Apple's Customer Service.

Well, first off let me say, the other forum users here in Apple probably noticed I haven't been on much lately as I usually do about 20-35 posts a day here. So I'll explain.

My Macbook has started getting worse random shutdown issues, and the methods I've been using weren't working anymore.

So what I did was take it to a nearby authorized Apple Reseller/repair center. Boy was that a mistake, I took it in on the 19th of September, and by the time 29th was here and still hearing nothing back, I was getting a bit suspicious because this was NOT the customer service of Apple that I know.

So I called up the store and asked them the status of it, they said they would call me back, with 2 hours nearing and they still haven't called back, I was starting to think they never sent it in for repair like they said they were going too, which was also listed on the repair paperwork I got from them.

I thought I would call up Apple and get a repair status on it, I talked to the lady and after giving my information she said she had nothing in the system, so I got angry that I went ten days without my notebook, which in my case as well as many others I'm sure causes me problems because the notebook is a large part of my everyday needs.

The lady from Apple told me if I wasn't comfortable to go and pick it up, which I did, and yes they did have it there, which means they never sent it out, they started lying right to my face saying they ordered some parts for it, and checking their computers they never sent for the order apparently, I asked them what have they been doing the whole time, they said they were reinstalling the OS, and I said "no operating system takes 10 days to install" and then I said "I want it back now" he went back and bought my notebook up and I left saying the service absolutely "sucked".

I get home, and I see that the operating system is still there left untouched, at first I thought well maybe they used the Archive method, then I saw that my edited icons were still there, and I knew something was up, I went and did a get info on the system files and found the last modification date was on August 30th, they were busted as they lied about that as well. If a OS was reinstalled, it would have shown a date from one of the ten days I didn't have it.

So, now you know the story so far of why I've been gone so much. Today the random shutdown issue started up again, proving that the repair center did absolute jack.

Now, this is not to disuade anyone from Apple, just read the next part.

I called up Apple, waited just little over a minute, and I was talking to a technician who was very friendly, and very easy to understand, there were no dialects or barrier in our communication. He said he would setup a repair order and put me on hold for about 2 minutes, came back and gave me all my information, and asked for confirmation of the problems and any other information they thought that might help them figure out anything that I could do. That's it, I contacted Apple and got everything done in under 10 minutes. Amazing if you ask me.

Lesson I learned, I'm not trusting that repair center anymore, and I'm not going to assume all their authorized repair centers are like that, I prefer calling Apple now, plus they actually have music worth listening to while on hold, I was literally almost sad they picked up in the middle of a great song.

Hopefully I'll get my Macbook back by the end of this week, I really can't afford anymore time without my notebook right now, I've already got myself into a few situations where I needed it during those 10 ridiculous days.

Sorry for such a long post, but I'm glad Apple took the time to listen to the whole thing that happened and is taking care of everything now. Apple, itself not that crappy repair center I used, deserves the rank as #1 in Customer Service.

Edit:

To prevent any comments on Apple not being ranked #1, here is proof of their standing Apple has ranked the highest out of all the manufacturers.

 

I had the option of using an authorized repair center here and chose to just send it in. I go to that store often and know the level knowledge (or lack thereof) of the employees and did not trust them with my notebook. The good news is that Apple plans to open 40 stores a year now. Hopefully we will get one in Fresno soon.

 

oh man.. i'm sorry you went through this. it brought back memories of my best buy nightmare with my emachines.

i had a flashback the other day when my mbp did a weird video glitchy thing when I woke it up. i actually felt sick to my stomach over it. however, it's never come back. i took a picture though, just to make sure i wasn't losing my mind.

i sure hope i don't have issues with my mac. i will definitely be dealing with apple on the phone though, as i don't have any apple stores near me and i don't really trust the 14 year old working part time at the counter over calling their centralized customer service system.

i hope you get it fixed soon!

 

I would let apple know your experience, with details and the service center you were at.. if you haven't already. Here in New York City we have 2 apple stores, but I've only dealt with the authorized service center TekServe which is freakin phenominal. They do it right

 

I'm sure there are some awesome authorized repair centers, but after my experience with this one, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Anyways, of course if there were ACTUAL Apple stores around here, I'd take it there but the only one in our entire state (wisconsin) is quite a distance from me.

 

Glad everything worked out in the end

 

Definitely incredible for those guys to give such poor service and lie about what they were doing. Hopefully Apple will pull their authorization (the whole point of the Apple Authorized Repair Center concept is that you can expect a certain level of quality and service).

Glad to hear that things worked out with Apple directly.

 

We all know Apple is a bit notorious in terms of Business to Business relationships, it actually wouldn't surprised me if Apple gave them a very big slap on the hand, I just need to find out who I contact at Apple for this matter, because its definitely something that I will be reporting.

But it was indeed amazing how many lies I caught from them.

 

I am going/have gone through similar things with my local futureshop for my averatec (i know, bad computer, first forray into notebooks). The first time i had it in for several issues, they had it for two months, and only fixed the case.

and right now, it took them a month to get back to me and say the hard drive was bad, which i knew. no mention of the other issues and they still have it. (they have a repair bay in store, but they still send it out for repairs, so dumb)

meanwhile the time that i broke my ibook, i was without it for only a week cause i had to wait for a logic board to be ordered in. That repair center was great. Plus i didn't even know about it till i called Apple.

just another props to apple support over others.

 

I got my box yesterday early, and shipped out my MacBook yesterday as well.

Checked this morning and it says its already in Apples hands and is currently being repaired already, quite honestly if I get it back anytime before friday is over, I'll be impressed like heck.

 

UPDATE:

Just wanted to let everyone know that I got my MacBook back just now, as FedEx just delivered it.

Checking what was replaced in my MacBook it appears that Apples solution to the random shutdown issue was a replacement of the Heatsink. This correlates to what I've read on another forum about this issue, it appeared that Apple changed the heatsink design a bit (according to other forum) and places the updated design in all newer ones made.


Anyways suffice to say, it's running like a champ again. Heck they even charged my battery back to full for me, while I'm sure that wasn't probably intentional, but still saves me time.

 

Very cool, glad to hear it worked out. Also nice to hear that this updated heatsink design is used in newer models (should alleviate some fears about buying a new MB).

 

Here is a link to some more information I found off of MacSlash

http://www.macuser.com/hardware/heat_sinks_now_in_stock_ready.php?lsrc=murss