Apple, Worst Customer Service Ever?

[sn00pie]

got my laptop back yesterday night. They also had to replace the HDD because it failed in the 2nd repair loop. So in total the logic board, ram, HDD, and bottom case were replaced... took forever. Still had a terrible experience with customer support. :pinch:

586796689[/snapback]

That's good news! :)

[semaja2.net]

i know how you feel man, when i got my hp i foudn it had the wrong harddrive in it i ring up to get it replaced so it seems they cant send me a replacment for dicksmiths to replace, so i wen through the same troube as you with the we mailed ur pc but wait it didnt get sent blah blah blah. took over 1 month for my pc to come back

PS luckily after the 1st week i was so ****ed off at everyone i demanded that dicksmiths give me a replacment, which i got but i didnt have any of my tuner cards or gfx or anything that i upgraded

PSS so as u can see every company operates this way and makes up all these lies about whats happening when really all they are doing is letting your pc collect dust when all they had to do was spend 4 mins taking a hdd out and placing a new one

[TogaForComfort]

Quick question.

Can you not get a warranty repair done by an apple authorized service provider?

I work for one in the UK and we get loads of people come to us because apple take to long or mess around with the repair, we do tonnes of warranty repairs.

[AltecXP]

my brother had his powerbook fro 1 month, they replaced the vid card, dvd rom, screen, logic board, battery and the ram lol only thing on his laptop that came in the box is HDD, keyboard and case lol

[perochan]

and we all thought Apple products are better than PC in some fields and dont get defected it... maybe thats why they dont "really" train their tech/customer support. :D :D

[SonComet]

Here's my experience so far with Apple.

Ok, so 2 weeks ago today I bought the DP 2.0 Rev. C G5 that I have in my sig. On the first night of owning it I notice a high-pitched chirping noise while transferring a lot of my old files over the network to the G5. Atfirst it was just annoying, but over the 1-2 hours it took to transfer all of the files I didn't burn off my PC it really started to hurt my ears.

Over the next couple of days I noticed a constant rhythmic beep when the computer was idling, and I could make the computer chirp whenever I opened a new widget. Chirping would also occur when I was doing something intensive, like burning a data dvd, and would open any program or move a window around. These instances aren't as drawn out as when transferring files over the network (so it doesn't make my ears and head hurt), but they are extremely annoying. So for the last few days I have been dealing with my local Apple Stores about this.

So I bring the computer into the Apple Store closest to my school and explaing the problem. It's 10AM and I am one of the few people in the store so I am able to hear my computer chirping from a couple of feet away while opening widgets to demonstrate to the "genius" what the problem is. He tells me that he can't hear anything and that I am just hypersensitive to this frequency. I tell him that this is a documented problem on Apple's own discussion boards and he tells me that it is not. I eventually make him take the computer so that someone else can test it in the back.

I get home from work that same day and get a call from Apple. They now admit that the problem exists, but tell me that it happens with every DP G5 and that I am out of luck. I tell them that this is unacceptable, but they don't care.

So the next day I drive home to my parents house and go with my dad to the Apple Store near our house. I bring with me print-outs of all the documentation that I can find on this problem. I tell them what is happening and give them the info and the guy goes into the back room for over 45 minutes. Then he comes out and tells me that they are going to have to test and it will be gone for a few days.

So that's where the computer is now, and I know that they can't fix it so I hope that I can get store credit out of them so that I can buy a different computer. Either that or I will just have to ebay it. I didn't know that the DP G5s still had this problem. The fact that it is quieter now than on the Rev. As makes me wonder how loud the Rev. A models were.

SIDE NOTE: I went around the apple store listening to the other DP and DC G5s to see if I could hear this same sound. Sure enough even though the store was pretty loud I could hear the chirping from EVERY DP G5, but I couldn't hear a thing coming from the DC models. I am guessing that the DC models either don't have the problem or it is much quieter (it may just have been too quiet to hear in the noisy store, unlike the DP ones which were audible even in that loud crowded store with my head near the case).

The chirping occurs from the power supply waking up the second CPU from NAP mode and causing it to make a "singing" or "chirping" noise. Something to do with not so great capacitors on the PSUs that Apple uses. I am guessing that since the DC CPU only has to wake up the seperate core that maybe it doesn't do this to the same extent or something, similarly the single cpu G5s don't have this problem.

[Yvo]

hmm i would've said, i want a new one or keep this one and my money back the moment they admitted there was a problem. Apple can't charge a restocking fee if they admit there is a fault in the product.

[SonComet]

hmm i would've said, i want a new one or keep this one and my money back the moment they admitted there was a problem. Apple can't charge a restocking fee if they admit there is a fault in the product.

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Yeah, I am gonna do that whenever this other apple store ever calls me back. It is kind unacceptable that they would deny that this problem exists and then have a sticky for it in their own forums. Only to later admit that it exists, lol. I just think that they bank on the fact that most people may not notice it. I never knew how bad it was until I got it home and since it's dead silent at my house for the majority of the day this problem is pretty loud for me.

In my apartment two of my three roommates have their computers next to mine, and if we transfer files over the network then the high-pitched "singing" from the G5 makes us all have to get up from our computers and watch tv on the other side of the room. It may just be annoying in short bursts, but when sustained it does hurt.

Edited November 15, 2005 by SonComet

[SonComet]

OK, well this weekend I went to check on my G5 because they still hadn't called me to have me pick it up. I thought they would call since they called the first time, but I guess that's not how it works, heh.

Anyways, I go to pick my computer up after sending it in for repair for problems in my post above, and they tell me that nothing is wrong with it. I then ask if the guy can hear the problem on the Dual 2.7 G5 sitting nearby and he says that he can hear it on that one but not on mine. So we take mine out so that I can listen to it and it sounds identical to the Dual 2.7 G5 (as it should since they all have this problem), but he says he can't hear it on mine at all. So now I have gone from the apple store telling me that they can hear it one week and saying that yes it affects all the DP models in there store, but not my G5. This seems kind of shady to me. I would believe that some people would never hear it since my dad can't (he has pretty bad hearing), but my mom can. So this selective hearing annoys me.

I then point out 5 large scratches that are now on the G5 case, and one small chink in the aluminum. Seeing as how the computer was brand new when I brought it in (I always transport it in the original box) and flawless I was pretty ****ed off. I know I looked furious, but I managed to vocally keep my cool and after speaking with a manager they are going to replace the case on my G5.

That's all fine and dandy, except for the fact that it shouldn't have happened. I am just mad that one week they tell me they can hear my problem but I am out of luck, and then the next week it happens on all there DP G5's, but now suddenly not on mine.

What really sucks is that I can't use my student discount again for a year (I won't be in school in a year), and this constant beep every second, chirping, and highpitched whine that occur under various situations are not sooooooo loud but loud enough for my to hear at home or in my apartment even with some ambient noise when sitting at my desk. So now even if I were to sell this on ebay and hopefully not take too big of a loss I couldn't afford another apple anyways without my discount. I love osx, but I just need it without the highpitched noises from the G5.

I know that I am the minority of people who would be affected by this, or this annoyed by it, but I feel like this is unacceptable for computers that are this expensive.

[Simon Veteran]

The costs for phone support are also ridiculous. I had a problem with my iPod and didn't have Apple Care, and I would have had to pay like 60 bucks just to talk to someone over there. Luckily I was going to Toronto the next week :D and got a genius there to fix it. The genuis bar wait times are also ridiculous, but I ahd the time of my life in that store. I had never touched a mac before but always wanted one. It was then that I decided that in a few years when my laptop dies in an unfortunate drop of my bookbag :devil: i would get an iBook or PowerBook.

Now I'm thinking of getting a Mac Mini pretty soon.

[yayo]

Precisely why I didn't bother with AppleCare.. and yes, customer service is awful.

[CyBeRiA]

Bear, how do you know they didn't change the motherboard and it's not something else that's causing the problem?

Even if they didn't change the logic board, what makes you think they didn't diagnose the problem as something else?

I find it rather childish that you waited only 3 days from when you sent in your Mac before you started stalking their customer support. I'm not an Apple fanboy, but people with no patience tend to bother me. In fact, they were probably bothered as well. The guy who was fixing your computer probably had his boss push him to get yours done faster so you'd stop calling. He probably messed up, and now look at all the good it's done you to call them 15 times. Just be patient. Not having your computer for a week sucks, but it's not the end of the world. And before you tell me to go away, or stop trolling, I'll just tell you now that I'm done reading this thread and just hope you learn some patience, and appreciate the folks who spend all day dealing with people like you.

[SonComet]

Well, I brought the G5 back to apple to have them replace the case so that I can sell it. But when I got there the guy who has helped me that last three times refused to even make eye contact with me and even though I was the second person in line, he helped several people who came in and were listed after me before me, and it wasn't until someone else came up to call my name that anyone helped me.

So anyways I am talking to the new guy and I tell him that I decided to just have them replace the case at this store since I was done trying to have my issues with the computer fixed (since they are inherent to all of them, and guess I am in the minority of people with good enough hearing to hear it regularly) and the guy can't find anything written about me getting the computer's case replaced. Just yesterday the guy standing next to him read me what he wrote about my case, and said that I could take it to any apple store to be fixed. Guess he was lying to me.

So I end up having to call my dad because maybe they will listen to someone over the age of 20. And so he comes in, and we talk to them (very firmly) again and they realize that, "Oh, yeah we did tell them that the case would be replaced since we damaged it the last time we serviced it." I am so happy that the bill on my repair sheet is for over 600 bucks (covered by warranty ofcourse) because this service is abysmal and they deserve to lose some money over it. It's the worst I have ever experienced.

After I sell this computer I would probably like to buy another apple computer, but I don't have my student discount anymore since you can only buy one computer per year with it. So even if I make 90% of what I paid back on this G5 I still can't afford to get a new apple. So whatever, I guess I'm done with apple. I love osx, but I hate apple hardware and service.

[-Anthony]

You guys should try Compaq/HP Support.

[bolix]

I just hate when people say that something is the worst, I mean, I've seen far worse services.

[[bear]]

Bear, how do you know they didn't change the motherboard and it's not something else that's causing the problem?

Even if they didn't change the logic board, what makes you think they didn't diagnose the problem as something else?

I find it rather childish that you waited only 3 days from when you sent in your Mac before you started stalking their customer support. I'm not an Apple fanboy, but people with no patience tend to bother me. In fact, they were probably bothered as well. The guy who was fixing your computer probably had his boss push him to get yours done faster so you'd stop calling. He probably messed up, and now look at all the good it's done you to call them 15 times. Just be patient. Not having your computer for a week sucks, but it's not the end of the world. And before you tell me to go away, or stop trolling, I'll just tell you now that I'm done reading this thread and just hope you learn some patience, and appreciate the folks who spend all day dealing with people like you.

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First of all you need to be quiet when you don't know what you are talking about.

They put my repair order on hold pending more information from me. Nobody called to notify me of that therefore when i checked the repair status page it said i needed to call them. So I did.. Simple as that and not childish at all. And calling them over and over again was needed because of the terrible job they did. The fact of the matter is that on the first order they were supposed to replace the logic board and they sent the computer back to me unrepaired and untouched. Not everyone is so able to go without their computer as you. I actually have things I need to get done on campus. After waiting more than a week just to find that they had done nothing was pretty upsetting. I think you can see my point here, and if you don't - then I think you need to have your eyes checked because you must be reading this story completely wrong. I think everyone here can agree with me that apple did a terrible job on my repair. In the end I had to ship it back to them again just because their incompetent staff sent it back untouched. That is simply unacceptable. Don't talk to me about patience either. When the return time is supposed to be 7 days and they send you back a piece of crap and the entire process ends up being three weeks there is a serious problem.

Also let me add that it sounds like you have never gone through a repair order before. At the end of the order a reciept lists all repairs done to your machine. My reciept simply said Return to Customer/ Problem Not Found. Maybe you should not suggest that I am impatient when you don't even know how the repair process works. A technical support person even apologized to extreme measures afterwards because the ibook was listed to have the logic board replaced but it never happened because they made a big mistake and forgot it completly. Any more questions, or would you like to continue your nonsense?

[Yvo]

Well after reading what I missed, Apple definitely did a number on ya [bear]. However I still disagree that Apple is the worst out there when in general they are much more helpful then Dell or HP/Compaq.

I have a HP laptop and in the last 2 years that I have owned that machine, it has been in service 5 times and the BBB has been contacted twice. Out of the 5 times in service, 3 of those occurences happened in a matter of two weeks. I'll spare everyone the whining and details, but I will never ever purchase a HP laptop again. HP also has support in India, and when you talk to their rep they are reading from scripts with terrible grammar. Sometimes what they say just makes absolutely no sense. Then there is that 3 second delay between what you say and they say, thus having an actual conversation (even off of scripts) is impossible. Oh and a chat tool on the internet, it takes about 40 minutes in total to get a simple service process started.

I have only had to deal with Dell on the business / enterprise level (their poweredge servers) and while their sales department is in the US, their support is in India... however they do ship out parts (incorrect parts unfortunately) directly to you via 2-3 day air.

Now Apple has two things neither HP/Compaq or Dell has.

1. Stores staffed with tech support staff all over the US (apparently Dell has a few, but not nearly as many). Thus people can have a face to face conversation with the rep. Now of course face to face, body language comes into play and the customer is a coward or looks like a geek (read: anything not threatening) they will tend to get a loss from talking to rep. It is allll about physical demeanor when going to the store. A ****ed off customer wanting his/her way and sounding reasonable (read: no personal insults and/or anything demeaning to the rep) will quickly get taken care of because of the nearby customers listening to the conversation.

2. US based tech support (if your in the US, I don't know about the other countries). When I call someone at Apple, I can actually have a conversation with them and again, demeanor over the phone comes in play. A phone rep (I worked tech support) can quickly tell if the person on the other line is a "jerk" or someone they can control. As long as they get the opportunity to control the conversation, you are just going to get standard and/or substandard support. Thus charms and controlling the conversation will get things turned your way. Now don't **** off the rep, but stay in control and be nice to them and they will do things for you they normally don't. Considering they work a 8 hour shift, take about 6-7 calls per hour and in that time most customers they talk to are any one of these: upset, angry, smartasses (people that think they know what they say but dont), dumb (people who just aren't clear, read: its making a noise or it doesn't work.... its phone support not the 800 psychic line), have a heavy accent (I have nothing against hispanics or asians, but sometimes it can be very hard in what they are trying to say). Thus this can cause the rep to get burned out, after all they are just human. So if you call up and your very nice, give them compliments, ask about their day... any interesting calls, so forth... they will bend your way.

So maybe that is why my support experience with Apple has been a pleasure because of my own back ground in phone support (meaning I know what they are going through) but being nice has always gotten my shipping upgraded for free, free products, and my stuff always comes back repaired. I call support at least 2-3 times a month (I work for a hosting provider and we have at least 500-600 macs hosting websites).

[[bear]]

Well after reading what I missed, Apple definitely did a number on ya [bear]. However I still disagree that Apple is the worst out there when in general they are much more helpful then Dell or HP/Compaq.

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I think I need to rephrase my topic to state that this is the worst customer service experience I've had. I know all of you have had good and bad experiences. I know dell is worse and all, im relating the worst customer service to my particular case. I have no idea how others percieve apple's customer service.

[Sticktron]

I had one of the best customer service experiences ever with Apple: when my iPod earphones broke, I filled out the online form and the next day a new pair arrived by courier. The NEXT day. That's fast.

[bobbba]

I had a good experience with their support too. My dvi/vga adaptor was playing up, I made a quick call and the replacement was with me next day. No long wait either.

Also when I bought a airport/bluetooth upgrade kit for my mac mini at an apple store they fitted it for free while I waited. Third party resellers were charging ?50 for fitting so I was pretty happy with them.

[SonComet]

I had a good experience with their support too. My dvi/vga adaptor was playing up, I made a quick call and the replacement was with me next day.  No long wait either.

Also when I bought a airport/bluetooth upgrade kit for my mac mini at an apple store they fitted it for free while I waited. Third party resellers were charging ?50 for fitting so I was pretty happy with them.

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Yeah, but those aren't extremely expensive procedures. Try to get them to replace a case (over 600 dollar repair) that they scratched up while not doing any repairs they said they would (the machine was originally checked in for a new logic board and psu). When you ask them to spend money trying to fix a problem they know they can't fix the service isn't so hot, atleast it wasn't for me at 2 different apple stores.

[[bear]]

Yeah, but those aren't extremely expensive procedures.  Try to get them to replace a case (over 600 dollar repair) that they scratched up while not doing any repairs they said they would (the machine was originally checked in for a new logic board and psu).  When you ask them to spend money trying to fix a problem they know they can't fix the service isn't so hot, atleast it wasn't for me at 2 different apple stores.

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Exactly my point. You cannot compare my repair to a little dvi cord issue that costs five bucks to repair. My machine cost 1500 dollars. Simple as that. They cannot just ship me a new one the next day either. They wouldn't even offer me a new machine and they said even if they could they would need confirmation that I had sent my old ibook in before they could even authorize a new computer to be sent out. It is a much different situation I am in. My repair is much more expensive and serious.

[Yvo]

Well I brought upon myself.

My iMac wouldn't start up this morning and/or when it did it would auto restart in the middle of the boot. Brought it to the Apple Store and they are replacing the PSU & Logic Board.

[SonComet]

Remember to check for scratches when you get it back. And if you find some don't let them give you a repair number so that you can get it fixed another time. Make them fix it right then and there. I made that mistake and boy was it hard to get them to replace the case on my G5 the next day (never been given a fake repair number before). But atleast when I get it back it will again be in absolutely mint condition so that I can sell it :).

[[bear]]

Remember to check for scratches when you get it back.  And if you find some don't let them give you a repair number so that you can get it fixed another time.  Make them fix it right then and there.  I made that mistake and boy was it hard to get them to replace the case on my G5 the next day (never been given a fake repair number before).  But atleast when I get it back it will again be in absolutely mint condition so that I can sell it :).

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I got it back already and its working okay, the scratches were fixed, they replaced the entire bottom cover of the ibook and even left the wrapping plastic stuck to it to keep it unscratched.