Apple "CARE"

Day 1: macbook pro dvd drive scratches and destroys "Heartbreakers" (shame!)

Day 5: finally get a ride to the nearest apple store, and my attempts to talk to someone who can help me fail. why? i don't have an appointment.

an appointment? can i schedule one for in an hour?

"no. the next two days are booked..."

ok. well, i know EXACTLY what is wrong with my laptop and it would take about 3 minutes for an apple tech to fix it...

"sorry, you'll need an appointment."

we go back and forth like this, I tell them i have to have a working laptop for school, i need this quick fix taken care of, etc. no luck. i grumble and walk away.

Day 7: (today) I show up 10 minutes early to my appointment, and they call my name 10 minutes after the scheduled time. picky? maybe. then they take 10 minutes to deduce the problem (ie. confirm what i told them, which, granted, is necessary)

they destroy their own dvd in the process. no biggie. they knew it would happen. so the guy tells me its going to take 2 days for him to fix this.

2 DAYS.

granted, i can normally live without my laptop for 2 days, but I go to school, and I'm an engineer, and sometimes there are two particular days that i cannot go without my laptop. These happen to be two of those days. I have a TON of work to do, online. I wouldn't complain if it were a screen or mobo replacement. This is a five minute unscrew 10? screws, pop out drive, pop in new drive, screw in 10 screws. I talked to him for about 5 minutes to try and get him to just DO it, but he wouldn't budge! argh! he could have fixed the thing in 5 minutes!

so now i have to find the time to drive out there AGAIN, which will require making a new appointment, and they will have to RE-evaluate my machine, and then take it for another two days.

WHY is this the way things are done at apple? This could be solved from start to finish in 5 minutes.

to top it off, the man suggested that I BUY AN EXTERNAL DRIVE to solve the problem in the meantime. what the hell? seriously? can't i just get a loaner drive, then, at least?

"oh no, we can't do that."

 

Sounds pretty standard for service. They can't give you special treatment, even if it's an easy fix. Otherwise, everyone would want it done in 5 minutes. No one ever hands out loaners, so again, pretty standard.

 

ooh. That's still not great.

Maybe try an authorized Apple dealer, and not the ACTUAL Apple place. I mean, back in Vancouver (where I am), I go to Simply Computing. I brought in my Macbook for a keyboard problem, and they said I 'd have to wait a couple days for a replacement to come in, but I could keep it. Sounded good to me.

So once the shipment comes in, I bring in my Macbook - and by the end of the day, I get it back with the replacement, easy as pie.

 

Yup. Sorry to hear about that dude it sucks.

 

not sure what to tell you. it is what it is.

go buy a cheapo laptop and return it when your mac is back to you? i dunno what else to say.

staples and office depot have 0 restocking fees

 

How do you fix it in 5 minutes?

 

It's quicker to go to an Apple certified repair center instead of an actual Apple Store. I called in to get a problem fixed and I asked if I had to go make an appointment to see a genius. Guy told me that seeing a genius would take really long, and that going to a certified repair place was quicker. He even gave me the number and adress of a real close one. Well, I'm getting it fixed in 2 weeks, I'll tell you how it goes there.

 

thats good, appreciate the alternative.

fixing in 5 minutes requires using the screw driver to remove 10 screws, then removing the busted dvd drive. finally, insert the proper dvd drive and replace 10 screws.

 

i can see it now. Here you are, with a stopwatch in hand, timing a "Genuis" to disassemble/reassemble your Mac.

thatd make the news i bet

ready, set, GO

 

just go to computer lab like rest of us engineering junkies.

 

lol. well...

as far as computer lab, pass. i have about 10 hours of work to do. im not sitting in computer lab for 10 hours, ill take a bed or couch or table.

 

Unless they have drastically re-engineered these things since my days as a tech, I doubt severely that they could get the drive out in 5 minutes, let alone do the whole thing.

You seem to have a pretty warped perspective on how Apple (Or any computer manufacturer for that matter) should handle your service problem. Aside from external goodies (Such as power adapters, USB keyboards, mice), we never did anything while you waited because we had a ton of other stuff we had to get to first.

 

Sounds like you purchased it less than 14 days ago. Unless it is a special config they should give you a new machine. FYI, I've had issues in the past with a new machine, and I've had it remedied without an official visit to the Genius bar. Just ask for a manager and let them know that you want an exchange or a refund (without a restocking fee since it is DOA). They will take it to the back to take a quick look then send you on your way with a replacement. You just have to know how to play the game. Best of luck MC.

 

All they need to do is unscrew and pop out the DVD drive and put a new one in.

 

They should just hire more people. Apple's got the money.
I would have went crazy if I were you bro. That really makes me go insane. :{

 

You make it sound so easy. Did the OP say the Apple store genius had the DVD drive part on site and in stock? No. Did the OP also say that the Apple store had nothing else to do and they did not have other customer's computers to take care of? No.

Personally I think Masterchef is expecting Mcdonald's fast service at the Apple store. To be fair it is a store and not a repair center. It's best to take it to an Apple authorized repair center since that's all they do is repair computers.
Also it was unreasonable for Masterchef to be so anal about the genius seeing him 10 minutes after his appointment. That's actually very good timing. I've waited nearly an hour before after my said appointment at the Apple store, sometimes other customers take longer than usual.

 

While I agree to a certain extent that it would definitely be frustrating, is it really much better than any other company? Hell, most places have you send the laptop back through the mail and wait 2-4 weeks before you get it back.

That is, unless, you get a good on-site warranty, which is usually only through business portals.

 

that is completely acceptable, they aren't telling you 2 days just to be funny, they have to estimate the time things will take based on how much work they have to do, not on each person's specific problem.

just don't get it repaired until you have free time to do it, if you need to use a disk drive use another computer's, if you can't do any of that then there is not much more I can say.

I don't know why you think you deserve special treatment but that is pretty standard procedure and wait time. it just depends on their work load. if they had absolutely nothing to do, and you walked in, and they had the part, I am sure they wouldn't mind fixing it right there.

they didn't hassle you at all, you hassled them for something they have no control over.

as far as the 5 minutes thing goes, uh huh, that may be possible if all they did all day was think about the specific problem you might have and as soon as you come in, have all the parts you need, have a setup ready to work on your laptop, and someone fanatical about getting that machine apart and fixed as soon as possible. but in the real world, they must actually take a little care of people's machines, test to see if the new part is working and make sure there are no other issues, etc.

 

The man went into the back and pulled out the dvd drive he was going to use to repair the machine. He literally pulled it out and showed it to me. That was like 15% of the total repair time.

I wasn't really being anal about the 10 minutes. I just noted it because during that 10 minute period I wasn't thinking about much except for getting my stuff fixed and getting out of there.

I didn't know about the apple repair centers before I went to the apple retail store. Now that I do, I will definitely take it there. I *thought* my only options were to either ship it off to apple somehow or to go to the apple *store*. I totally agree with you. That place is a retail store. They are trying to sell computers first and foremost. Thats why I couldn't get my computer fixed. They have other priorities there.

thats actually a good point, in particular. i would suppose that they would have to go through some general diagnostic process to make sure that the dvd drive is the only thing wrong with the machine.

 

I agree with evrybody else that says take it to an authorized repair center. Or maybe find a friend that knows how to do it and buy your own drive?

 

voids the warranty. i offered to the guy in the store to hand me the drive and i'd do it myself. he recommended against it for the above reason.

i will do the apple repair center. i was unaware i had that option.

 

Thats the deal with Apple, sorry but as far as I've experianced there service is not professional level. It is still for "hobbyists" and for entertainment. Go to any other company and buy their service plans and you get next day repairs. Dell, Lenovo, etc... with apple its just not the case.

There service bars are becomming overloaded, and you are unable to make an appointment for days sometimes. After that they only diagnose the issue and you have to go without a computer for up to 2 weeks.

This is not a professional way of doing things, its for hobbyists...

 

Well reading about your case is like listening to smeone whine. I had an Acer laptop and an Asus one. I had to do repairs on both guess how much time it took.... 6months for the Acer one shipping back and forth and like a month with Asus.


SO waiting a half a week to get it repaired i think your lucky.

AND certified Apple Centers do it in 24 hours. I went to one and they changed my HDD in 24 hours and if i was in a hurry for 50$ i could get it in 1 hour.


The only PC manuf who has a great service is Dell 24h service but you have to pay it pretty expensive. 400$ vs the 189$ I paid for apple care (Student)

The next day repairs you are talking of are usually with extra fees. We had Fujitsu Laptops at work and it was *Ya but faster service isnt included* I admit their service isnt top notch but it isnt bad. They even sit with total ignorant explaining everything about a computer when it doesnt work.

 

no i agree. i was whining. i just had the notion in my head that apple had exceptional service when i bought the thing. the truth is, the apple store does not. However, apple also has dedicated repair centers (which i did not know about at the time) that can get the job done faster.

so, i am docile about the situation. problem solved. apple is O.K. in my book again. no more posts... wishing i could close threads...

 

i see your point, but i still feel you are being unreasonable, my old nec versa's hard drive broke in the first six months, it took nec a full two and a half months to get my computer back. needless to say i wasnt a happy bunny.

 

masterchef341, I think that you made your point. Why the hell do we have to make an appointment with someone working in the apple store? Before you buy the product, you are their boss, after you paid, when there is something wrong with the mac, then they are you boss. That is the same with all the business.
Just my 2-penny opinion.

 

finally someone understands. now that they have their money, im no longer their customer, i'm their liability.

 

Welcome to the world of corporate business.

 

you mean reality. life is not fair

 

wah wah wah, they are still getting paid individually to help you, and you were the one to make the purchase, no one forced you to buy into their "lackluster" (apparently) customer support.

god for bid you have to take 10 seconds out of your day to make an appointment with them, so they can fix a problem that in all honesty is beyond their control, one failing disk drive out of 10,000 that work perfectly fine isn't exactly their fault now is it? it is just the nature of electronics.

it isn't that no one understands, I understand exactly what you are saying, I just disagree completely.

 

cool. ^^^ wait till your laptop fries and you have don't have any others. I have to have a working laptop. I'm an engineer. Period. There is no reason why they couldn't get it fixed in a more timely fashion than they suggested. The result is that I don't have a dvd drive at the moment. Not the biggest deal, just slightly annoying that they couldn't fix it on the spot. I am not actually making "wah wah wah" noises, despite the above suggestion.

truth is, i honestly don't care that much about this anymore. I'm glad that apple has dedicated repair centers, which, until recently, I was unaware of. when i get a chance, i'll go there.

its a little weird that you have to schedule an appointment to walk into a retail store and talk with 1 of the employees in there to get something fixed. Half of them are just sitting around anyway. Plus, I definitely don't see them making appointments for PURCHASES.

 

I think the point is that there is no way they could fix everyone's machine on the spot. You are suggesting they push everyone else aside and get yours done immediately. Also, they do appointments to avoid hours of waiting. I can only imagine your reaction if you went into the store and waited 2 hours to see a genius. Appointments help alleviate that.

As for Apple Authorized Repair Centers, the one here stinks. I had a screen issue and they told me that it would be 6-8 weeks to get the screen and that they would have to hold onto my notebook during the wait since they have been burned by people changing their mind. So YMMV.

When you are upset about this, just remember there is no other computer maker that has anything like the Apple Store. If this were a Dell or Lenovo, you would be sending it in and waiting at minimum a week, probably longer, unless you paid for onsite service, which is very costly. Just be patient, and rough it for two days at a computer lab.

 

I have gone without a laptop for weeks at a time, was it the end of the world? no. because I actually understand that it is my own problem, not Apple's, Fujitsu's, or whoevers, you didn't buy a "LAPTOP at all times package" did you? i didn't think so.

I just find it funny that you find 2 days to be so absolutely over the top long. I don't know, I just think you should understand that always needing to have access to a computer is your problem, not Apple's, and if they treated everyone like you want to be treated, their retail stores would not function at all.

 

great. i think i deserve to have my 10 minute problem solved in 10 minutes. i'm happy to agree to disagree. either way, the problem is solved. the dedicated repair center is closer than the apple store and will do it while im there.