AppleCare Cares Nothing For Downtime

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brianleahy

brianleahy

Colonel Panic
Well my 20" Cinema display has developed a vertical blue line that wont' go away. I have Applecare on the system, so I called them. Ran lots of tests, but alas, I didn't have another Mac to connect my display to for testing, so they advised taking CPU & display to my local CompUSA (an understaffed, distinctly unfriendly establishment who I wouldn't trust to service a toaster).

So today I tried to give them more evidence; I hoofed it all the way to my Dad's office and connected the display to a Mac there. Sure enough, same blue line. I called back today and told them this.

So what's their plan for fixing it? What'd I pay for Applecare for?

In 2 days they're sending me an EMPTY BOX. I have to pack up my display and ship it to them, and my G5 will sit, totally unusable, until they get around to fixing the display and sending it back to me in a week or so.

I guess the only difference between this and NOT having Applecare is that I don't have to pay for the repairs. HELLO?!? INSTANT REPLACEMENT?? LOANER DISPLAY?? SOMETHING SO I'M NOT DEAD IN THE WATER?

Very, very disappointing.
 
Is there an Apple shop near you? Easier than mailing. And how would you honestly expect an instant replacement/loaner display program to work? It always sucks when something has to go into the shop, but Applecare is insurance not instant gratification. Maybe I'm wrong, but I know of no computer company having a policy like that. Maybe a loaner if you're screen needs a certain amount of time for repairs.

http://www.info.apple.com/support/applecare_products/service/display_service.html
 
Randman said:
Is there an Apple shop near you? Easier than mailing. And how would you honestly expect an instant replacement/loaner display program to work?
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Tons of companies already do exactly this. You give them your credit card number, they next day you a replacement part and you have 30 days to return the defective one before your credit card will be billed. It's very easy and it keeps customer's happy.
 
Well, AppleCare did replace my laptop screen for the "white spots" problem for free... which I would expect for a defect like that anyway. I took it 45 min away to the Apple store (since I don't trust my local CompUSA either) for them to send it in so I wouldn't have to wait for AppleCare to send the shipping box (this is my work computer). The people at the Apple Store weren't over friendly either and I was there for an hours while they double checked everything for themselves and filled out the paper work very slowly. To be fair, I was impressed by the overnight shipping back to me, it was only gone for three days, but the screen I got back still has dead pixels and it has dark spots instead of white spots. Luckily I got it back Monday morning and wasn't too inconvenienced.

A couple weeks ago I called Apple Care because of the issue with my USB ports not putting out enough power. They guy on the line was ZERO help (level 1 tech support I guess), he was soooo slooooow and just said they don't know about the situation. Then he tried to sell me extended AppleCare three times during our conversation. I just got mad and told him that "it hasn't done anything for me so far, why would I pay $400 for more of it!?".

Now, I don't know of any other computer manufacture that is much better, but then again, my Apple laptop is the first of many computers that I've ever needed to call tech support 3 times for. I've always liked Apple's style, but maybe they need to hire some more engineers or something.
 
. Maybe I'm wrong, but I know of no computer company having a policy like that.
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When my HP 3330 broke down, they did exactly that - sent me a new 3330 and I sent the broken one back in the same box. Same with my Kyocera 7135 phone.

Sigh.
 
With my Dell service agreement I did receive a loaner howerver, they also lost my notebook in the process and I didn't realize that they only insure it for 1/3 the cost since it was 3 years old and then I had to pay for shipping of the notebook back they loaned me. So, I am basicaly down about 2500 bucks, thanks Dell. Apple's service is a bit slow getting equipment back especially on the weekends. However, using airborne is awesome since I am in TN and I usually get my box from them the same day to pick up the item and they always wait outside for upto 15 minutes so I can Pack my laptops to go. When I had my business we had compaqs and their service stunk. Of course I only paid for the cheap home repair and not the in house service(which is a total joke with any pc company)
 
Well sure enough; the applecare terms document specifically says that 'loaners' are not covered. So I won't allege that they lied to me.

They're truthful enough, but I will say here and now that AppleCare is an inferior extended service plan compared to those offered for products purchased at OfficeMax (the HP 3330 I mentioned) or Verizon (the phone I mentioned).

And Applecare ain't cheap, either.
 
So... why bother with Apple care?
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For some users, the included phone tech support might be worth the cost. Personally though, I have used Macs since 1985, and needed Apple phone support less than a dozen times.
 
The reason I'm asking is because I've got a Powerbook that's almost a year old. I've never really had any problems with it, so I was just wondering why people got Apple care.
 
As small a market share Apple has, they still have millions of machines out there. They never did include a loaner, or instant repair in their warranties, but they do have a good service reputation.

I've used the warranty three times. Twice on my desktop, speaker port went bad a few months after I bought my G4, and hard drive went bad about 2 years after I bought it. Both times Apple sent someone to my house, to replace the logic board and hard drive.

Third time it was for my G4 PowerBook, which I bought refurbed at the Apple store. They had me send that in and I had it back in 4 days.

Just like almost anything else you buy. Car, TV, etc. Go to the dealer and ask for instant repair or replacement. Most times they'll look at you wondering what planet you're from :)
 
btoth said:
....maybe they need to hire some more engineers or something.
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They can hire me! In fact, even though its unlikely to pay even close to what I'm earning now (not much but retail wages are pitiful in the UK) I might apply when they get ready to launch the Apple store in Regent's Street. I wonder if its like working for Mambo or those clothes stores, where you are required by contract to spend 20% of your wages in the store - guess not as you can't wear a G5. Maybe some nice discounts though?
Are Apple store monkeys technical or just nicely-t-shirted salesmen?
 
AppleCare extends my warranty for another 2 years. It keeps the price of the Mac down so that those people that could care less, can get it for less. If it is so important that you need a monitor, go buy a cheap one and use it as back-up. How much is your time worth?

Joshua
 
It really depends on the part, I think. A drive died in my G4 running Panther Server, so they took a credit card to secure and simply shipped me the new drive and then I have two weeks to mail back the defective drive. The difference is, drives are cheaper than HD 20" LCD's and we were able to tell that the drive was 100% dead. Also, they don't usually repair drives, while they have parts they can use to repair a 20" LCD.
 
Someone asked "why buy AppleCare?" Well, piece of mind for one, but you have to weigh the cost/risk. I spent $1500 on my wifes iMac and paid $170 for AppleCare. So, I paid approx 10% of the cost to replace it if it dies in 3 years. To me that was a no brainer. Now, on my 12" iBook I paid $1099 for, I didn't buy AppleCare. Why? At $250 it's 25% of the price of my iBook. 25% is alot to pay for an extra 2 years.

As to quality/speed of service, if I can get a company to actually cover their products I'm happy.

Brian
 
On the portable front, consider how much it would cost to replace your HD once, then the cost of AppleCare isn't quite as intimidating.
 
I guess that, when I saw that AppleCare boasted "on-site service" (which it does) that there would be an emphasis on minimizing down-time.

Nope. The emphasis seems to be on minimizing any outright replacements of components, and downtime is the owner's problem.
 
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