You know what, Apple has this titanium image like they have the awesomest customer service in the world, and sometimes you call and get the really great and quick ninja Apple Care reps, but sometimes when you call Apple Care you get what sounds like are the outsourced guys and they’re very stupid and not helpful and difficult to understand. There, I said it.
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Just bought my first Mac on Monday (from MacMall – 20′ iMac – actually I had an Apple IIc when I was 6 – but have been a PC guy since).
Any how – the computer crashed in the first 3 minutes of use (I was still setting it up) and after multiple crashes, beeping on boot up, 5+ hours of worthless (but extremely pleasant individuals at both Apple and MacMall) it is now on its way back for repairs. Thus, I have now paid full price for what is essentially a refurbished Mac. MacMall won’t send me a new unit because Apple wont send them one…
I have many other friends who have similar stories with their Macs, but for some reason continue to use and love them. I dunno – maybe when I get mine back I too will drink the cool aid and become a true believer – but as of now I am totally un-impressed with the machine and the tech support…
i recently bought a mac book in october..spent like 1400,,, then it breaks in november…i send it out…but leave for the holiday dont get the laptop back to myself until late december…only to my surprise they didnt fix the problem… then i send it back in january damage done to the case near the edge a full chipped piece off!!!.and one of the usb ports no longer functionafter delay after delay on the phone…getting dropped…waiting for them! to restart! their damn computers….wow….gets me heated…they shipped my laptop from near la to tennesse…..thats outsourcing sortof to a definitely more dumb less efficient lower paid less trained and less accountable rep halfway across the continent….
Like any company that outsources, they have support centres all over the place. Some are better than others, and as in any job, some people are better at it than others. Think the tech on the other end of the line is an idiot? Ask for a supervisor or hang up and call back – the chances of you getting the same tech out of the couple hundred answering calls is very slim.
Oh, and some of the outsourced centres are the better techs.
Walking into a store to just check out their laptops: must I REALLY set an appointment online before anyone will help me??? And why would the first words out of the associate’s mouth be not about the laptop’s features, but about an extended warranty plan???
If you have so much faith in your product that you must pitch the extended care plan before you pitch the product itself, I’m not shopping with you.
The only thing Apple has going for it is the iPod/iPhone, and that doesn’t require having to interact with those idiots at Mac.
@qmsterling: “Walking into a store to just check out their laptops: must I REALLY set an appointment online before anyone will help me?”
No, you need to make an appointment to get something you’ve already bought looked at or serviced by a trained technician. Just like you would if you were taking your car to a mechanic.
I don’t know where you got the idea that you need to make an appointment just to talk to a salesperson. You don’t.
Last month, I got a call from Apple that went like this:
Apple woman: Your AppleCare is due to expire in two days, would you like to renew now?
Me: Thanks, I’m still thinking about it. It seems very expensive and I don’t know how much longer I will have my MacBook Pro. I wish you could renew year by year. When I had a Thinkpad, IBM charged the same price you do, only it was $100 or so a year while you charge $350 for what, starting today, will be two years. And I don’t even know if I want two years. So I’m still considering whether I should.
AW: (voice full of contempt) But *what* did you get from IBM? They only cover-
Me: Actually, I had IBMs all my life until last year and their customer service and tech support were amazing. They covered everything, really.
AW: You will need to renew within two days if you want to be covered.
I have to say, it did not endear Apple to me.
The SuperDrive in my Mac went belly-up a couple of years ago. I was still under AppleCare, and I called customer support to arrange a replacement. The rep (in India…I asked) insisted I perform a battery of system diagnostics before he would authorize a replacement drive under warranty.
This included an archive and install. Which proceeded to crash my system and render the Mac unbootable. Just because I wanted a warranty replacement for a damn DVD drive.
The AppleCare rep then simply punted and told me to take the Mac to the AppleStore, 60 miles away. Lucky for me, the guys in the store jumped right on it and got my system restored (intact) the same day.
So, yeah, avoid AppleCare at all costs and go to a store if you possibly can.
@algormortis: You mean you actually know the names of CSRs in stores spread around the country and you expect us to believe you’re not a shill?
This post was bait, pure and simple.
Um, true… didn’t everyone know this already?
In my experience it’s either 50/50 or how bad the problem sounds.
@thorzdad:
by this he means calling applecare (as opposed to purchasing applecare), which you SHOULD DO, ESPECIALLY WITH LAPTOPS
sorry about putting my foot in the door, but repairs out of warranty are just too damn expensive. I know because that’s what I do for a living
Umm, I was curious if anyone can make a post here on the Consumerist. I ask because your topic has no point to it whatsoever. Are you one of those mac-haters. Can’t find anything bad to say about Apple? So, you have to resort to writing about something totally stupid?
Lets put it in perspective. There will never be a 100% customer satisfaction. Apple comes pretty damn close to it though. Their support is in the USA. Other PC makers are in India.
So again, what is your point to this particular topic??
@Mr. Gunn: I’m not a shill. I’ve identified that I work for, and if anything am rather critical of, T-Mobile. If you want to accuse me of being a shill, you can call me a shill for them.
However, my life takes me to many places, I’m responsible for about 50 macbook and 60 ibook units in the field, basically north of Fresno and west of Helena. I own an ibook g4, a couple of old clamshell ibooks (durable!) and a macbook. I only mentioned a specific rep because the dude does a great job.
You might want to look at someone’s post history (click on their handle) before throwing that kind of accusation, especially given that plants tend to only have one or two posts.
I am many things of questionable moral character; a loose woman, someone with “bad credit”, a beer drinker, and perhaps a little too loving of the blackjack. I’m not a shill, though.
I sent my iBook in for Apple Care service. Two weeks later it was returned with a new mother board and 1/4 of my RAM. It took another two weeks to prove to Apple thier mistake, then another month to fix the problem. Thier sloppy service drove me to PCs.
Countries with the best call centers (in terms of understanding of the English language and ability to understand what they’re saying), based on my experience. Listed from best to worst:
England
Canada
Ireland
America (not a typo)
Singapore
Philippines
Turkey
India
There, I said it.
algormortis: *clicks*
loose woman of questionable moral character? Pics?
I’ve been on both sides (good/bad) of Apple’s “customer service”. For me, it’s a firm 60/40 for being good. On the other hand, my wife has been batting 4/5 times for excellent service. One time the guy told her she had no warranty, just “hardware and labor coverage”…WTF IS A WARRANTY THEN?! This was through AppleCare…not the store.
The Stores vary….you can get 99%-100% satisfaction at some stores, and barely 50% at others….it really depends on the store.
My sole and #1 reason for switching “back” to Mac was because we now have a contact at the corporate level who has bent over backward to help her out w/ issues she had w/ her machine.
Like the sledgehammer to macbook guy, I had Apple Store in Clarendon, VA tell me I had liquid damage and refuse to fix my machine. I have a MacBook Pro 17 that decided not to charge the battery anymore.
It actually started working again for some time, several months. Hard to see how liquid damage could have caused it (since liquid damage usually causes a short and hence irreversable damage) Of course, they never showed me any proof of this purported damage.
Anyway, it stopped charging once again.
I tried another store, that just relied on what the Clarendon store said. Now I’m escalating or going the small claims route. Obviously my experience isn’t the greatest. I know I didn’t spill anything on the machine (like sledghammer man), and I’ve seen several postings of folks getting similar stories from AppleCare.
I harbor some concerns that Apple is not genuinely interested in Customer service. Perhaps more interested in “servicing the customer” as George Carlin put it in one of his bits. If that’s true, it’s kind of sad. I was always quite an Apple fan growing up. It would be too bad if Apple’s successes have spoiled and corrupted this once idyllic company.
Re: Sometimes Apple Customer Service Ain’t That Amazing…
You know what, sometimes apple also does’nt get amazing customers like you who never get happy, just complaint and complaint. I’m using Apple’s product from many many years, I always get amazing service.
O ya if you ask something out of scope to apple, of course, they wouldnot be helpful.