Unless you’ve just arrived in 2009 on a time machine, you know that smoking isn’t good for you. Did you know, that smoking isn’t good for your computer, either? It’s true, at least according to Apple. Two readers in different parts of the country claim that their Applecare warranties were voided due to secondhand smoke. Both readers appealed their cases up to the office of God Steve Jobs himself. Both lost.
Back in April, Derek copied us on his e-mail to Jobs:
I took my mid 2007 apple macbook (black) into the Jordan Creek Apple Store in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, April 25th, because I had been experiencing some issues with it overheating, and figured the fan was bad. After some initial testing, they took the computer in for work under my Applecare plan, which has over a year remaining on it.
Today, April, 28, 2008, the Apple store called and informed me that due to the computer having been used in a house where there was smoking, that has voided the warranty and they refuse to work on the machine, due to “health risks of second hand smoke”.
Not only is this faulty science, attributing non smoking residue to second hand smoke, on Chad’s part, no where in your applecare terms of service can I find anything mentioning being used in a smoking environment as voiding the warranty.
Jobs’ office did not help Derek, but he resolved some of the problems himself by disassembling his Macbook and cleaning it out with a can of compressed air.
A few months later, reader Ruth wrote to us with an identical complaint after trying to have her son’s iMac repaired at a local authorized repair center.
I bought an iMac for my son (for school) along with the extended Applecare warranty. A month ago, it quit working. My son took it to the authorized Mac service center. The “tech” informed him it would be ready in 48-72 hours. Five days go by and he’s heard nothing, so I called. They informed me that his computer can’t be worked on because it’s contaminated.
When I asked for an explanation, she said he’s a smoker and it’s contaminated with cigarette smoke which they consider a bio-hazard! I checked my Applecare warranty and it says nothing about not honoring warranties if the owner is a smoker. The Applecare representative said they defer to the technician and my son’s computer cannot be fixed at any Apple Service Center due to being listed a bio-hazard.
This computer cost approx. $3,000, with the extended warranty. I’m all for destroying cigarettes and putting big tobacco out of business (yes, I’m a reformed smoker), but to label a computer a biohazard because one is a smoker is going a bit too far in regulating who can have the warranty they purchased honored. Shouldn’t there be some disclaimer stating that they won’t honor warranties from smokers?
Ruth appealed her case to Steve Jobs’s office, which also declined to repair the iMac. In another letter, she wrote:
Dena [from Jobs' office] did advise me that nicotine is on OSHA’s list of hazardous substances and Apple would not require an employee to repair anything deemed hazardous to their health. However, OSHA also lists calcium carbonate (found in calcium tablets), isopropyl alcohol (used to clean wounds), chlorine (used in swimming pools), hydrogen peroxide (also used to clean wounds), sucrose (a sugar), talc (as in powder), etc… as hazardous substances.
…
Dena set up an appointment at the same Apple store. They told me that they would take pictures of the computer – both inside and out before determining whether to proceed and that if the only problem was the optical drive, they’d probably just replace it. Dena called me earlier this week to deliver the “bad news.” She said that the computer is beyond economical repair due to tar from cigarette smoke! She said the hard drive is about to fail, the optical drive has failed and it isn’t feasible to repair the computer under the warranty. This computer is less than 2 years old! Only one person in my household smokes – one 21 year old college student. She said that I can get it repaired elsewhere at my expense. I asked why my warranty didn’t cover the repair and was told it’s an OSHA violation.
UPDATE:On Monday, reader Jeniffer wrote in that she has experienced the same problem with her Mac–in the last week.
I own a mac and live in Oklahoma. Recently the burner stopped working.
We have AppleCare so we took it in 2 days ago for repair. We just
recieved a call today stating we needed to come get it because they
are refusing to work on it due to health hazards from second hand
smoke due to OSHA violations.
Consumerist has tried repeatedly to obtain some kind of answer about these two cases from Apple’s media relations department, and we have received nothing on the record after months of waiting. Mostly, we’re curious what the threshold is for smoke damage to a computer, and why this is not mentioned in the Applecare contract.
(Photo: Sutanto Saputro ???)
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I bought a refurbished monitor for my brother for Christmas many years ago. The only thing refurbished about it was that it was shipped in a new, plain cardboard box. The monitor itself had apparently seen many years service in the home of a heavy smoker. Sony monitors at the time were all produced with beige plastic, but this thing was caramel-colored.
So…Apple’s policy seems equal parts BS, OSHA-related, and genuine hardware abuse. I’d be tempted to take the same approach if I were in their shoes.
Now…whose attorney general do I approach regarding the condition of ‘refurbished’ hardware?
Maybe I was just meticulous with keeping my computers clean, but both my old desktop and laptop never suffered from smoker-related damage and I used to smoke two packs a day, often while at the computer. That desktop is no longer with me but it had nothing to do with smoking – it was an old P3 and it was just too underpowered by that point. The laptop is still with me and while not my primary machine, it still works just as well as it did the day I bought it maybe 6 years ago.
Either the original complainants are fudging some of the facts (that there’s a LOT more smoking going on than what they’re telling us) or Apple are being a bunch of pretentious douches.
Way to further cement your hipster douche bag image Apple.
[hubpages.com]
I think Apple machine must suck. I’ve smoked alot and have never had a Microsoft computer fail or be filled with muck EVER.
Thanks for the post I was considering an apple but if their customers don’t matter I won’t be one of them. Yes I have been inside all of my computer.
For the iMac APP customers can call in an request an onsite. The mac book is going to need an AASP (Apple Authorized Service provider) certified to work on portables.
Two thoughts. First, if Apple is concerned about OSHA HAZMAT substances, computers are full of hazardous materials far more dangerous than nicotine.
Second, if true, the complainants need to file complaints with their state Attorney Generals office for warranty fraud. They may also be able to file in small claims court, as well.
Jeez, you anti smokers are terribly annoying and condescending. I bet not a one of you is overweight. Fat people around computers is simply disgusting. They leave food crumbs in the keyboards and gum up the works with spilled 64 oz sodas. Vile.
That aside, Apple should honor its warranty and fix the dammed computer, or specifically list smoking as a cause for not repairing.
Just sue them. You don’t have to put up with that stupidity.
For the first time… ever.. I agree with Mac.
Smoking is hazardous and I would NOT want to touch a filty computer brought in by a drug addict (Smoking IS a drug addiction, face it.) and then risk having to touch that filth. Do you have any idea just gow many chemicals are in cigarette smoke? Tons.
Combining the two things I loathe, smoking and macs makes for a great article full of laughs for me.
Kudos to Mac for not enabling a drug addiction!
And in case anyone decides to call me a troll, or try to report me for breaking the rules here.. good luck. I’m not blaming the consumer anywhere in my post, nor am I being a troll (I know some of you will disagree, but the intelligent ones will see the point I’m trying to make)
If you want to “contaminate” your electronics, be my guest, but I think Apple is absolutely in the right in reserving the right to not work in biohazardous conditions.
And in case any of you are quick to rush to conclusions and judgement (and face it, a lot of you are, myself included), I am NOT a smoker, nor will I ever make a choice THAT stupid.
Have a good night!
I totally agree that no employee should be required to work on a smoke contaminated computer, whatever the brand. I personally wouldn’t touch it, so why should anyone else?
I ask smokers I see smoking in public why they want to commit suicide in public, and they have no answer. So why should a computer want to commit computerside in public either, if only it could talk.
I’m already 83 years old, in perfect health, and have never smoked. But my best friend from childhood was dead at 40 from heavy smoking, with consequential lung cancer. I’d suspect that smoking around your computer will cut it’s effective life in half as well. Why would you want to do that to your trusty computer?
@cfw123:
Maybe self-righteous dicks like yourself are the reason smokers want to “commit public suicide”. To not live to be an 83-year-old tool walking around bugging people about their own damn choice.
I totally back Apple’s decision 100% to deny warranty claims because of damage due to cigarette smoke residue.
The people telling Apple to go ahead and fix the machines I reckon have never even touched a system that’s been around a smoker. Seriously, they always end up with this gummy sticky dust that has to be scrubbed off. Fans fail, heatsinks get coated and this is the source of your ills.
If you smoke and want your computer to not break, put the cancer sticks down and DON’T SMOKE NEAR VALUABLE ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT!
Um. So many of the Geniuses at my local Denver stores smoke. You can smell it on them while they’re talking down to you about your lack of upgradyness.
It’s too much. I just want a working computer and to not be mocked for not being an early adopter.
Not sure what the issue is, seems like breech of contract, very simple to get fixed. The idea what since the device was in a smoke environment makes it a bio-hazard is flawed, even if the person used the keyboard as a ashtray, its just ash. Granted that would void the warrenty for it being damaged by the user but not as a bio-hazard.
@Tratios:
The word biohazard has been horribly misused throughout this. A biohazard is something that’s infectious, not something that’s toxic. I’m not sure which of them started using it — Apple, one of the Mac owners, or the writer for Consumerist.
OK. For the last time. A lawsuit, etc, etc is completely inappropriate because there is language in the warranty that specifically states that damaged components due to user misuse, abuse, or unsuitable environment are not covered by the warranty.
Unless the computer is spontaneously generating a layer of tar (my macbook and macbook pro don’t) then it is something in the computer’s environment that caused the tar to accumulate.
If a fan is covered in tar, and the computer is overheating, there is no way you can try to logically conclude that the fan being full of gunk was not related to the overheating.
Smoking is an especially difficult one because the tar accumulation can damage the internal components, solder joints, etc and directly cause a NUMBER of failures that wouldn’t have happened but for the presence of a nice chemical goo.
Consumers who have had coverage denied under applecare can request to cancel their applecare coverage and recieve a pro-rata refund of the purchase price if they contact AppleCare. That’s what these customers should do.
The AppleCare terms do not specifically enumerate orange juice as a warranty voider, but we denied service last week to someone whose motherboard was covered in solidified tang. Apple is not legally required to enumerate every possible circumstance that could lead to denial of service…if it logically follows that the computer would not be covered in gunk if the user didn’t smoke, then it’s the same thing as if the user decided to systematically coat their computer’s internals in glue for fun.
Ignorance is not a defense…if you don’t know smoking might damage your computer, I guess you just found out, huh?
The biggest problem with the smoke building up in the computer is the moisture. Dust, tar, etc., collects moisture. If they get wet enough the current can travel from one point to another THROUGH the stuff. This really messes up a computer. It is kind of like your brain on drugs.
You can tell how fast smoke builds up by seeing how fast a smoker’s car windows cloud over. I hardly ever have to clean mine.
If Apple is not going to honour warranties on smokers’ computers, they need to put it in writing so that it can be seen before the system is purchased. I know they won’t do that though because it would give some folks another reason to buy an Apple.
Steve Jobs is a d*ck anyway.
Another firsthand story:
Many years ago, when I was a PC tech for a small shop, a customer who reeked of tobacco brought in a desktop computer which he said had just stopped working. After he left, we opened up the computer to discover that the inside of the computer was covered with a thick red dust. We knew instantly it was from smoking. We took it out back and blew air from the compressor on it. This created a cloud of dust about the size of a car, that thankfully floated upward.
We told the customer that the problem was caused by cigarette smoke, and that we recommend he didn’t smoke in the same room as the computer anymore. However, since there was no warranty involved, we would be happy to repair it regularly at our usual prices.
Moral of the story – Take your computer to a local independent Apple reseller for service. As a former Apple service tech – if you go to a local indy shop that does warranty work – odds are that it’ll actually be fixed with a minimum in complaints because of the simple fact that if they piss you off – you don’t come back and don’t refer people. Large corporation Apple isn’t as worried about customers on the same one to one ratio. Also, a good percentage of techs smoke.
@iantm: Yeah, except that’s exactly what the owner of the iMac did.
Even if it was dangerous and contaminated, they should suck it up and put on some latex gloves. Macs and Applecare are not cheap, this sounds like a great way to lose customers.
If anyone wants to see what tar can do to electronics, I have some pics of an Oreck air purifier in the process of being cleaned that was used in a smoker’s home. It’s not pretty.
Sue Steve Jobs personally in small claims court for the cost of having the item fixed somewhere else. Apple is not allowed to send lawyers to these court proceedings in California. Breach of Contract is a slam dunk. And don’t forget to subpeona Mr. Jobs as to why he has directed such stupidity to become company policy.
@deserttoadd: Unless the incident took place in Cupertino, California, they can’t sue steve jobs personally in small claims.
There must be a representative entity in the district in which you intend to file suit, so in the case of Apple, you have to serve the local Apple store with papers. If you want to sue steve jobs, it would have to be in the county where he lives and or works.
Wait, the computer has cigarette tar inside it? Sounds like grounds to void the warranty to me. If you worked in a very humid location with a computer and there were water deposits it would be void as well. Good for Apple.
I have seen some really nasty computers. You can’t have a weak stomach or some forms of OCD and work on a computer. How many nasty keyboards and skin-junky mice have you ever laid hands on? [gross out shiver] If Apple clearly explained that user abuse voided the warranty and then offered to work on it if the customer paid for it, I don’t know how I’d feel either. Many people feel very entitled nowadays and aren’t willing to pay a fair price for a service performed.
I just cleaned out my old deep fryer today because I upgraded, and the residue around the white shell and lid reminded me of this type of gunk.
Yeah, it’s nasty.
wth are skin-junky mice? I’m not saying I disagree with you but I do agree with your assertion that working with people’s computers is disgusting, especially when they smoke. I have had to do several clean-outs for smokers because the tar and shit was killing their computers but I have never dealt with skin-junky mice, or I might have but since I need a definition I can’t say if I have or not.
So what’s the next apple warranty cop-out? “If you have ever powered on your apple product it has just voided the warranty?”
If she were in the states I’m sure she could sue the insurance agent for practicing medicine without a license.
I can’t disagree with Apple on this one. I’m a tech, and I am allergic to ciggy smoke. The residue left by constant smoking while using the computer is astonishing.
I would have deemed it an environmental issue as well, even though the warranty does not spell out ciagrette smoke specifically.
I’ve had another tech dump hot chocolate into a printer, and not say anything until it was discovered. HP honestly doesn’t care that lots of people enjoy hot chocolate, and that people choose to drink it while operating their devices. They DO care if you try and hand in that sticky mess and claim warranty support, even though hot chocolate is not listed in the environmental hazards that would void the warranty.
Enjoy your hot chocolate, and your smokes, away from your electronics if you want to avoid this.
I work in the slot machine industry and the games and seats we remove from casinos smell absolutely DISGUSTING from being surrounded by smoke 24/7 (in the state I live in, the only places you can legally smoke indoors are casinos), and slot machines are essentially big computers. However, we haven’t ever had a single one fail due to being in a smoking environment. As far as being a ‘biohazard’ goes, I suppose that’s up to Apple determining what they will and won’t expose their employees to, but if they aren’t going to honor their warranty because smoking damages their computers, I have to call shenanigans.
I had a customer with a PC that was killed from a buildup of smoke/tar slime mixed with dust bunnies and pet hair completely blocked all the vent & fan openings. COMPLETELY! The thing overheated and died.
I told him I wasn’t gonna touch it… get a new one.
I work in the IT industry. Before I repaired Network’s I used to repair computers. Smokers who smoke in the house with their computers DO get a nasty gunk in there machines. You can ALMOST always get it out with an air compressor or simply by wiping it off with your hand. It DOES ruin fans and it CAN cause problems with HDDs and Optical Drives. But all of that is NO excuse to deny someone service. Use gloves and thoroughly clean the computer. If it does not explicitly state somewhere in the apple care plan that a laptop in the presence of smoke has a voided warranty then apple needs to spend $0.2 on gloves for their techs and man up. This is Nanny State BS.
Worked at Rent-A-Center for a few years before I came a manager, and we would open computers up all the time that were FILLED with residue from smoking, and it would mess things up all the time.
I can’t believe that smoke effects electronic items so this is a very interesting blog with such information.Smoking is very bad for health and second-hand smoke is really to dangerous.I hate smoking that bad smell of smoke is intolerable don’t know how people have it. survival kits
The iMac was under two years old – required by my son’s school. The Applecare warranty has a year remaining on it. It does not state, nor was I told when I purchased it, that secondhand smoke would void my warranty. A SMART test was run on the iMac and it passed – negating Apple’s statement that the “hard drive is about to fail.” It is simply a defective optical drive.
Approx. 47.1 million Americans smoke (American Heart Assn)- making it fairly commonplace. Use of a vague and undefined exclusionary clause cannot be expected to apply to a common occurrence. Other manufacturers who limit their liability to cigarette smokers explicitly define this in their warranty (see Planar’s warranty at: [www.planar.com]). No information was provided to educate me that Apple computers were not durable enough to hold up in common environmental conditions.
I don’t smoke. I don’t like secondhand smoke. But, I honor my promises and Apple’s warranty is a promise to repair or replace the computer I purchased. Period.
So where does Apple draw the line?
If you live out in a rural area and don’t have natural gas or oil heat and rely on a wood stove and use your Mac close by, if you get particulate inside will they not honour the warranty for the same reason?
I’ve been using Mac’s since 92 and am a loyal Apple person. But things are getting a little tedious at Apple. But, this is really some crap. Apple should stick to selling their computers and stop trying to socially engineer people, and stand behind their products like they used to. I don’t remember them saying there was a no smoking clause in the Apple Care Agreement.
I guess with Apple being in California it was inevitable that they would wind up going over the top on this green stuff. With windows 7 coming closer to user friendly experience they are looking like a less distasteful alternative to have green issues, and other politically correct issues forced on us.
To paraphrase another post in another forum “people who have never seen the damage a heavy smoker does to a computer need to shut up.”
Oh, and hard drives are NOT sealed. All disk based hard drives have holes which are marked “Warranty void if this hole is blocked”. These draw air into hard drives. Prolonged exposure to cigarette smoke absolutely will gum up a hard drive.
And yet another reason why Macs aren’t worth the money… lazy tech support, and a greedy upper management staff
what about weed? i smoke herb in front of my mac all the time…and its still trucking…matter fact all my hipster loser wanna be art student friends smoke in front of their macs..a
Wow, it’s hard to believe the lies I see here from fanatical anti-smoke trolls. I have fixed my own and my family/friends computers for years now and have NEVER seen tar build-up in a machine regardless of how much the owner smoked. Some of these machines came from homes where two people smoked a total of five packs a day between them, and when I opened them up I just blew off the dust and went on my way to fix them. No tar – no gunk – no disgusting residue. Yeah the outsides sometimes and a brown/yellow film, which you wipe off with a paper towel and some alcohol.
Lying via exaggeration because you hate smokers is not cool.
Apple has always been very borish about itself, since the days of it’s formation. This is one of the main reasons I refuses to buy a SINGLE Apple product. Each sale will only boost Apple’s borishness.
So what’s next? “Apple refuses to fix a customer’s computer after they found porn movies in the harddisk and believes that (stale) biohazard wastes left after a porn session is hazardous to the health and well-being of it’s staff ….” LOL!!!!
Pardon my correction: …
Apple has always been very snobish about itself, since the days of it’s formation. This is one of the main reasons I refuses to buy a SINGLE Apple product. Each sale will only boost Apple’s snobishness.
So what’s next? “Apple refuses to fix a customer’s computer after they found porn movies in the harddisk and believes that (stale) biohazard wastes left after a porn session is hazardous to the health and well-being of it’s staff ….” LOL!!!!
That’s when you send them a court summons for fraud. Selling fraudulent warranties seems to be a big part of corporate america’s way to grab extra cash.
As Coan_net said above, smoke can definitely damage computers. I’m not surprised Apple allows techs to decline repair on such computers. I do believe it clearly states (though I’m not for sure, its been a while since I read any of my AppleCare contracts) that if Apple declines to repair a computer, it is their prerogative. As mentioned, Apple defers to the technicians judgment most of the time. And when visiting a *REAL* Apple Genius Bar, you’re not talking to two bit technicians. You’re talking to Apple employees who spent two weeks of training at Cupertino, have at least three Apple Certifications (as required), and have had retail training. You can’t even get through the Genius door without having passed initial exams before they ship you off. So you’re not talking your 16 year old next door neighbor. This seriously comes as no surprise to me. There is also the fact that Apple computers are pretty well sealed up when comparing them to most beige boxes or plastic Dell laptops. True, they’re not hermetically sealed (you do need a fan after all), but when enough smoke residue is accumulating to make techs that work for Apple, and *don’t* work for Apple (obviously not being “elitest” as some might think of the Apple techs), reject your repairs then it is time to quit smoking and get a new computer. I mean, you did pay $3K for your kids iMac, yeah, I paid thousands for my Macs too, but people don’t think about this. No I’m not attacking the OP, I’m saying that if you’re going to endanger yourself, don’t whine about that endangering acitvitys effect on your stuff. Personally, I decline working on “smoked out” computers, too. I’m all for freedoms but just because I don’t want to get tobacco mess on my hands does not mean, as zentex said above, I’m a “…anti-smoking liberal who hates freedom…..” (quote modified for grammatical correctness in this context). I’m an open-minded liberal who prefers not to be legally obligated to get possibly carcinogenic residues on my hands because you need a light up.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it?
I’m a smoker and have never seen a computer (of my own or smoker-friends) that has gunky build-up inside. The worst I’ve ever gotten is a bit of ash on my keyboard. I have found crayons, food, fur and so forth inside compies I’ve worked on…But, that’s neither here nor there.
While the APP doesn’t mention ETS, tar or nicotine specifically, it does mention “abuse,” “extreme environment,” and “other external causes.” If Apple can prove that the machine is broken as a direct result of exposure to ETS, then, unfortunately, even I have to agree with them. ETS isn’t exactly within the normal operating parameters for a computer. In that case, it’s not “discrimination” against smokers, it’s just common sense.
A bad fan can easily be listed as “normal wear and tear or otherwise due to normal aging,” especially if the owner didn’t take due diligence in clearing it out.
However, I would like to know how working on a nicotine exposed product is a violation of OSHA. OSHA has listed allowable limits for all harmful chemicals and it boggles my mind to think that there would be enough nicotine stuck to a laptop that it would violate those guidelines.
The problem Apple has is that they do not specifically mention tobacco smoke in either the standard warranty or Applecare.
They do have language vague enough that it could be used to justify warranty refusal if I:
1. live in a home heated with wood
2. live in Texas (and their repair techs suffer from “cedar fever”)
3. live in a home with plaster instead of wallboard (dustier)
I’m skeptical Apple’s justification would survive even small claims court in my tobacco-friendly state.
Also keep in mind that extended warranties like Applecare are really insurance products usually heavily regulated by your state (for those in the U.S.)
Ultimately your individual state gets to decide if Apple’s interpretation on tobacco smoke is valid (at least if Apple wants to keep selling their extremely lucrative Applecare there)
Notice in all the news stories here and elsewhere Apple itself makes NO official comment, as Apple understands they’ll need to evaluate (and litigate) on a case-by-case basis.
I’ve worked on machines (PCs, Macs and Servers) that have been absolutely filled to the brim with dust and fluff. I spend 15 years working corporate and public sector IT support and if I told my management I wouldn’t work on a box because it was a health hazard I’d have been laughed out of the office. It was just part of the job, we were provided with gloves and disposable masks for use in the worst cases as well as a supply of cleaning products. BERing a 2yr old machine because it’s got a bit of tar inside and needs maybe £100 of replacement parts might work in a corporate environment with 3 year life-cycles, but using it as a loop-hole to escape retail warranty repairs is overly harsh. 10 minutes with a vacuum cleaner, some isopropyl and cotton buds plus and 20 minutes to replace the HDD, OD and maybe the fans.
In the UK at least products have to be “fit for purpose” and selling such products to home users obviously means that they will be supplied to people who smoke, which would imply that the manufacturer would have to specifically state in the items specifications that the operating environment should be smoker-free, which in turn would probably be taken as infringing on some human right or other.
Personally I have no problem working on smokers machines, I’ve had to deal with PCs full of dust, dog and human hair, several time on ones infested with dust mites and/or fleas as well on one memorable occasion one with half a rotten roast chicken forced inside. A little bit of tar would be a nice quick friday-afternoon job. Sounds to me like the “techs” are more than a little work-shy.
Where is the bio-hazard?
Apple, like the blog writer, has been brainwashed by the antismoker cult. They have become [inadvertent?] devotees. The smoke ‘residue’ (brownish film) is Solanesol which is not toxic. There is nicotine in tobacco leaf. However, once burned, the smoke (and residue) does not contain nicotine. The idea that this represents a ‘bio-hazard’ is delusional, a projection of antismoking hatred. Apple should be taken to task on their ‘bio-hazard’ claim. By the way, nicotine is also present in tomatoes, potatoes, egg plant, black tea. One of the broken down components of nicotine is nicotinic acid – also known as niacin or vitamin B3. Beware when fanatics dictate public policy – propaganda substitutes for actual information.
_
Shouldn’t someone be reporting Apple for contravention of well established health and safety regulations.
If they admit their employees during assesment of computers, might in their own opinion, be expossed to a bio-hazard. Why has the company not provided their Genius crowd with bio-hazard suits, to protect them from the known and long understood yet “unavoidable exposures” they are claiming could seriously affect the health of their own workers.
The case is confirmed by their own public statements. They are likely killing millions of “geniuses” by failing to implement a best practices approach. How much is that going to cost them, when an Apple described “genius” is put at an avoidable and careless risk to their health, just to cash out and make a quick buck? The costs could run into the hundreds of millions if just one of the genius crowd starts a class action and claims work exposure caused cancer or any of the well established “smoking related diseases” for that matter.
Apple employees should be wearing Haz-matt suits, as an obligation of employment. That is if we can believe everything they are telling us.
If tobacco smoke can damage components, this would indicate poor engineering practices and a deficit by design failures. It could not be said that smoking by a consumer was a surprise, with 60 million plus smokers among the adult population of the USA alone.
If there is a problem, blaming the consumer is a poor and might I ad amateurish way of dealing with that problem.
Apple will always be looking up, to the leaders in the field. Their second class attitude shines through every time.
I don’t have a lot of sympathy. I opened a Mac owned by a ship’s master. It had memory problems and a non-functioning Zip drive. Inside everything was coated with a tawny color and was unbelievably sticky. No safe solvent we had would remove the stuff. After washing my hands several times, I could still feel the residue.
We concluded the Zip heads were probably coated with the same crap and stickiness in the memory sockets prevented upgrades. I don’t blame Apple for refusing to honor the warranty under similar circumstances.
I suggest that we need to quit smoking while hands on the computer to avoid the damage on the computer if we do it our self it will also prevent us from ill. Oklahoma Electrical Services and Repair