Hello everyone this post concerns my latest adventures with Apple Care support. To keep this as brief as possible things maybe come somewhat fragmented here so hold on.
Almost three weeks ago when cleaning my 15-inch Powerbook I noticed what at that time appeared to be a small scratch on my return key. After a few wipes I realized that the scratch would not go away and this would be a minor annoyance that I would have to live with. This scratch really bothered me not so much because I am extremely careful with my Powerbook although I am. It bothered me because I could not figure out how did the scratch appear on my laptop in the first place since I do not wear a watch and I have short nails. Anyway I was wrong about the scratch it turned out to be a crack in the return key which I did notice as it became bigger and bigger. No more being picky this is now an issue time to call Apple.
Considering how my week was going I should have anticipated that this was going to be trouble. First of all the customer service rep that was initially handling my issue had a cold or something. This in effect led to her sniffling every three seconds and that made it very difficult for her to understand me. Somehow she thought I was referring to the side of the computer by the return key as being crack and said that this was a cosmetic issue and would not be covered under warranty. Needless to say this was not the case but if a side of a person�s laptop is crack how is that a cosmetic issue? Somewhere around the fifth time of me explaining to her what the issue was she finally caught on� Now the routine switch from a cosmetic issue to an abuse issue, which is still not covered under warranty.
Now I have heard and read the many horror stories people have had when dealing with Apple Care support, which in my years of being an Apple user had yet to happen to me. Close to reaching my boiling point I remembered that I made a promise to myself not to be so confrontational... That is my mantra for 05. Keeping my cool, I tried to explain the situation a few more times and when this did not work, I politely ask if I could speak to a manager. Now since the conversation was never too intense she really did not hesitate to put me through to a manager though she claimed, that the manager would say the same thing.
The manager comes on and I explain to him that the young lady that was my customer service rep was doing a good job but somewhere there was a breakdown in communications, which led me to him. I explained my situation, of course adding to my plea was my years of being a loyal Apple user, the numbers of people that I have converted over to Apple etc� and that this computer had been sent in for a repair before I am quite sure that if there had been any signs of abuse Apple would have put this information in a file or something� So the manager quickly agreed with me and I was told to send in my Powerbook for repair under warranty of course. I told him,� that this is the Apple I know and love.�
As usual my laptop returned in matter of no time. Time to get back to work wrong! When I opened the box, I notice that my RAM was no longer installed and I had a letter that was saying my RAM was not working. Okay I send a computer off on a Monday that wasworking but had a broken return key to receiving that computer back on a Wednesday with a new keyboard but with RAM that is not working.
Time to call Apple again round 2 ding� The customer service rep explained to me how when his Powerbook was sent in for repairs the same thing had happen to him. He said he did not understand why Apple or rather the company that they use for laptop repairs were doing this. But to install the RAM and things would be fine. He was kind enough to stay on the phone to assist me while I did it. Now with RAM installed, time to boot up and get back to work. No, wrong again� Now I am having kernel panics� He said, the best thing for me to do was to take the computer into an Apple store to see if there was something with my RAM or the computer. Okay now there are two Apple stores in my state and neither are not really that close to me hopefully this will change and it should considering that I am located near two great schools that are very famous and use only Apple computers maybe we can get a mini Apple store or something�
Arriving at the Apple store at the Somerset Collection turned out to be the one better events that came out of this whole experience. The guys at the Mac Genius Bar really got a kick out of the week that I was having. After a quick inspection it was discovered that I needed a new logic board and that my computer would have to sent off for repair�
Needless to say my laptop is back and things are working well
All in all I feel that Apple Care support is very good and at times can be very understandable.
P.S. if you live in Michigan and are having a problem with your Apple computer give the Mac Geniuses at Somerset a try. They are very polite as well as knowledgeable�
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