Complaint : Apple Store Genius Bar / Quality - Page 2

Update

Hey all... well, here's an update....

My girlfriend called Apple Customer Relations about the whole thing and although they were 'nice' she didn't get anywhere. She had logged a complaint about the "Genius" and they gave her a reference number.

I called that same day, later on and not knowing that she had already called. I spoke w/ a very welcoming guy named "DJ" who was very helpful. He found my repair and advised me on where it was, where it is going, etc. I explained to him our 'experience' at the Apple Store and he seemed half-way interested about it and even went so far as to "...log a complaint..." about it and gave me a case number--whatever or wherever that goes I don't know, but for now it's just a complaint.

Although I have to give Apple high credit because they replaced my computer for free when it was their repair depots screwup(s), the only thing I was really upset about was how we were treated at the store....bad karma all around. Other than that, they've fixed what they were supposed to and I've not had any runarounds from the company itself. Every time I've called, I speak to someone in North America (Canadians mostly, eh?) and don't need an interpreter...

I got a call today from the store that they received the computer from very nice girl who I'm guessing was a Genius (she said she was the one testing it when they got it back.) She said she just got it back and had been testing it this morning and it seems to be working just fine... They replaced the HDD and the HDD ribbon cable. I asked her to investigate if my Airport was working "ok" (because my g/f was having trouble using it a few times in my place) and she said she'd take a look at it no problem, and that it will be in good shape when I come pick it up. ::cross fingers::

My luck w/ Powerbooks hasn't been great, but Apple *has* gone above/beyond what most companies (if not any company) would do... In retrospect, they've done the right and honorable thing by replacing it for me, which they didn't have to do--they could've told me to pound sand and wait for it to get fixed again, but they didn't and were happy to replace it for me.

Tomorrow I go to pick it up from the store so we'll see what happens...hopefully it'll be in great shape, no new dings/scratches/rattles/etc., and will last me for a while. Apple seems to have repaired it in record time (went out Monday, came back Wednesday), but I hope the speed was not at the expense of the quality.

Thx all for hearing my gripe--I'm glad to hear that many of you have had such good luck w/ Apple products.... To be honest, I've rarely heard of anyone having problems w/ them, so to me it's been kind of a shock. I think the biggest problem(s) I've had were from the repair depot screwing up, or not doing it right.

In the meantime, I've ordered iWork (thx education discount) because it will help me out dramatically for one of the classes I'm taking next semester--Office X works great for many things, but I love the way Pages puts documents together so easily.

LOL... have fun.. My g/f just bought the Bose sound dock....sounds beautiful.

Well, I got the computer back today....

The HDD was replaced w/ a Hitachi vs. the Toshiba that was in it before... MUCH quieter, to a point where I have trouble knowing if its even on.

I get it home...and start to put my 1GB SODIMM in it....one problem, can't get the screws out... the repair depot had tightened them down so tightly that I can't get them out.

I called the AppleStore and told them what was up....they wanted me to come in tomorrow but I said that I can't because I'm having my wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow (no lie!), and would like to get my computer going. They said bring it in...no problem.

They took it away from me for about half an hour, replaced the screws and installed my RAM for me...no questions asked and an apology for the inconvenience.

Oddly enough, I didn't notice the (evil) Genius I had the displeasure of dealing with last time I was in there.

So, needless to say, I'm happy that I'm back up and running.... for how long I don't know, but I managed to get all my documents back on, used .mac to put my bookmarks and contacts back in, and things are running smoothly. I can't get over how much quieter this new drive is though....

I spoke too soon...

Ok, here's an update...looks like I spoke too soon...

• Picked up computer on 7/13, brought home, and find out that RAM door screws were WAY too tight from repair center. Couldn’t remove screws, so I brought back to the store, helped by Sales guy “Paul” and had store staff removed over-tightened screws (Genius “Sean”) and install my 1GB SODIMM. Was told by AppleCare to remove “my” RAM before sending in for repair (which I did).
  
• Had my wisdom teeth were pulled Friday morning, so in bad shape all day. Finally fired computer up Friday evening and when fan comes on, makes slight grinding sound, gradually gets louder. Turned the computer off when it got too loud.
  
• Called today, spoke w/ manager (?) “Renee” and she has scheduled an appointment to bring the unit in and see her and their 'head' genius to see what can be done.

I'm so "done" w/ Apple right now I could spit. My girlfriend is going w/ me tomorrow because I can't drive right now (meds) and will be my sidekick. I've dug up almost all my repair receipts.

I've owned "two" HP's and only sent one in for repair was a Intel PIII Pavilion N5190 - Hard drive died after two months...had the computer for 2 1/2 years until modem died, CompUSA dropped it, and gave full $$$ store credit for a new computer... I paid the difference and bought a Powerbook. My current HP is a ZV6000 Athlon 64 and I've not had any problems w/ it since I got it at Sam's Club in June of '04. I found out you can even e-mail them and get a response (from India most likely) in a little over an hour.

Believe me, Apple, I've tried, but this driving back/forth to your stores is just not fun for me (esp. at $3.00/gal!).

I'm glad to read that many other apple ppl are having such great luck w/ their machines, but I have to say that one word comes to mind right now: disillusioned. I only wish my PB was as well built as my iPod--I've got 3 of them and not a single problem w/ any one of them (3rd Gen 10GB, 1GB shuffle, and a 40GB Photo).

** Update** - Long Story

** Update ** It's long but has a happy ending. Apple came through for me.

My girlfriend and I went down there today to visit w/ the store mgr about what was going on and that I'd just simply like to get it fixed right so I don't have to come back again on a repair-basis.

Their "Genius" team couldn't find the problem, but heard a little bit of what I was talking about. Moreover, they saw the 'damage' that was done from when the previous Genius removed the severely over-tightened screws and the damage that was caused. The Genius team didn't want to do anything for me, period, so the asst. mgr got involved and basically left me w/ the feeling that they wanted to help.

I showed them all the repair receipts I've had and told them, "Look, I'm not looking for a new computer or anything... I'm looking to get this 'fixed' and fixed right so I don't have to keep driving down here anymore. You've very nicely replaced this computer once, but the only thing that hasn't changed is the repair depot."

They said they wanted to take one more shot at it and I said, "Sure, keep it all week and when I come back, can you guarantee me that this problem will be fixed, and that I will not have to bring it back again for another repair anytime soon?"

Their Genius said, "Uhh... we can't guarantee that." << I don't think I was asking for much except that they test the crap out of it and fix what needed to be fixed... The guy had a little bit of an attitude anyway.

"Then I'm done here and I'm selling this Powerbook.. Thx anyway." I left and headed to the cashier place to return the .Mac box and iWork I had bought last week and the asst. mgr ("Renee") stopped me and said, "Listen, I don't want you to leave unhappy. I'm really sorry that this has all happened and we want to help in any way I can."

"You're very nice but I already told you and everyone in here what I wanted; fix it and fix it right so I don't have to keep coming back here w/ more problems. I want to come here to buy stuff, not to have it fixed all the time. They damaged the bottom of it but that's not what I'm 'in your face' about; I'm 'in your face' about the fan being damaged or whatever and making a bad noise from the other night. I said to keep it all week and test it, but you didn't want to do that so that either leads me to believe you don't know or don't care what the problem is. I'm done here and tired of repeating myself."

She stopped the cashier from processing the return and said, "Apple doesn't want to lose you as a customer, so if you'd be willing to give it another shot, I'd like to offer you a new MacBook."

"What's the point if I ever have to have it repaired, I'm still in the same boat again..."

"You don't have to have it repaired at the depot, we can do it here for you no problem. Just request that that it be done in the store, but you shouldn't have to have it repaired. If there's a problem, let me or a manager know." I said, "If you can guarantee me that, then we'll have a deal; otherwise, I'm just going to go buy whatever is on sale at Sam's Club and be done w/ the whole thing."

After lunch, we came back and she had everything done and processed. She even explained that the "Genius" team didn't want to approve it because it was a replacement of a replacement of a replacement, but "...I'm the manager and I make the rules... I want to make sure my customers are happy Apple customers... " Talk about a different tone from last Saturday when we were yelled at for not making an appointment. I told her about that and she said, "Ask for me or another manager... We'll take care of it".

After all was said and done, I went home w/ a brand new MacBook (bought AppleCare naturally and iWork on education discount (which I originally returned, but repurchased)). She said, "I'm giving you a 2.0Ghz one because you had a pretty good Powerbook so I want to make sure you have adequate horsepower for your stuff..."

I couldn't believe all this--my girlfriend is still dismayed w/ Apple but you know what, they could've told me to go pound sand a long while ago or let me leave the store. I wasn't dramatic, I was just ready to go and that was it but she decided to safe a customer through (i guess) 'any means necessary'. Honestly, THAT is customer service just saying that right there, I don't care where you go.

My opinion of the MacBook: Pretty damn quick... I'm a bit of an AMD buff on the PC side, but I'm surprised how quick it is out of the box and how much I can run on it at once. Intel sure did a good job w/ this little thing. Also, I happened to notice how good the battery life is--I was pretty impressed that it took me almost 2hrs to knock down the inital charge of 53% on a heavy load.

The keyboard is really nice to type on and the body doesn't get hot on my lap at all. The fan never came on until I plugged it in the wall and started running many apps at once, but it was pretty quiet. The PB fan would come on pretty regularly on battery, but this one runs really cool.

I don't like that it doesn't come w/ a modem, but I'll get over it--I rarely used the one on my PB anyway (except once at jury duty... phone drop but no WiFi).

The Airport reception is stellar and the remote is a nice touch. I was pleasantly surprised by Front Row and the iSight camera. I've never used either so it's kind of fine to poke around with.

The build quality seems to be quite good--better than the PB I think. The mgr noticed that the lid on the PB I was returning wouldn't close properly, and I retorted, "It's been like that since I got it; I never complained because I was lucky to have a new machine." Also, the seams are all even and it doesn't creak or bend. It seems pretty sturdy. If this is Apple's next avenue for portables, the Macbook is a really nice computer.

In the end, Apple seems to have wanted to keep me...a 27yr old full time college student who is studying to be a history teacher and makes little money...as a customer. I have to say, that was a real good feeling. I really hope I bought Applecare for nothing on this one, but if I do have a problem, it's never going to their Depot for anything if I can help it.

Thx guys/gals for all the feedback--I hope that 'my story' is the same story as anyone else who has had the problems I've had, and turns out good in the end. I think if all works out well for at least a year or two, I'll continue to use Apple products and purchase another one. Until then, this little Macbook is going to be my new best friend next semester.

Cheers everyone!

I know, I think thats the punchline to the whole thing--I never asked nor did I want a new computer, and I said that from the beginning. I repeatedly told them, "I just want it fixed and fixed right--don't send it to that godd$#%#ed depot again because they just keep making it worse". The real problem the depot caused was that they way overtightened the screws, and if I didn't have RAM to put in it, I would never have noticed and I'd still be using that computer.

The incredible irony is that what I asked for was probably cheaper/easier for them to do. I didn't care about the damage the technician caused by getting the RAM door screws out (bent the case inward, causing fan to rub), I was pissed about the fan starting to make a grinding noise. I even told their "head Genius" that I just want the fan replaced if that's all that is required, and if they can fix the damage--that's ALL.

Another theory I had is it turned out to be a pi//ing contest between the mgr and the "head Genius" because he said, "You're not having a problem... we can look at it but if there's nothing wrong, it's within in spec." I said to keep it for a week, run your tests and diagnostics, see what's wrong and guarantee me that when I pick it up that it'll be in good shape. He said he "can't guarantee that" so I left. I think he made a bad impression and 'she' had to clean it up by saying, "I want to make you a happy Apple customer... You've had a tough time..etc.etc." I think she 'knew' and 'saw' that I was getting jerked around.

Anyway, it's over but I doubt I'll go to that store for any repairs after this--Brea Mall is close to my work so I may try there next time. They offered to xfer the data off of the PB onto the new MacBook but i didn't want their "Genius" ppl touching the new one--I kindly declined and said I had all my data backed up on my ipod at home.

Would you guys recommend that "if" I ever have a problem w/ the MacBook, to take it to 'that' store (South Coast) or to a different store? The reason I ask is that based on my 'history' there, would be safe to assume they wouldn't screw-up on another repair?

On the other plus side, I've got "3" iPods... never a single prob. w/ any of them. 10GB 3rd Gen (my first one...my mother has it and works flawlessly...batt. life is good too). 1GB shuffle (use for podcasts...works great).. and 40GB photo (my daily driver...never skipped a beat).

I like the Apple community, so I'm glad I'm still w/ you guys. I like PCs and use Windows regularly, but there's a lot about Macs I like and like more.

I have her card and she was very helpful. I plan on sending her a "Thank You" card sometime this week with a starbux gift card because she did such a good job.

** Bad news **

Hey guys... bad news all around...

Powered on the macbook this morning, and I got the 'vertical blinds' and it's frozen.

Well, this morning (Thursday), this is what I found when I just turned the computer on to check my e-mail before I left for work (see attached picture). I tried turning it off and back on again, nothing, I still get these 'vertical blinds' each time.

I got the machine home on Sunday evening. I thought I was going to be ok and things were great so far. By Monday evening, I was online, moved my data back over from my iPod, and was actually getting work done. Up until now, I had no problems--the only thing I noticed to be 'different' was that it seemed warmer, almost hot, compared to the Powerbook after I'd been using it for a while.

I e-mailed the apple store and plan on bringing it in tomorrow (Friday) for resolve. At this point, I don't know...Table PC? :-(