[spaced]

Honestly, reading the AppleCare-related threads on this board had me very paranoid about sending my PowerBook in for several problems. I went ahead and took the plunge, and here is my surprisingly pleasant story:

On Monday, April 21st, I took my 17" PowerBook to the genius bar at the Apple Store in Durham, NC (Southpoint). I pointed out the following minor but very irritating problems.

1) Cosmetic damage to screen bezel (nick in aluminum, was this way out of the box)
2) Hard drive noise/clicking above max sound specs
3) Fan making very disturbing rattling/grinding noise when it comes on
4) Speaker popping when the PB comes out of sound sleep while on battery

After listening to me explain my plight, Robb (the mac genius) took all the information down and I watched as my PowerBook went into the back. I followed the tracking info on the Apple website as my baby made it's trip to the mothership.

04/23/2003 08:50:38 PT Ready for Pickup
04/22/2003 18:56:00 PT Unit Shippped/Completed
04/22/2003 18:18:00 PT Ready to Ship
04/22/2003 18:18:00 PT Begin Testing
04/22/2003 13:12:00 PT Begin Repair
04/22/2003 09:42:00 PT Unit Received
04/21/2003 19:13:00 PT Request Acknowledged
04/21/2003 15:31:01 PT Repair Requested

Less than 48 hours went by before I had my PB back home. They had replaced the screen bezel, the hard drive, and the heatsink. This fixed all of the problems I mentioned above. I was absolutely ecstatic that it took such little time and even Robb was surprised at how fast the turnaround time was.

I think that your quality of service depends on the competency of both the AppleCare tech (in my case, Robb the mac genius), who explained how to reproduce the problems accurately on the repair request, which I personally read for accuracy and signed, and the person who actually does the repair. I agree that Apple service should not be "hit or miss" but they definitely hit a home run with me and for that I am very glad. I hope everyone has a similar experience in the unfortunate event that their PB must be serviced.

[urrl5201]

Too bad they dont give you the name or ID number of the Apple tech who fixed your unit. I could use info like that printed on the return receipt.

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Originally posted by urrl5201:
Too bad they dont give you the name or ID number of the Apple tech who fixed your unit. I could use info like that printed on the return receipt.

Probably because word would get out that "this one is competent!" and he'd have to pull triple shifts for the rest of his life to keep up with the sudden increase in workload. =)

[yellow no.5]

Thanks for taking the time to post this, spaced. I, like you, have read many-a horror story on these boards about the service that have freaked me out about ever sending in mine. This is a nice thing to hear.

I suppose it's like what many have posted before: the fact that people with problems are much more vocal than those who have smooth-running systems.

But, again, thanks!

-yno.5

[swsteckly]

I have sent various powerbooks in five times for service. For some weird reason, each and every one of these problems cropped up was on a weekend, so I called Apple on Monday, and I got the box Tuesday, and shipped it back Tuesday. On two occassions, the PowerBook was back on Thursday. One time, it was on a Friday. But, the other two times proved more troublesome. The parts required for the repair were out of stock. One time the parts came back in stock three weeks later, but once, it was sitting there for nearly two months. I found that a trick involving trying to diagnose the problem yourself and determine what parts may be needed is helpful. You can call the service center, and they will tell you if those parts are in stock more often than not. If a part you're sure will be required is not in stock, you can wait a while to send it in (if it's not a crippling problem).

Each time the repair was completed to my satisfaction. The defective parts were replaced, and the problem never recurred. Once apple put a tiny scratch on the bottom of my Ti, but that's OK and I never brought it up. The second time a TiBook's foot was missing, but apple sent me a few extra stick-on feet by overnight delivery when I called them.

The only time I was marginally satisfied was when the had the drive-alignment problem that plauged the first-rev TiBook. The repair sheet listed 'Frame Realignment' as the repair. The problem was about 75% taken care of, but a little evidence of the problem was still there. I never followed up, because I had a school deadline coming up, and it wasn't a troubling deal now (it was before).

[@ho]

I had a problem with the display of my ibook going complete blank when opened more than 90 degres, call apple ask me to do some things and nothing works so they send me a prepaid box next day, send it on monday and have it back on two days, they ask me about any other problem and i mention 1 missing rubber feet. They fix the display problem, replace all feet and I am very happy with it.

I relly recomend on paying for applecare for your new computer before this problem i have the battery charger and the keyboard replace.

[videian28]

ahh this sounds great, I have been reading to many horror stories lately about the applecare program...had been wondering if it was worth the $350 I paid... sounds so

[OwlBoy]

3 days? not a month?!

damn it. I want my powerbook back!

-Owl

[nobitacu]

Wow, one of very few people that had a good experience with Apple Care.

Congrats.

Ming

[iSpeak]

I bought my Powerbook brand new about two months ago (1Ghz Titanium) and underneath the plastic screen protector was a tiny bit of plastic that had made an indentation in the LCD which looks like a smudge that I cannot remove. Also, there is a "splotch" area at about 11 o'clock that looks weird (slightly darker color -- almost looks like someone is pushing on the LCD from the back).

Anyway, I called Apple about it and they said that when I'm ready to send it in to give them a call. I have AppleCare extended warranty on the machine, as I do on every Mac I've ever owned, because I feel like it gives me a better level of service in the event that there's a problem like this.

So, I guess I'm going to call Apple and get the box sent to us so that I can send it in -- which I've been dreading.

I'll let everyone know what happens with MY experience, also.

Cheers!