[adamfishercox]

My iMac has been in the shop for almost 3 weeks now, and there is absolutely nothing yet done to it.
For my venting purposes at this point, here is a timetable:

Day 1: I bring it in
Day 2: Nothing happens
Day 3: Guy looks at it, can't get it open.
Day 4: Guy gets it open. Determines it is a fan.
Day 5: I call to check in. Apparently the computers don't have the fan part in the database, so they have to wait to order it.
Days 6-8: Nothing
Day 9: I call again, he has forgotten to enter the part in and order it.
Day 10: He informs me that he has ordered it, and the distributor is out of stock, and will have it in by next week.
Day 11- 14: Nothing
Day 15: The manufacturer gets the part in and ships it.
Day 16-18: Shipping
Day 19: They shipped the wrong fan part apparently; I'll be getting a call from the manager tomorrow, probably groveling and offering $10 store credit or something.
Day 20: The call was basically him saying its all the vendors fault, but he did say he would get back to me on what kind of discount he can offer. It's the weekend, though, so I don't think I'll hear from him till Monday...
Days 21-22: Nada. (But it is the weekend.)
Day 23: Still haven't heard about store credit, but the correct part came in and the computer is expected to be done by tomorrow.
Day 24: Oh, fun... He put the fan in, but the clicking noise is still there... Swear to God, I'm not paying for the fan... And then it turns out that there was never anything wrong with the fan, just a piece of the shielding caught hear the fan blades. So I don't have to pay for any parts.
Day 25: The manager still hasn't called me Re: Store Credit, so I call and find out that he leaves at 3. Well, I guess I'll call earlier tomorrow...
Day 26: My store credit will come in the form of a $25 Gift Certificate toward a future CompUSA purchase. I'd be pissed, except I need an external drive.

[dcmacdaddy]

Originally Posted by adamfishercox 

I hope I never have to use CompUSA again.

My iMac has been in the shop for almost 3 weeks now, and there is absolutely nothing yet done to it. Here is a timetable:

Day 1: I bring it in
Day 2: Nothing happens
Day 3: Guy looks at it, can't get it open.
Day 4: Guy gets it open. Determines it is a fan.
Day 5: I call to check in. Apparently the computers don't have the fan part in the database, so they have to wait to order it.
Days 6-8: Nothing
Day 9: We call again, he has forgotten to enter the part in and order it.
Day 10: He informs us that he has ordered it, and the distributor is out of stock, and will have it in by next week.
Day 11- 14: Nothing
Day 15: The manufacturer gets the part in and ships it.
Day 16-18: Shipping
Day 19: They shipped the wrong fan part apparently.

WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE AS THIS CRAPFEST CONTINUES...

Umm, you take a Mac to CompUSA and then complain about service. Get with the program. man. Take it to a local Apple Store or a local Apple service center. Hell, ship it to Apple for service. But taking it to CompUSA?!? . . . that's just crazy.

[Ghoser777]

CompUSA still exists?

[sek929]

Originally Posted by dcmacdaddy 

Umm, you take a Mac to CompUSA and then complain about service. Get with the program. man. Take it to a local Apple Store or a local Apple service center. Hell, ship it to Apple for service. But taking it to CompUSA?!? . . . that's just crazy.

Agreed. Don't bring your car to Jiffy lube and don't bring your Mac to CompUSA.

[rickey939]

I would have taken it to Dell before CompUSA....

[adamfishercox]

hahaha I know, I know, but my Mac is a second hand and it doesn't have warranty anymore, and the Apple Store quoted me a huge price, and so did 3rd party dealers. CompUSA was a lot cheaper, and I had actually heard SOME good about them on these forums.

[goMac]

Is it a Rev. A iMac G5 by any chance?

[Cadaver]

Originally Posted by adamfishercox 

WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE AS THIS CRAPFEST CONTINUES...

Do you really think anyone at CompUSA really cares? I find them more miserable than Best Buy employees.

[OldManMac]

Originally Posted by Ghoser777 

CompUSA still exists?

Barely, but not for much longer. It's been for sale for almost two years, but nobody wants it.

[MichiganRich]

I find it surprising that the cheapest level of service isn't the best. Hmmm, go figure....

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by adamfishercox 

hahaha I know, I know, but my Mac is a second hand and it doesn't have warranty anymore, and the Apple Store quoted me a huge price, and so did 3rd party dealers. CompUSA was a lot cheaper, and I had actually heard SOME good about them on these forums.

"You get what you pay for."

[MacosNerd]

Originally Posted by adamfishercox 

CompUSA was a lot cheaper, and I had actually heard SOME good about them on these forums.

These forums - I don't know of any positive remark about compusa here. Maybe on the welovecompusa forum

You get what you pay for and there is a reason why they're cheaper. They don't pay their technicians squat, they don't stock parts. They probably have inexperienced kids who are making minimum wage. I'll be surprised if they correctly diagnosed the problem and/or fixed it.

Good luck

[ghporter]

It might also be worthwhile to let us know where you are and which CompUSA store you're having this problem with. I have a good relationship with the store I use-though I don't depend on them for Mac repairs. I might have them change out a drive in a laptop, but I'd take an iMac to one of the numerous Authorized Service Centers, or (gasp!) the Apple Store.

[adamfishercox]

Originally Posted by goMac 

Is it a Rev. A iMac G5 by any chance?

Nope. 20" Core Duo

[adamfishercox]

They correctly diagnosed the problem... I basically did it for them. I knew it wouldn't be an in and out, but all I needed them for was getting the right part and getting it in. I wasn't expecting lightning speed, but it kind of amazes me that just about everything went wrong

[hayesk]

Originally Posted by adamfishercox 

hahaha I know, I know, but my Mac is a second hand and it doesn't have warranty anymore, and the Apple Store quoted me a huge price, and so did 3rd party dealers.

You get what you pay for. Lesson learned, I guess.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by hayesk 

You get what you pay for. Lesson learned, I guess.

No, not at all.

He could have used Apple's service instead.

The lesson learned is: don't trust Best Buy and Circuit City monkeys with repairs.

-t

[adamfishercox]

And just to add, I did go to the Apple Store initially. They told me it was a bad Hard Drive... which made absolutely NO sense, considering there was a slow click every 2 seconds and the frickin' computer was running hot...

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by adamfishercox 

And just to add, I did go to the Apple Store initially. They told me it was a bad Hard Drive... which made absolutely NO sense, considering there was a slow click every 2 seconds and the frickin' computer was running hot...

And you went to Best Buy service AFTER that ?

-t

[adamfishercox]

No. CompUSA. After being quoted upwards of $400 at every Authorized Repair place in the vicinity. I had heard nothing bad about them. I wasn't expecting it to be top notch, as I said above, after all they are a PC vendor. But pretty much everything went wrong which amuses/amazes/annoys me.

But on the upside, I sense some store credit coming my way... external drive time

[brassplayersrock²]

just don't go in there expecting something for your trouble. some places just don't understand why a customer would want something in return when they give you bad service.


alex

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by adamfishercox 

No. CompUSA. After being quoted upwards of $400 at every Authorized Repair place in the vicinity. I had heard nothing bad about them. I wasn't expecting it to be top notch, as I said above, after all they are a PC vendor. But pretty much everything went wrong which amuses/amazes/annoys me.

But on the upside, I sense some store credit coming my way... external drive time

Oh, I thought the Mac was still under warranty. Well, Apple is pretty unreasonable when it comes to repair cost outside of warranty. I understand why you wouldn't go with them for repair.

My Mom's iBook's optical drive is broken. The Apple authorized dealer (in Berlin, Germany) quoted EUR 600 !!!!11!1!oneone. That's farking $ 850 !
I would have cussed them out in public if I were present.
At any rate. My mom is pretty pissed about Apple in general.

-t

[adamfishercox]

Yeah... I'd be, too

And to brassplayersrock, I'm not expecting anything, the manager said he'd "Look into" how much he can give us. The good thing is that they have been very responsive with trying to rectify the situation.

[brassplayersrock²]

Originally Posted by adamfishercox 

No. CompUSA. After being quoted upwards of $400 at every Authorized Repair place in the vicinity. I had heard nothing bad about them. I wasn't expecting it to be top notch, as I said above, after all they are a PC vendor. But pretty much everything went wrong which amuses/amazes/annoys me.

But on the upside, I sense some store credit coming my way... external drive time

oh, my bad

[adamfishercox]

What's that supposed to mean? I didn't say you were wrong in assuming that, I was explaining myself.

[ghporter]

Did you ever post which CompUSA store this was?

[adamfishercox]

No, location on internet creeps me out

[Kevin]

We are coming to get you anyhow.

[adamfishercox]

I figured you might...

[Kevin]

Ok I lied.

[adamfishercox]

:d

OK... WTF. It won't let me put just a smiley in, even when I actually click that smiley.

[adamfishercox]

Wow. They actually got something else wrong. The fan got all installed, but it turns out it didn't actually fix the problem. This is just sad now.

[brassplayersrock²]

Originally Posted by adamfishercox 

They correctly diagnosed the problem... I basically did it for them..

[adamfishercox]

Hey, it was pretty much the best guess, ok?? What else would you say if your iMac was running hot, and had a quiet little click every two seconds coming right from where the fan was located, and an error code pertaining to the fan came up in diagnostics?

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by adamfishercox 

:d

OK... WTF. It won't let me put just a smiley in, even when I actually click that smiley.

There must be at least one lowercase letter in a post, otherwise it converts everything to lowercase.

[adamfishercox]

Ah...

[brassplayersrock²]

serious: was it a plastic or metal fan that they replaced?

some powerbook owners had a certain type of fan that would click, and when they switched it out with another type of material fan the clicking stopped

[vmarks]

A) CompUSA is an Authorised Apple Service Provider.

You should never have a problem bringing a machine to an AASP.
You should get the same experience as if you bring it to an Apple Store.

B) Call Apple's support line now. They have to know that you have received this bad service from an authorised service provider, and you want them to fix it in a timely fashion.

[adamfishercox]

OK, guys, here's the story, it actually WAS the fan, but it was a piece of the shielding on the fan that was caught, and making it click. So there was really nothing wrong with the actual fan.

So basically now all I have to pay is a $129 service fee, which should be SEVERELY decreased by some store credit, the amount of which I am working out with the store right now. I can't say I'm happy with the service, but everything's alright now, and since the guy who sold me the iMac paid me $200 for repairs, I will actually end up with money left over for wither leopard or a nice external drive

[OldManMac]

Originally Posted by vmarks 

A) CompUSA is an Authorised Apple Service Provider.

You should never have a problem bringing a machine to an AASP.
You should get the same experience as if you bring it to an Apple Store.

B) Call Apple's support line now. They have to know that you have received this bad service from an authorised service provider, and you want them to fix it in a timely fashion.

You've obviously never dealt with CompUSA. Just one of many reasons they're surely going under. Now that Apple is putting their employees in more Best Buys, like they used to have in most Comps, it probably won't be too long before Apple dumps CompUSA, which will be one of the final nails in the coffin.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by OldManMac 

You've obviously never dealt with CompUSA. Just one of many reasons they're surely going under. Now that Apple is putting their employees in more Best Buys, like they used to have in most Comps, it probably won't be too long before Apple dumps CompUSA, which will be one of the final nails in the coffin.

I once had a CompUSA tell me that the 17" CRT Studio Display I was buying was an iMac, and therefore the $300 price they had posted could not possibly be correct.

[adamfishercox]

Originally Posted by goMac 

I once had a CompUSA tell me that the 17" CRT Studio Display I was buying was an iMac, and therefore the $300 price they had posted could not possibly be correct.

[Cadaver]

Originally Posted by goMac 

I once had a CompUSA tell me that the 17" CRT Studio Display I was buying was an iMac, and therefore the $300 price they had posted could not possibly be correct.

Yep. Sounds about right.

[vmarks]

Originally Posted by OldManMac 

You've obviously never dealt with CompUSA. Just one of many reasons they're surely going under. Now that Apple is putting their employees in more Best Buys, like they used to have in most Comps, it probably won't be too long before Apple dumps CompUSA, which will be one of the final nails in the coffin.

I'm not suggesting that CompUSA is good.

I'm suggesting that he bought a service from them while they were an AASP, and that Apple has to stand behind work done by an AASP.

Apple can drop CompUSA as an AASP, but it will not change the fact that the work was performed while they were an AASP and Apple has a responsibility to get that work corrected, or else there is no value in the AASP program.

[ghporter]

I haven't seen any indication that Apple will or even may drop CompUSA's AASP affiliation. My local store has an Apple guy there all the time-a real Apple employee, who knows what he's talking about. While CompUSA has been making alterations in its retail footprint, so have most other generic electronics retailers, with some expanding and others contracting. Insert Mark Twain "rumors of my death" quote here.

[brassplayersrock²]

mark twain is dead?

[adamfishercox]

I'm actually kind of happy it turned out this way.

I've been stuck on my 800 MHz G4 eMac for a month. now that 20" screen and 2 Ghz Processor is gonna be great. Plus, I made about $100 when it's all said and done... and that can pay for Leopard

But I won't be using CompUSA for repairs anymore unless it's a straightforward thing involving parts they have in store. Technically, the store service was fine. Their distributors suck.

[adamfishercox]

My store credit will come in the form of a $25 Gift Certificate toward a future CompUSA purchase. I'd be pissed, except I need an external drive...

Anyone have experience with this drive?

[brassplayersrock²]

well, atleast something good came from your troubles.

pwned : - P <~~~JOKE

[OldManMac]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

I haven't seen any indication that Apple will or even may drop CompUSA's AASP affiliation. My local store has an Apple guy there all the time-a real Apple employee, who knows what he's talking about. While CompUSA has been making alterations in its retail footprint, so have most other generic electronics retailers, with some expanding and others contracting. Insert Mark Twain "rumors of my death" quote here.

My point about Apple dropping CompUSA as a retail partner was speculation on my part, as CompUSA has been struggling for quite a few years now, to the point that they suddenly shut down 130 of their 230 stores earlier this year. The company, which is owned by Carlos Slim Helu, the richest man in the world (yes, Bill Gates is #2 now), has been for sale for several years, but nobody wants it, because there is no profit in selling consumer oriented Windows boxes, as the market is saturated with vendors.

The Apple employees in the remaining CompUSAs are called Apple Solutions Consultants, or ASCs, and I'm intimately familiar with the program. Apple has been putting ASCs in some Best Buy stores, as the program was very successful in CompUSA.