| Did I mention that Apple service sucks? |
So, to summarise from my previous post about Apple service, I called the store I bought my iBook from 13 days ago. They said they weren't interested in helping, and gave me the Apple tech support number. I called that number and waited 15 minutes on hold. I was then told that I should try booting off the OS X cds, which were of course at home, despite the fact that the machine didn't boot at all.
My wife drove the CDs in. The machine is so broken that it wont even suck the disc in when the machine is powered up, so I called Apple again and said so. The dude on the phone said that I am now allowed to take the machine into the nearest service center. How good of him. The nearest service center is of course the store I bought it from, so I jump into the car and off I go.
When I get there, I'm told that there is in fact no service center there, and the nearest one is 30 minutes drive away (in the other direction of course). I wonder why Apple thinks there is one there then? Anyways, they say that they can ship it to the service center for me, but it will take two weeks for them to decide whether or not to fix the machine. Did I mention the machine is 13 days old?
I check the machine in for the service, which involves signing this disclaimer:
Please carry out at my cost as soon as you conveniently can the repairs listed on the job sheet with the corresponding number to this slip and any other work you consider to be undertaken at your current rates for the parts and labour used. You will not be responsible for the loss or damage to the equipment, its accessories, software or data however caused. ...
I've skipped the rest of the disclaimer, although it did also say that there was a minimum fee of $99 for the service. The emphasis above is mine.
So, this is my first Apple computer, and it's 13 days old. It's going to take then 14 days to decide what to do to the machine, which is dead, in which time they may also lose the machine, jump up and down on it, or whatever they like.
This is my first Apple purchase, and I'm thinking it will be my last. This level of service for a brand new machine is simply unacceptable, and I'll be going back to IBM. No wonder Apple doesn't have many corporate customers -- would you put up with this?
posted at: 19:51 | path: /diary/toys | permanent link to this entry
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#1
Stephen
I'd second the "Mac 1 are flaming idiots" comment.
Couple of points:
(1) the shipping to the Fyshwick store is actually a twice-daily run between stores, both of which are actually owned by the same company — if you'd left it there, it would have been in Fyshwick by that afternoon. I don't know why they didn't make this clear (see line 1 above); and,
(2) warranty service doesn't attract fees _at all_ — they will only charge you if they can't find a fault, or think that you caused the damage yourself (usually involving massive physical trauma to the machine, that sort of thing). Obviously this won't be a problem in your case.
Mac service is obviously a little problematic in Canberra because, basically, Mac 1 are shithouse at customer service (although their service techs seem competent), and have no competition to keep them on their toes. I wouldn't take it as being necessarily indicative of service elsewhere in Australia, and I've got to say that I've never had any trouble convincing them to fix my machines. Being persistent, as Stewart noted, is not a bad strategy, and talking to the managers is _definitely_ the way to go.
Oh — and it's absolutely not necessary to call AppleCare before taking something in for service. If it's obviously broken, just take it in. I've never called AppleCare in my life… frankly you'd probably be better off hitting the generally pretty good knowledge base at http://www.apple.com/support first.