[gif32]

A journal I plan on sharing with Apple:

Anyone know the address (or even better, a name) I can send it to? Anyone else have similar frustrations? Of course you do... vent them here!

---

28 July [Mon]: Visit CompUSA to look at new PC laptops but the Powerbooks catch my eye. Consider becoming a “switcher.” Realize 15” Titanium models are a step behind the 12” and 17”. Decide to wait it out because an update must be eminent.

16 Sept [Tue]: The new 15” Aluminum is finally here! Get my order in at 4:00 AM PST, practically as Steve Jobs is announcing them in Paris. Website promises “same-day” shipping, but only on stock configurations. 512 MB on two sticks will cost me more money to upgrade, and 80 gb is a bigger hard drive than necessary, but I don't build-to-order as to take advantage of same-day shipping. Pay for “express 2-3 day” option.

17 Sept [Wed]: Check apple.com and order status still says “open.” Call 800-my-apple and the customer service rep informs me they couldn’t process my credit card because billing and shipping addresses were not the same. Verify the order and supposedly it’s on its way.

18 Sept [Thu]: Order ships (from Tawain, even though the invoice says California.) No chance of getting Powerbook before weekend trip, which defeats the purpose of the 2-3 day shipping.

21 Sept [Sun]: Airborne’s website does not have any information for my tracking number. Call #1 to Airborne: “That’s odd. Please call back in 24 hours and we’ll have an answer.” Hang up and redial. Call #2: “Your estimated delivery date is Monday.” Skeptical, so redial again. Call #3: “Your estimated delivery date is Tuesday.” Call #4: “Your package has not yet been picked up by Airborne Express.” Airborne manager points out that not only has the package not been scanned, but its listed service is “ground,” which he says has no guaranteed arrival time for residential addresses.

22 Sept [Mon]: Call 800-my-apple and wait on hold 49 minutes. Relay Airborne information. Put on hold 37 minutes while being transferred to another representative. Transferred again - this time only 20 minutes. Apple promises $12 refund on shipping charge but still can’t take any accountability for the shipping service provided.

23 Sept [Tue]: Powerbook arrives. There are three strange bright spots near the center of the LCD. Call 800-apl-cares, and am told that these spots are “acceptable” under apple specifications and my only option is to get a local Apple reseller to confirm the problem. Assuming I’m stuck, I spend the rest of the day installing software, setting up preferences, and copying files from my PC.

24 Sept [Wed]: Deliver my old PC to its buyer. LCD spots are prohibitively distracting to my work as a designer. Call 800-apl-cares, transferred to a senior technician, and he goes over my options: send unit in for repair and wait 5-7 days, or return unit for “collection” as an engineering sample and accept a new Powerbook. He claims this is a problem that Apple has not seen before. He assures me the new unit will ship out of California the same day my old one is received, and sends me an overnight Airbill. He cannot arrange for my data to be transferred to the new computer, and cannot offer me credit-card authorization for a cross-shipment so I would only be one day without a computer.

25 Sept [Thu]: No Airbill arrives. Call Airborne after Apple hours, and they have no information.

26 Sept [Fri]: Spend two hours on the phone with 800-apl-cares, who informs me that the labels have not been generated at Apple yet, and therefore have not shipped. Representative says I will receive them “by the middle of next week.” He cannot guarantee when Apple will finally ship them, although he assures me when they do they will go out overnight. Ask him to confirm the “same-day” response when my defective Powerbook is received but he says it will be more likely 5-7 days, same as if it were being repaired. He says if I had gone the repair route (and thus saved myself the data-recovery hassle) the shipping materials would have come to me overnight guaranteed. He cannot offer to send me an email confirming the shipment of my Airbill, nor can he offer to expedite the shipping of my replacement product, nor can he offer anything to offset the time (and confidence in Apple) I have lost due to this adventure. He informs me that his office is in Texas, the computer will be received in California, and the office that generates the Airbills is in yet a third state. I offer to ship the defective product via my company’s UPS account, but he says he did not even know what address to give me to send it to.

This product was purchased for my private use as a student, but I also serve as the Information Technology officer at a manufacturing corporation in Pittsburgh. The sales team there is due new laptops this year, but if this is the quality of service I can expect from Apple regarding processing, shipping, and supporting their products I’m afraid I will be unable to specify them.

[Link]

welcome to the world of apple. I've always said their products are one thing and their service another...

If you really want to have fun, get on the blow and call customer relations (1-800-275-2273), and DEMAND information, tell them you refuse to hang up until you have a straight answer.

What more can I say? Sorry to hear that happened but sometimes apple gets on my nerves too.

[schk]

Originally posted by gif32:

23 Sept [Tue]: Powerbook arrives. There are three strange bright spots near the center of the LCD. Call 800-apl-cares, and am told that these spots are “acceptable” under apple specifications and my only option is to get a local Apple reseller to confirm the problem. Assuming I’m stuck, I spend the rest of the day installing software, setting up preferences, and copying files from my PC.

That's bull about the spots being acceptable, feel free to point them to this url with a case specifically about the white spots:

http://www.chaosmint.com/macintosh/a...e-issues.shtml

I personally spent the day with a problem with Apple today. I finally received my 20GB iPod after a week since it shipped after little to no info from Airborne. It shipped ground just like my AE card was despite the fact I paid for 2 day shipping. That was strike 1 for Apple although $15 is nothing in the grand scheme of things so I don't feel like getting a refund. However, I open my iPod today and notice the hold button is stuck right in the middle. So I try to move it, and notice it is stuck at the center but can still move to the left to engage the lock. Basically, the hold switch works, but it's as if it has been shifted completely or something is blocking the button. Anyways, for a $400 mp3 player, this is unacceptable, there's basically a 2mm difference between locked and unlocked rather than a big gap like it's supposed to, and the hold button is extremely loose as well which makes it useless and difficult to use.

So I call up Applecare as they have to deem the unit DOA in order to get an exchange. Of course, iPod's all get serviced regardless of what is wrong with them. I ask the Applecare tech, if there is a possibility that I will get a refurbished iPod back, and he says yes. I almost flipped out; but calmly took his instructions to fill out the web form to submit for service and receive an Airborne box to ship it to them. So I go through the process and at the second to last step where you select what is wrong w/ the iPod, there are no drop down selections which prevents me from completing the service request. Now I'm enraged and rather than deal w/ Applecare, I call the regular order line with the intention of demanding they accept this defective iPod back and ship me a new one.

So the wait time is ridiculous 30-60 mins long and I finally get in touch w/ a rep. I tell her the aforementioned info and tell her I want a new iPod. She says we can't do that; I tell her I did not just pay $400 for an item which is supposed to be defect free just to have it repaired and possibly have more things go wrong, or have it replaced with a refurbished unit. I keep my cool but you can tell how frustrated I am. She keeps on trying to tell me to call back Applecare, but I keep pushing and she finally accepts to talk to someone to see if she can get authorization to return it. She says she will e-mail me a fedex printing label for the return and will setup a replacement order. A few mins later I get the packing slip. I print it out, schedule Fedex to come pick it up and that's done in 10 mins or so.

So basically, if you want something done, just be adamant and don't let them push you around. Apple's return/exchange policies are the worst I have ever seen from any retailer. Rather than offer replacements they will try to service every single thing. They need to realize that when people make a purchase, it is for NEW and FUNCTIONAL products. No one wants a repaired/refurbished unit especially when it's within their measly 10 day return period.

[macxtal]

It's relatively easy to make a unit undetectibly "DOA" if it is unacceptable to you. Ask a friend who's an EE. The ethics of the above are questionable, but if Apple is going to treat customers like **** - return the favor.

Can someone post what protection consumers have in the USA against this? IIRC but I think if you purchase products mail-order, there are protections afforded to you against unacceptable goods.

Perhaps making a very large stink about this in a public manner is required.