Dell_Optiplex Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Is it true that in order to get an Apple computer serviced you have to make an appointment at Apple store and go to some "Genius Bar"? So if that is the case then how can businesses get their apple computers serviced quickly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee31 Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Is it true that in order to get an Apple computer serviced you have to make an appointment at Apple store and go to some "Genius Bar"?So if that is the case then how can businesses get their apple computers serviced quickly? Sounds pretty ridiculous if it is. As an optional things it's a good idea but it's not something that people should be forced to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miuku. Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Uh? Although I've only had to service my Macbook Pro once in its lifetime (and yes, it was the harddrive - goodbye Fujitsu, welcome Seagate later on) all I had to do was call the store, they sent a courier to pickup the MBP and later the same evening another courier brought it back from service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGM Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 serviced? like a car? sounds like a con. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the evn show Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Is it true that in order to get an Apple computer serviced you have to make an appointment at Apple store and go to some "Genius Bar"? That's intended for typical consumers. It's no different from returning your HP to the compu-hut from where you purchased it. Small business will sign up for Apple ProCare which offers same-day service an any Apple store. A large company will have on-staff or contract IT support with apple certification. They're authorized to make the typical hardware repairs (busted hard drives, ram, etc) and software upgrades the same as any other retailer would be. If you live in a place without an Apple store and without a certified Apple retailer (northern alaska) then you'll use the fed-ex method: they ship you a box, you return the system: they repair it and ship it back. Some smaller repairs can be handled with ease (ie: if you xraid drive dies they ship you a new one via fedex and you return the old one when you receive the new). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jamesyfx Subscriber² Posted August 29, 2009 Subscriber² Share Posted August 29, 2009 Whats ridiculous about it? To get any computer serviced you have to book an appointment. It's not only Apple that do this. Pretty much every company except some quiet independant stores require an appointment. Whats inconvenient about that? Just book an appointment over the telephone and then bring in your system on the agreed time and date. If businesses want their Apple computers services quickly they can sign up to cover plans which'll net them loan computers while they're away getting repaired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dell_Optiplex Posted August 29, 2009 Author Share Posted August 29, 2009 Whats ridiculous about it? To get any computer serviced you have to book an appointment. It's not only Apple that do this. i am surprised because most PC manufacturers offer next business day warranty, where they ship parts out using Next Day air service. I know with dell, they ship parts out to someone directly. no need to book an appointment or go anywhere to do repairs. they don't even check if you are certified or not. ProCare seems to require you to go to the store still For the certification program, does Apple ship parts to you next day? That person can do the repairs on their own time? An apple certified person I know was ripping on Apple for bad support options (doesn't like the fact they don't come to you I guess) and I wanted to check Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miuku. Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 An apple certified person I know was ripping on Apple for bad support options (doesn't like the fact they don't come to you I guess) and I wanted to check Apparently this is a per-country thing but over here you can get them to wash your feet, have some scantily clothed women fan air at you and serve drinks if you get a suitable care plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the evn show Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 ProCare seems to require you to go to the store still Correct. It's intended for the small-business (under 50 machines) that probably doesn't have more than 1 full time network administrator. Larger clients go to a 3rd party provider (ie: like buying your IBM computers from CDW) for both hardware and support. For the certification program, does Apple ship parts to you next day? That person can do the repairs on their own time? Yes. Speaking form my experience: turn around time is typically next business day if you're getting the "send us your busted stuff and we'll send you new stuff" approach. The company I'm at now has their service provided by an authorized retailer: we've had same-day turn around for major issues. Office was robbed, we lost a dozen macs and had several computers damaged. We had repairable machines fixed that day, and replacements for destroyed and stolen machines that evening. It took our IT department a couple of days to get the Xserve/xraid back up and running. I'm not sure if replacement hardware was available same day or next day, but I do know it took the IT staff a long time to get the stuff reconfigured and running (restoring a 50-terabyte backup is slow). An apple certified person I know was ripping on Apple for bad support options (doesn't like the fact they don't come to you I guess) and I wanted to check When I worked for the bored of education (thousands of macs deployed) you could get Apple techs on-site if you needed them. It was very rare because they had dozens of qualified IT staff to handle the day-to-day stuff but if you needed a backplane replaced on your xserve they'd be there to do it. The company I'm at has a much smaller network (around 50 nodes total) and we still have same-day service if needed but we get it from a 3rd party provider. In my experience Apple's support isn't as good as Dell's (4-hour enterprise contracts are amazing): but it's not terrible either. I don't think Apple's enterprise issues are with getting your kit repaired, it's in planning long term network roll outs. If you've standardized on 10.4 or 10.5: you have no real way to purchase new hardware to run those OS's next month. Without long-term guidance on their software / hardware it's difficult to make budgeting decisions. etc. etc. etc. That's all fine for small businesses, but it binds your hands once you have a couple of hundred nodes to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vice Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 You don't need to go to the store with Apple you can talk to them on the phone and they will send you a pre-paid box for your specific machine you place the machine in it and then the courier returns to pick it up and ships it off to Apple for servicing. I've done this twice over the years. Both times it was UPS who delivered the box, picked up my Mac and then re-delivered it once Apple had repaired the computer. Walking in to a store to have it serviced is just another way to get your machine fixed and the Mac Geniuses are like free tech support that you can see for any issue with your Mac. Software or Hardware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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