This is why Apple is gaining popularity on all fronts.

They're building brand loyalty. What's the cost of one free laptop compared to all the things that a customer will buy over a LIFETIME for being treated fairly? As well as all the positive word of mouth they will spread?chump change I say.

I have my issues with their OS and their pricing, but I can't take away from them that they seem to know how to do customer service properly.

This must have really bugged him.

All I have is Frito chips in my keyboard. Think Dell will gimme a new one? Well, maybe there's some ranch dressing, too.

Yeah... when my computer breaks... I can fix it myself. And guess what... it's not an apple.

Can we just put out a universal warning that no matter what you tell the techs, back up your hard drive and wipe it yourself and/or remove the drive all together? Besides, wouldn't you hate for a tech to be looking at your computer, and decide that a photo is illegal and turn you in, even if it wasn't?

To be honest... Apple policy is that there is always the chance that your HD will be erased. I was told that every time I sent in my old MBP to get it fixed. Something like ... I would assume melted and dried lady bugs would have damaged the inside of the computer which might mean intensive repairs...

Apple cannot promise that the hard drive will not be erased just like every other company. Plus... isn't it common knowledge now that it's smart to back it up?

@Ayanami: How many people would have thrown their hands in the air and payed the money? How many people have already done that because they didn't want to spend hours on the phone arguing with someone who more than likely doesn't care about them or their problems?

@LMAO-SteveDave loves this guy->★: What the hell kind of photos do you have on your pc? On second thought I probably don't want to know because then I'll have to testify against you later.

@William Gu:

Hey, I'm a repair tech myself and I'd be right there with you... except Apple declined to repair the laptop under warranty and he didn't authorize the charges. So no work should have been performed. Why did Apple erase the hard drive on a computer that had hardware problems sufficient to void the warranty?

Sounds to me like someone at the repair center was feeling vindictive.

*paid.

/brain fart

@cheviot:

thats what i thought once they said to me "if it wasnt broken before, it will be now"

It's on every work order that people sign at the Genius Bar that states that the customer has a recent back-up and Apple is not liable if the hard drive is erased.

With Time Machine, there's no excuse anymore...heck, even with a PC, they're no excuse not to have a backup anymore.

That being said, it's a good thing they replaced the portable if the cost was that much ($1200+).

@cheviot: The OP said that he authorized the repair in the above email.

@armydrummer: OR did he ASK if they could do it? Unclear.

@armydrummer:

only after i recieved my laptop back wiped clean of all data

An expert should be able to look at the photos and determine the country or region of origin of the ladybugs.

Those are asian ladybugs and they are really good at getting into tight spaces. Had them by the millions at my old house. I used to sweep them up by the thousands during the fall and spring when they would come out.

He got a sweet deal. Gives complaining consumers a bad name and is the reason so many people get rude responses and can't return anything anymore.

Dear Steve Jobs,
I have historically been a windows guy simply because most of the software that I use is updated more frequently on a Microsoft platform, however I would not mind using Apple hardware if only the software I use were better supported. I am a loyal Apple customer as I purchased the 1st Generation iPod Nano over 3 years ago and have purchased at least 10 songs from the iTunes store. For the inconvenience that 3rd party vendors are causing me by not fully embracing the Mac platform, I was wondering if you could see it in your heart to give me a free Mac Pro 8 core processor with 32Gigs of Ram, 4-1 terabyte drives and 2 30" Apple Cinema displays to keep me as a valued Apple customer.

Sincerely,
Rachacha

It is worth a shot right?!?!?

@armydrummer:

i asked them to send me back my laptop and told them to do nothing to it, they said they had done nothing and where waiting for me to give authorization, i get it back and its wiped

1) I'm sure those were Asian Beetles, not our traditional Ladybugs. They bite, stink, and most importantly here- they swarm on things.

2) Looks like they were afraid of the bad publicity- good work people :)

@LiquidGravity: There have been a few cases where someone took picts of their grandkids and the photo techs saw them and called the police b/c the photos could have been pornographic. As for my computer, any photos I may have would be safely encrypted using a 25 letter password featuring modifiers in a disk image. IF I had any.

@Dethzilla: Yeah...when MY computer breaks...I can fix it myself. And guess what...it IS an apple.

@Ayanami: They only cut him a break because they wiped the drive. Not because of the original problem. He got lucky because apple made a mistake. I would not praise apple over this. Read the original story. Apple treated this guy like crap. And to top it off if the only people to ever open the case are the manufacturer during assembly and the apple techs doing repairs, it's ridiculous to blame the owner who has never opened the case.

@LMAO-SteveDave loves this guy->★: I have to agree with you there. Even if the repair techs don't do anything, the system could be destroyed in transit. And Apple's policy is that the drive can be wiped by the repair center at any time, whether you let them or not. I've been told before that I should just assume that the drive being wiped is part of the process there, just to be sure the data is backed up.

@Ayanami: For every story like this, you can believe there are plenty of people who have good reasons to ask for replacement hardware and they get nowhere. Sometimes Apple goes above and beyond, and sometimes they really suck and do the usual CYA that most companies do. I've discovered very little consistency to their Customer Support response in recent years.

I'll tell you what, I've been a die-hard IBM Thinkpad guy. However, ever since they've been bought by Lenovo they've gone down hill drastically. I bought my last Thinkpad about 6 months ago, and after all the problems I've experienced I'll never do so again. I paid a premium to get a computer that was supposed to be above the rest. Next time, I'm getting a mac.

@Ayanami: This guy sounds a bit ''masochist''. He keeps getting problems with his Apple stuff, but sticks with the brand.

This is nor a good example of consumer complains, nor a good example of company's resolution. How many people never see their problem resolved? Not everyone gets published by Consumerist.

@William Gu: Or just lost by the shipping company...

@SDRphoto: And you still stick with them? You are one patient man.

If he had any common sense and/or knew how to actually use a computer, he would have thought to back up his hard drive himself before sending all of his data off.

Remember, he originally called about a problem with his LCD and a $25 "superdrive" (read: Apple rebranded SATA DVD burner that can be found at newegg for $20 minus that nice white bezel) that would have been easily replaceable to anyone with the most miniscule knowledge of computers.

Apple should pay for the mistake... that's what you get for making people believe that "your" computer is the only one that will work properly and not get viruses, run the "cool" apps, etc - grabbing the computer newbie with extra money and no comprehension of how a computer actually works - just that it looks nice and gets them on the 'net and the non-nerdy guy is using one on the commercial.

Then again, they SHOULD repair his computer for free.. that comes with the territory when you get users that don't think anyone can fix your computer except the company that sold it to you. I'm sure they've made plenty of money selling replacement "superdrives" for $199 to be able to float this loyalist a freebie.

Awww shuck, thanks Steve!

That's a pretty cool ending, getting a brand new Macbook Pro. You can say that's Apple for you in terms of great customer service, but what lead up to it was the same, it was from Apple too. Glad he got his new computer though.

@jumpo64: Get ready to deal with their ''excellent'' customer service. In the last couple of years Mac's customer service is seems to go from great, to good, to passable. Unless you post your problem on Consumerist, you won't get heard by Apple management.
I used to be Mac's fan, not any more.

@Rachacha: Well, if you value your dignity...

@MrsLopsided: With our international travelers and transports, carrying those buggers around the world? I don't think that's so easy in 21 century.

@DylanMorgan: I actually just got my MBP back from the repair center (killed the mother board with 23 hrs/day uptime on a laptop) with the hard drive still intact

@Ayanami: Sorry, but I've experienced the downhill of Apple's customer service in last years. I don't trust this company, and unless you use major strikes (like Consumerist), you get screwed.

Loyalty isn't gained, when the consumer has to force the company to provide after-sale support.

@spidra: I agree with you, I had very good experience with Dell. And abysmal experience with Apple.

(The worst part, is that several people I know had bad experiences with Apple warranties/products/customer service. When I look at price tags, I prefer having hassle with a product that costs 1/4 of Apple ''whatever''.)

@Meltdown: Not so much patient, remember OS X is based off of BSD(M).

It's not unusual to get bug infestations in Macs. I had an entire ant colony up inside my old Clamshell iBook a few years ago (I couldn't blame Apple- my old roommates were slobbish.) When I took my computer in to the Mac store, they laughed but showed me how to open up my machine. I did some more research and found out that bugs are attracted to either the electromagenetic magic inside the Mac or the nice glue they use. In closing, those ladybugs might just be noshing, no matter where they are from,

@octajohnny: Besides being a tremendous ass, you're forgetting the fact that he purchased the extended warranty and should have his computer fixed at no additional cost of time or effort. That's not brand-specific and has absolutely nothing to do with 'knowing how to use a computer'.

"...knows how to do the right thing when it comes to consumers' rights."

Blah blah blah.

It comes to money. They just wanted to keep him as a loyal customer who will use word of mouth to spread the good word of Apple, as well as purchase Apple products in the future.

@Meltdown: Wow. so I can't get good customer service anywhere it seems. I think I'll just stop buying things altogether.

Apparently people don't read the fine print when they send their computers in for repair. Sam DID give permission for Apple to erase the hard drive. It's in the service order disclaimer that he agrees to when he sends it in.

Geek Squad and Firedog have the same verbiage on their service orders as well. Sam, quite simply, is a fool for not having backed up his data, and is a even more of a fool for trying to foist responsibility for his negligence on Apple.

As for the ladybugs, I'm certain that Apple's repair facilities are well stocked with canisters of ladybug eggs specifically for defective customer situations, right? Cripes. There's no way in hell for that to be a "defect in the manufacturing process." Those eggs would have hatched long ago, and the eggs probably got washed in with the water that damaged it initially. If he's trying to blame Apple for the bug infestation, then he's not just a fool, he's a failure.

Of course, like usual, Consumerist slants the story so as to insinuate that that Apple was in the wrong and that this is another case of how the poor, innocent customer won over the rich, evil conglomerate. The fact of the matter is that the customer was wrong (gasp!), and Apple decided to try to make some positive PR out of the situation. Very clever. I just wish it didn't have to reward bad behavior.

The customer didn't win in this instance. Stupidity won.

@Ayanami:

Oh wow, a GOOD example of CS and Apple is the END-of-ALL products?

This is the EXCEPTION, not the rule.

@MooseOfReason: You say that like it's a bad thing. It's not like we can hope corporations will actually do the right thing, so it's our responsibility as part of capitalism to make sure that bad behavior is punished and good behavior is rewarded with the only thing that matters to them: money.

I agree 100% with backing up your data before sending your comp in for repairs, but why on EARTH would they EVER need to erase anyone's hard drive for something like this??? I can understand if it was full of virii or needed the OS reinstalled, but why in this instance?

I've read about several companies' policies of formatting the HD for every repair, and I cannot understand the logic behind it. Unless it's simply to intentionally piss people off.

That said- so much for Apple products "just working". But after FOUR defective ipods & almost as many MacBooks, I'd have seen the light. It's obvious that he's either incapable of taking proper care of his electronics, or else apple stuff just sucks ass. Although I'm not an Apple fan, I think the whole company's image is pretentious & elitist, I'm going to vote that he probably just doesn't take care of his shit. My only experience with Apple has been with my iPod, and I have had that same ipod for 2 years now with NO problems. I dunno about the MacBooks so I can't comment on that, but I always suspect people who keep needing replacement after replacement after replacement due to "faulty hardware". Translation- "I want some new shit!".

@Ayanami: Building brand loyalty means fixing the problems right the first time. What Apple did was the next best thing, they backpedaled once they realized they screwed up, and went the extra mile to make up for the mistake.

Of course, they had made more than one mistake, and had more than one rep that went beyond rude. This never should have happened in the first place. While I believe far too many people demand far too many free things for minor infringements, the fact that Apple wiped the hard drive explicitly against the customer's wishes suggests that perhaps the cost of a free laptop is a bargain in exchange for a customer who is not furiously converting others away, but as satisfied as he once was in the past.

@Saydur: While wiping the hard drive may technically be permitted through the contract, doing so by a tech without explicit purpose is still quite an ethical breach. As such, it's still a failure on the part of Apple. Customers must be more careful, but that's no excuse for the techs to wipe a drive and say "Told you so!"

@Ayanami: If you read the original story, you'll see that this customer has received 4 new iPods, and now 2 new MacBooks. He has only purchased 1 iPod and 1 MacBook (actually, it was a Powerbook, which Apple upgraded to a MacBook Pro for some reason).

But I get your point. If a company treated me like Sam and gave me stuff all the time I would probably buy from them again, if they don't just upgrade me for free.

@robodomo: He said the policy is that the drive can be wiped at any time. It's the same policy that basically ever manufacturer has. There's some clause that says "not responsible for personal data." They can essentially do whatever they want with your computer.