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thegeek187 · Apr 7, 2003, 02:17 PM

yesterday morning 1 of those little rubber feet fell of out of no where!...so yesterday afternoon i went to the pallisades apple store, and asked them if they had any they sid No you have to call apple care

so i call applecare, they say i have to send it away and it would take 3-5 days.... and he said they would have to replace the whole bottom case!

what should i do now...now my powerbook is uneven and wobbles and its annoying!

Peter · Apr 7, 2003, 02:24 PM

thats plain silly, 3-4 days for a single rubber foot!?
I thought the store would just hand them over if you asked the Mac Genius in store?

Mobile Mod · Apr 7, 2003, 02:27 PM

when i had a Ti 667 and a foot fell off i called apple care and theey just told me that theyd ship them off to me ASAP. I got them in a couple days if i remember. Give them a call back and see if there is anything else they can do for you... sounds fishy to me.

thegeek187 · Apr 7, 2003, 03:02 PM

with my luck if i send it in ( which i WILL NOT) for something that small) it would come back w/o my superdrive!

and i tryed at the pallisades they wouldnt give them to me ..but then again it was the new guy...if someone else who i know ( nto really know but he sees me alot there and stuff like that ) he would have given me some!

o well 2 weeks i should be going down there again

Patcarla · Apr 7, 2003, 05:19 PM

Originally posted by thegeek187:
yesterday morning 1 of those little rubber feet fell of out of no where!...so yesterday afternoon i went to the pallisades apple store, and asked them if they had any they sid No you have to call apple care

so i call applecare, they say i have to send it away and it would take 3-5 days.... and he said they would have to replace the whole bottom case!

what should i do now...now my powerbook is uneven and wobbles and its annoying!

I guess if they told you that they will replace the whole bottom case, then there might be another problem ie a flaw in the building process..That's maybe why there was so much people having problems with those rubber feets..
Well, just a guess..

penmanila · Apr 7, 2003, 07:31 PM

if your patience is wearing thin and want a brute-force solution, do what i did and write sjobs@apple.com--i got me a little packet of four rubber feet in the mail in no time. write him nicely

you'll get a response from some VP.

GeekyJeff · Apr 7, 2003, 07:36 PM

Originally posted by thegeek187:
yesterday morning 1 of those little rubber feet fell of out of no where!...so yesterday afternoon i went to the pallisades apple store, and asked them if they had any they sid No you have to call apple care

so i call applecare, they say i have to send it away and it would take 3-5 days.... and he said they would have to replace the whole bottom case!

what should i do now...now my powerbook is uneven and wobbles and its annoying!

Just curious, what model PB do you have?

spirko · Apr 8, 2003, 04:09 PM

I had the same run-around at the Glendale store, which is surprising since they're usually very helpful. Then I tried "The Grove" and the genius handed me 4 new rubber feet. I guess I know where I'll be buying my next PowerBook.

MountainMac · Apr 8, 2003, 08:19 PM

You can get replacements, a pack of 20 or so for 3 bucks at Home Depot. It sits a little higher but then again you don't have to wait a week for the "Certified Mac Little Rubber Feet Technician" to get around to your PB.

MM

chrisutley · Apr 8, 2003, 09:29 PM

Yes, great idea! Escalate the rubber feet problem directly to the CEO.

I apologize for being sarcastic, but pick your battles with a little more tact! Save the email to Steve for something important, instead of wasting his time and your opportunity to communicate with him over a 1-cent rubber thingy.

Originally posted by penmanila:
if your patience is wearing thin and want a brute-force solution, do what i did and write sjobs@apple.com--i got me a little packet of four rubber feet in the mail in no time. write him nicely you'll get a response from some VP.

penmanila · Apr 9, 2003, 10:09 AM

i'll let your sarcasm pass. it wasn't a battle, but a very polite request, which is probably why i got a prompt and nice response. i didn't write him just to ask for a rubber thingy either, but to bring up--again nicely--a quality-control issue--you've been around these forums long enough, i gather, to be aware of the original tibook's many problems--which was properly acknowledged. and no, this wasn't even my original idea, but another lister's, for whom it worked. also, i'm writing from the philippines, 7,000 miles from cupertino, where we don't have much by way of apple support. i don't know where you're writing from, chrisutley, but you just might be within driving distance of an apple store; i'm not.

besides, let's face it--of course it wasn't steve jobs who took care of the problem, but an assistant. don't you think it's one of the great things we can say about apple that they take care of seemingly very small problems like this? (not so small in the case of later tibooks, which were slightly different--when the rubber feet came off, you could see part of the logic board inside; did you know that?)

please save your sarcasm for somebody or something else. thank you.

Originally posted by chrisutley:
Yes, great idea! Escalate the rubber feet problem directly to the CEO.

I apologize for being sarcastic, but pick your battles with a little more tact! Save the email to Steve for something important, instead of wasting his time and your opportunity to communicate with him over a 1-cent rubber thingy.

Mac Zealot · Apr 9, 2003, 03:06 PM

sjobs@apple.com is NOT steve jobs' email address... it's basically like an input addy to a mailing list.

Exec relations and l2 tech support usually get those emails and can answer them.

It happens randomly, but when you do escalate a case to ER it won't go any higher. I did this once before and the truth is it gave me more problems than anything else.

Good luck getting rubber feet.

penmanila · Apr 9, 2003, 07:43 PM

and--working myself in PR--that's exactly what i expected. i didn't think steve jobs would or should spend his time answering mail about rubber feet, but it's good and it's enough that there's a back-channel receiver for these miscellaneous complaints, if all else fails. and then again, YMMV. cheers.

Originally posted by Mac Zealot:
sjobs@apple.com is NOT steve jobs' email address... it's basically like an input addy to a mailing list.

Exec relations and l2 tech support usually get those emails and can answer them.

It happens randomly, but when you do escalate a case to ER it won't go any higher. I did this once before and the truth is it gave me more problems than anything else.

Good luck getting rubber feet.

jdhindes · Apr 24, 2003, 05:47 PM

When I got home from school today, I noticed my 12" Powerbook was not sitting evenly on the desk! My left front rubber foot is gone! I called Applecare and sure enough, it MUST BE SENT BACK TO APPLE for replacment! I told the Apple guy that I WAS NOT sending back my Powerbook for a rubber foot! He gave me a case # in case I change my mind! Can you believe it? He did note my displeasure and said that an Apple engineer would be reading his notes! Well, I hope they DO read them and do something about this ridiculous situation!

Otherwise a very HAPPY switcher,

Jim

12" Powerbook
650 mg ram
Super Drive
Airport Extreme Base Station

SOLIDAge · Apr 24, 2003, 06:59 PM

Originally posted by jdhindes:
When I got home from school today, I noticed my 12" Powerbook was not sitting evenly on the desk! My left front rubber foot is gone! I called Applecare and sure enough, it MUST BE SENT BACK TO APPLE for replacment! I told the Apple guy that I WAS NOT sending back my Powerbook for a rubber foot! He gave me a case # in case I change my mind! Can you believe it? He did note my displeasure and said that an Apple engineer would be reading his notes! Well, I hope they DO read them and do something about this ridiculous situation!

Otherwise a very HAPPY switcher,

Jim

12" Powerbook
650 mg ram
Super Drive
Airport Extreme Base Station

worse comes to worse, go on ebay type in }POWERBOOK FEET" you'll get alot of hits, they're around $4 for 2 sets

jdhindes · Apr 24, 2003, 08:24 PM

Thanks for the reply. I'll check them out on ebay.

Jim

Musti · Apr 24, 2003, 11:14 PM

Originally posted by thegeek187:
yesterday morning 1 of those little rubber feet fell of out of no where!...so yesterday afternoon i went to the pallisades apple store, and asked them if they had any they sid No you have to call apple care

so i call applecare, they say i have to send it away and it would take 3-5 days.... and he said they would have to replace the whole bottom case!

what should i do now...now my powerbook is uneven and wobbles and its annoying!

Check your local Apple Authorized Service providers and ask about carcasses leftover from case repairs, and use the feet (or even a decent bottom case) from them. Most of the time the cases are perfectly OK as the problem is with the paint chips etc, and they won't charge you as usually AASPs dump these.

swsteckly · Apr 25, 2003, 09:57 AM

If you happen to get ahold of some feet, a way to keep them from coming off is to bypass the puny adhesive and glue them yourself. Go to a hobby shop in your area, and pick up a bottle of 'medium' viscosity Cyanoacrylate (CA) glue. It's like 'super' glue, but a lot better quality. Just put a drop on the bottom of the 'hole' in the bottom case, and put a frop on the bottom of the foot, over the adhesive. Pop it back it, put a piece of scotch tape or something over it to hold it in, and let it dry for several hours. It will probably never come off again. Be careful with the glue, though. If you drip some on the powerbook's case, it WILL NOT come off. It dries almost instantly when exposed to air, and it dries white and with a rough surface. Also, don't put so much glue on the foot that it oozes out when you press it on. A drop on each surface is more than enough.

I kept having that problem with my TiBook's feet, and I removed them and did this and they never came off again. By the way, when I received a TiBook back from repair, it was missing a foot, so apple sent me four in the mail (not overnight, like other parts).

As for sjobs@apple.com - I think it really is him. I sent an email to him politely complaining about a backordered repair that was taking over two months, and he responded that he was sorry about it and had forwarded my email to a Senior Customer Relations manager, and they would call me soon to get my problem taken care of. I got the call, and I had my PowerBook back in two days.

BTW, the email I got from him was signed

Steven P. Jobs
CEO
Apple, Inc.

swsteckly · Apr 25, 2003, 09:58 AM

I also think that if we abuse the privelige of being able to contact him directly, that we run the risk of not being able to in the future. Talking about a delayed repair or a major problem is one thing, but rubber feet is another.

elmer · May 29, 2003, 02:41 PM

Couldn't manage to escalate high enough to get my rubber 12" foot replaced by Apple Warranty, so I stuck self-adhesives on - it's true they stick very well and are better than the original. Being taller than the original feet, there's no need to remove the remaining original feet. Yet they're not too tall: the PB still fits in it's slipcase.

cenutrio · May 29, 2003, 03:29 PM

Same case here, but it took them just 24h to mail them (5 indeed). A remember I was very please with their treatment.

Originally posted by Mobile Mod:
when i had a Ti 667 and a foot fell off i called apple care and theey just told me that theyd ship them off to me ASAP. I got them in a couple days if i remember. Give them a call back and see if there is anything else they can do for you... sounds fishy to me.

donutogre · May 29, 2003, 03:35 PM

its pretty funny, i was about to start a thread bitching about the exact same thing. i've had my guy for 2 months exactly with no build problems except that the left side of the screen is ever so slightly raised when my book is closed...certainly within acceptable limits though. but then i lost a foot! its amazing that something so small can be so frustrating. however, i somehow managed to find the foot, and someone had some good advice about regluing it so i'm gonna give that a shot. thanks for the info people.

Dougmc · May 29, 2003, 03:37 PM

You might try here for some more information on rubber feet.

Hope this helps.

urrl5201 · May 29, 2003, 03:54 PM

You are right not to send it in. DON'T DO IT. Your problem is not serious enough to risk it. My 667 Ti came back with misaligned hinges and a hideous scratch on the lid as well as a broken USB port in the course of sending it in 5 consecutive times.

If you do buckle and send it in just pray your Ti does not fall in to the hands of my Magilla Gorilla service tech or the infamous M&M SERVICE TECH. You will know it's him when you get your laptop back smeared with yummy chocolate....mmmm-mmmm!

MacNStein · May 29, 2003, 08:34 PM

One fell off my 12 and I superglued some feet for a TiBook on to it. It sits higher now, and and runs cooler. I'll tell ya, they're REALLY on there now.

OpenStep · May 29, 2003, 08:45 PM

Originally posted by Dougmc:
You might try here for some more information on rubber feet.

Hope this helps.

Spheric Harlot · May 30, 2003, 01:44 PM

Originally posted by chrisutley:
Yes, great idea! Escalate the rubber feet problem directly to the CEO.

I apologize for being sarcastic, but pick your battles with a little more tact! Save the email to Steve for something important, instead of wasting his time and your opportunity to communicate with him over a 1-cent rubber thingy.

I can get a set of 5 from an Authorized Service Center (Apple themselves won't sell them to me, despite my having spent $3000 on this machine not three months ago).

9.90 Euros! That's like 9 dollars, incl. tax, for five rubber nipples.

I can get a whole rubber DOLL - not just nipples - for about that right next door!

-s*

AlbertWu · May 31, 2003, 04:33 AM

i think the rubber feet on the 12" are anchored into the metal case to prevent them from falling off, which makes just replacing when they DO fall off more difficult.

seanyepez · May 31, 2003, 05:38 AM

Originally posted by AlbertWu:
i think the rubber feet on the 12" are anchored into the metal case to prevent them from falling off, which makes just replacing when they DO fall off more difficult.

Unfortunately, that's not the case. Three feet have already fallen off my mother's 12-inch PowerBook.

JohnM15141 · Jun 1, 2003, 06:37 AM

This won't help you much but apparently the problem is widespread. Nearly every Mac store in Japan stock these:

http://www.century.co.jp/products/gomuashi.html

They sell for about 800 yen. (6 bucks in USA Dollars.)

These rubber feet kits are for PB G3's and G4's. (Not the Aluminum models yet.)