Re. arguing with you and accusing you of doing something you didn't, that just happened to me today. I returned 3 items unopened, and they accused me of opening them. I was refunded but insulted. I 100% did NOT open those boxes, and in fact saw the employees opening them to check everything out. I have written a formal complaint and will send one to headquarters as well. It's one of those times when you wish you'd photographed the 'evidence.'.

lilnyc

Evopanda

This would represent a typical response to free expression in a fascist country.

CurbRunner

CurbRunner

I wonder now if all sale reps only say what you want to hear and leave out the important part like we will blame it on you instead!!

swan20

GawkerSuxShit

You Steph have a "personal" journal that was open to the world, however it was personal.

Let me get this straight, it was personal but you had it on livejournal...

GawkerSuxShit

Enjoy your new laptop, princess. Try not to break this one.

dantsea

tsj9197

I emailed sjobs@apple.com and received a phone call the next morning. I dropped off my MacBook for repair at the Natick, MA store. I emailed consumerist to have this page updated with that info

stephaniek

Yes, I deleted the post. I wasn't really into comments on my personal journal with people harassing me.

stephaniek

dantsea

dantsea

Her Grace

Her Grace

So handing out fliers may not work so well.

BadStoat

xtc46

Televiper

Televiper

thalia

YGstyle

From Black's Law Dictionary:

assault, n. 1. Criminal & tort law. The threat or use of force on another that causes that person to have a reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact; the act of putting another person in reasonable fear or apprehension of an immediate battery by means of an act amounting to an attempt or threat to commit a battery.

Luftvier

melking

Also, there's nothing more obnoxious than being confronted with "ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR", because you already know the answer to that question. No, you're not necessarily intentionally lying, but you're certainly mistaken.

Chaosium

On another note.. people have been questioning already if your computer was actually dropped and if you're with holding facts but has anyone questioned the truth behind him putting his hands on you? You can press charges if you want but most stores these days are heavily equiped with cameras and if they show something other than what you're accusing him of, and if he has seen this, he can trun around and slap you with harrassment and deformation of character.

I wish you luck in getting your screen fixed but I think the best option is for you to try to work with another Apple store or to get a different type of laptop somewhere else.

lmbw

As if the battery scandal isn't enough.

Onouris

Cats are fast and for some reason, there's something about the laptop screen that attracts them.

EmmaC

My advice, get it fixed elsewhere. It'll probably be a lot cheaper.

EmmaC

dalasv

tkviz

As for the Managers actions, I would find out who that persons Regional Manager is and file a complaint or still complain to the email address that was provided by the consumerist.

tekbandit

sarahandthecity

philm98

I have had tons of apple products..computers, ipods, whatever.. and no one here is saying the company is some sort of messiah who makes imperfect products. I completely believe your story, and unfortunately, you just happened to get some bad sales advice in the store..keep in mind Applecare is NOT mandatory, so if you didnt want to buy it, you didnt have to..

However, that being said..what that manager did was NOT right.

I think you should email Steve Jobs (you can find his email online..), and let him know about the situation. Say you were ready to use Apple Products for now, and possibly forever, but this experience has soured you. You never know what might happen...

redhead29

Usually when they disassemble the computer they can find internal signs of the trauma, such as cracks in the aluminum frame of the computer. The hard plastic shell of the MacBook rarely cracks or dents when dropped, so external indications are almost never present with MacBooks.

I'm sorry, but everyone who brings in a laptop with a cracked screen claims to have "never" dropped it, and if there isn't external damage, there is always internal damage that is indicative of it being dropped or having had things stacked on top of it.

gnotrecnart

a) Laptop screens don't just fail on their own.
and
b) It is entirely possible for these things to happen.

ikes

Jerim

I told them I did nothing of the sort, that the screen wasn't broken or cracked, but it was as though a bunch of crystals decided to revolt simultaneously.

They insisted I "broke" the unit up until I said "OK, prove it. I'll send it in for repair and if you're correct and it's 'broken' as opposed to 'defective' I'll pay to have it replaced."

Finally got my RMA and a week later got a replacement unit back in the mail... "We have determined that the fault was a result of a product defect."

A few months later I saw a display unit at a store with a large number of black pixels in the shape of a D in the exact same place as the one I sent back.

Jordan Lund

So I don't quite buy her story. And what would you do if someone was walking around in your store and telling people not to buy their products? What happened to people acting rationally?

regexp

If there's a dent on the case, it's understandable Apple thinks the case was dropped. If there isn't, they should at a minimum open the case up, look for other damaged components. If there are other damaged components, things out of place, etc., then fair to conclude the laptop was dropped. If not, there's a good chance it wasn't.

(NB i'm not commenting on the warranty issue... i don't know what the warranty is supposed to cover. Read the fine print.)

vladthepaler

remccain

MrWhitmore

Primate

but stephanie should've flopped to the floor and said that the apple rep physically assulted her. "no i didn't", "yes you did" "no i didn't" "yes you did...i'm on the ground, you touched me, therefore you must have pushed me"

=P

plim

secretmode

No, a mall is a privately owned business. It is open to the public IF they follow the regulations that the property management company sets forth. These will usually be posted somewhere at each entrance. This is how a mall can ban you from the property. I do not believe that you can be banned from a city sidewalk or a public park.

I worked for a mall for about a year. We banned people all the time, and had them taken to jail for trespassing if they violated that ban. In the case of folks distributing material in the mall (flyers, sample CDs, whatever) they could only do so if permission was obtained from mall management beforehand. Otherwise they were asked to leave by the Public Safety department. If they refused they were arrested for trespassing.

JayP71

mac-phisto

Two things strike me here... well, maybe three.

One is that you should not listen to legal advice offerred on this comment thread. There is too much bad info for me to even list. 'Rights' are complicated, misunderstood, and are the subject of heated discussions, even between lawyers. Cyberkiddies aren't going to give you good advice, and haven't. If you have a legal question, hire a lawyer.

Next, the way to get a problem fixed is to be persistent, intelligent, reasonable, and tenacious. Don't give up because one or two people say 'No'. Ask for THEIR boss. If you want to be a drama queen, go ahead and pester customers in the Apple store. It is decidedly a poor approach. Life will present you with many frustrations. You will have to develop techniques for dealing with them. If you are smart, you'll learn from what works and what doesn't. Being bitchy doesn't work often. Being intelligent, reasonable, persistent, and tenacious does.

Never pull out nuclear weapons until diplomacy, small arms, and artillery have failed.

Read agreements you sign, including warranty and warranty extensions.

If you have an unresolvable problem with Apple, sell your machine and buy a Dell. Tell your friends. Make sure to tell Apple. If the problem is that you are too thick or busy to read your agreements, then I suggest the major problem isn't with your display.

Apple refunded the entire price of a computer to me once. I just got an $1800 battery for my Honda Insight replaced for free. I didn't do either by being strident. Neither involved so much as a raised voice.

Good luck with your problem.

klaxon

On a lighter note, Dell replaced my screen no problems. Peace.

GawkerSuxShit

those things are built like tanks. Quite possibly one of the most well built/rugged laptops (aside from the toughbook, which is almost impossible to type on)

discounteggroll

Perhaps you must realize is you don't see these issues because when they happen everyone blames the owner saying they dropped it.

Simple fact. to cause that kind of damage, you would need to apply significant force to the laptop without having any noticeable exterior damage. Quire simply, there is nothing to resemble said damage.

A good tech can spot a manufacturer defect almost immediately. I have seen a laptop crack all the way across the screen because of the problem I previously mentioned. These issues are more prevalent these days with laptops become thinner and thinner, this issue is not going to go away.

But, as long as companies simply blame customers for this issue instead of actually investigating the problem, there is going to be many more of these Consumerist topics over the coming years.

ShadowFalls

jaymartinez

Having spent many years as a field service tech, working on many brands, but mainly Compaq, DIGITAL and Dell machines... I have seen first hand many people wonder what caused their cracked LCD's which were mostly not covered by warranty. (The exception there was Dell Totalcare, covers anything at all. but very few people have this cover).

The most common cause of a mystery cracked screen in my opinion is poorly packing your laptop bag. If a customer swears it was fine when they put it away, I always ask them to demonstrate their packing technique, and people ALWAYS put the laptop in the bag screen up. In the upper section of the bag, they then stick their AC adapter or mouse, right in the middle! Even if the pocket is on the outside of the bag, something as small as a mouse can create a pressure point on the laptop screen through the plastic, and even the packing and crack the screen. if the pressure point is in the right place, you have a good chance of cracking it. And because of the soft packing in the bag, there will be no evidence of damage from the outside.

Now if you had a late 90's early 00's IBM, you wouldn't have to worry, I have seen an IBM rep put his laptop on the ground and stand on it! but any Dell (don't even THINK of standing on a Dell!), and most modern laptops are quite flimsy and light in comparison, and can crack very easily.

I know this doesn't help our Macbook friend, but to all of you who regularly transport your laptops, ALWAYS put your laptop in the bag, screen side down, this way the screen will be sheilded by your documents, and the hard base of the machine can be left to fend off the lumpy bits in your bag.

snowchaser

Hooray for a free hard drive!

I have to say, just like anything in this universe, you can't forget that employees aren't just faceless cogs in a system. There's good and bad ones, and you're bound to get varying results from different people.

sidescroller

nacio

epiclulz

Jesse in Japan

Option 1: Call Apple Customer Service and tell the Level 1 who answers that you want to speak to the Customer Relations Dept. Don't worry about explaining the problem to him he is obliged to obey the rues and is useless to you. Tell the customer relations person what happened and that you are dissatisfied with the product quality and apple's customer service. They have the ability to break the rules to keep customers happy and will mail you a box after 5-15 mins of you politely but emphatically stating you did nothing wrong, and were mistreated. Mention the blog only if they don't help.

2: Assuming you bought the computer on a credit card and it is under 90 days old, initiate a dispute with the credit card company. Say you received defective merchandise and the retailer is unwilling to provide a refund or warranty it. Most big banks will back charge it or is covered under their warranty program.

scott929

floofy

bradg33

Joafu

lockdog

I once literally watched a glass of kool-aid explode. Nobody was within 10 feet of it. The only reasonable explanation we could come up with was that it was caused by noise - my brother started to say something to me, and as soon as he started talking, it exploded..

North Antara

The horizontal lines can be caused by a loose connector.

But the black spot with the vertical crack screams impact damage which also leads to horizontal static lines.

nacio

My local Apple Authorized Reseller is authorized to sell and repair Apple computers/parts, but I get better service and prices. Especially a good thing when my (now traded away) aged PowerMac lost a 1)hard drive and 2)graphic card at various points after years of heavy Illustrator and Photoshop usage.

SpaceCat85

If the mechanism is too tight, causing that damage, then it's a manufacturing fault that should be covered by your warranty

TB123

and theres NO WAY that damage could have occurred without a force impact. period.

TheJollyGreenGiant

haha! i was going to post the same thing, but ya beat me to it...maybe KiKi's snaggle tooth busted the screen?

LAGirl

kantwait

The service guy told my father that it was store policy to take paying customers first. Dad always did look a little like Yosemite Sam when he got mad, but Dad didn't blow his stack.

Instead he started to approach other customers in the store, just like Stephanie did, and told them to think twice about buying at Sears because they don't honor their warranties.

We were out of there with a fixed car before Dad got to the third customer, and no one lost an eye.

My hero...

erratapage

[www.macworld.com]

lizzybee

and no, this wouldn't be caused by a loose LCD connector. the only cabling around that area of the screen would be the airport cables, so unless you're airport had some impossible circuitry malfunction, I don't see how this was a hardware-only issue.

discounteggroll

nacio

There are these little devices that measure forces applied to an item. We use them in shipping to show a pallet of widgets has been dropped. The devices can measure a wide range of force applications (or water exposure).

Some electronic manufacturers are installing similar devices inside their equipment. Some of the sensors are electronic circuits, other sensors are physical sensors. Usually the output of the device can be seen in the battery chamber or at the bottom of the unit.

Hypothetically, if the little pencil tip sized sensor shows purple, the item has been dropped a distance of at least 3 feet, and if the sensor is white the item has been immersed in water. If the sensor is green the item is good.

Just a word of advice before you start bashing a manufacturer for failure to support a product. Sometimes they can prove you are wrong.

StevieD

outphase

wesrubix

So I called and asked if I could exchange it for the right one. "Um, the 17" hi-res doesn't come in glossy." Yes, it does, I see it right here on the web site. Hold. "Well, our store has never carried that model." Then what the (*$ did you put on hold for me?

They told me I could come back and return it as long as I bought the "exchange" online at the store. I got to the store, and got interrogated by the manager on duty: She couldn't do anything for me unless I had the name of the manager I talked to on the phone. Why? "Well, it's hard to investigate this kind of thing without those details." Investigate what? You sold me the wrong model, and it's within the return period.

Finally got my money back, but I was not impressed. I wrote an EECB but never heard back. I've never had these problems at Cambridgeside. Try there.

Jay Levitt

Update to come once I hear from her

stephaniek

If they settle, then you settle. Best case scenario, you sue, you serve them papers, and they ignore the subpoena.

IRSistherootofallevil

Apple says they'll check it out, but I have to give them my laptop for 10 business days, which I can't do because I'm a freelancer and I need my computer for my job. I live in NYC so I've brought it to TekServe, but they say they'll only to warranty repair on it if Apple gives me a CS number, which Apple support representatives claim to have no knowledge of.

I've also taken it to the genius bar at the Apple Store Soho, where a "genius" tried to convince me that I had made the dusty effect happen through my own error, and I disproved many of his theories before one of his friends showed up to visit and he simply began to ignore me, even after I attempted to get his attention back.

I still love my Apple, but my clients (I'm a video editor) notice the dirty appearance and often think that the cameraman didn't properly clean the lense... which is embarassing and frustrating.

My service experience with them has been pretty awful overall.

str1cken

Thanks
Todd Feit, Founder/CEO
Todd@LaptopGuy.com

thelaptopguy

BURLINGTON APPLE STORE FTW!

alk509

nequam

Get a clue. Stephanie never claimed it happened spontaneously. She stated that she opened the laptop then noticed the problem. If the hinge was too tight (misadjusted or defective) then the force required to open it may have been enough to flex and crack the screen. The Geniuses should have examined her MacBook for that possibility (they may have, since it's not mentioned what inspections were performed). I would raise the possibility of an overly tight or binding hinge with Steve Jobs.

There's an epidemic of this kind of problem - quality issues that result in damage similar to that caused by abuse. Consumers are forced to prove a negative, which is usually impossible, and companies have no incentive to fix the defects, since there's no ROI in it (until consumers catch on and reject their products). Of course the companies also have an army of ignorant sympathizers who prattle on in comments about how it must have been the consumer's fault, so it takes that much longer for the general public to learn of defective products.

Kerkira

thelaptopguy

This isn't a very common defect, but it does happen. Simple physics seems to apply here.

ShadowFalls

Boberto

Are you sure someone just isn't playing a prank on you? There are many videos on YouTube showing people how to set up the wallpaper to look like a cracked LCD screen. Basically, someone creates an image that recreates the appearance of the desktop screen, only adding some "cracks" or bleeding, or lines or something, and replaces the wallpaper with that image. Nothing is wrong with the display, it just looks like it is cracked. Do you have any prankster friends?

On another note, as soon as the manager started "pushing" you out the door, you should have dropped the macbook. Now, Apple can't differentiate between the damage *allegedly* caused by you and the damage caused by their employee laying hands on you.

FightOnTrojans

dantsea

Nobody, I mean NOBODY covers a cracked LCD under a traditional warranty. It can have static vertical lines or horizontal lines, dead pixels, no backlight, one color dead or one color showing too much. However if it cracks there's usually only one reason, improper handling. The laptop was indoors and wasn't powered down. The break in the glass isn't close to the hinge. It couldn't have been from rapid temperature change, and it couldn't have been a defect in the hinge tension. I gotta go with Occam's razor on this one, through some accident the screen cracked.

I have to agree though, that Chris at the Apple store is a real jerkwad.

The macbook smasher had a leg to stand on, the little brown spots on his board that Apple claims was water damaged were more likely a failure in the cooling system for that particular chip.

Moral of the story: ALWAYS buy accidental damage protection on a Laptop and avoid brands that don't have it.

MrEvil

bambino

As a side note, they also double the manufacturer's warranty of any purchase.

olivertwistedla

urban_ninjya

Huntergreene

It's not unheard of for Apple to design laptops with fatal flaws you know. I had the iBook 3G like 4-5 years ago that had the dreaded logic board error. I believe the issue was what Techguy1138 describes, rainobow screen caused by the display logic chip either overheating or becoming unseated from the motherboard due to flexing during close.

To all the experts diagnosing this over the internet, from a picture, stop. You have no way of seeing any external damage to the case indicative of a drop or any impact point on the screen indicative of an object left on the keyboard.

Ass_Cobra

Buran

BrockBrockman

[discussions.apple.com]

toddkravos

timmus

Anyways this is my MacBook in question.

The outside casing isn't damaged at all, though the MacBook is at home right now and I'm at school, so when I go home (either tomorrow or Friday) I can take pictures and show them to you all here.

As far as progress goes, so far the people on the phone at Apple have been helpful, though I still don't know how this is going to end. Hopefully, well.

stephaniek

As others have requested, I will find a way to get photos of the external case on here as soon as I can. I am at school right now on a rented PC laptop, my MacBook is at home since it is essentially useless right now (the screen has gotten a little bit worse) I will be going home either tomorrow or this weekend, at which point I can take pictures of the outside case which isn't damaged at all, and show them to you all here.

Thanks for the support I'm receiving. I'm just really frustrated. When I got this computer, I was ready for all of my future computers to be from Apple. Now, I don't know.

We've been dealing with Apple on the phone since Thursday and so far they have been a lot better than Chris. Hopefully this ends well.

stephaniek

big keytee

Careful.

Free speech rights on private property [Something like a mall is a public accommodation, but it's still private property.] vary by state. California, New Jersey, Colorado, Oregon, Massachusetts, Washington, and Pennsylvania provide the right to speak and assemble on private property, with some important caveats: shopping malls are the only type of private property included and political speech is the only kind protected.

So, since the OP is in Massachusetts she might have some luck picketing the Apple Store. That said, if political speech is the only kind protected one could argue that handing out fliers that say 'Apple ripped me off.' might not qualify. Good luck leaving that to the judgment of mall security.

JiminyChristmas

with all that said, I woud expect more from Apple. I would recommend calling AppleCare, also, as they are usually a lot more courteous and knowledgeable. They probably have more experience if this is indeed something that can just happen spontaneously. Try to get your case esclated to a Macbook specialist. They will go farther to help you out. Just remain calm and courteous. Don't be pushy. AppleCare reps are generally very nice and responsive.

Hope it works out, and let the consumersit know how it plays out.

kidwei

halloweenjack

Now Apple can't seem to design a functioning display hinge so it could be a design flaw where the hinge over stresses the panel. If this is the case we will soon see many other with similar kinds of issues. If not it could have just been a freak break.

Side bar
_____________________________________
I bought and returned an ibook, years ago, that would make the screen go 'rainbow' when closed. The hinge looked very similar to the one in the picture. It was a lack of rigidity in the panel backplane. It would have had to be thicker and heavier in order to protect the display properly. Could be the same kind of thing.

Techguy1138

calldrdave

UpsetPanda

Usermanual

cflury

radiofree

A couple years ago the Compaq Armada series had a similar issue. The corners of the LCD panel became dark closest to the hinges because the lid was too flexible. Even IF they do repair this notebook I would not keep it. It WILL happen again. All of those Compaq notebooks affected overtime eventually suffered the same fate.

Explain the situation to your credit card company, and see if they'll issue a charge back. Then buy something else, preferably not an Apple. I recommend Asus, their notebooks tend to hold up well. But if your dead set on Mac OSX, another Apple product is in your future.

shades_of_blue

mac-phisto

She probably grabbed the laptop by its hinge when she put it down.

If she did grab the computer by the hinge when she picked it up and put it down then she cant complain .

majortom1981

PatrickIs2Smart