs will be completed soon, perhaps even sometime this year. This is why Apple can never be seriously considered as a business machine. Apple thinks their customers are nuisances, not assets, and treats them that way. Apparently the peasants are not entitled to know what is happening with their computers. Few businesses are willing to put up with this attitude. Apple really needs to learn a little bit about customer communication. > My ExpressCard slot on my 17" MacBook Pro broke. Cards inserted into > the slot will not stay in; it just pushes them back out. So it needs > repair. I am sorry your experience with Apple's repair service is sour. I have had the exact opposite treatment where I sent my laptop away for a repair WHILE I was on vacation thousands of miles from home. By the time I arrived home a few days after I sent it away, the laptop was literally delivered to me about a half hour before I arrived home. It needed a new motherboard. What happens with you call the store where you dropped off your laptop to ask for a status on the repair? I bet that a lawsuit in small claims court would get their attention!! jeff >>My ExpressCard slot on my 17" MacBook Pro broke. Cards inserted into >>the slot will not stay in; it just pushes them back out. So it needs [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > What happens with you call the store where you dropped off your laptop > to ask for a status on the repair? > This seems to me an item that is likely to be about as robust > as the clicker on a ball point pen, which is to say it is likely to > break. Just as an aside, I've never had the clicker in a ballpoint pen break. Actually for that matter I've never had the ejector mechanism on a CardBus slot fail either. But I think that'd be the more likely of the two. > This is why Apple can never be seriously considered as a business > machine. Apple thinks their customers are nuisances, not assets, and > treats them that way. Apparently the peasants are not entitled to know > what is happening with their computers. Few businesses are willing to > put up with this attitude. Apple really needs to learn a little bit > about customer communication. While I agree with the last sentence, I don't agree with any of that which precedes it simply because in my experience Apple's support is no worse than that of any other vendor, and businesses _do_ put up with it. I believe Dante described one of the punishments in Hell as trying to get support for an OEM copy of Windows. > > This seems to me an item that is likely to be about as robust > > as the clicker on a ball point pen, which is to say it is likely to [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > I believe Dante described one of the punishments in Hell as trying to > get support for an OEM copy of Windows. I've called Apple Tech Support on three or four issues over the past few years, most recently about 2 months ago. I have always gotten excellent service. This includes sending out a machine for repair. I'm sorry to hear that the OP's experience has not been so good.  SignatureFor email, change <fake> to <earthlink> Bill Collins snipped elitist snobbery I've never had a problem with Apple making a repair or a replacement but they would not win the world record for speed. But, this depends on who you are and how much you spend with them. More like Doggy Bag than Dogbert where speed is concerned. Rahthuh, Apple serves most rapidly and efficiently those who are high-toned, wealthy elitists or insiders and friends - individuals or companies. The average Apple user gets average service. > snipped elitist snobbery > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > high-toned, wealthy elitists or insiders and friends - individuals or > companies. The average Apple user gets average service. Whatever post you are responding to seems to have been deleted a SPAM by my news provider. SignatureSend responses to the relevant news group rather than to me, as E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts. JR > snipped elitist snobbery > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > high-toned, wealthy elitists or insiders and friends - individuals or > companies. The average Apple user gets average service. For what it's worth, I'm certainly an "average" user as far as Apple's customer database is concerned, and the two times I've had to ship in a machine for service - a PowerBook with a failed power board and an iBook with an HD that died under warranty - it's been back in my hands less than 48 hours later. And they replaced the backlight on the PB while they had it. Signature"Harry?" Ron's voice was a mere whisper. "Do you smell something ... burning?" - Harry Potter and the Odor of the Phoenix > For what it's worth, I'm certainly an "average" user as far as Apple's > customer database is concerned, and the two times I've had to ship in a > machine for service - a PowerBook with a failed power board and an iBook > with an HD that died under warranty - it's been back in my hands less > than 48 hours later. And they replaced the backlight on the PB while > they had it. I had best be honest and give Apple the benefit of the doubt - I've bought my Macs from resellers who offer their own service contract at a reduced price. But, they send the boxes to Apple to be fixed - Apple probably gives priority to those subscribing to Apple Care at a higher price. >> For what it's worth, I'm certainly an "average" user as far as Apple's >> customer database is concerned, and the two times I've had to ship in a [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > probably gives priority to those subscribing to Apple Care at a higher > price. A couple of years ago my blue/which iBook Claim shells screen went out, I took it to a dealer friend of mine for repair, he sent in in to Apple for a replacement, they did not have one in stock, but put out a world wide part alert to locate one. It took a week to locate one and another to get it to them and my little machine was sent back to me. The one complaint I have with them; is they replaced my H/D, my whole world was on that machine, luck the service dealer made a DVD of it. SignatureThe Only Good Spammer is a Dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2008 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot In Hell Co. > A couple of years ago my blue/which iBook Claim shells screen went out, > I took it to a dealer friend of mine for repair, he sent in in to Apple [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > complaint I have with them; is they replaced my H/D, my whole world was > on that machine, luck the service dealer made a DVD of it. Looks like it pays to have a dealer friend. I know a dealer, in another town, that I haven't seen in years - maybe soon and certainly when my service contract runs out, it would be good to go for a friendly visit. A good lesson learned the hard way - back up your hard drive and reinstall the OS before taking in for service. Leaving any personal information on the disc is an opening for identity theft. I've had two returns for service to Apple with 2 different machines and both times the boxes were returned fully repaired and with the latest OS version installed - the latest version of the OS that I bought with the machine. But, the wait was 4-6 weeks on both. >> A couple of years ago my blue/which iBook Claim shells screen went out, >> I took it to a dealer friend of mine for repair, he sent in in to Apple [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > installed - the latest version of the OS that I bought with the machine. > But, the wait was 4-6 weeks on both. Nothing that could cause me problems was on the H/D in the machine, all that was either on CDs or my portable H/D, but all my links to pages were on the main drive and there was a backup done by the repair center. They send me an older version of the OS which came with the machine, but I had updated and just reinstalled that when I got the computer back. I'm told that it is standard for Apple to sweep the drive unless they are told not to do so. SignatureThe Only Good Spammer is a Dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2008 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot In Hell Co. > They send me an older version of the OS which came with the machine, > but I had updated and just reinstalled that when I got the computer > back. I'm told that it is standard for Apple to sweep the drive unless > they are told not to do so. sounds like a good deal > > For what it's worth, I'm certainly an "average" user as far as Apple's > > customer database is concerned, and the two times I've had to ship in a [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > probably gives priority to those subscribing to Apple Care at a higher > price. Seems likely, but in my case the PowerBook was past even the availability of AppleCare coverage (it was about 5 years old) and the iBook HD failure was in the first year (so paid AppleCare wasn't an issue). Signature"Harry?" Ron's voice was a mere whisper. "Do you smell something ... burning?" - Harry Potter and the Odor of the Phoenix > Seems likely, but in my case the PowerBook was past even the > availability of AppleCare coverage (it was about 5 years old) and the > iBook HD failure was in the first year (so paid AppleCare wasn't an > issue). Like I said, I bought my Macs from a reseller who offered their own extended care plan at lower cost than Apple Care - both my problems occurred within first year, so I could have sent direct to Apple. Resellers sent to Apple. My first repair came back with the latest version of the OS and my 2nd came back with the original install version - luckily I had the most of the updates downloaded from Apple, so I just reinstalled them. Interesting that my repairs were both due to heat problems - first a logic board failure (heat sensor failure allowed fan to run constantly) and second a superdrive failure. That one might not have been heat related as I used it a lot but it should have last longer. I believe putting so much in a little box makes everything run hotter and my temperature gauge show it. There's a donateware program called smc fan control that you can download and adjust the fan speed to make your system run cooler. Probably a good idea. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.