[Rangers4me]

The other day I was using my Powerbook G4, looking at pictures with a card reader. As I was looking at them,the screen went berserk. There were lines and blurs going every which way. I sent it in to apple for repair and got a call about it today. They claim I dropped it and should pay $1200 for a new screen. I am so frustrated with them, why should I pay for a technical defect, I DID NOTHING WRONG! There is not a single dent on the machine, how can they claim that I dropped it?

Any suggestions, what I should do?

[chris v]

Be polite, yet firm. Losing your temper on ther phone won't get you anywhere. Thank people for their trouble, etc. but don't take no for an answer.

CV

[velodev]

Maybe UPS dropped it, maybe the dude at the Genius Bar dropped it...

did you care to ask how they reduced the defect to a drop?

I've always remained calm when talking to TechSupport. Typically I am helping them troubleshoot because of my pretty thorough knowledge of these machines.

[Rangers4me]

I just got off the phone with applecare, and they said there was a crack in the screen. I have visible pictures showing there was no crack in the screen. They say they don't want to see them and won't even consider that it was not my fault.

[skipjack]

Originally posted by Rangers4me:
They say they don't want to see them and won't even consider that it was not my fault.

Since you haven't provided details on the phone call, I would say you need to get to a supervisor. You can probably suggest that you intent to appeal in a written response and the Apple Care representative may then connect you to a supervisor. At least, that's what I did when I sent my iBook in for repair. The AppleCare representative claimed that I had opened the case and damaged the trackpad cable. I explained to the supervisor that I had not even upgraded the RAM since the computer had come loaded, and the supervisor overrode AppleCare representative's evaluation. I'm almost sure that you'll get more reasonable treatment at a higher level.

[jewing80]

A letter, whether paper or e-mail, is always your best bet for quick conflict resolution.

I contacted Apple sales via phone to try and get a replacement or refund for a defective refurnished Powerbook that I had received. I was told my only options were to return it and pay a 10% restock fee or contact Apple Care and have it repaired. The rep could not authorize an exchange nor could he wave the restock fee.

Last night I wrote a letter detailing the problems, the conversations and the possible resolutions that were provided. I let them know that their resolutions were unacceptable, and gave details as to why. I then recommended two possible alternatives, either a full refund or immediate exchange. Today I received a response apologizing for the inconvenience and agreeing to refund my entire purchase price, no restock fee.

I think the key is to be polite but also assertive . State all the facts and back all of your opinions up with objective information. Try not to come across as unreasonable and you should be okay.

[rag on a muffin]

if that pisses you off, what happened to me would make you go on a killing spree.

i bought an ibook G4 800 MHz 12"

1st the track-pad wigs out, i try to live with it, because i know the apple repair just trashes it more (from experience with my ibook 500 MHz). but then the HD dies. i take it into repair and they want me to pay for a new HD and a new logic-board, because i supposedly tampered with the EMI shielding. after 2 hours of holding and having to talk to the next person higher authority, they came to the conclusion that i had indeed tampered with it (i didn't). i had one of my local apple specialist friends talk to them and convince them that i had not, they shipped it bak to me after 1 month.

about 6 days later i noticed that the screen frame was broken. i sent it into repair, they repaired it, and replaced the logic board because it was supposedly shutting down randomly. i had no idea that this was even an issue, but they replaced it in 3 weeks.

i got it back, looking for issues this time, and found a ribbon cable hanging out, and the left speaker extremely distorted. i sent it off and they replaced the entire top side of the computer, including the track-pad, and the speakers. at this time i was extremely pissed. i demanded a replacement, which they told me they need 3 problems right in a row to be authorized to replace. i agreed and sent it in, where i got it back in 3 weeks.

when i got it back i did an audio chat with my friend to tell them that i got it bak. he yelled at me saying what's that all about? i couldn't talk to him because my mic had somehow crossed with the speaker cable causing it to input an awful sound every time the computer made a sound.

i called apple and told him what had happened and asked for a replacement. he refused saying it had to be 3 major repairs. this just set me off finally. they said that they had no record of ever replacing the logic-board or the HD. i faxed them my receipts from them that told me what they replaced, and they told me i forged them. THEY TOLD ME I FORGED THEIR FRIGGEN RECEIPTS!!! at this time it was back up the pyramid of superiors i finally talked to someone who said sure we will replace it. i didn't want it, and asked if i could pay the difference between the powerbook and the ibook. they said yes so i did. the influencing probably had something to do with me yelling F YOU APPLE!! in between hold periods.

as i was about to back up my data for the new computer, the HD crashed again. at this time i just started to laugh hysterically because i lost the data as i was launching the app. after i regained my senses, i tried to boot from firewire, which it was unresponsive to.

when i got my powerbook i have not had a single problem yet. i have had similar problems with my ibook, just not as bad.

hope this makes you feel like you dont have it that bad.

[EdipisReks]

i would call the Apple corporate number and ask for the number for the worldwide applecare director. she fixed my problems when i had terrible problems with applecare.

[The Placid Casual]

Originally posted by rag on a muffin:
if that pisses you off, what happened to me would make you go on a killing spree.

i bought an ibook G4 800 MHz 12"

1st the track-pad wigs out, i try to live with it, because i know the apple repair just trashes it more (from experience with my ibook 500 MHz). but then the HD dies. i take it into repair and they want me to pay for a new HD and a new logic-board, because i supposedly tampered with the EMI shielding. after 2 hours of holding and having to talk to the next person higher authority, they came to the conclusion that i had indeed tampered with it (i didn't). i had one of my local apple specialist friends talk to them and convince them that i had not, they shipped it bak to me after 1 month.

about 6 days later i noticed that the screen frame was broken. i sent it into repair, they repaired it, and replaced the logic board because it was supposedly shutting down randomly. i had no idea that this was even an issue, but they replaced it in 3 weeks.

i got it back, looking for issues this time, and found a ribbon cable hanging out, and the left speaker extremely distorted. i sent it off and they replaced the entire top side of the computer, including the track-pad, and the speakers. at this time i was extremely pissed. i demanded a replacement, which they told me they need 3 problems right in a row to be authorized to replace. i agreed and sent it in, where i got it back in 3 weeks.

when i got it back i did an audio chat with my friend to tell them that i got it bak. he yelled at me saying what's that all about? i couldn't talk to him because my mic had somehow crossed with the speaker cable causing it to input an awful sound every time the computer made a sound.

i called apple and told him what had happened and asked for a replacement. he refused saying it had to be 3 major repairs. this just set me off finally. they said that they had no record of ever replacing the logic-board or the HD. i faxed them my receipts from them that told me what they replaced, and they told me i forged them. THEY TOLD ME I FORGED THEIR FRIGGEN RECEIPTS!!! at this time it was back up the pyramid of superiors i finally talked to someone who said sure we will replace it. i didn't want it, and asked if i could pay the difference between the powerbook and the ibook. they said yes so i did. the influencing probably had something to do with me yelling F YOU APPLE!! in between hold periods.

as i was about to back up my data for the new computer, the HD crashed again. at this time i just started to laugh hysterically because i lost the data as i was launching the app. after i regained my senses, i tried to boot from firewire, which it was unresponsive to.

when i got my powerbook i have not had a single problem yet. i have had similar problems with my ibook, just not as bad.

hope this makes you feel like you dont have it that bad.

Ouch! Although I have my suspicions that Apple in Europe are even worse...

I have had similar experiences to you with Applecare, an iBook, Powermac and a Powerbook...

The iBook was sent for serious repair 1 week after purchase. Each time they sent it back unfixed!

*8 times*

They refused to exchange it as it had not had 3 major 'repairs' despite they had had the iBook for longer than I had!

After the 10th week they had it, I called and it was fixed and sent back. Only, when I opened the package, it looked like they had dragged it around the parking lot. It was trashed.

I emailed them photos of the casing before it was sent in, and they agreed to replace the casing...

They did this, but in the process broke the keyboard.

At this point they had had it for 13 weeks.

The product was then upgraded at a keynote!

I asked for a new one, but they refused again.

14 weeks.

I emailed [email protected] from the UK and the machine turned up in pristine condition within 36 hours with a �100 voucher for the Apple store. :/

The ibook was never right...

I also bought a TiBook 550 when they first came out, and within 3 hours of using it, it got so hot the paint bubbled above the processor!

I sent it back and Apple claimed there was nothing wrong with it!

I went to a local Applestore who opened it up and saw that the cooling system was faulty and refunded me my money immediately.

As far as I know, they still have had no reimbursement from Apple... :/

Dual 867 Powermac was sent back 7 times and they failed to find the fault... in the end they decided the fault was a 'feature' of the machine! Again the reseller refunded me my cash and went to the loss of the machine.

Apple UK is truly hopeless.

[rag on a muffin]

wow. that is awful! now i don't feel like i had it bad. my theory is that they don't put as much work into the ibooks as they would the powerbooks, they are also probably pretty stressed from the logic board replacement program.

when did this happen?

[KraziKid]

Definitely try to get to a supervisor. This is what happened to me.

I bought a 17 inch powerbook back in December, and among other things, the HD starts clicking, and the screen got white spots. So I sent it in to Apple for repairs. Now, I get the tracking number for the package, and the method of transportation was that I would receive the PowerBook back the day after shipping before noon. Noon rolls around, I call Airborne. They tell me that they can't find the PB in the system, and a driver may have just left without scanning it. Okay, so I wait two more hours, and call back. Some thing.

This goes on over and over, until around 7:00 PM when I call up and ask for the direct number to the Long Island hub where the package is "lost." So I call up and instantly ask for a supervisor. After speaking with him he tells me that he will go looking through the warehouse to look for it. I get a call around 9:00 PM when the supervisor of the Long Island Hub calls me and tells me that they found my package in the warehouse somewhere where it was not supposed to be. So they put it on a truck to me that night. Then I get a call around 9:30 PM telling me that the driver is unfamiliar with the area, and I need to give him directions. That set me over the edge, because a driver for a shipping company should know his/her route.

Okay, at this point, all the signals of something is wrong has gone off in me head. Around 9:45 PM, I get a ring on my bell, and my package is here. I then proceed to open it up, and notice things. The case is dented, HD is still making clicks even though it was replaced, now the SuperDrive was making a grinding noise when a disk was inserted, and the screen now had a dark spot.

I call up Apple the next day because it is already past closing time. I first get to the little peon who works the phone. He walks me through all the ******** steps of troubleshooting. I then ask for a supervisor and he transferred me to someone with the title "Product Specialist." I proceed to tell him what happened. They tell me to send it in again, for assessment because it had to have been damaged in shipping. After he tells me this, I tell him I would like to have it replaced instead of repaired because it was damaged in shipping. He says he can't authorize this, so I ask him to transfer me to Customer Relations.

The woman in Customer Relations tells me that they cannot replace this at this time. She tells me to send it in again, and if I receive it back with anything wrong, that Apple will replace it.

So I send it in again, and they replace the HD, SuperDrive, and Display assembly. Now, when I get it back, they display assembly still had the packaging tape on it that Apple must remove before installing. This was blue protective tape going circularly around the hinge, preventing me from removing it. So I call back, and get a runaround on the numbers the two people gave me. The Product Specialist and Customer Relations woman didn't call me back after I left multiple messages over the course of a week. So I decide to start from square one.

I proceed to call through the normal lines, and get the peons again. I give him my case number, and he says there are 47 pages he will have to read through to get familiar with the case. So I then proceed to tell him what has happened, and that no one has called me back. He said he will contact Customer Relations and tell them what has happened, and that I would like a replacement. At this point I go on hold for around 15 minutes or so, and the peon comes back and tells me that Customer Relations will not authorize the repair. So then I give the peon the date in the notes to look at what the original Customer Relations person said, and it did indeed explicitly say that the PowerBook would be replaced if another problem occurred. So this person them proceeds to contact is supervisor, a "Product Specialist." This product specialist tells me that after reviewing the case that he will authorize a replacement. After 2 weeks and hell, I got my new PB.

All in all, it took me a good couple of hours on the phone to get what I needed. I never took no for an answer. At some points however I did lose my temper, but I think the people on the line understood why I was mad, and I made sure to tell them the anger was not directed towards them. Just remember, if one person won't help you, either ask for a supervisor, or call back and get someone else. At some point they will give in because of the old adage "The Customer is Always Right." One of Apple's strongest points is returning customers. At a certain level, these people realize this, so they want to satisfy the consumer so that they purchase things in the future.

[rag on a muffin]

sounds similar to what happened to me. almost exactly what happened to me.

[Rangers4me]

Apple is the most pathetically networked company on the planet. I talked to a supervisor and they say they have to contact the repair department to find out more information. They claim this takes 2 business days, and they can't get back to me until Monday. 2 DAYS FOR A RESPONSE. PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL THEM!

[rag on a muffin]

Originally posted by Rangers4me:
Apple is the most pathetically networked company on the planet. I talked to a supervisor and they say they have to contact the repair department to find out more information. They claim this takes 2 business days, and they can't get back to me until Monday. 2 DAYS FOR A RESPONSE. PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL THEM!

i HATE apple support. any question i ask them they cant answer EVERY TIME. once i called and one guy said you have to reformat your HD. i called back because i thought that to be ridiculous and he told me i just had to run fsck -y (this was when i was a classic user). but belkin support is MUCH worse. once i called them up and they told me to restart, when i restarted and i asked what next i heard him snoring! i tried yelling, but he was sound asleep. i just hung up.

[Superchicken]

I had an audience in dorm when I talked to Apple on the phone about my iBook. I talked to them for over a week once the second logic board failed, and then the third, and then the fourth all while in for one repair. Ultimately they let us pay the diff between the current 800Mhz and the 12 inch PB. Which makes no sense since I paid for a 900Mhz G3 which they don't even sell any more! So my mom yelled and screamed at them (I was in class at this point) eventually she gave in, ironically paying 500 dollars, even though the actually diff is somewhere around 700 if you go with what the diff should be. Oh well we're getting my PB hopefully tomorrow. And I shall have it back for classes. They at one point offered me a joke of a 300 dollar reimbursement for a laptop rental. Oh I could have hung them for that.

If anything goes wrong with my Powerbook I think I'm going to have to fly down to one infinite loop and scream maniacally until they drag me away... and then buy a Dell.

[rag on a muffin]

then you have a 20% chance of getting a DOA dell laptop.

[sugarkane]

i have a 12" rev a...


i blew the blue tooth unit by pulling a flash card reader...

took it too the local apple center to get fixed....


get it back with... a big scratch in the top case...
and noiw 1 month later i noticed a portion of the case is bent from been prided apart with a pointy metal object ( i can see the stab wound in the plastic rim of the case...)


the apple centre is replacing the lid...
and they will replace the bottem case now!!!!


you'd think they'ed use the right tools for the job!!!


take no **** from apple thats what i say


sk

[gbarill]

Originally posted by Superchic[k]en:
If anything goes wrong with my Powerbook I think I'm going to have to fly down to one infinite loop and scream maniacally until they drag me away... and then buy a Dell.

if you think apple service is bad, read this guy's story about dell tech support for HIS laptop:

http://www.mentallyincontinent.com/m...rticle&sid=299

it's 6 parts long, by the way, this is just a link to part one

[Rangers4me]

It is over 10 days later, and the computer situation is still not resolved. I have talked to Executive Corporate Relations, and they still accuse me of dropping it. My last resort was emailing Steve Jobs, and that is what I did. Here is a copy of the letter, I changed one name of someone at Apple, to keep their privacy.

Dear Mr. Jobs,

I am writing you this letter, as I feel you are the last man who can help me. On March 21, I was a happy user of a Powerbook G4, but that has changed since my experience with Apple. On that day, I had my family gathered around my laptop, showing off photos I had recently taken. All of the sudden as we were viewing the photos, the screen went berserk. There were discolorations and lines running throughout the screen. I had no idea what had happened. I was just using my computer in a normal way, and this occurred. Nervous to what happened to my computer, I immediately called AppleCare. I explained to them my case, and they were to send me a box, to send the computer in. Later that week, after Apple received my computer, I got another call from the company. They explained to me that I would have to pay around $1400 to repair the computer, as the screen was cracked.

I was in shock. I used my computer exactly how it was supposed to be used. I had never dropped it, and there is not a single scratch on the casing of the laptop. Paying $1400 for damage I did not do, did not sit right with me. I had to pursue the case. Moving from supervisor, to supervisor, and eventually a woman in Executive Corporate Relations, Sarah Johnson, I was told the same exact things over and over again. �You caused the damage, so you must pay for it, Applecare does not cover it.� Time and time again, I was accused of either dropping the laptop, or jamming a pencil between the screen and LCD, because �the screen just doesn�t crack.� Well I guess in my case it did just that. I never once dropped it, jammed a pencil in between, or as my Applecare warranty states, misused, neglected, or caused accidental damage. There is no external damage to the LCD. I treat this machine as I would treat baby. I was using the computer exactly how it was supposed to be used, and it malfunctioned.

I bought this computer after saving up for over two years. I am a high-school student who produces local television shows with this machine. Without access to Final Cut Pro, I am not able to complete the work I promised to do for my town. When this accident occurred, I was in the middle of working on a project that was supposed to air at the end of April. This week is my school vacation and I expected to finish my show, but instead I am left fighting against a company that will not live up to their warranty. Mr. Jobs, I am not asking for anything unreasonable. I am just asking for your company to fulfill their duties to the customer. I know the customer is not always right, but in this case he is.

I have also included two photos of the LCD. A photo I took before shipping the product, and a photo that your company took during the inspection stages. There are some major discrepancies.

(I still do not have a place to host the files, so I cannot put them up)

I would appreciate an acceptable response from the company, which I believe is to cover the repair.

Sincerely,
J. Gurwin

[saranwarp]

That's a good letter...I hope everything works out for you.

[SpiffyGuyC]

FYI, getting back to your original issue, the lines on the screen, etc., sound like there's less wrong with your actual screen and more something with your video card.... you might be looking at a logic board replacement or something, who knows.

-S

[Rangers4me]

Anyone have any other routes I can go about this? I have contacted the credit card company, talked to AppleCare Executive Relations, and e-mailed Steve Jobs.