How've your Apple quality/customer service experiences been? And related generalities...

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m a lifelong Mac owner. I got a new Macbook Pro about two months ago, and I’ve found it spiffy, especially since my previous computer was so old. I’ve had good experiences with my Mac generally (my worst come from the days before Mac stores, with local repair folk), and I constantly read about how highly rated Apple’s customer service is in places like Consumer Reports.

So it bothered me a little to read about a couple of people talking about their bad experiences with both the customer service (surliness, charging a large amount of money because of policies and actions that seemed - to the customer - to be senseless) and quality of a certain batch Macbooks in particular. Bothered in the sense of me wondering what my experiences would be if I were in a similar situation. In these cases, the experiences were bad enough to put these particular folk off the company and its products permanently.

So I thought I’d ask a wider audience out there what their experiences have been, in general or in particular. And on a related note (the generalities mentioned above), I have to wonder: is there a relatively popular product or relatively good-sized company out there that does NOT have some kind of terrible horror story in terms of quality or customer service?

2

My experiences with Apple customer service, for both my Mac Pro and my iPhone, have all been uniformly terrific. They’ve solved every problem I’ve called with, usually in less than 5 minutes. Everyone I’ve talked to has been polite without being sycophantic, and the one time I called with a BIG question, the guy put me on hold and got someone who knew more than he did on the line in like 30 seconds.

I’d give 'em 3 thumbs up if someone would lend me a thumb; they’re that good.

3

Nintendo. I say that as both a consumer, and as one who actually worked in their customer service department. It’s also a sentiment you’ll hear from many others who have dealt with them–fantastic customer service, often repairing systems for free far outside the warranty period, or sending free replacement parts (lost DS styluses, GBA battery covers, etc).

As for Apple, I just took my iPhone 3G in last week–which had been replaced previous four months earlier–because the headphone jack stopped working. It was outside both the original 1-year warranty, as well as the 3-month warranty on replacement products, though only by a month (in the case of the latter). She informed me it was going to cost $199 to fix, as it was outside warranty. I then calmly stated “but only by a few weeks, right?” Then she said she’d see what she could do–I got a free replacement :slight_smile:

4

I’ve found their customer service to be pretty great. Smart & fast.

5

I had my hard drive fail on a plane from Arizona to Florida. I went to the Apple store at Aventura Mall, and they naturally had a big wait for help. I talked to the manager, and when he realized that I was perfectly competent to work on the machine myself, he brought out recovery disks and gave me a place to work and just let me try to fix it myself. I was on business, so i didn’t have the time to schedule an appointment and come back, so this was a huge help.

All my other experiences (few that they are), have been positive also.

6

About the only annoyance I have had with them is having to make an appointment at a Genius Bar, regardless of what was wrong with my computer. I had a fan issue in my MacBook recently, needed an fan replacement and knew I needed a fan replacement. I had to make an appointment, at a time and location inconvenient to me, because they won’t just let you drop off your computer and say “relplace the fan, please.”

7

I’ve been delighted with the service I’ve gotten when I’ve had trouble with my iPhone. I do hate having to make an appointment, though.

8

I’ve owned Macs since 1991 or so. Have had really good and really bad experiences with their in-warranty customer support on their hardware. Never had any reason to request or receive customer service on any of their software.

THE GOOD

PowerMac 7100/80. [background]This model came out in the still-early days of ethernet networking, when RJ-45 CAT-5 / 10-base-T type ethernet architecture & cabling, while already the most common, still shared the scene with the other flavors (10-base-2 aka thin coaxial with terminators for example), so Macs came with with an AAUI port to which you’d attach a transceiver that would convert it to the 10-base-T (RJ-45 / CAT-5) or the thin coax or whatever. My home network was actually thin coax, btw.[/background]

So a group of us (students — housemates in the same house) tried to set up a home network; attached the transceiver, plugged in the ethernet cable, ran it to the next person’s computer, etc, including a file server and a network printer and terminators on each end of the daisy chain. Mine wasn’t working. Testing using AppleTalk: switched from LocalTalk to Ethernet and it says NOPE! No can do, please connect to a network first and try again. Verified cable was OK, then called Apple since computer was new. They sent someone to my house which was out in suburbia (if not quite the absolute sticks. Suffolk County, Long Island NY, village of Smithtown). He replaced the motherboard, verified that it had not fixed the problem, tested the network, OK’d it, and snapped in a transceiver he had brought and it worked. My transceiver was a non-Apple product (although explicitly designed to work with the Mac) but he diagnosed the problem.

THE BAD

PowerBook G3 1998 Series (“WallStreet”) — I bought a display model from a 3rd party (authorized though) and got a great price on it, timing it just after the next version (“Lombard”) was released. Turns out its life-so-far as a display model meant there’d been some tension on the power cord from time to time, and this model had a design flaw: the AC in went into a tiny vertically mounted card (was also the Sound input/output board) that was soldered to the mommyboard in a fragile connection that tends to crack loose, causing one’s PowerBook to cease to accept electricity from the power cable. Problem cropped up the first week I owned the machine. Apple said take it to a local Apple-authorized repair center (this was before the Apple Stores existed). Those damnfools had my machine a week and a half before determining what the problem was, then said fixing it required sending it to Apple in California. They said remove everything that was not “standard” so since I’d bought my RAM 3rd-party, I asked and they confirmed I should remove it so I took out the RAM. I said “send it overnight express, I’ll pay the extra. And include a note to express-mail it back, I’ll pay the extra on the return fare too”. Instead they strapped it to the back of the slowest moving westbound turtle they could find. Over a week in transit. Apple gets the thing, I call every day to be told it is “still being tested” (wtf? their local affiliate already “tested” it?) until the day they said they had “shipped it back”. Yep, slowest possible shipping method once again. It arrives in NY unfixed with a note: “Wont’ boot — no RAM”. :mad:

I was without laptop for a full fucking month while the local clown and the Cupertino clowns sat on their thumbs not fixing my new machine. I did get an extension on my warranty.

9

It’s been fantastic for me. Except for one time, it’s been a few days turnaround at the local shop or by mail, always covered under the warranty.

That one time, something apparently got lost in the shuffle, and my computer was gone for about 3 weeks total. After two weeks, I called them up and complained, and they apologized and said someone would call me back. A few hours later, a manager called me back and offered to upgrade my replacement (my computer was being replaced rather than repaired, already). I effectively got a $300 bump in my upgrade for my trouble. They also replaced the RAM I had added myself, because the replacement I got used a different standard, and I didn’t want to have to buy it all over again.

10

I had this issue too, with the power cord of my MacBook which developed a short. This is a problem I’ve heard from a lot of my friends, it’s pretty obvious that it’s the cord because of the behavior of it. I was still under warranty and all I wanted was a cord to replace the one that was no longer functioning properly. But no, had to do a Genius Bar appointment, none of which were available for three days, because it could be my computer, not the cord, because I’m too dumb to tell the difference, and by the way, had I backed up my files lately and did I have confidential material that I needed to FileVault because the tech would need access to my administrator account. Uh, no. I didn’t come back three days later (I was there then, dammit) and stupidly let the machine come out of warranty and here I am 7 months later with the same stupid faulty power cord. Argh.

11

I’m putting on my nomex suit. At the end of this month, I’m getting a Windows 7 PC after 20 months with a 24" Aluminum iMac and numerous calls to AppleCare. A big part of my Apple problem is AppleCare. AppleCare kept me on the phone for 45 minutes to an hour each call, then a transfer to a “product specialist” who told me an answer after a minute or two. It was usually a wrong answer. Hell, it took 3 hour-plus calls to discover that Spotlight doesn’t search system folders. Typically they refer me to the Apple website, yet they themselves could never tell me where on the website to find the answer to my question. Because it wasn’t there, I check before I call.

The other thing they love to do is refer me to the “local” Apple Store. It’s quite a drive for me (over $10 in fuel for the round trip), then I’d have to tote that machine through the narrow crowded sidewalks of the city to the store itself from the expensive parking garage. This machine’s surprisingly heavy and has no handle suitable for carrying. Just not gonna happen.

I’ve been to Apple Stores on a few continents but don’t know exactly how they work. The Genius Bars are too busy to answer any walk-up questions. I couldn’t figure out who to talk to about scheduling an appointment. Actually, I couldn’t figure out who to talk to, period. No one has nametags or asks me if I need help.

So, to sum up, my “experience”* with Apple’s computers, sucks.

  • What is it with them and “my experience.” The AppleCare people kept talking about that. My Apple experience would be great if they’d just supply a user’s manual or help system that was actually helpful. Getting me to a person who could answer my questions instead of putting me on hold for 5 and 10 minutes at a time talking to someone about my questions would give me a good experience. I don’t mind being told the computer can’t do something but don’t waste half my evening to tell me.
12

I find it terribly annoying that they refer to their customer service desk as the “Genius Bar,” but other than that, I’ve had nothing but terrific customer service from Apple. It hasn’t gotten any worse with Apple’s increasing popularity either. My first computer ever was a Mac, and this was maybe 1994.

Sorry your experiences have sucked, Caractacus. Do you get better service with Windows products?

13

My experience was dealing with their support for iTunesU.

Apple support of iTunesU is the equivalent of having do to a crossword puzzle in the dark with no hint as to what the shape of the puzzle should be, and with Apple standing in the corner laughing at you when you ask for any assistance.

At the same time I was having this experience, I was dealing with some technical problems for Windows Silverlight (like iTunesU, a free product – Apple’s excuse to do nothing and write useless documentation). Microsoft gave me advice, e-mailed me if it worked if i didn’t get back to them, and didn’t close the ticket until the program was working.

14

MeanOldLady,

Yes. I can usually get my questions answered with a quick Google search for both Windows and Linux when the built-in help doesn’t have the solution. Those strategies don’t work so well with the Mac OS. Add the arbitrary limitations of the OS and/or hardware, such as inability to move files between drives via mouse only and having only one optical drive recognized at any time with no specific way to choose which one, that AppleCare doesn’t seem to know about, to the minimal online support and I’m pretty much on my own.

It would be great if the Apple Stores were helpful but, as someone else mentioned, the “Genius” Bars are too busy to be spontaneously useful. One day maybe I’ll crack the code and be able to make an appointment. One thing I don’t understand is why AppleCare can’t make the appointment. AppleCare and Apple Stores are both owned by Apple. Couldn’t they share a computer system?

15

I’ve had a few issues with Apple. Nothing huge, but just to counteract most of the happy happy stories here.

A) I bought a new iPod, and my computer wouldn’t recognize it at all. Called up customer support, and the lady just walked me through the exact same steps I found on the Apple website. When those didn’t work the second time either, she told me to send it back to the place I bought it from (Amazon.) I eventually fixed the problem by posting on this board but it was clearly a quite common problem for iPods and the lady had NO IDEA. The whole call was a huge waste of my time.

B) It’s probably just inevitable, but whenever I buy a pair of headphones for the iPod (the more expensive ones made by Apple), one of the earbuds will short out within 6-8 months. I’ve had 4 or 5 sets now and this happens EVERY time.

16

I have had really good experiences with the Genius Bar. It’s been easy to make a reservation online, and when I go there I’m called on time.

However, on one occasion the person helping me took their title “Genius” a little too seriously. I felt I was not being talked to respectfully. But that was only one time.

17

There’s an uncanny valley with Apple tech support.

They replaced my wives iPod the day after christmas when it fell out of her arms and committed suicide on the pavement. I even told them the truth. They just up and replaced it.

They’ve been helpful when things were a little flaky (“Reset the Parameter RAM” “Really? Intel laptops still have PRAM?” “Yes. Hold the Control, Option, Command, P, R, Q, Um-late, and hold the power button with your nose.” Bing! USB ports come back to life)

Call them up and say ‘Im a network professional and I believe Parallels has corrupted the network stack, is there any way to clean it out and start from scratch?’ answer, after a lot silence at the other end of the line: Reinstall OS. Answer the second: Time Machine rawks!

18

When one Googles the phrase “genius bar appointment” the first hit is, crazy enough, Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple where, lo and behold, one can make an appointment right there online.

Making an appointment isn’t tough. It’s the fact of going to a store, computer in hand, and being told “nope, come back some other time” that’s galling. They need to maintain one walk-in queue in addition to the appointments queue, especially at the busier stores.

19

That first Genius Bar appointment is a trial by fire, though. The second time you go, you know what to do and the experience from there on out is usually good.

If they had a ‘virgin’ line, it would undo the whole thing. There is a VIP thing, if you wish to pay more.

20

Former Applecare CPU Tier 1 agent here. (Once Agent of the Month for my site)

1>

Any agent can make you an appointment at a store. Unless of course, some dumbass at Apple takes the system down for maintenance in the middle of the day, which happens way too often.

When we had a bull session with one of the higher ups from Apple HQ, I mentioned that, as a former IT person, I could recommend that the time to do such maintenance is AFTER HOURS.

Unfortunately, some agents are simply lazy. Ask them to make an appointment for you. If they refuse, ask for a supervisor.

Also unfortunately, some customers are very uncooperative when we try to set them up with an appointment. I can’t make an appointment if you won’t cooperate with the process.

If the store doesn’t have any available appointments, I cannot magically create one. I actually used the exact same system to create appointments that you have access to through the website. No, I can’t call the store and ask/make them take you. I had no authority over the store.

That system only allows appointments for today and the next three days. We can’t make appointments for a week from Tuesday.

2>

Although some people have bad experiences overall, they are the rare exception rather than the rule. The people who really complain the most about their “bad” experiences are the people who come in, guns blazing, being uncooperative, demanding assholes. Support people are like anyone else. We don’t like helping people who are being dicks. My own mantra, which doesn’t always go over well with management, is;

The less pleasant you are,
The less helpful I am.

3> We couldn’t possibly know everything. We’re not taught everything, nor are we paid all that highly. We’re taught how to find the information. So if we’re reading from a self-help document or googling the answer, shut your fucking yap about how you could have done the same. YOU DIDN’T. You called me.

4> NO ONE is an expert on everything. I got some really obscure calls involving shit I’d never even dreamt about before, with some dickless wonder on the phone making all sorts of “Pffft” and sighing noises about how he didn’t want to speak to me, he wanted me to connect him directly to the one person who knew exactly what he was talking about and could solve his complex problem from memory and experience with one sentence. Good Luck With That.

6> The amount of calls where we would be expected to support Ancient Obscure Software Package X, which the person purchased at a flea market in 1988, is absolutely unbelievable. And these people won’t take no for an answer because “I’m using it on my Mac”. Yes, and I support the Mac, not your software package. I can’t tell you how to use the program, nor can I tell you if it will run on your computer. Check with the people who wrote it. Oh, they don’t provide support or even have a website? Then I can’t help you, because the best I can do is google for the answer, like you should have done.

5> NO ONE THERE has a magic wand to resolve your issue, or knows the One Exact Thing which will resolve your issue immediately. I’m not trying to be a jerk about it, but seriously, there are too many things we get asked about, too many things we had to work with, for any one agent to know every possible answer to every possible issue.

So we go through a list of things which may or may not resolve the issue.

Sorry, that’s just how it works. I can’t predict which of those things will work in advance. Sometimes the process is actually just narrowing down exactly where the problem lies. If they have you try it in a new user account, the purpose is to rule out that some user setting is causing the issue. Amazing how often that is the problem.

6> Did I mention that being a dick won’t help?

7> At the end of my 9 months as a CPU agent, there were FOUR of us left from my training class of 29. Turnover is high. Chances are the agent you get has only been doing this for a couple of months. It is a very stressful job that doesn’t pay nearly as much as one would expect and involves a lot more abuse from both above and below than many of us can tolerate. As I said to several of my employers in the Security field and at least one person on this particular job: “We’re only being paid to take so much shit, and we don’t have any control over how much we get from the public/our customers. So perhaps you need to decide how much shit you really need to give us and how high you want your employee turnover to be.”

8> If we ask you a lot of questions, and restate your issue a lot, it’s because we had very specific guidelines about how often we were supposed to “gain agreement” (four or five times per call at different points) and other such call evaluation requirements. We were evaluated at least once and sometimes several times a week, often remotely (so we didn’t know when or if it was happening). If we failed too often (which could sometimes be for extremely nitpicky minor bullshit even when the call went great and we resolved your issues in seconds), we were subject to retraining and/or discipline.

9> I know you don’t necessarily want the Applecare, but I would instantly fail my evaluation if I didn’t pitch it during the call. This was a biggie with Apple.

10> No, we didn’t know about new products ahead of time. We’d usually get a training module like the DAY BEFORE it came out, and we might actually get the training time to do it a couple of weeks AFTER it came out.