[gperks]

My MBP was dropped enough to slightly bend the outer casing around the DVI connecter, and send the inner right-side fan into a buzz. The Mac was fully usable like that until the fan buzzed like crazy a few days later and then suddenly died, machine still working but you know how hot these things can get with both fans working!

No problem I thought, I've got Safeware insurance!

Call Safeware, create a claim. DHL box arrives and I package up my precious MBP addressed to The Laptop Guy. No worries I thought, done the same with AppleCare for warranty items and it came back from Apple in two days!

Nearly seven weeks later I am still waiting for my Mac, and they are replacing the LCD and harddrive and the entire lower case!!!

6th November: waved goodbye.
21st Nov: no news when I called
27th: They are now assessing the unit (they had it three weeks and are only now assessing it?! I was hoping to have it back by now!)

1st Dec: Safeware has approved the repair of the fan and case... will be fixed this week, so I should call Friday and they'll give me shipping info. Relief!

11th: Not fixed. Waiting for parts. Will be "this week".

18th: No update from repair shop so I called Safeware management, had to leave a message.

19th: Safeware called back expressing surprise at the amount of time it was taking. They will investigate and call back.

22nd: Safeware never called back. So I called them. Told me they are fixing the LCD, the lower case, and the hard drive, but are still waiting for a cable. Told Safeware that if that is what Laptop Guy is telling them, they are BSing as those parts were in perfect order. They say they will call back by EOB today. We'll see...

Next time I'll just pay Apple to fix it. At least the machine is returned in a timely fashion.

I told Safeware at this point I consider the unit lost or stolen and a check for a replacement would be good. I think they'd rather get me the repaired unit back, which would be OK except it sounds like The Laptop Guy has been using it for soccer practice

[wingdo]

Apple Care FTW.

Never heard of safeway .... but will be sure to avoid them in the future.

[romeosc]

Originally Posted by wingdo 

Apple Care FTW.

Never heard of safeway .... but will be sure to avoid them in the future.

I have used Safeware for 10 years on over 15 Powerbooks. Never a ounce of a problem, I even sent a TIPB in with broke hinge. They called to say screen was replaced and when they tested it battery on;y held 90 minute charge, so they sent me a new one and let me keep old all with no deductable or charge!

Your problem may be because Macbooks or new and replacement parts are going to Apple's repair facilities first!

I'm sorry that you have had problems, but 1 bad issue should not steer people away!


Search MacNN for Safeware and almost all commments are positive!
I wish I had invested in their stock years ago.

Ps. I keep extra ancient(TI PB) to use in case of problems!

Ask Applecare what they would have done..... after they quit laughing!

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by wingdo 

Apple Care FTW.

Never heard of safeway .... but will be sure to avoid them in the future.

Actually, the people to avoid are "The Laptop Guy."

I checked out their BBB page, and they've had several complaints.

FWIW, I've dealt with MacResQ and they were great!

[gperks]

Yes, as far as I can tell the Safeware guys are just the man-in-the-middle and the actual problem is at The Laptop Guy. Got a call from Safeware this afternoon. Apparently they got mixed up and the LCD/HD/case replacement is another guy held up in never-never land.

"Next week," as has been the refrain for a month now. At least understandable this time, given the holiday.

A guy at The Laptio Guy told me they typically turn around machines in 5-7 days. Safeware had originally told me it would take up to 30 days. At 30 days they should have come clean and told me they have no idea when they will get the parts; I can either continue to wait or say that the machine is basically irreparable, and therefore get the money for a replacement.

It's very frustrating.

Thank you, SuperDuper. At least I have a full backup. I was an idiot not to remove the extra RAM before sending it off.

[Toyin]

If you dropped it you are SOL with Applecare. I did something similar with my 12" PB and they wouldn't cover it.

[brokenjago]

Hence Safeware.

[eminton]

it seems if they never called you and they had troubles returning your phone call back and if they kept giving you the wrong information is that their service is poor. if i was in your case, i would call applecare if you have their service also and talk to them about what you did and see if they can help you, if they will even if you pay a small fee then that would be great. then get your laptop back and send it to apple. their service is bad and there should be a place to get in contact with higher management and file your complaint and if your laptop doesnt come back in a certain amount of days that you will file lawsuit against them. thats what i would do and it hurries up getting your laptop back

[romeosc]

Originally Posted by eminton 

it seems if they never called you and they had troubles returning your phone call back and if they kept giving you the wrong information is that their service is poor. if i was in your case, i would call applecare if you have their service also and talk to them about what you did and see if they can help you, if they will even if you pay a small fee then that would be great. then get your laptop back and send it to apple. their service is bad and there should be a place to get in contact with higher management and file your complaint and if your laptop doesnt come back in a certain amount of days that you will file lawsuit against them. thats what i would do and it hurries up getting your laptop back

Applecare would chage $1500 to repair the damage!

[drewcifer]

how much does it cost to replace the bottom casing on a MBP? i have a dent by my dvi port as well.

[romeosc]

Originally Posted by drewcifer 

how much does it cost to replace the bottom casing on a MBP? i have a dent by my dvi port as well.

around $200 on Ebay!

[wingdo]

Originally Posted by Person Man 

Actually, the people to avoid are "The Laptop Guy."

I checked out their BBB page, and they've had several complaints.

FWIW, I've dealt with MacResQ and they were great!

When you deal with Safeway, can you chose the vendor who you want to have work on the Mac or do you have to use their recommendation? If you get a choice, then you are correct the issue is with "The Laptop Guy" but if Safeway says "Send it to this person" then the issue is still with Safeway. And yes, MacResQ has a good reputation.

[gperks]

I didn't get a choice on who to send the unit to - the box came pre-addressed.

I was initially told "up to 30 days" which set a level of expectation (which was rather blown away when three weeks later they were still evaluating it!)

Anyway, the Mac arrived back today - thank goodness. The fan seems to be fixed but the case is a bend-back-into-shape job, which is what I asked them to do since it wasn't too bad anyway. The case is what they were waiting for on order from Apple, so I could blame Apple for holding everything else up.

Once I escalated with Safeware, credit to them they pushed the repair along well.

They could, and should, have managed the case much better especially once the 30 days point was reached.

I'm just relieved and glad to have it back.

My final thoughts are that Safeware is OK. The Laptop Guy is probably OK. Apple sucks for not sending out parts. Laptop Guy & Safeware ought to be aware of that and set proper expectations. An Apple box may just not be repairable by them if they can't get parts. Kinda stymies the whole accidental damage coverage idea, unless they replace with a new machine.

Ah well: lesson is, don't drop the Mac!

[felbie]

I had a similar problem with safeware/laptop guy. The people at safeware were great and pushed my repair along after all the laptop guy mistakes and elitism(you cant tell them anything, they ignored a problem until the date it was supposed to be sent back, as well as ignored a lot of other problems) I told them i would not send it out next time and they said I can bring it anywhere. Im glad i didnt have to pay for the logic board or the hard drive which I dont think was even replaced.

[LaptopGuy]

Remove Remove

[felbie]

There was nothing false about what I said in my post, my opinion may not be correct but that part of it was exactly that, an opinion. My computer was sent back to me after a long delay, and it was still damaged when it was received. and as it turned out, my logic board and hard drive were not replaced, but that only came up after i questioned it.

[gperks]

Todd,

It's been a while since I've been on here. Thanks for posting. Your personal response means a lot. I will contact you directly about replacing the base.

Also a nod of thanks to Dan M who was the repair guy at The Laptop Guy.

Graham.

[ateman]

I have Safeware insurance on a Fujitsu tablet. The computer itself is crap and is always breaking.

I had taken it to a repair facility in NYC, where I live, twice, and Safeware paid for the repair.

Recently I went to repair it there again and they informed me the part was no longer available. They provided me with documentation of this and I called Safeware.

While they'd trusted this place twice, they refused to issue a check without sending to computer to The Laptop Guy first. They told me it would take 3 days for the box to arrive at my place and 2 to 3 days for the Laptop Guy to even open the box. Read: another lost week of work.

I said there was no point in sending the computer in if the part was not for sale. They claimed they would call the Laptop Guy and see if the part was available and call me back. I hung up, and called back 20 seconds later because I forgot to get the Claim NUmber. Miraculous in 20 seconds the person let me know the Laptop Guy had located a part that was not for sale!

I sent them the box. Of course, the part was not for sale! The Laptop Guy (shocking!) lied - and without calling me, they ordered a replacement (refurbished) machine. Yes, I was going to get a machine that had already proven itself *prone to breaking*! (My insurance was on a NEW machine.)

Then, they gave me the good news: the Laptop Guy told me they were replacing the hard disk because it was ruined. Wait! When I sent it to them it was fine! They ruined my disk!

Ok, so they lied, ruined my disk, and didn't have the replacement part. At least they're ship over a replacement computer quickly, right?

No! They say it will take another week and a half to get the replacement (a used, once broken computer).

Then the Laptop Guy gave me the ultimatum: if I told them to cancel the order they would harvest the parts from the replacement and put them into my laptop (which has a broken case). So I'd get a broken computer shipped back. Of course, that would neccesetate opening another claim with Safeware, and cost me another month without a computer!

Every promise Safeware made was a lie. When they said they would call, they wouldn't. They would tell me to call a certain person, who was not at work that day. When I called back they told me he would be in "tomorrow". They did that two days in a row! Disgusting. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a fake extension.

The Laptop Guy has numberous complaints from the BBB, but you cant get Safeware to use anyone else (they're likely related somehow) - so bottom line:

Bottom line:
Safeware is not "insurance". If you are in a car accident and have insurance, you get a car to use the next day, while yours is being replaced. With safeware you're out of work for over a month - and that is far more costly that a new laptop.

Skip Safeware. Just buy a Dell, HP or Toshiba and get their insurance packages. Fujitsu makes cool machines but the quality sucks - skip them too.

[romeosc]

I'm sorry to hear all the problems with Safeware and their repair facility.

I have always had wonderful results. I sent a TIPB in with a broke hinge. They replaced both hinges and even included a new battery with a note that said it "was holding only 2 hours charge"! I had not mentioned battery condition, since it was 2 years old and batterys decline over time!

I hope they get their s@#t together. I have 3 computers under their coverage!

I don't believe DELL, HP OR TOSHIBA'S coverage includes accidental damage or theft!

[mduell]

Originally Posted by romeosc 

I don't believe DELL, HP OR TOSHIBA'S coverage includes accidental damage or theft!

Dell's CompleteCare covers damage.

CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service covers repair and replacement for various accidental damage, not covered under limited warranty, including spills, drops, surges, and breakage to select systems or peripherals.

Cost is $150 for 3 years or $180 for 4 years on a laptop.

[LaptopGuy]

As part owner of The Laptop Guy and the Director of the Safeware Division of our company, I find that I can no longer sit by while our company is disparaged by individuals that are using this forum as an outlet for stating their disappointment with our unwillingness to help them upgrade or replace their laptops at the expense of Safeware (our client).

My husband and I have built this company by working hard and adhering to the highest moral standards. We believe that companies can get ahead and prosper by throwing out good deeds and waiting for them to come back. We are by no means perfect, but genuinely try everyday to do right by our customers, clients, employees, community and environment. As individuals within this company, we collectively apply what we call “The Karma Test” to issues that fall into the “grey area”. When we look at a claim or issue that is questionable we bring together a group of us to decide what is “fair” to all parties involved. And, although it would often be easier and we would benefit financially by blindly recommending coverage of claims that are cosmetic in nature or the result of mechanical breakdown -- we do not and will not. By taking this position, our company name and Safeware’s name have been criticized in this forum by policyholder’s that are unhappy. I feel that what these individuals need to realize is that they have an insurance policy, not a lottery ticket that pays out when they accidentally damage their laptop or decided it’s time for a more reliable unit. Felbie and Ateman are upset that they are not benefitting beyond what they are entitled to and have decided to use this forum to place postings that are full of false statements. The bottom line is that Felbie wants his Powerbook’s cosmetic damage covered and ateman doesn’t want his Fujitsu fixed or replaced, he wants a cash settlement.

The only valid grievance in this forum is from gperks. His bottom base was very damaged and we had the part on order with Apple for months. I feel horrible that we were not able to get the Powerbook 12” DVI bottom base, due to Apple’s backorder. I should have been more on top of that claim and sent his unit back to him while we waited for the part. I messed up and for that I am grateful that this forum brought this mistake to my attention so that we could reach out to gperks in an effort to make it right. It is interesting, we started a process of buying whole units to harvest and inventory hard to get parts as a result of the PB bottom base issue. This process is why we are able to get the parts for ateman’s claim when other repair shops are not.

Thank you for your consideration of our perspective of these complaints and postings. I very much appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Tonya Feit
President
The Laptop Guy, Inc.


To Romeosc I am glad to hear you can use the extra battery. We had extra PB batteries and thought we would include it as a courtesy. Batteries aren’t covered because they are consumables, but we try to do that whenever we can because we figure that people can get good use out of them and it keeps them out of our nation’s landfills. Enjoy!

[NDBounce]

I thought it was time to bump this up because i, too have had a Laptop Guy Nightmare. I posted it in the following thread:
http://forums.macnn.com/69/macbook-p...top-guy-issue/

Perhaps my favorite part is that when I actually spoke to The Laptop Guy on the Phone (my first contact with them) I spoke with Jeremy. To his credit He was returning a message I left with him. To his discredit he simply denied everything I said, not with evidence (I had pictures, witnesses, and statements from Apple, Inc.) but rather he depended solely on his belief that the Laptop Guy does have a good QA process.

Then I asked to speak to the owner. After a brief discussion about whether or not the owner actually had a phone (yes, Tonya and Todd, Jeremy at one point told me you didn't have a phone to which I was forced to responed "You are telling me he's the owner and he doesn't have a phone"). Jeremy then suggested I contact the owner by using a generic [email protected] email address. I asked for the owners name, he refused to tell me. Then I asked for his name, he gave me his first name but refused to give me his last name. After a brief pause, I asked if Todd Feit was the owner. He said "I can neither confirm nor deny that information."

Todd and Tonya seem pretty open about who they are here. I wonder why Jeremy would not allow mer to speak with them. Furthermore, this was my FIRST communication with The Laptop Guy (all other communication had been with Safeware).

However, I did find Todd's name and managed to guess his email. I sent him an email describing my conversation with Jeremy and his rude demeanor. I got an email response from Todd and Tonya (it was signed by both) stating:

We are replying to your email as a courtesy. My wife and I have built this company on integrity and instill this in the people we work with everyday. We have thousands of happy and satisfied customers and although we are not perfect (nobody is), we work with our customers to remedy situations. However in your letters dated on 9/28 and 9/29 you made a very serious accusation in accusing us of committing the crime of insurance fraud and stated that our company is unscrupulous and negligent. Due to these very serious and unfounded claims, and your threats that you intend to post these unfounded and untrue claims on the internet we have put us in a position where we are no longer able to communicate with you on this matter.

The interesting thing is I never sent them any letters except the email describing my conversation with Jeremy. I sent SAFEWARE letters on 9/28 and 9/29. They also state that I accused them of committing insurance fraud, which I did not. In fact, I never even communicated with them prior to today (October 4, 2007) and only after Safeware offered to allow me to bring my Laptop to an Apple Store to have the damage caused by The Laptop Guy repaired.

Furthermore, I found their logic to be off. They state in the same paragraph that they "work with customers to remedy situations" and that they "are no longer able to communicate with [me] on this matter." I hope this is not how they remedy all situations.

Given my experience, I am more inclined to trust ateman and felbie than Todd and Tonya.

If you have a Safeware Claim, demand to have your Laptop sent to Apple and definitely not The Laptop Guy.

[Mojo]

I do not see how some people can hold Safeware blameless and place all the responsibility on The Laptop Guy. Safeware selects the repair facility and The Laptop Guy still gets business from Safeware even with the complaints about poor service. Neither Safeware nor The Laptop Guy seem very concerned about making things right when there is a problem.

The stories about communicating with The Laptop Guy regarding customer service problems are reminiscent of similar experiences I have had and read about when dealing with companies with poor customer service. The pattern goes like this: a customer has a problem but finds it difficult or even impossible to communicate with the company. If and when the company does respond it is usually in the form of an employee who makes all kinds of excuses for the company but who is not empowered to correct the problem(s). Finally the indignant owner protests and claims that the vast majority of his customers are extremely satisfied and Why Oh Why Is Everybody Picking On Me? But nothing is done to address the original complaint... And the BBB? A waste of time and most people don't even know that it exists anyway, so the relatively few complaints should not be construed to indicate that The Laptop Guy saitisfied all but nine of his customers.

If The Laptop Guy and Safeware were truly concerned about the level of their service things would never get to the point where people felt it necessary to warn others on a public forum. They would have corrected the problem ASAP and we would have heard nothing at all or there would be a post about the excellent service they provided. Companies with excellent customer service will go to great lengths to satisfy their customers, sometimes to the point of eating the cost of making it "right" in questionable circumstances (not that I am saying that the claims I have read it here are of a questionable nature). Smart owners realize that doing so will be more than covered by the good will and growing business generated by word-of-mouth praise for their business.

Busy repair companies that are customer-oriented will usually have an employee dedicated to handling repair inquiries and customer communications. This person knows whether there is a back-log or not and lets customers know in advance how long they will likely have to wait before their machine will be evaluated. In my experience it is not unusual for busy independent shops to have a 5-7 day wait before a computer will be diagnosed by a technician. Competent repair facilities also know their parts suppliers and they will communicate the maximum time it can take to receive a needed part. I have been told that it can take a couple of weeks for Apple to deliver a part. An experienced customer service rep can do a very good job estimating the total time for a repair so as not to mislead the customer to expect completion of the repair within an unrealistic period of time. A sure sign of an inexperienced customer service rep and/or a poorly-run repair facility is when promieses are made that are clearly unrealistic.

(If your only repair experience is warranty repair through Apple you may have a distorted view of how long a repair can take. I have experienced three-day turnaround times when having a portable Mac repaired by Apple under AppleCare... and that includes time in transit to and from the repair facility! The longest repair took five days.)

I think that it is important to look at the Safeware business model. It is a computer insurance company. Customers expect Safeware to insure them against their own carelessness, and the cost of doing so is going to be passed-on to the customer, one way or another. Like health insurance companies, the fewer repairs they have to pay for the more profit they make. Such a company will be working with the least expensive repair facility they can find and the repair facility will be financially motivated to keep repair costs down so as to continue to receive business from the insurance company. In this situation it isn't very realistic to expect top-notch service from either the insurance company nor the repair facility. Safeware and The Laptop Guy are merely doing what a lot of companies do: putting profits before customer satisfaction.

I suggest that it would be wiser to bank the money that would be spent on premiums, spend some of it on a very good laptop case and be extra careful with your portable Mac. If damage should occur, use the saved premiums to repair or replace the computer.