Frustrated with Apple Care service
in [Mac Applications]
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From: KentSteve on 24 Nov 2006 00:05 Well, I'm assuming Apple Care will save me out-of-pocket expenses on this repair and others that are possible on a hard-ridden laptop. I hope I'm right. If not, I'll try your method next time... On Nov 23, 10:47 pm, Shawn Hirn <s...(a)comcast.net> wrote: > In article <1164332564.041829.255...(a)l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com>, > > > > "KentSteve" <kentsteve2...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > Took my computer to an Apple-authorized service center last Tuesday for > > hard-drive problems that the Apple hardware test tool identified. On > > the basis of this ID, I was told by Apple to take it in. The Apple guy > > (a service center with only one Apple tech) was out that day at a > > service call. He looked at it the next day. His own diagnosis took > > until the end of the next day day. (Was he also culturing strep > > bacteria off the keyboard?) He determined what we'd already determined: > > needs a new hard drive. He ordered it and said it would be in Tuesday > > (two days ago). I wasn't allowed to take the computer back home > > meanwhile (where I was happily running it from an external hard drive) > > as he said that would require him to close the ticket -- Apple policy. > > Fine. Hard drive didn't show up Tuesday as promised. He said it would > > be Friday. "With the holidays and all." Huh? If I'd ordered a new > > computer from the Apple Store, it damn well would have arrived, along > > with the credit card bill. I mean, if there's one thing that's > > dependable these days it's the entrepreneurial courier companies. So > > the hard drive will be in tomorrow. Will the computer be fixed > > tomorrow? No. Nobody's coming in the store tomorrow, and only two hours > > on Saturday. Apparently my computer, with its guts exposed on some > > bench, doesn't merit attention from the tech until Monday. Will it be > > ready Monday? No. He said it will be Tuesday. Who the hell knows why. I > > bought the three-year Apple Care policy, but I never bothered to look > > whether labor is paid for. If it's not, and I'm out $100 or $200 for > > his painstaking determination of the problem I had already identified > > -- and for his indifference to the notion of timely service -- I'm > > going to refuse to pay it. I could have bought a third-party hard drive > > and put the beast in myself rather than deal with these twits. They're > > the kind of passive-aggressive tech-heads we're all familiar with -- in > > fact, some of you are just like them -- and I'm going to make sure > > Steve Jobs is aware of them. So he can roll up his sleeves -- wait, he > > always has his mock-turtleneck sleeves pushed up, 1980s style -- and > > troubleshoot the problem. Happy Thanksgiving.Geez! For a busted hard drive on a laptop, you should have just bought > the largest 2.5" IDE drive your budget will allow and install it > yourself. For $200, you can buy a pretty decent size hard drive. > Installing a hard drive takes all of five minutes, and the directions > are easy to find via a Google search. That's what I did a couple of > years ago when the hard drive on my PowerBook died on me.
From: KentSteve on 24 Nov 2006 00:11 On Nov 23, 10:23 pm, Dave Balderstone <dave(a)N_O_T_T_H_I_Sbalderstone.ca> wrote: > In article <0001HW.C18BD440006F95B0F058A...(a)news1.news.adelphia.net>, > > J.J. O'Shea <try.not...(a)but.see.sig> wrote: > > On Thu, 23 Nov 2006 20:42:44 -0500, KentSteve wrote > > (in article <1164332564.041829.255...(a)l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com>): > > > [trollery snipped] > > Assuming that your story has any truth to it, given your attitude as shown > > here and on the guitar groups, I suspect I know why you're being made to > > wait. And, if it was me who was fixing your machine, you'd be waiting a whole > > lot longer.Oh, I could tell stories from my days as a tech in an Apple-authorized > store many moons ago. > > Weeks, we made some pricks wait, when we'd repaired their box 20 > minutes after they brought it in. > > And they deserved it, every one... J.J., are you aware that Balderstone just validated my entire OP?
From: J.J. O'Shea on 24 Nov 2006 00:18 On Thu, 23 Nov 2006 23:23:42 -0500, Dave Balderstone wrote (in article <231120062223425242%dave(a)N_O_T_T_H_I_Sbalderstone.ca>): > In article <0001HW.C18BD440006F95B0F058A530(a)news1.news.adelphia.net>, > J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to(a)but.see.sig> wrote: > >> On Thu, 23 Nov 2006 20:42:44 -0500, KentSteve wrote >> (in article <1164332564.041829.255380(a)l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com>): >> >> [trollery snipped] >> Assuming that your story has any truth to it, given your attitude as shown >> here and on the guitar groups, I suspect I know why you're being made to >> wait. And, if it was me who was fixing your machine, you'd be waiting a >> whole >> lot longer. > > Oh, I could tell stories from my days as a tech in an Apple-authorized > store many moons ago. It's a bad idea to antagonise people who you're depending on to do work for you. > > Weeks, we made some pricks wait, when we'd repaired their box 20 > minutes after they brought it in. We'd take a few minutes to do something like install a new hard drive, plus whatever time it took to install the OS on it. But we'd not get around to doing that with certain machines until we'd fixed every other machine in the shop. That way, if the twit in question demanded his machine back, he'd get it back, in exactly the same condition as he left it. > > And they deserved it, every one... I had a look at m'man's posts in Google. He's severely in need of an attitude adjustment. Hint: most people are not going to simply drop what they're doing to get your particular job out the door. In particular, threats to go to the boss tend to have a negative effect. "I'm going to make sure that Steve Jobs is aware of them". Yeah. Right. So why's he bitching here? Write to the iSteve, and see what it gets you. Idiot. -- email to oshea dot j dot j at gmail dot com.
From: J.J. O'Shea on 24 Nov 2006 00:45 On Thu, 23 Nov 2006 23:47:48 -0500, Shawn Hirn wrote (in article <srhi-433DEF.23474823112006(a)newsgroups.comcast.net>): > In article <1164332564.041829.255380(a)l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com>, > "KentSteve" <kentsteve2005(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > >> Took my computer to an Apple-authorized service center last Tuesday for >> hard-drive problems that the Apple hardware test tool identified. On >> the basis of this ID, I was told by Apple to take it in. The Apple guy >> (a service center with only one Apple tech) was out that day at a >> service call. He looked at it the next day. His own diagnosis took >> until the end of the next day day. (Was he also culturing strep >> bacteria off the keyboard?) He determined what we'd already determined: >> needs a new hard drive. He ordered it and said it would be in Tuesday >> (two days ago). I wasn't allowed to take the computer back home >> meanwhile (where I was happily running it from an external hard drive) >> as he said that would require him to close the ticket -- Apple policy. >> Fine. Hard drive didn't show up Tuesday as promised. He said it would >> be Friday. "With the holidays and all." Huh? If I'd ordered a new >> computer from the Apple Store, it damn well would have arrived, along >> with the credit card bill. I mean, if there's one thing that's >> dependable these days it's the entrepreneurial courier companies. So >> the hard drive will be in tomorrow. Will the computer be fixed >> tomorrow? No. Nobody's coming in the store tomorrow, and only two hours >> on Saturday. Apparently my computer, with its guts exposed on some >> bench, doesn't merit attention from the tech until Monday. Will it be >> ready Monday? No. He said it will be Tuesday. Who the hell knows why. I >> bought the three-year Apple Care policy, but I never bothered to look >> whether labor is paid for. If it's not, and I'm out $100 or $200 for >> his painstaking determination of the problem I had already identified >> -- and for his indifference to the notion of timely service -- I'm >> going to refuse to pay it. I could have bought a third-party hard drive >> and put the beast in myself rather than deal with these twits. They're >> the kind of passive-aggressive tech-heads we're all familiar with -- in >> fact, some of you are just like them -- and I'm going to make sure >> Steve Jobs is aware of them. So he can roll up his sleeves -- wait, he >> always has his mock-turtleneck sleeves pushed up, 1980s style -- and >> troubleshoot the problem. Happy Thanksgiving. > > Geez! For a busted hard drive on a laptop, you should have just bought > the largest 2.5" IDE drive your budget will allow and install it > yourself. For $200, you can buy a pretty decent size hard drive. Which is why I don't believe a word he posted. Hint: if the drive is being replaced under AppleCare, the store will generate AppleCare paperwork, which will show the nominal price for the job... and the fact that the customer is not being charged. And will require the customer to sign the paperwork before accepting the machine. So, if the device in question is being fixed under AppleCare, the twit has in his possession documentation indicating the price, including labour, already. Which is another reason why I think he's lying. It's called a 'Genius Bar Work Confirmation' if the twit went to an actual Apple Store. I can't remember the official name for the form for non-Apple, but authorised for AppleCare support, stores. On the form would be items such as SVC MLB 1.25 GHZ EMAC NF price 264.06 total price 264.06 amount due 0.00 HARDWARE REPAIR-LEVEL 2 price 135.00 total price 135.00 amount due 0.00 Totals total price 399.06 amount due 0.00 along with an item number, a barcode, and other info for tracking items. (In case anyone's interested, that's a direct quote from my AppleCare form for replacing my eMac's motherboard, which took three days from go, including time for shipping the board... His form should have entries for the hard drive and for the hardware repair labour, which also would probably be level 2 and cost $135... except that under AppleCare, that's 0.00.) I'm just about certain that if there's a real repair going on, it's not under AppleCare or the twit's leaving a few things out or both. > Installing a hard drive takes all of five minutes, and the directions > are easy to find via a Google search. That's what I did a couple of > years ago when the hard drive on my PowerBook died on me. Which is why, if there's any truth at all to what he posted, I figure that he's getting an attitude adjustment. He pissed off the techs, and they're having some fun with him. If he's not careful it'll be Christmas and he'll be still waiting on that hard drive. It's a really bad idea to antagonise the service people _before_ they finish working on your machine. Issuing wild threats merely makes things worse. -- email to oshea dot j dot j at gmail dot com.
From: KentSteve on 24 Nov 2006 01:59
J.J. O'Shea wrote: > On Thu, 23 Nov 2006 23:47:48 -0500, Shawn Hirn wrote > (in article <srhi-433DEF.23474823112006(a)newsgroups.comcast.net>): > > > In article <1164332564.041829.255380(a)l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com>, > > "KentSteve" <kentsteve2005(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > >> Took my computer to an Apple-authorized service center last Tuesday for > >> hard-drive problems that the Apple hardware test tool identified. On > >> the basis of this ID, I was told by Apple to take it in. The Apple guy > >> (a service center with only one Apple tech) was out that day at a > >> service call. He looked at it the next day. His own diagnosis took > >> until the end of the next day day. (Was he also culturing strep > >> bacteria off the keyboard?) He determined what we'd already determined: > >> needs a new hard drive. He ordered it and said it would be in Tuesday > >> (two days ago). I wasn't allowed to take the computer back home > >> meanwhile (where I was happily running it from an external hard drive) > >> as he said that would require him to close the ticket -- Apple policy. > >> Fine. Hard drive didn't show up Tuesday as promised. He said it would > >> be Friday. "With the holidays and all." Huh? If I'd ordered a new > >> computer from the Apple Store, it damn well would have arrived, along > >> with the credit card bill. I mean, if there's one thing that's > >> dependable these days it's the entrepreneurial courier companies. So > >> the hard drive will be in tomorrow. Will the computer be fixed > >> tomorrow? No. Nobody's coming in the store tomorrow, and only two hours > >> on Saturday. Apparently my computer, with its guts exposed on some > >> bench, doesn't merit attention from the tech until Monday. Will it be > >> ready Monday? No. He said it will be Tuesday. Who the hell knows why. I > >> bought the three-year Apple Care policy, but I never bothered to look > >> whether labor is paid for. If it's not, and I'm out $100 or $200 for > >> his painstaking determination of the problem I had already identified > >> -- and for his indifference to the notion of timely service -- I'm > >> going to refuse to pay it. I could have bought a third-party hard drive > >> and put the beast in myself rather than deal with these twits. They're > >> the kind of passive-aggressive tech-heads we're all familiar with -- in > >> fact, some of you are just like them -- and I'm going to make sure > >> Steve Jobs is aware of them. So he can roll up his sleeves -- wait, he > >> always has his mock-turtleneck sleeves pushed up, 1980s style -- and > >> troubleshoot the problem. Happy Thanksgiving. > > > > Geez! For a busted hard drive on a laptop, you should have just bought > > the largest 2.5" IDE drive your budget will allow and install it > > yourself. For $200, you can buy a pretty decent size hard drive. > > Which is why I don't believe a word he posted. > > Hint: if the drive is being replaced under AppleCare, the store will generate > AppleCare paperwork, which will show the nominal price for the job... and the > fact that the customer is not being charged. And will require the customer to > sign the paperwork before accepting the machine. So, if the device in > question is being fixed under AppleCare, the twit has in his possession > documentation indicating the price, including labour, already. Which is > another reason why I think he's lying. It's called a 'Genius Bar Work > Confirmation' if the twit went to an actual Apple Store. I can't remember the > official name for the form for non-Apple, but authorised for AppleCare > support, stores. On the form would be items such as > > SVC MLB 1.25 GHZ EMAC NF price 264.06 total price 264.06 amount due 0.00 > HARDWARE REPAIR-LEVEL 2 price 135.00 total price 135.00 amount due 0.00 > Totals total price 399.06 amount due 0.00 > > along with an item number, a barcode, and other info for tracking items. (In > case anyone's interested, that's a direct quote from my AppleCare form for > replacing my eMac's motherboard, which took three days from go, including > time for shipping the board... His form should have entries for the hard > drive and for the hardware repair labour, which also would probably be level > 2 and cost $135... except that under AppleCare, that's 0.00.) > > I'm just about certain that if there's a real repair going on, it's not under > AppleCare or the twit's leaving a few things out or both. > > > Installing a hard drive takes all of five minutes, and the directions > > are easy to find via a Google search. That's what I did a couple of > > years ago when the hard drive on my PowerBook died on me. > > Which is why, if there's any truth at all to what he posted, I figure that > he's getting an attitude adjustment. He pissed off the techs, and they're > having some fun with him. If he's not careful it'll be Christmas and he'll be > still waiting on that hard drive. > > It's a really bad idea to antagonise the service people _before_ they finish > working on your machine. Issuing wild threats merely makes things worse. > > -- > email to oshea dot j dot j at gmail dot com. Once again, you've made numerous incorrect assumptions. Let me tell you exactly what has happened, for it doesn't quite jibe with your description of how Apple goes about doing warranty work, and this troubles me. I spent a good deal of time on the phone with Apple Care technicians, who finally had me run the hardware test utility on an endless loop. The next morning, the mass storage test came up with this: 2STF/8/3 : ATA -100 ata 6 - master. So I called Apple Care back and they gave me an eight digit job number and told me to take the computer in to any certified service center. The place I chose had me fill out a one-page form, and they tore the bottom of it off as a receipt. Rather crude, and no "nominal" charge was indicated. (This was 10 days ago, by the way. I just checked the date. Tomorrow, on the 11th day, my hard drive is due to arrive. The computer is slated to be finished three or four days after that.) If the technicians were supposed to give me some theoretical price quote, they haven't bothered. And I can assure you, I haven't antagonized them one bit. On the contrary, I've been courteous throughout but have found them to be peremptory and snippish. When I first called about the repair, I fretted about needing the computer for work (but made nothing resembling a demand), and a tech told me I could leave the machine and come back several hours later to retrieve it. When I suggested this to the tech who actually received my computer the next day, he dismissively told me this was impossible. On the day the test was to be done, I was told they needed two more hours to finish it. Three hours later, I called to see if it was done, because I was getting ready to leave the house and didn't want to miss his call. The tech said, "I told you I'd call you when it was done, so it's not done." I assured him I wasn't being pushy -- that I'd been afraid of missing his call. This time, he was apologetic. It's quite unlikely I've pissed off any techs, but if I have, it's because they're misanthropic nincompoops, not because I need an attitude adjustment. Now, grant me that I've treated our friendly techs with respect and have only done my venting in here: is two weeks too long to wait while an Apple-certified service center replaces a hard drive? Because if it's not too long to wait, then you've missed a legitimate reason to put me in my place. And if is too long to wait, then you've wasted your own time impugning me on the basis of false assumptions. |