In short, I think it might turn out okay, but it has been quite a trip. I'll summarize as briefly as possible:
- 1 yr old 12" G4 powerbook, light use, occasional transportation/85% as a desktop on an iCurve at home with external LCD/wireless keyboard
- 3 months ago bottom left corner of LCD experiences "ghosting" - pixels still lit but backlighting seems to be out in a 1/4" diagonal band or so.
+ I call applecare, report the problem but don't send it off because I need the machine for some critical work at the time.
- 1.5 weeks ago, my hard drive makes very loud noises and the machine halts. I promptly go to genius bar and they agree to send machine off to fix the hard drive issue, lcd (they say they've never seen a problem like that before), and some case warping (from heat or they said that maybe it was never "seated" properly at manufact.).
... machine gets sent off, 2 days later repair depot calls from Texas and says, "We have determined that there has been accidental damage and we will not fix ANY of the 3 issues unless you pay $1300 for the LCD, et all." I protest, for 30 minutes try to explain how the LCD problem happened months ago - with no "drop" or phys. damage and that it was documented separately. They finally agree to fix my HD and case warping, but not the LCD. I say fine, though very upset.
... machine comes back to applestore, case/plastics are replaced, but not the hard drive. AND there is a new big scratch on top cover of powerbook. I refuse to accept the computer and tell them I want that fixed. Additionally, I explain the LCD isssue and the local genius agreed that there had been no sign of physical damage. They direct me to customer service. I call them and get a GREAT, helpful woman who, after a brief time, agrees to override the repair depot and issue a new ticket for me to get the LCD replaced and fix the scratch they caused. Now my machine is off for another week or so to get these issues fixed.
I'm very anxious to see what comes back, but I'm hoping they'll get it right this time. What I hate is that after paying $300 or so for the additional warranty, I get treated like a criminal on the phone from texas and they don't even want to hear my end of the story. The number of "no's" that I had to go through would discourage many people from persisting, but I'm a law school graduate and am good at not accepting negative answers. As I explained to the genius at the store, I think they in-store support is fantastic, but what good is that if the back-end repairs are penny-pinching auditors who feel that they have to justify every $.01 spent in repairs. It doesn't help the stores sell computers, that's for sure. If I hadn't gotten such a favorable (most likely) result - I certainly would not have purchased another NEW apple machine again. My plan now, as is evident from another recent thread of mine, is to sell this like-new refurbished machine w/ 2 years of applecare left and to purchase a more durable/expandable desktop unit that I will have a fresh start with. The aluminum 12" just seems a bit too fragile for my tastes and I don't want to deal with the support folks anymore.
I hope my story is the exception from the rule because I love OS X (most of all) and the hardware apple produces. With nice innovations like plan-ahead check in's at the genius bar and in-store support, they should just work on the kinks in the "customer is always (or usually) right" department.
... my 2 cents and venting from a very frustrating experience.
- 1 yr old 12" G4 powerbook, light use, occasional transportation/85% as a desktop on an iCurve at home with external LCD/wireless keyboard
- 3 months ago bottom left corner of LCD experiences "ghosting" - pixels still lit but backlighting seems to be out in a 1/4" diagonal band or so.
+ I call applecare, report the problem but don't send it off because I need the machine for some critical work at the time.
- 1.5 weeks ago, my hard drive makes very loud noises and the machine halts. I promptly go to genius bar and they agree to send machine off to fix the hard drive issue, lcd (they say they've never seen a problem like that before), and some case warping (from heat or they said that maybe it was never "seated" properly at manufact.).
... machine gets sent off, 2 days later repair depot calls from Texas and says, "We have determined that there has been accidental damage and we will not fix ANY of the 3 issues unless you pay $1300 for the LCD, et all." I protest, for 30 minutes try to explain how the LCD problem happened months ago - with no "drop" or phys. damage and that it was documented separately. They finally agree to fix my HD and case warping, but not the LCD. I say fine, though very upset.
... machine comes back to applestore, case/plastics are replaced, but not the hard drive. AND there is a new big scratch on top cover of powerbook. I refuse to accept the computer and tell them I want that fixed. Additionally, I explain the LCD isssue and the local genius agreed that there had been no sign of physical damage. They direct me to customer service. I call them and get a GREAT, helpful woman who, after a brief time, agrees to override the repair depot and issue a new ticket for me to get the LCD replaced and fix the scratch they caused. Now my machine is off for another week or so to get these issues fixed.
I'm very anxious to see what comes back, but I'm hoping they'll get it right this time. What I hate is that after paying $300 or so for the additional warranty, I get treated like a criminal on the phone from texas and they don't even want to hear my end of the story. The number of "no's" that I had to go through would discourage many people from persisting, but I'm a law school graduate and am good at not accepting negative answers. As I explained to the genius at the store, I think they in-store support is fantastic, but what good is that if the back-end repairs are penny-pinching auditors who feel that they have to justify every $.01 spent in repairs. It doesn't help the stores sell computers, that's for sure. If I hadn't gotten such a favorable (most likely) result - I certainly would not have purchased another NEW apple machine again. My plan now, as is evident from another recent thread of mine, is to sell this like-new refurbished machine w/ 2 years of applecare left and to purchase a more durable/expandable desktop unit that I will have a fresh start with. The aluminum 12" just seems a bit too fragile for my tastes and I don't want to deal with the support folks anymore.
I hope my story is the exception from the rule because I love OS X (most of all) and the hardware apple produces. With nice innovations like plan-ahead check in's at the genius bar and in-store support, they should just work on the kinks in the "customer is always (or usually) right" department.
... my 2 cents and venting from a very frustrating experience.