[pete]

Hi guys,

I've decided to send in my new powerbook to adjust some of the small imperfections it has: misaligned LCD and bottom casing, a hiss from the powerbutton area that is related to the the brightness level of the display. Not exactly huge problems, just problems that are caused by sloppiness in the manufacturing process. It's a shame for apple since it cost so much more to repair than to ensure proper manufacturing in the first place. Anyway, it's going in tomorrow but before I let go, I wanted to hear your experiences with turnaround time on these powerbooks. Was it fast? What was it sent in for?

I'm scared since this powerbook is mine because Apple wasn't able to repair my old powerbook in over a month....I'm afraid something like that might happen again.

Thanks

[Bugs Bunny]

My Ti had a bad trackpad. so i sent it to them on Monday evening, had it back Thursday morning. They replaced the whole cover around the keyboard, which includes the trackpad. Yea, it sucks to be without it for a couple of days, but it's worth it to get it the way it should have been to begin with. Don't think about it too much, and before you know it, you'll have it back

[Avenir]

I sent my powerbook in on a wednesday, and I got it back the following Monday, but I'm pretty sure that's because FedEx (Airborne, whoever) didn't deliver to my dorm on Sat. or Sun, or I would have probably had it earlier. I was so very happy with the results... now only if the corner would stop its occasional flickering, though it seems to behave better now that I'm home in the islands...

Oh yeah, I called apple and they had it listed down for a repair of the loose battery problem and a busted "shift" key (left side if you're wondering). Also, before I put it in the box, I noticed a crack in the case below the slot loading DVD, so I just put in a note in the box. When it came back, all three were fixed perfectly.

[This message has been edited by Avenir (edited 05-14-2001).]

[jules]

Mine had a stripped screw from installing an airport card. Sent it in on Monday morning, came back Wednesday morning.

[kevcarl]

I haven't had to repair a Ti, but I sent in an iBook last year for a bad row of pixels in the screen. Sent it on Tuesday, got it back Thursday. Unbelievably fast. Hope yours goes as quickly.

[pete]

Thanks guys, I think I feel a lot more confident now that I won't have to be without my beloved book for too long. Since the flaws are minimal, it wouldn;t be worth the effort if it took much longer than a week. The apple tech person seemed to think it would be fast too. Actually, so far this has been my best apple service experience to date. I got through in just under two minutes, told the guy the problems and gave him personal details and he said fine, you'll have the box tomorrow. In the past, I've alway had to do bogus and time consuming troubleshooting with them and then they've reluctantly agreed to send a box. This was nice and painless. I'm hoping it will continue smoothly.

Thanks !

[doctre]

I hate to break up this thread of well wishes but... I sent mine in last Monday for the display going insane (I posted here about it Friday before last). I've heard that the screens are on backorder and thats the reason I've not gotten mine back yet. I'm hoping to at least hear something tomorrow. We'll see. They told me it could be a couple of weeks (this was last Friday).


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The Doctre

[pete]

Damn! I asked today when I talked to the rep and he said that there were no back orders as far as he knew. I should have known better than trusting him. If you have time, please let me know in the morning if you find out what's going on with your poor powerbook and if the displays have arrived yet. What's wrong with Apple and backorders. Why are they never prepared for these kind of things? Thanks for letting me know!

[kevcarl]

Yeah, it's all about parts availability. When my iBook got a new screen, that was easy, because it was a simple 800x600 pixel 12.1" screen. That kind of screen is a simple commodity. But with Apple, innovation is a double-edged sword. They make a great new product like the Ti, but they do it by being innovative: using a different configuration of screen from any other manufacturer on the market. Unfortunately, this means they don't have a handy pool of parts available to them, because they're not using what everyone else is using. This is an old story with Apple. Other companies like Dell or Compaq won't make a machine if all the parts for it aren't easily available in the market. Therefore we don't get very innovative products from them. I suppose Apple could try to stockpile all these odd parts before they release a new product, but that would delay time-to-market and frankly, isn't smart business; high inventories are bad financially, because they represent money that isn't earning anything - it just sits on a shelf.

Not that any of this is much of a comfort when you're without your PowerBook. And of course, they have to be able to provide the best service they can if they want loyalty. So it's a balancing act. But the fact is it's not a level playing field: providing parts availability is fundamentally a different problem for Apple than for other computer manufacurers.

That said, none of this would stop me from complaining loudly if my repair was taking a really long time. After all, the fact that there are repairs means that it was *broken* to begin with, which is a manufacturing problem that you can completely blame on Apple and their quality control.

[pete]

Unfortunately apple also has back orders on commonly available part like the older 14.1 lcds. They failed to fix my wallstreet for over a month -because they couldn't find any 14.1 screens anywhere! ONE MONTH. I could order one on the net and have it the next day!

I agree though, using special parts doesn't make it easier.

[Misha]

Apple typicall says 5-7 biz days. Frequently it's less.

[ort888]

Mine was fast as well...


I called it in on Monday, in the AM. They sent Airborne to my office that same day. I got it back on Wednesday in the PM. They were fixing that power off glitch.

------------------

[pete]

Well, I called Apple this morning to ask about the LCDs being backordered. Got through in less than two minutes again! The guy was unusually professional and courteous. He asked me to wait and called to find out if he displays were on backorder. Came back and said they were not but that things like that could change. In short, h gave me an honest and straigh-forward answer. I'll send it in today and hope for the best.

[mrchin]

My Ti went in on a tuesday and I got it back the following wednesday. The closing mechanism (button lock) was broken and a dead column of pixel down the left side of the screen after Airport Card Installation. Had to send it to Texas from New Jersey. It was on hold for the entire LCD screen (clamshell cover) for a couple of days. At first they said it wasn't on backorder but all of the sudden it showed up as on backorder. But the next day it was done and sent out to my house.

------------------
Cocoa Krispies. Burning Pentiums to a Crisp!
Need help, or better yet, can you help me, [email protected]

[pete]

It's gone. Off to Apple to see the doctor. In its place on my desk is a little IBM thinkpad -my girlfriend's. I actually like the hardware a lot but windows is a real pain. People say mac and windows are so similar - yeah, if you're only double clicking on your email or internet icon all the time. BUT the user experience, troubleshooting, getting things to work properly is not smooth at all and the user interface is down right awful.

I'm so happy I don't NEED to use windows on a regular basis.

Already miss my titanium... : (

[WSE]

I send my TiG4 in for a column of stuck pixels (about which I've previously written). They said it could take up to 2 weeks, but in fact the unit was in their possession for less than 24 hours.

I was delighted with the fast service, and my only wish was that they would have told me it was going to be that fast, as I would have not dusted off my old Powerbook and loaded up all the files and software.

I half suspect they took my hard drive and popped it into a new computer, but I can't prove it.

[doctre]

I got mine back today. Apple reported that they couldn't reproduce the bug that the authorized rep had witnessed so they just sent it back after a week. So far I've not seen the problem re-manifest. My Tibook did come back a little dirtier than when it left tho. Luckily I managed to clean it up.


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The Doctre

[pete]

Doctre,

Sorry that they didn't fix it for you. Let's hope the problem doesn't reoccur. I hate when they just send it back like that. Tell me, did it come back with any scratches? When I sent it in a brand new lombard last year, they failed to fix the problem and then sent it back to me with scratches all over. I was so mad as it was to be a present for my mother - and I worked hard to be able to afford. Eventually they messed up to the point where I demanded a new unit and they agreed...after a six weeks of struggle.

Just curious.

Thanks

[doctre]

I've given it a good look over and other than dirty fingerprints which I've managed to clean off there are no "new" scratches. It came with 2 tiny knicks but other than that its still in good shape.


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The Doctre

[pete]

Good that there were not scratches. It would be nice if Apple could clean the powerbook before they send it back to you....

I just talked to a guy at the repair dispatch center. He told me, SURPRISE, that they're waiting for a, SURPRISE, display. They're on backorder! Of course they guy I talked to the other day told me there were no backorders but that could have changed. Or he maybe didn't check properly. I'll never know. When will they be in? maybe today or tomorrow. THat's the one thing I actually believe- that they get their orders on Thursdays or Fridays. - because so many apple reps have told me that. But if it's not in this week I'll have to wait until next Thursday or Friday.

Anyway, they've only had it a day so I'm not upset yet - as long as it's back by mid next week and as long it comes back fixed.

[doctre]

Well I wish you a speedy return of your fixed Tibook.

and as far as mine still so far so good.

------------------
The Doctre

[pete]

Update:
Talked to Apple dispatch again. NIce, courteous person. Said again that the part is on backorder and that it might not be received until this time NEXT week but it could be shorter or longer. What's up with this? With today's tracking methods and instant communication, you'd think they'd be able to know when it's LIKELY that they will get the part. They seem totally clueless. I'm not asking for the day, but at least a DEFINITIVE week. So, here I go again...what's so sad with all this is that Apple has taught me to ALWAYS expect the worst from them. Sometimes I wish MacOS ran on other hardware.

[pete]

Update 2:
yesterday I called Apple to find out what's up with my powerbook. The woman was extremely friendly, confident and reassuring. She said, with absolutely no hesitation, that the part would be in 'today or at the latest tomorrow". I trusted her despite my gut telling me not to. Anyway, today, the seventh day without the powerbook, I called again. The rep said they parts hadn't come in and they didn't know when they will. She called the repair center and they didn't know either.

Just documenting my experiences.....why can't I have a good repair experience with apple?????? I want one badly. I want the powerbook to be sent out and returned within one business week. That's all I'm asking for. And....to be given accurate information too...

[pete]

Update 3:

Called again today. Very nice person who was normally a customer relations guy. He said corporate headquarters explicitly sent out a note to all dispatch and repair people saying that they shouLD NEVER give ETAs. He told me the other people had been wrong to do so and that he cannot say when the part will be in. This week, next week or whenever. No idea. He hoped soon though. Great! He offered to send it back until they get the part and then I could send it in again. I think not. Who knows, I might have to wait another two weeks if I do that.

This is my tenth day without the powerbook. I'm beginning to think I made a mistake when I sent it in. It was working alright, just a few minor physical imperfections.

Damn, I'm a fool for EVER trusting Apple.

[jules]

Pete,
Sorry you're going through this but I think you made the right decision. If you hadn't sent it in those minor imperfections would seem huge, conversely, since you are without it, they seem minor. Better to get it over with and have them repaired.
If it's all fixed up, you'll be glad you bit the bullet; that said, I sure hope they don't screw up!

I had a Blueberry iBook with ONE, yes ONE (1) dead pixel... I was so angry, but since I live in Paraguay, it didn't worth the effort to send the iBook to the U.S. to repair one pixel... my AASP here would tell me to stop bothering with my dead pixel... well then I changed to a Graphite SE iBook with no problems... I was so happy, but now I have changed to a Brand New Ti Book... the first time I turned it on it had TWO! dead pixels.... I was sooooo angry again, I couldn't even sleep at night. But it stopped now... It is just working fine... Lets hope those dead pixels don't ever come back... good luck to all of us LCD Screen owners

[pete]

Ok, here we go again. this time better though. I hope. I was just put through to apple customer relations because repair had no idea when the part would come in. The customer relations guy called the executive relations guy who handled the old case (replacement powerbook too). Amazingly, the exec. rel. guy immediately authorized another replacement! So, here I am again, waiting for a new replacement powerbook. They'll send it out today or tomorrow via fedex overnight. Hope it's alright this time.. I'm sure it will be.??? Confidence is the key word here. he he

It took only five minutes once I got through to customer relations for everything to be settled. I really was not expecting such a professional response. Apple seems to be either great or awful. There is no middle ground.


[This message has been edited by pete (edited 05-29-2001).]

[fisherKing]

actually a pismo 400...
REALLY noisy hard drive, so i sent it in last thursday (it's 7 weeks old)
got it back tuesday am (!), that's after the memorial day weekend...
with an even NOISIER hard drive!
so, it's back to apple again ma�ana, we'll see...

must say that tech support was very considerate & helpful...

[pete]

That's what's so frustrating. All the Apple people I've talked to have been extremely friendly, courteous and apologetic. YET, few have any power to do anything about anything. Did they replace your hard drive with a louder one, or did they just send it back to you without doing anything?

Apple sure makes it hard to like them. It most definitely is a love-hate relationship. Love when they replace my powerbook with a new model. Hate when they send me a unit with problems, albeit small ones. Love when they say they will fix it in just a few days. Hate when they've got my book and say they have no idea when it'll be repaired. They seem to be in state of tremendous internal disarray. Just imagine working there and having to deal with the stubborn customer from hell like me! We're lucky not to be there.

[This message has been edited by pete (edited 05-29-2001).]

[fisherKing]

i checked w/system profiler, & found i had a new ibm 10g hard drive, same model but different serial #...

are these drives all a gamble, ie maybe my next one will be quieter, maybe not??

still, i like my pismo a lot, just want it...here more, and at apple repair less!

[pete]

I think it's just luck. Some IBM drives are loud from the start, other get loud, some remain forever silent. It's random and annoying. You just have to hope for the best.

Good luck. We all need i : )

[- - e r i k - -]

OK. I just handed over my TiBook to Apple for repairs. After dropping it to the floor (always remember to CLOSE your carrying case!!!), it got a very very nasty crack, and the iRDA port almost fell out... I've used it for a month after that with few problems, but lately I've had a lot of freezes, and unrepairable HD errors which I contribute to the HD being bumped. Also one of the rubber feet has fallen off. (Guess Apple learned when they padded the HD and the feet in the iBook...look for it in rev b of the Ti...). To add to it all, the battery has started to fall out, especially when used on a table. The mechanism for releasing it is way to sensitive. Also a minor scratch in the case, but I guess there's nothing to do about that.

Now let's see how fast I can get it back...

------------------

That's no ordinary rabbit

i sent my PBG4 on may 22 due to sound failure. its still in texas waiting for a mother board, with no idea when it will come in, but the guy said "we get parts everyday" I hope to get it back soon, all my important stuff is on there.

[fisherKing]

it's baaaaack!
got my pismo this am, after TWO trips to apple to replace a noisy (trip#1) and INSANELY noisy (trip#2) ibm hard drive.

new one is whisper-quiet (but so was my first HD, for six weeks anyway...)

a nuisance but apple took care of business.
and just in time, i was starting to have...a life again...

[pete]

Just wanted to report back. Two days after Apple approved a replacement, it arrived via fedex at my door. Very fast work. My old memory has yet to arrive but it will be sent to me soon I hope. After using this powerbook for a week I'm very happy. The display is perfect except for one very small black/dead pixel which isn't noticeable. There are a few small things that are not perfect with the finish on the hinges. The right one has a small area that wasn't painted properly so you can see a little of the grey underneath. The other hinge is a little translucent. for some reason. Other than that , and of course the bottom titanium that doesn't fit perfectly, but well enough, this is a great machine. I'm happy and enjoy using it tremendously. If I had paid for this machine, I'd expect slightly better finish and would probably be upset with these little finish things. But since Apple gave it to me as a replacement for my old, used wallstreet, I'm very happy. For the first time, it's easy and comfortable to bring a laptop with me everywhere. It's as near perfect as one can expect.

[cpatubo]

I sent my Ti in for repair to Apple on Monday, 4 June 2001, for a replacement CD/DVD-ROM drive that refused to read any discs.

I've been using Apple's Support Web site to track the status of the repair, but am confused that the date for every step is 6/1/2001. Hmm.

I posted a screenshot of the repair status here:
http://www.cproductions.net/temp/repairstatus.gif

Anyone else experience this?

[maximawoo]

06/04/2001 18:52:00 PT Unit In Repair
05/22/2001 15:25:00 PT Hold
05/18/2001 16:45:00 PT Unit Received
05/18/2001 16:45:00 PT Request Acknowledged

cpatubo, as you can see, i have the same thing happen to me. just hope that the part they need to fix your precious Ti is in from taiwan and taht you don't have to wait like i did. if your curious, the part that my ti was waiting for was called a repair chassis part.

[icruise]

Courtney --

I just sent my Pismo in for repair a few days ago and I had a similar problem with the dates listed on their site, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. My system is now listed as being in the "Burnin" stage (after the "Repair" stage), so I'm hoping that means that the repairs are over and they are just testing everything out before they send it back to me.

[cpatubo]

So, what exactly is "Burnin"? Mine switched over from "In Repair" early today. Hope everything is going smoothly!

Has yours been shipped yet, lcruise?

I'm not worried about the date glitch. The rest of the dates are on par after the unit was received.

[maximawoo]

06/07/2001 13:32:00 PT Unit In BurnIn

I, too, got this curious BurnIn stage. I think Icruise and cpatubo gave me some luck with my service . But I think Applecare have been "unreliable" the past month because of the parts shortage. Now that the parts are in, maybe Applecare will get back into gear. So for all you guys that need service, I highly recommend sending it now!

[cpatubo]

hee hee, maximawoo

Well, I called Apple today and inquired about the Burn-in stage. The rep told me that she's received many calls on that subject, and doesn't know why they use that term. Burn-in is basically the last check before shipping the product back to the customer... testing to make sure everything is running well.

While I had her on the phone, she said it already shipped out! I got an Airborne tracking number and all... she said it should be here tomorrow!

I am impressed with the quick turnaround (I sent it on Monday)!

[icruise]

Mine shipped this afternoon, and I am hoping it will arrive tomorrow. I'm not really a tech person, but I believe burnin is a process by which they make sure that new parts are working properly -- basically they just leave the system on for a stretch of time, maybe running some kind of test software, and see if anything malfunctions. I hope you guess get your systems soon.

[fisherKing]

funny thing, "burn-in" at dell has a whole other meaning...

i was told that they ran my pismo for several hours...

it's still really quiet

(see my other posts, above)

[cpatubo]

Got my Ti back today, looking shiny clean and new, but the insides still seem botched

I sent it in for a replacement CD/DVD-ROM drive because it could not read discs of any kind (and wanted to initialize them). I was impressed when it arrived this afternoon with the "Proof of Repair" statement also saying that they replaced the Battery Shim as well as the Drive. Got home this evening to find that I still cannot read discs.

Argh! I guess I may hafta send mine back multiple times, like fisherKing...

[icruise]

That's a bummer about your Ti. My Pismo arrived yesterday and seems to be working fine. They installed a fresh copy of OS 9.0 on my drive, though (I had 9.1 on it before). I had the whole drive backed up on my firewire drive, so I just did a restore from that (I had actually planned on doing this anyway). Aside from that, I'm pretty pleased with the service. It's strange that so many people seem to be getting back machines that really aren't fixed though. Presumably it worked when they tested it, but for some reason stopped working (perhaps due to stress in shipping?)