[velodev]

Luckily I know better than taking it out on the customer service rep but I am really burned by my iBook's latest problems.

I purchased this used from a good friend who simply wanted to upgrade to a Pbook. He disclosed that it had a minor crack in the casing and sent it in to AppleCare before I took ownership. Maybe three months goes by... no problems.

Then...

1) One day on the train, I boot up the iBook and the trackpad doesn't work. And then I reboot, and it does work. I get home, plug in a mouse and the mouse moves across the screen but the trackpad has no movement. I reboot and from that point on the mouse doesn't respond to the trackpad. Sent in for repair.

2) I receive the iBook and later that night before bed I wanted to browse via Airport and 5 minutes into my first session the screen freezes. I reboot and again 5 minutes in it freezes. I put it away for the night only to hope that it needs a full nights charge and some relaxation. I boot up in the morning and I get a crazy refresh problem - the screen is drawing garbage and repeating it. I visit the Genius Bar and off she goes.

3) I receive the iBook back from repair. On the train in to work the next morning I plug in the headphones and double click on a nice Duke Ellington mp3. For some reason, the sound is really light and I up the volume. I wonder if there is something wrong so I pull out one of my headphone plugs and voila - the entire train cabin is listening to Duke with me. I guess my iBook has a loose connection and has no way of detecting the headphones. So, yesterday I receive the box to send her back however this time I have purchased AppleCare "extended" plan before I ship her off.

This is in the span of 3 to 4 weeks. I know that laptops are not the most reliable but I think these are simply quality issues. I keep receiving the iBook back within 3 days. Why don't you keep it for one more day have some intern play with it for an hour to test out any problems and then ship it back.

Does anyone have any tips before I package her up and ship her off tonight?

TIA.

[Stratus Fear]

Sorry to hear you're having such problems...

I also must say I'm none too impressed with Apple's warranty repairs. When the casing around my screen started to tear apart from the screen for no reason, I sent the iBook in for repair and got it returned with some scratches on the case and the frame around the ethernet port broken (this allows the port to wiggle, and because of that the connections are getting loose inside).

[x user]

DEMAND A NEW CASE!

[Stratus Fear]

Originally posted by x user:
DEMAND A NEW CASE!

I was going to do that but the use of the laptop is more important to me right now than the looks. I need the laptop and don't have time again to send it back just yet. Don't think I didn't consider bitching them out for it

[bradoesch]

Some people say they've had luck emailing sjobs@apple.com to get their absurd problems (like this one) dealt with.

[-Q-]

Originally posted by bradoesch:
Some people say they've had luck emailing sjobs@apple.com to get their absurd problems (like this one) dealt with.

Start bitching to the normal channels first. You have an extensive repair history that any reasonable customer service rep would see indicates a bad machine. Rationally, calmly make your case to them. If they refuse to give you satisfaction (i.e. - a new machine to replace your lemon) then ask speak to a supervisor. If speaking to a supervisor doesn't resolve your issue, ask to speak to his supervisor. And keep detailed notes of each of your interactions. Keep going until you've exhausted the customer service channels.

If this doesn't result in you getting a new machine, then take all of your notes of your conversations and your repair history and send that to sjobs@apple.com. Only bring in the big dog if you don't feel like you're getting satisfaction from the front line people.

But when speaking with them, try to remain calm and rational and elicit some sympahty from the person you're speaking with. It's much easier for you to get sympathy (and results) from a CSR if you're treating them with respect and calmly explaining why you can't use this machine any longer. People are more inclined to help those that seem in need of help, and more like to say 'screw off *******' if you're being, well, an ass. Be firm, indicate that you're upset but never let that anger/frustration into your voice. Be exasperated but never insulting to the person you're dealing with. Kindness can work wonders.

And so ends the lesson on getting what you want from phone drones.

[sniffer]

The track pad problem happend to me ones. Mostly I experience only strange behaivor when demoing somethin for my friends or "potential" mac ppl. Wierd.. Other than my machine is very stable.

[ibook_steve]

I hate to play devil's advocate, but did you ever think that maybe your "friend" didn't tell you about everything that was wrong with this machine? Instead of complaining about support, maybe you should talk to your friend and get a complete history of what has happened with this iBook. Maybe he's the one who should be paying for your Applecare.

Steve

[x user]

To me, it sounds like the machine as dropped from a few feet onto a hard non-abrasive surface (hardwood floor maybe?) causing bad connections on the logic board.

The headphone issue, was there audio in only one side of the headphone or were both channels present, just low?

The trackpad, classic bad connection, works sometimes, doesn't others. Imbalence, or one shorting to the other could cause the uncommanded scrolling.

Send it in once more, and ask them to replace the motherboard and trackpad.

If that doesn't solve your problems, then start the b!tching.

[El Mago]

Ah, hardwood floors...they will do wonders to the motherboard...