Apple might not Care

Problem: About a year ago I wrote a post entitled AppleDoesCare, which I wrote after a long battle with the Apple support structure. I was happy with the final solution but it was a terribly long ordeal. I had been royally pissed, but in the end, I relented and decided that at least some people at Apple do care about satisfying customers.

A recent incident has me re-thinking that post. This new incident had me investigating the possible repair of a MacBook Pro which was accidentally dropped by one of our users. I dutifully jumped through the hoops and got in contact with Apple Online Support. Very quickly, they set me up with an appointment at the local Apple store with a "Genius" to work on my problem. (Sounds good, eh? I'm glad they're all geniuses. It gives me an extra sense of hope that they're going to know.......well, pretty much everything). As it turned out, the Genius didn't dazzle me with omniscience. I think he was actually just quoting from a script, automaton-like. I'll paraphrase: "Sorry sir, but the damage to your machine was accidental. That's not covered by the AppleCare Agreement. To fix that broken display will cost you $758.00. I'd better take it in the back to check for other problems". (wait.....wait.....wait.....) Ten minutes later: "Sorry, but there are other problems. I suggest you send the machine to our factory for the flat-rate fix of all the problems. That will cost you $1240.00". .......... All of this with a completely straight face. He was a nice enough guy, but then they all seem nice around the Apple store. Anyhow, $1240.00 is about the price of a new machine. Thanks, but no thanks, Apple.

The Whopping repair fee is only part of the problem. I wrongly assumed that having an extended warranty might give us some kind of a price break. Not a chance. The Genius told me that AppleCare doesn't cover accidental damage at all. Also, the online support technician who sent me to the Apple store knew the damage was accidental and didn't bother to tell me that it was going to cost us to fix it. The trip to the Apple store was a complete waste of my time.

I don't know how they compete. Most of our machines are Dells. And, when we order a Dell laptop, we generally also order the Complete Care option, which covers accidental damage. Dell's quality is just as good as Apple's, maybe even better for some things. When something goes wrong with a Dell, the Technician will come right to the site to work on it, if you want him/her to.

I'm not sure why we ever buy Apple products other than the fact that some of our people get caught up in the Apple hype. You've got to hand it to the marketing guys. Every TV show or movie where you happen to see a computer in the scene usually shows a Mac. If you ever go to an Apple store you'll see hoards of people standing elbow-to-elbow waiting for iPhones, iPods, iThis and iThat. iThink that most of their products are so immensely popular that their customers are completely blinded to what's happening behind the scenes. So, Apple obviously has something going for it. However, not for me.......

Solution: Dell