[iWrite]

Okay, so I would really like it if all of us would post our experiences, positive and negative, about your Powerbook repair turnaround time and experiences with Apple repair. No, this is not a rant and I'm not angry or upset, but merely annoyed and hoping that this thread might prove useful.

This is the scoop: I bought my second new 1Ghz Titanium Powerbook earlier this year and when I received it, I noticed some uneven color, like a splotch, at about 11 o'clock a.m. on the LCD. Also, when I pulled the plastic laminate cover off of the LCD (protective magnetic clear plastic that protects it) I noticed that there was a tiny piece of clear plastic stuck between the plastic and the LCD right above the number 0 key and that there was a small indentation in the LCD as a result. When the Powerbook is turned on then I see what looks like a tiny smudge. "No biggie," I thought. "I'm not working with color or heavy graphics so I can live with it." There was also an area on the lower left-hand corner that looks shaded, is definitely darker.

I had to bring the Powerbook into the Apple Store for another unrelated issue and they noticed the uneven color on the LCD, along with the mark in the lower right-hand corner, the dark area on the lower left-hand side, and they said, "That system really needs to be sent in for repair -- looks like they should swap out the LCD." I said, "Well, it's been fine this long so I haven't been worried about it." Apple Genius says, "It's under warranty, so why not send it in? And don't you have extended AppleCare on it? They'll take good care of you."

(We buy AppleCare for every single computer we own, incidentally.)

So, I called Apple and had them give it a case number and a box was sent to me to pick it up and it was sent it in.

Out of curiosity I called on Tuesday to see how the repair was progressing.

When I called Apple Dispatch (option #2) they said, "We don't even have your Powerbook here. We didn't receive it yet." I gave them the case number, the Airborne airbill number, and the TRACKING NUMBER, and he still said, "Nope, we don't have it."

I was upset. It was sent in on May 28th -- after being packed up by myself and the Airborne counter rep at the Airborne station.

So, I called Apple Customer Relations. Now, many people report having had terrible experiences with Apple; HOWEVER, I have NEVER had an unpleasant conversation with Apple Customer Relations. They are ALWAYS very nice and seem to be working hard to maintain a positive image. Those folks working there deserve Purple Heart medals for the crap that they have to contend with on a daily basis.

HERE IS MY POINT: When I finally got through to Apple Customer Relations she DID located the Powerbook and she said, "Well, apparently they didn't find anything wrong with the membrane under the keyboard and they have not been able to see anything wrong with the LCD so they sent it to another department to test it."

???

That's it -- they weren't even addressing the issue for which it had been sent in.

To recap, I was told by the Apple Store reps (two of them -- one a Mac Genius) to send it in, had an in-depth conversation with the Apple tech who assigned the case number when I called them to bring it in, and when I call to find out the status of the repair first I am told that my Powerbook is not even there, and when they finally locate the system they tell me that they're not even addressing the issue for which it was sent in?

I was not happy at this point and I told the Apple Customer Relations person so. She said, "Well, let me read over the notes. They only say, 'LCD discolored in one corner and keyboard membrane is bad'. Nothing else is in the notes."

She also expressed surprise over the disparity over what myself and the local Apple Store was saying was the problem and the case notes that were taken by the initial Apple tech person. (Basically, there were none.)

Now, I have the pictures up at my .Mac page and though the pics are kind of blurry, you can definitely see the problem areas as I put the Apple desktop background to white to take the pictures. She went to the site and saw the pictures of the LCD and said that that "it [was] obvious that there is a problem with the LCD."

This particular Apple Customer Relations person is extremely nice and I'm only sorry she had to deal with my unpleasant attitude until I discerned that I was upset with the wrong person and went back to being my normal nice self.

However, I truly HAVE to wonder WHAT IS GOING ON WITH APPLE TECH SUPPORT AND REPAIR?

Seriously?

I know that DamienG, here, had a problem. Then I saw this.

We all know about John Manzione's issue (please let's NOT resurrect that argument because we all disagree there).

I really hope that we can all compare notes, post other links to similar experiences, because it seems like Apple's tech support and repair turnaround time and quality is declining

Now, if you want to share your own experience, positive or negative, be polite and be NICE. When this thread gets going I'm going to email it to the Apple rep who expressed interest in reading what we all think and said "That she will communicate this information to management."

I love our Macs and most of my/our experiences (company and personal) with Apple have been positive. But, I'm truly beginning to question what Apple repair is or is not doing.

Please don't turn this into a rant against Apple.

Have a good day.

[iWrite]

Update:

The Apple Customer Relations rep just phoned me to tell me that she's sorry, but the Powerbook had been sent back unrepaired.

Now, some people might be upset, but I'm not.

She was very nice and apologetic so I can't be upset with her.

She said to call back and have Apple send another (new) box and Airborne pick the system up again and they'll take care of it the second time around.

I love Apple and I love our Macs. It seems to me that the issue is with the repair depot. I realize that things are bound to go wrong with repairs and that some people have expectations of Apple that are not reasonable, but it *seems* that the complaints about Apple as of late center around the repair centers here and in Europe.

Anyway, have a good day, all!

[mrmister]

On an older TiBook (800) I had bad discoloration of the trim. Repair done at Tekserve in NYC; they took 2 days, an it came book look fantastic.

I also had an iPod whose battery started to run low--returned to Apple, new iPod (same model) sent in its place.

[Voch]

Apple fixed the hard drive whine in my iBook/500 last year by replacing the padding around the drive and it was silent afterwards. Total turnaround time was three days.

Voch

[BrunoBruin]

My 667DVI went in to have the flaking paint frame replaced. I sent it on a Monday and it was back Wednesday morning, with a whole new bottom case.

I have also had my Cube go back for repair twice, and an iBook from my office had a bum power connector. I have had great luck with Apple repairs, no complaints at all.

[Phanguye]

i had to send my keylime in twice, once for a new dvd drive and once for the replacement of an internal screw... both returned within 3 days of sending

[Timo]

1. bezel broke on my Pismo. Tried for an Applecare fix, but no dice.

2. screen went dim. Applecare turned the Pismo around in three days w/ a new screen.

You win some, you lose some.

[macdevil]

I just had my TiBook 800 DVI repaired by Apple. My local service center handled it for me. I took it to them because the modem would no longer work(It is 9 months old now). The local guys tested it and the modem went bad and there was an issue having to do with the logic board. They recommended that be sent to Apple. It was sent from Phoenix on a Tuesday and I had it back Thursday afternoon.
I am somewhat disappointed though. I have owned over 20 macs and this is the first (and one of the most expensive) computer that I have an issue with in the first year. Most of the macs I have had have worked flawlessly until the pram batteries need replaced.
I will take advantage of adding AppleCare to my computer before cutoff.

[retep]

The PC card eject button fell out of my Pismo (my wife was looking for the "off" switch). Took it to Apple arguing the case that the button should not have popped out so easily and that the part was defective. They said that it was not a defect and would not repair it under warranty. After much toing and froing, they agreed to replace the part at cost with no labour charges. In the end I got a whole new PC card slot assembly and got to keep the old one which I later repaired.

Also had a battery that didn't keep a charge which they replaced.

I now have a Ti400 with a battery that gives me less than 30 mins and I'm hoping to get that replaced under warranty too.

[iWrite]

Those are some pretty good posts.

This is my second truly negative experience with a send-in Apple repair.

Now it's been sent back unrepaired because of poor note-taking (or paying attention) on behalf of the Apple tech.

Ah well, I can't complain too much because I've had such positive experiences in the past.

It's good to hear from other folks about good experiences they've had -- along with the not-so-good.

[hamiltondj]

The screws in my 12 inch PB popped out and made a gouge in the plastic around the base of the case. Around the same time my latch broke off when I opened the machine.

I took it to the apple store where they logged in a case number and had apple send me a box. Off to repair it went. I noticed on apple's repair tracking web page that it had been received and placed on "hold".

A call to apple care determined that they wanted to replace the whole case - top and bottom. For this they wanted $600. I gently pointed out that $600 was alot of money and that the damage to the PB was through no fault of my own. I had noticed on these boards similar occurances with the initial batch of 12" PB's - which this was one of. The rep was very nice and asked me to hold on. When she came back, she said that the repair would be free.

7 days after I sent it in, the PB was returned looking rather new. Problem was, when I turned it on I got the ? folder for a minute before it would boot OS X. I called apple care and they had me reset - no go. Then I asked what exactly had been repaired. The rep listed the top and bottom case as well as the logic board. So basically, all they did was take the hard drive, airport card and memory out of my old PB and put it in a new PB.

In any event, I had to install OS X from scratch. Luckily I had done a full backup before I sent it, so I just wiped the hard drive, did a clean install then restored all my apps and my home folder. It took me about 3 hours to get the PB working exactly as it had been prior to my sending it in.

All in all, an overall positive experience. I wish they had just sent me a new PB in the first place but, I got a new one in a round about way. The repair took longer than I was originally told, but while inconvient, I can't complain too much given the fact that it cost me $0.

[iWrite]

I was told that when the PB came back to our offices to call back and set up a new dispatch for the system. I did that today.

This time I was able to give the AppleCare tech the website link that actually shows the Powerbook LCD in question -- and it clearly shows a significant area on the screen that is discolored. He also said that the LCD should be replaced.

He set up another dispatch and another (new) overnight box is being sent via Airborne and should be here Friday. So, it will be sent in on Friday and received on Saturday or Monday to be repaired next week. That will mean it will have been gone two weeks at the very least.

It's very annoying but the good thing is that the AppleCare folks are all extremely pleasant and it makes the process a bit more palatable.

[BkueKanoodle]

My ac adapter died on my powerbook yesterday. I called apple and they were very courteous on the phone. The rep assured me that the part would be shippped out that day and overnighted. I made sure of that because otherwise I would have gone and just bought anew ac brick.

Needless to say, todays a new day and no ac unit. I called apple and found out that the part is on backorder and the lady told me she had "no clue" when it was available. Hmm.

In any any case I just went and bought one at my local reseller.

Interesting conversation. I noticed that since they came out, this particular reseller was selling alot of refurbished 12 inchers. I asked him if they have had a lot of returns and exchanges on the 12 inch model? His words "OOOOH YEAAAHH." He even went as far as to tell me that some in apple were saying that the exchange, defective rate on the 12 inches might be as high as 30%. Now this particular guy works for the business services side of a large chain, and I have used him for all our corporate purchases pc and mac for the last 4 or 5 years, through 3 different jobs on my part, so he has a good track record.

Makes me glad I decided to get the tibook instead.

[arekkusu]

Sent in my 800Mhz DVI TiBook a few weeks ago, to fix the buzz that the right hand fan had slowly developed. It only had about 5 days left on the warranty when I called in the request.

Apple sent me a box over the weekend. PowerBook was gone two days, back with fan noise fixed and no other problems.

Biggest problem was just backing data up. Otherwise, no complaints at all, couldn't have gone smoother.

This was from Santa Clara, CA to the Texas center.

[seanyepez]

I sent Apple a 1-gigahertz PowerBook after its backlight mysteriously died. They accused me of having spilled something in it and wanted me to pay over $900 to repair it. I told them not to repair it knowing I had never spilled anything in my PowerBook, and they sent it back to me disassembled. I managed to get the a manager in customer service to repair my PowerBook free of charge, but I am left with a bitter taste in my mouth from my latest experience with AppleCare. I've decided that Apple truly doesn't care about you after they have your money.

Apple's support before Steve Jobs came back was nothing short of extraordinary. While Steve has streamlined his organization to be profitable, the quality of service has degraded significantly.

[MusicalTone]

You say not to turn this into a rant against Apple but the sort of service you and others have received at the hands of Apple's aftersaels support people is just not acceptable.

I am in the process of getting a baterry issue fixed on my 15" SD and am not impressed so far. Having initially reported the issue just under the 90 day Applecare period for a new macine, imagine my dismay on calling back when a replacement battery didnt fix the problem and being told that my Applecare had expired and they couldnt hlp unless I paid for more cover!

I have owned 3 desktop PCs and 2 Laptops prior to switching and never had a hardware fault.

Reading the majority of experiences with Applecare here and elsewhere I am dreading having to send it in.

[seanyepez]

Originally posted by MusicalTone:
You say not to turn this into a rant against Apple but the sort of service you and others have received at the hands of Apple's aftersaels support people is just not acceptable.

I am in the process of getting a baterry issue fixed on my 15" SD and am not impressed so far. Having initially reported the issue just under the 90 day Applecare period for a new macine, imagine my dismay on calling back when a replacement battery didnt fix the problem and being told that my Applecare had expired and they couldnt hlp unless I paid for more cover!

I have owned 3 desktop PCs and 2 Laptops prior to switching and never had a hardware fault.

Reading the majority of experiences with Applecare here and elsewhere I am dreading having to send it in.

Apple's PowerBooks come with an entire year of warranty service but only ninety days of telephone support. After ninety days have elapsed, Apple will no longer help you troubleshoot any issue that is obviously a software problem. Beyond that point, they will take your call free of additional charges only if your problem is related to the hardware of the computer system you purchased.

[SubGeniux]

I tend to find that if a bit of hadrware screws up within the first 6 months, it's gonna screw up again not long after and finally just die, unless it's repeaired. But then the repairs see mto be ongoing as other components start to fluff up. Maybe if one part is bad in it then the it's likely to be a duffer machine. So, I'd want a new machine if it screwed up just after purchase,. not a repair job.

[iNeusch]

GOOD EXPERIENCE HERE

I just broke my TiBook 800's hard drive (40 gb) two weeks ago, sent the powerbook to repair and got it back yesterday with a brand new 60Gb drive... thx Apple !

[Shaddim]

Originally posted by hamiltondj:

7 days after I sent it in, the PB was returned looking rather new. Problem was, when I turned it on I got the ? folder for a minute before it would boot OS X. I called apple care and they had me reset - no go. Then I asked what exactly had been repaired. The rep listed the top and bottom case as well as the logic board. So basically, all they did was take the hard drive, airport card and memory out of my old PB and put it in a new PB.

In any event, I had to install OS X from scratch. Luckily I had done a full backup before I sent it, so I just wiped the hard drive, did a clean install then restored all my apps and my home folder. It took me about 3 hours to get the PB working exactly as it had been prior to my sending it in.

Umm, I'm glad you got it fixed, and I don't mean to be a downer, but there was probably an easier fix to your problem. More than likely, all you would have had to do is wait for the PB to finally boot up then go into System Prefs and select Startup Disk and select your internal HD as the boot disk. More than likely they booted your system from an external FW HD to test your Logic Board replacement and after you got your PB back your system simply "hungup" looking for the external HD to boot from. At times, this happens in those situations.

Oh well, at least you got things back on track.

[iNeusch]

Originally posted by MacNStein:
Umm, I'm glad you got it fixed, and I don't mean to be a downer, but there was probably an easier fix to your problem. More than likely, all you would have had to do is wait for the PB to finally boot up then go into System Prefs and select Startup Disk and select your internal HD as the boot disk. More than likely they booted your system from an external FW HD to test your Logic Board replacement and after you got your PB back your system simply "hungup" looking for the external HD to boot from. At times, this happens in those situations.

Oh well, at least you got things back on track.

issn't the "bless" command made to fix this type of problem too ?

[Shaddim]

Originally posted by MusicalTone:
You say not to turn this into a rant against Apple but the sort of service you and others have received at the hands of Apple's aftersaels support people is just not acceptable.

I am in the process of getting a baterry issue fixed on my 15" SD and am not impressed so far. Having initially reported the issue just under the 90 day Applecare period for a new macine, imagine my dismay on calling back when a replacement battery didnt fix the problem and being told that my Applecare had expired and they couldnt hlp unless I paid for more cover!

I have owned 3 desktop PCs and 2 Laptops prior to switching and never had a hardware fault.

Reading the majority of experiences with Applecare here and elsewhere I am dreading having to send it in.

Your PB has a 1 year warranty, not 90 days. I don't understand what your talking about. Call Apple and they'll fix it under warranty.

[Shaddim]

Originally posted by iNeusch:
issn't the "bless" command made to fix this type of problem too ?

Just because a System Folder is Blessed doesn't mean that your machine will automatically boot from it, you have to select the specific system folder in your Startup Disk menu. I have 3 different "blessed" folders on my PB HD.

Of course, if his System folder was no longer "blessed", that could have been part of the problem as well... but no, his system would have never booted if it weren't "blessed" and he said that it did after about a minute or so. It's more than likely the scenario that I stated before. Good question though.

[iNeusch]

Originally posted by MacNStein:
Just because a System Folder is Blessed doesn't mean that your machine will automatically boot from it, you have to select the specific folder in your Startup Disk menu. I have 3 different "blessed" folders on my PB HD.

I think that if you have only one blessed system folder you wil have a faster boot (smaller bliking "?")

[MusicalTone]

Originally posted by MacNStein:
Your PB has a 1 year warranty, not 90 days. I don't understand what your talking about. Call Apple and they'll fix it under warranty.

Yeah, thats what I thought too. Silly really as I obviously cant let the matter lie (I need a working chargeable battery) so will obviosly be on their case about it.

I am off to Madrid tommow so have agreed to drop into an authorised Apple techincal support place and try a few options (new charger, etc). Apparently though because my purchase invoice for the PB is in the UK this may be problematic!

Why do I get the impression I am about to have to wade through a whole loada red tape?

[melman101]

While I have a previous thread on this topic that I started myself, I will retell my story here so that its in one thread.

Apple 12" Powerbook, Purchased March 21st, 2003. Awesome Machine. Loved it, took great care of it. After approximately 2 weeks, the latch stopped closing properly. I was like o.k, no big deal, I will just live with it. Then after approx 3 weeks, I notice that an extra large gap had started to form between my molding on the screen side of it. Many people have experienced this same sort of defect.

I then called Apple around April 23rd, 2003, and then had asked me to ship it. No problem, I said, and they sent me a box, and away it went. I believe i sent it away on Wednesday. I called up after the weekend to see if Apple had even received my PowerBook as the AppleCare website had not been updated from Repair Acknowledged. They had informed me that my PowerBook serial number was in conflict as the could not determine if it was a POB or a P0B. As well, they had put my machine on administrative hold, asking me questions such as "Did you ever abuse your machine?" OF COURSE not. Ok we will take care of this.

It took 2 weeks to get back from the initial shipment. The machine comes back with a new latch, and a fixed gap, but alas I open my screen to find that my LCD had been badly scratched by Apple's techs. So what do they do. They inform me that I have to ship it away again.

So reluctantly I do, and again they put it on hold as they still can't figure out the serial number. Then, the machine comes back after another week, so now total transit time is 3 weeks. The machine comes back, not only with the original scratches they put, but MORE!!!!!

Then I get in touch with a Mr. Jim R. from Apple. He is a specialist trying to help me out so badly. He wants to expediate my shipment of my computer back, so i just have to call up Airborne and be like Apple wants this, come get it. It doesn't quite work like that Jim, and then when I call Jim to tell him that it doesnt work like that, he never calls back. I still have not received a call back from him.

Saturday comes, I bring my machine to the Apple Store. They tell me, we can send it in, but we can't exchange it. If this would have happened when we shipped it, you would have a new machine. Reluctantly I let them do it, with the assurance that I can have my money back, or that I can at least get a brand new machine. I will let them do it, under the requirement that they have to have it shipped to them, cause i want no part in this. What happens? Apple ships it to me. I call up Apple Store, I'm like my computer is here. No thats not possible, you sure its not an empty box?! Its my computer, im sure, should I open it? Yup. YIPPIE it's fixed. But my plugs are an hour away at the Apple Store. Had to drive to go get them. Took exactly 1 month. Apple didnt give me anything for their mishaps.

Apple Service sucks.

[damieng]

Okay, here's a summary of my experience for completeness even though it's in dribs and drabs in another thread. Dates could be off by a day or two. I didn't record accurate log until started getting serious.

Experiences are pretty much the same as melman101 - the Apple support people are incredibly helpful but the tech guys seem to have non-existent quality control.


13 March
Magnetic latch snaps. Call UK tech support, issued with case ID they insist it has to go back to Germany for repair. Like all other returns I remove HD because of the senstive work data.
It is shortly after picked up by DHL.

27 March
Returned to me with a cracked hinge, screen fails to close on left side and the two pieces that make up the screen enclosure are not aligned - lower one sticks out - leaving sharp edges. Called Apple arranged for return.

04 April
DHL finally pickup.

10 April
Call Apple to get AWB number. Online tracking indicates it's going to Jeddah - Saudi Arabia. I live in Jersey, UK. Arrives following day.

20 April
Call to tell them it's exactly the same, they arrange pickup again. I send in a diagram of the problem.

08 May
Returned exactly the same bar cracked hinge has been replaced and they included an extra rubber washer for the HD as I told them I'd lost one on my diagram.

12 May
This time the customer services rep gets a photo of it emailed to them from me and my PowerBook gets a small pencil mark on right hand side of LCD enclosure before being sent back.

23 May
Returned to me as before with "BEZEL,HSG" replaced (as most of previous repairs). Faded pencil mark still there.

27 May
Get cut-off when calling center, then transferred to french support before finally getting an automated message. More telephone antics, rep to call back.

29 May
I call back rep, put on hold, they finally agree to replace machine after seemingly ignoring my basic statuary rights thinking they are going "above and beyond" to sort it out by replacing it.

Told my replacement machine will only have 512MB ram (2x256MB sticks) and that is my only option. Rep doesn't understand why I can't keep one half of my gig to put in it.

Rep agrees to send new machine in advance so I can swap the RAM (which makes me happy). They request invoice and tell me it will be about a week.


I'll let you know when I get the new one.

[hamiltondj]

Originally posted by MacNStein:
Umm, I'm glad you got it fixed, and I don't mean to be a downer, but there was probably an easier fix to your problem. More than likely, all you would have had to do is wait for the PB to finally boot up then go into System Prefs and select Startup Disk and select your internal HD as the boot disk. More than likely they booted your system from an external FW HD to test your Logic Board replacement and after you got your PB back your system simply "hungup" looking for the external HD to boot from. At times, this happens in those situations.

Oh well, at least you got things back on track.

Ouch! I wish I had tried it at the time. I was up until 3 am retoring everything. Oh well

[iWrite]

Good posts, folks.

You're relaying your postive AND negative experiences in a straightforward manner.

I appreciate it. I spoke to Apple and I have a number to call and speak to Apple Executive Relations on Monday and tell them about this particular topic of discussion.

I'm also happy to see that everyone is staying focused and on topic and not attacking each other.

Maybe this discussion will leave a last impression with *someone important* -- especially if we stay on task with it.

If you feel confident enough you might also want to give your case numbers (if they are CLOSED cases) that are pertinent. Since the closed case number is only effective with your telephone number, the case is closed, and you're not posting your telephone number, your private information should be safe and secure. That way, when Apple reads this information, they have concrete proof that these are real case scenarios.

Thanks!

[MusicalTone]

Thanks for your input there too iWrite.
I guess if the reaction of an Apple rep reading these posts is to question their legitimacy that would certainly reinforce any negative impression people have of AppleCare! Interesting that you feel Apple will only take our concerns seriously if there is 'concrete proof'. Wouldnt they already have this if they looked at their own service records? Or if they are really interested then what about some customer feedback or fabled Apple customer/market research?

[iWrite]

I have no doubt that the people here posting are telling the truth.

However, if I were an Apple executive reading these posts and wanting to verify their authenticity, then having some type of case number to look up would make reading these posts more believable.

I'm not saying that people have to post previous case numbers, I'm saying it would make claims more believable.

Hey, have a good one!

[graphics84]

1. Wallstreet G3 300, bought it old but never used so I had an apple warranty long after the majority or users had lost there's... I got the power adaptor replace through the program on the web then sold it to a friend. The power inverter died (I think) but it was under warranty still so I called up for my friend and had it fixed. no problem and it was gone for 3 days.

2. iBook 500, power inverter again... this time I sent it in during a typhoon in Taiwan (I live in CA) and it took 17 days to get it back... Apple was very nice and offered to send it where ever I was going to be on biz at the time.. sold it to another friend.. still runs great

3. Titanium 550, the board died... sent it into apple they didn't say a thing about the upgraded hard drive that I did (didn't kill the board) and sent it back, gone 3 days... sold it to a graphic designer friend.. oh the power adaptor started to get really touchy and I had her get the apple care and they sent her a new one.

4. Titanium 1gig, power adaptor died and the replaced it... in the meantime I bought an older 3rd party power adaptor and it killed the battery (45watts instead of 65watts)... went to the apple store and told them the whole truth and they told me that it was my fault but the genius told me to just go to the other apple authorized place plead ignorance and they would replace the battery... I did and it works. 2nd adaptor fails, I do to the apple store and they gave me a new one but only under the premise that next time I have to send the laptop in.

So 4 Apple laptops 3 send backs, all had problems... but I loved them all. I think the weakest part of the Apple Laptop is the power situation but that's not all Apple's fault. Batteries are fragile and so are the adaptors. I would rather have to replace my adaptor than a whole powerbook every time there's a big surge.

So my next laptop will be an Apple too...

[iWrite]

This is the end of this thread from my perspective.

I won't go into details but today I received not one but two personal phone calls from "high up" executives at Apple Computer, in Cupertino.

They expressed serious regard for my issue/problem and my perspectives regarding issues with repair.

They have brought my computer in for an OVERNIGHT repair -- or they will replace the entire system.

I honestly am dumbfounded. I am speechless and more impressed that I've ever been over this type of matter.

After my conversation with a particular person who is, shall we say, one of the three top ranking executives at Apple Computer, I have absolutely no doubt that Apple DOES care about it's customers. Executives may not hear about the issues but they wish that they did, that's all I can say.

After my conversation today, all I can say is that my loyalty to all things Apple has doubled.

I cannot express how genuinely nice and concerned they were. I'm actually in awe still this evening.

That's all I have to say. Have a great weekend!

[mrmister]

ah, iWrite sees the light.

Good for you.

[zachs]

Two repairs (well, one's not a "repair", per se) on my original TiBook 400:

1. My CD drive was making a loud grinding noise whenever I inserted a CD, and a loud *click* when it seated it. This was after I installed my AirPort card.

I took it to the SoHo Apple Store and showed it to a guy at the Genius Bar. He took it to the back for a few minutes, told me I'd need a new drive (I expected that).

He told me to wait a minute to see if they had any in stock. About 5 minutes later he came back...they had one in stock. I signed on the dotted lines, and he told me to come back in about an hour.

I came back an hour later...sure enough, my TiBook was completely fixed and ready to go.

From now on I'm taking my computer to the Apple Store.

2. My power adapter was frayed, and there were little blue sparks inside. I called 1-800-APL-CARE. I told them the situation, and they said "Okay, it should arrive in about 3 buisness days."

Sure enough, it did arrive...the very next day. Not only that, but it was a new square ones (which is what I wanted because I like the charging indicator on it.)


I've had a pretty good experience with Apple...save my ordeal with them trying to ship the thing when I first ordered it...but never mind that.

[straymute]

So, my brand new PowerBook from December last year arrived with a broken Superdrive, yet this took more than a month to resolve--and, I do have the extended warranty. By the time I had a working machine, the price had dropped $200 or so.

Now, the drive would burn DVD's sometimes, while other times it would post an error while burning or verifying. Only after many many infuriating calls with their support, would they even allow me to send in the machine. Now, before I even called them, I had basically tried everything--still, they insisted upon giving me the run around, time and again. They even suggested that somehow my FILES were to blame, and that I should try burning "supported" files or perhaps something from iDVD. Obviously incompetent, yet I was unable to find anyone to talk to that could help. They kept on telling me that they'd "escalate" my call, and that someone would get back to me, which never happened.

Well, what have I learned? Never buy a custom built machine from Apple. Ever. If there are problems, replacement is not an option, and you have to deal with their terrible service. Get it from Amazon; Its cheaper, and theres no tax, and its MUCH easier to deal with DOA machines.

Why do I know this, you ask? Because I just bought an iBook from them, and the Airport card wouldn't seat properly. Looks like there's a bent pin in the Airport slot. (Hey, at least it didn't have any dead pixels like the PB...) Though, it had various assembly issues, where none of the plastics quite lined up properly. (Not off by a small bit either...) I am quite unimpressed with Apples quality control. I returned the machine to Amazon, no questions asked. Didn't even have to pay return shipping.

Anyways, thanks a lot Apple. And, why can't you fix your AVI support to handle mp3's properly?

[iWrite]

To be honest, because I'd heard about John Manzione's experience, and then Jeff Williams' experience, I was leery about what was going to happen to my system when I sent it in.

Then, when I sent it in and it wasn't repaired properly, I started to think, "Uh-oh. There might be some truth to the fact that Apple is slipping with respect to customer support and repairs."

In the past I've always had excellent experiences, however.

At any rate, I think that part of the issue (at least up to 50%) in dealing with a problem is the manner in which a person approaches a problem.

Like I said, I always try to be friendly and courteous and assume that the person on the other end of the phone is probably having a worse day than I am simply by virtue of listening to annoyed and upset customers all day long, so I try to go easy on them and I always try to be nice.

Attitude, in my book, IS everything.

If a person is mean and crappy to the customer support on the other end of the telephone then it stands to reason that customer support isn't going to make any extra effort towards ensuring that the problem is fixed.

Anyway, I'm happy to write about the experience because now I have firsthand knowledge and experience to share with people. Also, this *person* that I spoke to, who is ~high up~ in the company, was earnest and genuine in stating that Apple DOES care about customers.

[Podolsky]

My PB went to Apple to have the bezel replaced - totally cosmetic. When it came back - no Ethernet. So back it went to have that fixed. When it came back the second time there was a small piece of hard, sharp yellow resin stuck into the screens lower left corner. When I dislodged it it left a tiny dent that is visible - kinda looks a dead pixel. I was too glad to have it back from Apple and didn't want to bother to deal with this........but, it left a bad taste........

[iWrite]

Podolsky:

(Can I call you iPodolsky?)



I know you don't want to send it in, but you should certainly call Apple Customer Relations and let them know about it and get a case number. You might change your mind about it at some point and want it fixed.

At the very least, if you sell the system then you can give the case number to the next person and they can get it fixed.

[urrl5201]

For the nth time I'll post my web page and tell my story.

http://homepage.mac.com/bhardy3/PhotoAlbum34.html

I'm the guy who taped up his Ti to hide the flaking. I also removed paint and polished the rear hinges because the paint was chipping and I could peel it off like an orange in some places lwith my fingernail.

Sent it in and came back with hinges misaligned; paint was being scraped from the hinge by the LCD cover when opening and closing the Ti.

Sent in and got it back with the same existing hinge problem

Sent it in and got it back with a broken USB port. I was getting pissed and politely complained, letting them know my feelings.

Sent it in and got it back with a curved scratch on the LCD lid. Obviously the repair tech left a Ti screw under the laptop while repairing it.

The fifth time sending it in was a sucess; they even re-replaced the outer bezel which was already showing a mini pin point paint chip from the first time they fixed it.
At least it looked new and I promptly sold it for a 17"

The 17" had a problem ejecting only certain Fujifilm blank CD's. WIll I send it in for that? You gotta be bent. I will simply avoid using that brand CD. I probably just bought a defective batch. All other CD's and DVD's work like a charm. I have no regrets about the 17" and just love it.

[Podolsky]

Originally posted by iWrite:
Podolsky:

(Can I call you iPodolsky?)



I know you don't want to send it in, but you should certainly call Apple Customer Relations and let them know about it and get a case number. You might change your mind about it at some point and want it fixed.

At the very least, if you sell the system then you can give the case number to the next person and they can get it fixed.

iPod - I like that.....

I should you are right but, I am gifting this PB to my wife as soon as PB appears that using the 970 or hits 1.4ghz - which ever comes first. I show the flaw to her and she looked at me like I had lost my mind.....what flaw was her comment. She couldn't see it and couldn't care less about it.....so.......

Strange how some folks just aren't bothered by some things......

ipod

[gwright]

Hi iWrite,

I assume you are the same person as MacWrite on the Apple Discussion Forums? I am the dude that runs the zorian.ath.cx server, and that apparently "owns" the powerbook (if you can say I own it, that is).

I'm sure you're feeling that Apple has screwed us all around here... I certainly am. But there are a few things that may need clarifying:

You may have read my blurb about myself on the site, and saw that I'm just a 15 year old kid with a PowerBook at boarding school. Well, before anyone gets any ideas about how I treat this laptop, I treat it with the utmost care... I literally baby it, although I accept that scratches *do* occur due to no fault of ours, hence why I've never tried to ask Apple to replace the top lid of the LCD under warranty, which has a concentrated area of scratches just next to the Apple logo which happened when I was transporting it in my laptop bag. Straight after that happened, I got a PowerSleevz from RadTech and a ScreenSaverz and WildEepz screen cushions to stop that from ever happening again. (by the way, they're excellent products and John at RadTech is a really helpful and nice guy; I'd recommend them to anyone). OK, I may put the machine under a bit of stress, with my development work (being a KDE developer involves compiling 500MB sources every week to keep up with current development... 17 hour compiles with CPU at 100% usage , and I take it everywhere with me (lessons, car trips, overseas...), so I accept it's likely to get damaged, but to the extent that has happened. How can transporting a laptop about cause the paint to bubble off? How can transporting a laptop break the cd drive?. As I say, I baby it and it's unacceptable how I've had almost every design flaw under the sun and such crap service from Apple that would make even the most patient of people go mad...

I also have a strange warranty situation. This was the first Apple product I ever owned... You could call me a switcher, but I didn't switch in the "traditional" sense I switched from Linux on x86 to Linux on PowerPC, as I regard the PowerPC to be a superior platform for mobile devices, but not to go too far off on a tangent, I didn't know about AppleCare. I bought an extended warranty from the retailer which I bought the computer from, as I had had excellent service from their pc repair department. However, they don't seem to regard the mac as enough of a platform to have lines open 7 days a week for repair arrangements, so the lines are only open from 9:30 -> 5:30 mon - fri, making it very awkward for me as I'm at a boarding school and I am not at home except for weekends. However, they only pay for the repair to be done through Apple, so ultimately, the rubbish repair job is still the responsibility of Apple.

Anyway, my first repair was done under the first year apple warranty after I got sick of the sore sight of paint bubbling and continual electric shocks and faulty power adaptors and scratched LCDs, and it was in repair for 4 weeks, and they only sorted the LCD and the power supply. The bezel wasn't even touched, and they managed to break my battery and cd drive whilst in repair.

After a little more, I got sick of it again, and sent it in a second time for paint repair again, lcd repair again (they replaced it with a pathetically bad LCD that had discolourings all over it), and it came back, sure enough, four weeks later with a new bezel, lcd and combo drive. Combo drive was jamming left, right and centre, hinges weren't touched and battery wasn't touched. I couldn't use this computer, so I sent it in again 3 days later, and was told it would be in repair for 2 days. Imagine my amazement when it came back THREE AND A HALF WEEKS LATER. This time, with a new bezel, a new cd drive, a new battery, a new set of hinge covers and the little titanium sticker on the eject button of the PCMCIA slot missing. I was willing to overlook that, until I tried to burn a CD.

It's not very often that I try to burn CDs, hence why it took me 3 weeks to find out the cd burner was busted. I tried to burn an ISO image of Linux that I had downloaded, and cdrecord (and Toast 5 Titanium, and Apple's Finder) kept complaining of a power calibration area error. At first, I assumed it was just the cheap brand of CD-R I was using, and tried a couple that a friend gave me. They complained the same, and I thought it might well still have been just a media problem. So I went home, picked up a CD-R that *definitely* worked in the last drive, and it had the same problem. I also realised later that week that the right speaker was busted (I normally use headphones, and apparently the bezel is a single unit with the touchpad and speakers, explaining why the right speaker was broken), so I complained about that as well. It's currently still in repair, and if the laptop comes back broken or damaged again, I'm going to persue the option of a replacement/refund... It's been 1 week so far and counting...

Quite honestly, I'm sick and tired of Apple giving me a run around with their stupid repairs. If they could actually FIX the damn thing first time round, I wouldn't be so stroppy, but the fact that it's taking potentially 4 or 5 repairs (totalling over 12 weeks in repair time) to fix a problem shows to me that their QC is either not tight enough or that they need to fire some repair techs. Maybe it's a combination of both. It's even more annoying how I have to backup my hard disk every time, although this time they said I could just swap the hard disk out with another one instead of backing it up...

I am amazed that Apple can screw so many of their customers around like this.

George

[Shaddim]

Originally posted by urrl5201:

The 17" had a problem ejecting only certain Fujifilm blank CD's. WIll I send it in for that? You gotta be bent. I will simply avoid using that brand CD. I probably just bought a defective batch. All other CD's and DVD's work like a charm. I have no regrets about the 17" and just love it.

The SD in my 12 has that issue too. It doesn't like Fuji or Verbatim CDRs. It's no big deal, I bought a few cases of Optima CDRs (which work perfectly), at of all places Big Lots, for $4.99 /50ct spindle. I'm set for a while.

[iWrite]

Hi gwrite:

Yes, that is me, one and the same.

My point with my posts over at Apple is that I didn't want people beating John Manzione up about his system, that's all. *Whatever* happened is over and done now and the issue is over and done with.

With that much said, I might have felt the way that you feel, that Apple is letting you down, but if you read through all of the posts, you'll see that I am actually VERY pleased at this point with how Apple treated me once I contacted someone in charge and they were able to put their finger on the pulse and take care of the issue(s) that I had/have with the 1Ghz.

In fact, I'm so pleased about how they've taken care of my issue with the 1Ghz that I went out and bought another Powerbook today. Yes, it's true; I bought an 867Mhz so that I have an extra one here at my house to use. I haven't even registered it yet.

One thing I noticed about it, also? It came with a demo version of Microsoft Office on it. Yes, I'm totally serious. Kind of freaked me out when I saw MS Office on it -- and I hadn't loaded it yet.

Anyway, I don't know what to tell the rest of the unhappy Mac folks except to call Apple Customer Relations, be nice, and tell them why you're unhappy. Write a letter and include case notes. Then, if you're still unhappy, contact Apple Executive Relations.

Enjoy the evening.

[cc_foo]

I'm in Australia. my send ins:

0. PowerBook 190cs. From the Spindler/Amelio era. Worked ok, until afflicted by the famous bottom plastics/hinge/creakiness issue. Full replacement 2 years or more after purchase. Known issue. Totally free. Great service. Still working now.

0.5 Apple 14" Trinitron monitor. Bought 1994. Died one day... about 2 years after purchase. Fixed free. Had noticeable high pitched whine after that.

0.75 PowerBook 1400cs keyboard got stuck after 4 years. Bought new keyboard online, and fixed. Machine died a bit later. Had a NewerTechnology G3 upgrade by then, so no idea who to blame. RIP.

1. Wallstreet 266 (I think Rev 2). Left arrow got stuck after 5 months. Probably related to Mars Rising being released around this time. Brought to Apple service centre, who exchanged the keyboard. Took about 1 day to get keyboard in, and 1 day to have keyboard swapped. Was without machine for 2 days. Free. Great service.

One hinge broke and got loose after 1.5 years. The famous "hinge issue". 2nd hinge gave way at the 2 year mark. A faded spot had formed on the LCD about 7cm in diameter, at the 6 o'clock area of the screen. Still readable, but colours were dark.

Didn't have extended warranty. Paid (I think) A$230 to have hinges fixed. Perfect now. LCD still faded. Too pricey to fix. Passed the machine to my cousin who is happy with it. The CDROM drive broke down after 3.5 years. Not replaced.

2. iBook 500 Dual USB Rev A. Hinge came to me super-tight. Creaking noise ++. Silly me, I thought it was normal. Avoided closing the screen. I thought it might be abnormal when the top white cover (with the white apple logo) rear part started to lift off the screen (due to the high resistance when closing the screen I think). Also managed to see my dad's iBook (same Rev) which opened/closed smoothly (he laughed at mine).

1.5 years after purchase, brought it to the only local Apple shop in my area (Australia). Still covered by Education warranty (3 years). Guy in charge there took the iBook, held it like a book, and opened and closed it quickly multiple times. I almost got a heart attack right there. creak creak creak creak. Told me to leave it there, they would put some oil on the hinge, and I'll have back there at the end of the day.

Seeing how they handled Macs there, I cleverly took the iBook back, and said "I'll be back later.". On the weekend, I drove 2.5 hours to another Apple store. Yup, well known iBook hinge issue. Will have the hinge changed, and repair that gap that has resulted in the back part of the white cover.

I was afraid I had to drive 2.5 hours to collect the iBook (and 2.5 hours back again). But they couriered it back to me for free (with my original iBook box). Hinge smooth now. I think the white plastic lid cover was changed as well, but it wasn't a good fit, and the gap at the back part over the hinge persists. Oh well. Passed machine to another cousin. Happy with it for OS 9.

3. Ordered a brand new iBook 800 BTO with (?) 40G HD (can't remember), from AppleStore Australia online. The A key is starting to come off occasionally. Might need replacing. Otherwise no problems after 5-6 months.

4. Ordered a brand new iBook 900 combo BTO with 60GHD, 640MB RAM from AppleStore Australia online. Arrived with rattly Combo drive that wouldn't read disks. Short story: they arranged courier to pick it up from my place. Will need to wait 4-5 days for it to arrive at Apple Australia before a new machine could be built for me. Idiotic! In the mean time, (2nd June 2003) PowerBook prices fell A$900 (US$200 + currency adjustment). So changed order to PB 12" SuperDrive. BTO again (silly me!!!). Building started straight away. Will be probably 1 month (at least) from first order to receiving the machine (which I hope is working this time).

Lessons learnt:
1. Send machine early, especially for replacement plastics. Even though iBook Dual USBs/TiBooks are still being made, replacement plastics may not be available to fit your particular generation of machine.

2. Don't buy BTO stuff. (I got BTO so that I had a single receipt to show salary packaging). Ready-made machines are more plentiful and ship faster.

3. AppleStore Online Australia has free shipping (no other option). But sends it's machines within Australia by road. Takes 4-5 days to get to me (or to return the machine). Compared to overnight flight to get the machine from Taiwan to Australia. I think it is ridiculous to have machines that potentially cost A$2000-$10000 or more sent like this. I have complained about this.

[iWrite]

3. AppleStore Online Australia has free shipping (no other option). But sends it's machines within Australia by road.

Okay, I realize that this is totally unrelated, but that could make for a great Apple ad campaign: The sight of new Apple Titanium G4 17-inch Powerbooks being driven through the dry, dusty, and barren Outback for delivery...

To some Aborigines.

[wowok1234]

Thank goodness i found this board! I thought i was the only one with horrible apple experiences!

I brought my TiBook/667 last October refurbished from PowerMax with an AppleCare plan. Starting in Febrauary, there would be some problem with the screen- there would be a green line three-fourths of an inch from the right edge of the screen. Pressing on that area would make it go away.
Then in april, that portion of the screen would completely display noise, and pressing on that area would work, but then it would go back. It went back to Apple and came back fixed.
When it came back fixed, however, I noticed that the left portion of the case would have a small gap, and I found out why - there was a screw missing on the bottom of the TiBook. Off it goes to Apple.
When it came back, i was elated to find out that they had replaced the casing as well as giving me a Combo drive(an upgrade over the DVD-only drive originally installed)! I was surprised that they were that generous!
I thought all was well. Well, no. The combo drive acts up. It won't recognize some CD-RWs, as well as the installation CD for an HP scanner and a burned audio CD. And both Disk Copy and Toast would burn to CD, but wold fail during the verify stage. Didn't have any of these problems with a friend's external Sony burner plugged in.
And the screw that they relaced was not fully in, so there was still a small gap. So i called apple again, and they told me that they would have to replace the combo drive with a DVD only drive! I hung up on them because I was so frustrated. And Apple was top on Consumer Reports' list? I find that hard to believe.
I am pissed because it took apple three tries to fix my tibook because they messed up in the first place. I realize the combo-drive was basically a goodwill gesture, I think, but I want to keep it. So, here's what it winds down to: Illinois has a lemon law basically stating "three strikes, you're out." Should I call Apple Customer relations (or even Steve Jobs) and mention how dissatisfied I was and the lemon law to them? What should I do?
I don't want to send it back to them until I find out what my options are, nor do I want to switch to a PC just because of this. I love Macs, but I abhor their customer support.

edit: The drive makes this really loud and annoying grinding noise when reading the CDs that it doesread.

[iWrite]

Just saw this post.

Seriously, I would say that you should call Apple Customer Relations, BE NICE, and speak to them about all of these times you've sent it in to them and it still has a problem.

Is it still under the original one year warranty? Or do you have extended AppleCare on it?

Honestly, I wouldn't have bought a system from PowerMax. They take all kinds of systems in on trade and then they fix them up and resell them. Sounds like you got someone else's problem when you bought it, to be honest.

I don't think Apple is responsible any longer for your issues with this Powerbook of yours, but if you call Apple you might find out differently. Be positive and it doesn't hurt to try, especially if you're REALLY nice.

Good luck!

[wowok1234]

Thanks iWrite.
I did buy an AppleCare extended warranty for the pb, so I'm hoping for the better.

After calling AppleCare again(who didn't budge), I called up customer relations, and the person I talked to was very helpful and reassured me that he would take care of it. The case separation issue has worsened to the point where there is a crack near the IR port! It was just literally there. I told him everything that happened. So, here's hoping for the best. The box should come today or tomorrow.

I'm a teacher. I deal with enough things in my life already. I don't need my PB to add to my frustrations. This probably means I will have to do my grading on one of the PCs in the school. Thank goodness the school year's almost over.

If the folks at apple customer relations are listening, I just want to thank them for being so helpful in resolving this issue. Let's hope it's the last time I have to bother them. I don't think I'll go refurbished again.


And thanks to the MacNN forums, and iWrite in particular, for being helpful. I'll let you know how it goes.

edit: Logged in to my AppleCare page and accessed the case histories. There were problems with the PB before I brought it. Is there any way to know this before I buy refurbished?

[crazyjohnson]

Yea, so my combo drive is ****ed. So, how should I do this . . . I plan to go to Apple store and check to see if this kind of repair is covered. Can I give it to thew Apple store to ship to Apple, etc. (I heard that I could), or do I have to do all this **** myself?

Hope I have a good experience. Some of these stories are getting me worried.

Thanks all.